1801 Lawrence Ave E
Toronto, Ontario
Cuisine(s): Afghan
Date visited: August 2010
After Amy's wedding service, we had some time to kill before the dinner reception. It was a bit after lunch but both me and the bf had breakfast a few hours ago and were getting hungry. I was feeling like falafels and the bf wanted meat (shwarma) and this place had good reviews on restaurantica so we decided to check it out
Food: 5/5
So, let's get this straight. I asked and they don't serve falafels or shwarma. I don't know where the restaurantica poster gets a "falafel sandwich" from because I didn't get one!! Anyways we sat down and checked out the menu. Everything kind of looks the same to me .. I realized this wasn't a shwarma place but rather an Afghani little restaurant. Kind of scared by the ~$10 prices, we ordered one kofta kabob dinner (even tho it was lunch) for the both of us, and assumed we'd grab a snack after somewhere else. The guy was really nice and went away with our order. Within minutes a fresh green salad appeared along with some spicy sauce and "complimentary" bread/naan. This was one of the FRESHEST salads I have ever had eating out. It wasn't smothered in dressing but rather lightly dressed, which was exactly what we wanted. Great salad. Yes, salad. A minute after the salad arrived our main arrived - a giant plate of yellow and white basmati rice with two huge kofta kabobs. For those who don't know, kofta is .. middle eastern "meatloaf" or meatballs. Kabobs, if you will. I took one bite out of the kabob and instantly heaved a large portion onto my plate - it was absolutely delicious. Tender, juicy and well spiced. The rice was also very yummy as well.
Service: 3.75/5
This place is a little family run business. We were greeted by a man when we entered and he politely offered the menus. When I asked if there were lunch portions, he referred to the signs outside that advertised lunch specials that were only for take out but would give it to us for the same price sitting down (we were the only ones in the place). He wasn't outstanding, but he was quiet and nice. Didn't expect a lot but wasn't disappointed.
Atmosphere: 4/5
This was a quaint little restaurant situated in plaza surrounded by other brown stores. The place was clean and had maybe a dozen small tables. The good thing was that the chairs and tables weren't rickety! A bit bare but by no means bad (I actually don't remember too much of the decor). It was just very simple. Didn't visit the washroom (if there was one)
Price/Value: 4/5
The bill came up to ~$10 for two people. We were stuffed. We're both average sized portion eaters so it was quite filling for us. We left a hefty tip. The lunch special was probably the same thing but without a pop and salad, and that was going for maybe $7. I'd still say it's a good deal considering the rice and meat portions are pretty generous.
Overall dining experience: 4/5
I was disappointed I didn't get to eat my falafels but was quite surprised at how yummy afghani food was. I had never experienced it before and was really glad that I was able to stumble into this small place and have such a delicious meal. I was blown away by the kabob and rice. We'll definitely be returning to this place when we're in the neighbourhood .. keep up the good cooking!
