In the Globe & Mail today (Saturday, August 21) there was a small review about an Indian restaurant in Missisauga called Saravana Bhavan. The review piqued my interest so I went and tried it out.
In short, two thumbs up! The place is located at the south-east corner of Eglinton & Hurontario in a strip mall. The restaurant itself is at the north end of the mall. What sets this place apart from other Indian restaurants in Toronto is that it specializes in Southern Indian cuisine that also happens to be vegetarian. (Most Indian restuarants in Toronto tend to be Northern cuisine.) Now for me, an affirmed meat-lover, it's really saying something when I give a thumbs up to a veggie place. But the food tasted good and I walked away feeling quite satiated.
The service was simple and quick. A nice touch was a pitcher of water on each table, so you don't have to keep asking for more. An oddity was the use of metal - the cups, the plates (which are more like trays), the "dishes" are all metal. It's all stainless steel so there's no metallic taste to the food or anything, but it was a first for me being a place sans porcelain. It was kinda neat actually.
When I looked through the menu, I really had no idea what most of ths stuff was. For example, one of the appetizers is Rava Kichadi which is described as "Roasted sooji cooked with onion, tomato, carrot, green chili & green peas, sauteed with flavoured herbs served with chutney & sambar." Sooji? Sambar? I felt like a tourist in a very out-of-place way. Nonetheless the server took pity on me and gently made a few recommendations which turned out to be excellent choices. (I ended up having Channa Batura which was a large piece of puffy bread served with chick peas and onions. Doesn't sound like much but it was quite tasty!) Next time I'm there I'll probably just pick stuff at random out of the menu because I'm sure it'll all be good.
Saravana Bhavan
4559 Hurontario Street @ Eglinton
905 290 0769
Open 7 days a week from 11:30am to 10:00pm
In short, two thumbs up! The place is located at the south-east corner of Eglinton & Hurontario in a strip mall. The restaurant itself is at the north end of the mall. What sets this place apart from other Indian restaurants in Toronto is that it specializes in Southern Indian cuisine that also happens to be vegetarian. (Most Indian restuarants in Toronto tend to be Northern cuisine.) Now for me, an affirmed meat-lover, it's really saying something when I give a thumbs up to a veggie place. But the food tasted good and I walked away feeling quite satiated.
The service was simple and quick. A nice touch was a pitcher of water on each table, so you don't have to keep asking for more. An oddity was the use of metal - the cups, the plates (which are more like trays), the "dishes" are all metal. It's all stainless steel so there's no metallic taste to the food or anything, but it was a first for me being a place sans porcelain. It was kinda neat actually.
When I looked through the menu, I really had no idea what most of ths stuff was. For example, one of the appetizers is Rava Kichadi which is described as "Roasted sooji cooked with onion, tomato, carrot, green chili & green peas, sauteed with flavoured herbs served with chutney & sambar." Sooji? Sambar? I felt like a tourist in a very out-of-place way. Nonetheless the server took pity on me and gently made a few recommendations which turned out to be excellent choices. (I ended up having Channa Batura which was a large piece of puffy bread served with chick peas and onions. Doesn't sound like much but it was quite tasty!) Next time I'm there I'll probably just pick stuff at random out of the menu because I'm sure it'll all be good.
Saravana Bhavan
4559 Hurontario Street @ Eglinton
905 290 0769
Open 7 days a week from 11:30am to 10:00pm
