Pakistani restaurants in the GTA

Bubblejoy1 wrote: ↑ Hi,
Any good Pakistani restaurants you know of in the GTA?

Lahore tikka house, gerrard st e, toronto.
I like the paneer, kebab And goat.

Makkah Restaurant, dAnforth ave.
This place is good for cheap eats. Not as nice as above... greasier & less refined. But big portions.
This place is cheaper. So i splurge on the tandori chicken & fish.

Desi burger, gerrard st e.
This place is new for me. Its just a burger really, but with different spice. It wasnt bad at all. I enjoyed it.
I was the only non-brown person there! They must have wondered what i was doing in there. Kept looking... lol. But i wanted to try.

I haven't had a chance to try it, but a couple people have mentioned Karahi Point: https://karahipoint.com/. Please try it and provide us a review.

I have no basis for comparison but I’ve been to Karahi Boys in Mississauga (Britannia/Mavis) and I thought it was good. Service was terrible but I was warned about that ahead of time.

Used to go here with coworkers. One of them happened to be Pakistani so we let him order. He said it is good but his wife's food was better. Aside from the sheep's brain, enjoyed everything although their salads were weak.

http://shaheentikka.com/

MyKolachi (Miss.) Karahis are pretty good
Cafe de Khan (Miss.) Good food, but as already mentioned pricey
Patna Kebab House (Scarborough). Have only been to the one in Scarborough, but not in a while. People really like their niharis.
Karahi Boys (Scarborough). I like the food, but the missus is not a big fan.
Karachi Kebab Wala (Miss.). Gola kebabs were pretty good. Chicken Tikka pieces were huge.
Soghaat Sweets and Bakery (Miss. next to Cafe de Khan). Pretty good halwa puri.

Used to go to Shaheen regularly, but haven't been there in a long time now after we got some naans with someone else's half eaten naan under our fresh ones. This was just once, but it turned us off going there after that. Taste wise the food was pretty good.

lpin14 wrote: ↑ MyKolachi (Miss.) Karahis are pretty good
Cafe de Khan (Miss.) Good food, but as already mentioned pricey
Patna Kebab House (Scarborough). Have only been to the one in Scarborough, but not in a while. People really like their niharis.
Karahi Boys (Scarborough). I like the food, but the missus is not a big fan.
Karachi Kebab Wala (Miss.). Gola kebabs were pretty good. Chicken Tikka pieces were huge.
Soghaat Sweets and Bakery (Miss. next to Cafe de Khan). Pretty good halwa puri.

Used to go to Shaheen regularly, but haven't been there in a long time now after we got some naans with someone else's half eaten naan under our fresh ones. This was just once, but it turned us off going there after that. Taste wise the food was pretty good.

Yikes, that is reason not to return. Only went for lunch and often we were the 1st ones there so fortunately, never experienced anything like that.

Lahore may be a city in Pakistan, but the Lahore Tikka House in Toronto, has little in common with that city. The founder was of Pakistani (really India before partition) descent by way of East Africa. Mind you, it's good and tasty food. Highly recommend to try it, specially their kababs, and the mixed veggie combo sizzler platter.

Culturally, I don't know that Pakistani food would be different than NW Indian food, or even Punjabi food, with the added influence of milder food from Afghanistan. A trip down Lawrence Avenue, East of Vic Park, or even Overlea Blvd where the old Coca Cola plant used to be (now a Costco) would probably lead to some good Pakistani finds.

Couldn't have written a more sEm2SeM post as the one directly above this lol.

My list:

1. Karahi Boyz (Mississauga is the best location)
2. Tazah Taste (Mississauga)
3. Dawat E Khas (Brampton)
4. Ziafat (Mississauga) - my personal favorite
5. Karachi Highway Karahi (Mississauga - a different spin on Karahi than Karahi Boyz)
6. Nihari Inn - Nihari is pretty damn good
7. Karahi Point - Karahi isn't as good as Karahi Boyz or Karachi Highway Karahi, but their entire menu is worth a taste
8. Badshah Grill - Really spicy and a great lunch menu imo.

My family is from Lahore..

I really like lahore premium kabob house in markham, amazing lahori chana but the kabobs were ok and super expensive

Tandoori style in Brampton- Pakistani owner, thick and juicy kabobs good value for money.. good lahori chana as well but not as good as Lahore premium house

Taza taste- also Pakistani owner, super cheap and good briyani also can get plauo which is traditional Pakistani and they’ve got a good chana as well totally different from the other two restaurants

Since Lahore people are Punjabi, our food is the same as our indian Punjabi brothers

hi-tech wrote: ↑ Couldn't have written a more sEm2SeM post as the one directly above this lol.

My list:

1. Karahi Boyz (Mississauga is the best location)
2. Tazah Taste (Mississauga)
3. Dawat E Khas (Brampton)
4. Ziafat (Mississauga) - my personal favorite
5. Karachi Highway Karahi (Mississauga - a different spin on Karahi than Karahi Boyz)
6. Nihari Inn - Nihari is pretty damn good
7. Karahi Point - Karahi isn't as good as Karahi Boyz or Karachi Highway Karahi, but their entire menu is worth a taste
8. Badshah Grill - Really spicy and a great lunch menu imo.

sem2sem? Is that a reference to awesome? One more tidbit, the main language in Pakistan is Urdu, the same as the language for the Sikhs and people from the Punjab regions. That kind to explains why there is so much similarity between Pakistani and Punjabi food.

Also, I've heard a lot of good things about Karahi Boys on Lawrence, got to go try it myself.

I've tried Ziafat and found it to be ok. It's in the plaza where there is also an Egyptian restaurant which is pretty good.

I'm always on the lookout for good nihari so will try Nihari Inn. There's a Nihari Inn in Karachi as well which gets great reviews. Not sure if the two are somehow related.

I've also heard good things about Dawat e Khas.

Here are a few more that deserve to be on the list:
1. Zeerah takeout (Winston Churchill and 403) for their bun kabab and paratha rolls. Nihari is good too
2. Dawat e Khas is good for Charga/Chicken-roast and Sajji.
3. Eastern Foods (near Hurontario and Dundas) - Takeout within a store, remember going there just for their biryani

Thank you everyone! This is really helpful! I am always on the lookout for good Pakistani food so this is perfect.

Gr8irlbot wrote: ↑ sem2sem? Is that a reference to awesome? One more tidbit, the main language in Pakistan is Urdu, the same as the language for the Sikhs and people from the Punjab regions. That kind to explains why there is so much similarity between Pakistani and Punjabi food.

My parents are from Lahore, which is located in the Punjab region of Pakistan.

Punjab is the biggest region in Pakistan and the dominant language is actually Punjabi. I was born and raised in Canada but from what I was told is that the government is trying to push Urdu on everyone.

We Punjabis are very proud of our culture and language but that’s a whole different topic..

Chicken karai at la sani markham and Ellesmere. Great naan too

Havnt been in a few years but used awesome. There’s so much Pakistani food I can see this Thread getting flooded.

Lolvtec wrote: ↑ My parents are from Lahore, which is located in the Punjab region of Pakistan.

Punjab is the biggest region in Pakistan and the dominant language is actually Punjabi. I was born and raised in Canada but from what I was told is that the government is trying to push Urdu on everyone.

We Punjabis are very proud of our culture and language but that’s a whole different topic..

Same reason the Indian government is pushing Hindi I suppose..? They are the same language for the most part to my understanding.

I only met one Pakistani who told me he speaks Pashto instead of Punjabi. Forget which region he is from.

Nirala sweets and restaurant on Markham Rd is a great option.
If you like lahori breakfast, try theirs.
Their halwa puri is awesome, puri is sorta like whole-wheat type and made in desi ghee, you dont feel bloated or heavy afterwards at all, compared to anyone else’s.


Pakistani restaurants use Halal meat and most emphasis is on meats. Yeah veggie options are there but pakistani people mostly eat meats (including BEEF). Indian restaurants such as those by non muslim do not use halal meats so thats main difference

Btw, that lahore tikka house on gerard is overrated, and overpriced. Its a ripoff in the name of lahore. Food is meh. Food does not taste lahori at all, not even sure if owner is pakistani anymore...
Shaheen Tikka has the best naans though

Best qeema naan, at iqbal sweets and restaurant at thorncliffe pk

Years ago i liked tandoori style in bramalea (steeles and melanie dr) for their wraps and chicken biryani....

Food has to be spicy and tasty, not bland.
Bland has nothing to do with karachi or lahore or peshawar etc, its gotta be spicy
Even the kebabs need lot of spices

@apnayloags As I mentioned, the founder was from India/Pakistan by way of East Africa. He definitely isn't Pakistani, anymore. He has passed, and his family runs the place. You don't have to like the food, you're not, or never was, his target market.

One more thing, not all Pakistanis eat meat, a lot of them are vegetarian. Partition, wasn't perfect. Lots of Punjabi and Sikhs born and bred in Pakistan. Also, lots of Indians eat meat, including beef. Khojas and Goas come to mind.