Ghazale
504 Bloor Street West
Phone: 123-456-7890
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When I moved back to Toronto after spending my college years in Montreal, one thing I couldn't figure out was why this city was relatively deprived of the falafel and shawarma (shish-taouk) experience that I had grown to love on the streets of St. Denis and The Main.
Since that time I've come to realize that my initial perceptions were ill-founded. There's plenty of spots in the city to grab great falafel-related eats; and one of the better ones is Ghazale, the small but colourful take-out spot next to the Bloor Cinema.
While the falafel and shawarma definitely hold there own, it's the myriad of platter options that are the stars here. Because the place is so popular, regular turnover helps keep the food fresh and hot. Best bests are the zucchini and eggplant offerings; and prices are cheap so it's easy to fill up for 6 bucks or less.
Here are some of the photos I took the last time I was in there:
Here's the menu:
Ghazale, 504 Bloor Street West. (next to the Bloor Cinema) 416-537-4417
Comments (11)
Ghazale rules. Unless you're further south and too hungry to make the trip up to Bloor. That's when you pop into Ali Baba's!
If you're omnivorous & getting a plate combo, here's my new fave: beef plate with lentil rice (yellow, but I dunno if it's from saffron), beans in red sauce (navy=large, fava=small, I think) and eggplant moussaka. Drown it with a Jumex or any other of their juices.
The reason why it seems absent is because you're not looking in ther right place: North of Toronto, specifically: Sababas. It is the bestest.
Ahh Sababa. Beautiful gorgeous falafels there, and a much bigger variety of sandwiches than I've found anywhere else - chicken hearts, anyone?
Sababas sucks. They used to not give whole wheat even though they sell their own w.w. pita bread there. NOw they charge 50 cents MORE to use whole wheat and for toppings that are free elsewhere/closeby. I suggest Yehudelus but can't spell it!!
I've been to this place and I don't see what all the hype is about. In my opinion the best place for a shawarma is College Falafel. They have everything you would want and it's all healthy. They only use whole wheat bread. You can check out their menu at Collegefalafel.foodpages.ca
I used to think Ghazele was the best. I love the way it started small by the wife in a very hard working family. Then it was the best but now the best Mediterranean cooking prepared to order by the husband and wife from Albania, both (seemingly tireless)chefs with high standards for the quality of their ingredients, taste of food they present and for customer service. Everything is fresh and they make it all from scratch. Because of that, and their lovely personalities, they have tons of loyal customers.
I forgot to mention the name of the place where the Mediterranean cooking is done by the Albanian chefs...It is College Falafel at Ossington.
The new Ghazale that opened up on Wellesley just E of Church puts the Bloor Cinema location to absolute shame in every respect... EXCEPT, no customers!
That may in fact have been the real reason why my falafel came so stunningly overloaded with every different cooked veg he could cram in. I got 5 different items/toppings that all would've been extra $$ on Bloor for the price of a normal falafel.
He may have just been overfilling my sandwich to try to make the large-yet-vacant room seem more full, and under different circumstances might charge the scammier prices that are typical with downtown falafels... but I'll definitely be going back to find out, and I don't even bother with the Bathurst/Bloor location any more, even if I'm waiting outside the Bloor Cinema with nothing else to do.
hi there
This is Aziz the owner of ghazale on wellesly.Our location there do have our falafels always fully loaded.And the reason the falafels on bloor dont come with the extra toppings is cause they are cheaper and that what the students in that area want.How was your falafel there by the way?
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