Restaurants
Kathy's Kitchen
Kathy's Kitchen brings home-cooked Hungarian to Bloordale Village. Next to the House of Lancaster in a former shawarma shop, this new restaurant is a family run affair with Mom (that's Kathy) and Dad in the kitchen and daughter Katalin taking orders out front.
With an eclectic interior consisting of two deflated balloons, some generic prints of Paris and a large pair of lips, Kathy's isn't big on feng shui, but I'm not here for the decor. The slap-dash menu offers Hungarian classics like wiener schnitzel ($7.25), the enigmatic Gypsy Steak, (beef rubbed with spices and garlic, $6.75) and chicken livers ($6.50) to quesadillas ($4.25) and Philly steak ($7.20). Also on offer -- though curiously not on the menu -- is an all day breakfast. Pop, coffee and juice make up the somehwat limited liquid options.
Our party of three goes with the schnitzel, the daily special of beef stew with dumplings ($8.20) and the walnut noodle ($5.50).
The service is a little wonky, with our drink orders forgotten and the table next to us waiting for several dishes to arrive. Still, the mood is welcoming and earnest, and we don't really mind the wait. Katalin explains the microwave is broken so things are a little slow today (not a great sign), but offers us some starters to tide us over. We choose the lagos ($2.50) because they're cheap and we've never heard of them before.
Lagos turns out to be fried bread slathered with garlic, mozzarella, sour cream -- and is apparently a dessert! I guess it sort of resembles a beaver tail, but the gallon of garlic nearly blows my top. Still, I like unapologetic dishes like this, but just don't order it on a first date.
My schnitzel comes next with a side of fries (lead photo). It's big, honest, and tastes just the same. Tender veal coated with a crisp, light breading, it comes alive with a squeeze of lemon and some S&P. Nothing fancy, but hearty and hard not to like. Too bad the fries are McCain vintage.
Our quirky dining experience continues with the arrival of the walnut noodle. OK, so we should have asked, but pappardelle heaped with walnut meal and icing sugar wasn't what we were expecting. But it somehow works, with the grainy, sweet topping complimenting the starchy pasta. Served cold, I'm unsure if this is the traditional method or related to the microwave mishap, but it tastes good nonetheless.
Eventually the beef stew arrives, and is the best of the lot. The bed of tender dumplings does a stellar job soaking up the juices from the stew and the melt-in-your-mouth beef. With strong notes of paprika, this is a stick-to-your-ribs dish to warm the coldest winter night.
While Kathy's Kitchen definitely has a few rough edges, the haphazardly endearing service and home-cooked fare make it worth a stop. You might not leave in a hurry, but you won't leave hungry.
Kathy's Kitchen is open 8 a.m. to 11 p.m Monday to Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays.
Discussion
42 Comments
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Yet, somehow, just like about any other review in this blog (and despite bad service), this place is "worth a stop."
Do BlogTo reviewers ever eat in good restaurants?! It seems to me that there is no effort to place a review in the context of other eateries or actually exhibit any knowledge of the food that's reviewed (ordering desert items without knowing it).
This is - again - an example of a sophomoric attempt at food/restaurant review. Is there an editor at BlogTo who read this before it went up?
I agree that a broken microwave is indeed a bad sign, but it’s not enough to prompt me storming out of the place at light speed. I had come to review Kathy’s Kitchen and was willing to give the place a shot.
The menu did not list a description of lagos, nor was it listed under the dessert section. It was cheap, new to me and recommended by the waitress, who later informed us it was a dessert. Unusual, I agree, but as I attempt to convey in the review the entire meal was a little haphazard.
I further concur that a Hungarian restaurant serving tex-mex is worrying, and would steer well clear of these options. You will notice I ordered a selection of Hungarian/Eastern European dishes, which were, despite the service issues, quite good and led to my recommendation.
I believe if a restaurant offers a certain style of dish that is good, it shouldn’t be penalized for offering a range of other dishes at a potentially lower caliber.
I have eaten at a variety of restaurants for blog to - some excellent, some less so. However I always try to provide a fair review of every place, and I believe I have done so here.
If you find the reviews on this blog so sophomoric then I suggest reading elsewhere.
Daniel
People want to know about cheap eats, so it's completely reasonable that blogTO would review this place. Oh, and just because a place serves junk like wings and burgers, doesn't automatically mean it doesn't do its specialties well. This is true of many pan-Asian restaurants, of course. And, based on my cursory reading, the writer only tried the Hungarian stuff.
Bottom line: It's time to smarten up, Matts.
Also, Katalin is unbelievably hot.
@es, if you've ever been to Hungary, you'll know that lángos is served with pretty much any topping you'd like, though traditionally with garlic, sour cream and cheese. also, don't be preachy if you're a dummy, dummy.
And Lucy, buy yourself a good burger and you won't call them "junk" anymore.
what would you consider a quality review?
One where the reviewer storms out at the first sign of something not being completely in keeping with their sense of how things should be? Sounds fun, just like your posts.
this is a blog, chill dude.
However, "engimatic Gypsy Steak" made me laugh.
Rough guessing, but I would say most restaurants in this city have a microwave, if not a few.
If fancy gastropubs tell you they don't have one just to keep their cred up, it doesn't mean your food wasn't nuked.
btw, so what if a hungarian place has quesadillas? Just get the goulash instead!
Do you like sushi? If you had sushi in Toronto, chances are, it was made by a Chinese or Korean chef.
What's up with this culinary gestapo of lates?
Anyone who knows anything about the restaurant business knows the places that try to please everyone with everything make the worst food. They let what they do best suffer because of it. Yes, most Restaurants in town have a microwave, but those restaurants for the most part suck. I would never pay people to make me food from a microwave, I can do that at home for 1/16th of the price. There are so many restaurants in town worth a review and this is certainly not one of them. I'm not all about presentation but all of those dishes look like a dogs dinner.
"Do you like sushi? If you had sushi in Toronto, chances are, it was made by a Chinese or Korean chef. "
This is not a fair comparison. The sushi restaurant run by Chinese serves sushi only, not frozen french fries.
This "Hungarian" place serves American food. There is nothing wrong with that, but like I said, these types that try to please everyone are never above average at the end of the day.
I wonder if some Hungarian restaurants will open in Parkdale with the explosion of Eastern-European and Roma refugees. That'd be pretty great, I think?
I didn't find anything that Matt originally posted to be inflammatory or deserving of such a mega backlash from the rest of you. Honestly, can't someone disagree with a review? Or is this just that clever irony I see plastered all over the formerly interesting parts of the city? It's so hard to tell these days.
I think it's great that even a place that doesn't easily fall into a caterogory can get reviewed and read by such a wide audience who otherwise wouldn't have experienced it. However I also agree that the resto reviews on this blog do rarely venture into the "all in all, not worth the dirve to Acton" territory.
Of course the ultimate irony in all of this - I'm sure this time - is that since the redesign I'm noticing that the address or map links are no longer associated with the reviews which seems counterintuitive to giving a rare find or otherwise any new customers. Having lived in the city long enough, I know that area, but "Bloordale Village" (not a widely known neighbourhood outside of Hipdale or the actual BIA) and "next to the House of Lancaster" combined with the review hardly make me want to do the research.
Anywho, as Nut so eloquently wrote "this is a blog, chill..." dudes.
Ps - How about finding a great old school Hungarian joint like the one that used to be at Queen & Portland - who's name escapes me?
Judging from the photos, the food looks good and the prices are reasonable.
For anyone to open up their own business takes courage. Even more so in that neighbourhood.
I wish the owners well and hope the area residents give it a try.
"There are so many restaurants in town worth a review and this is certainly not one of them"
how do you know what a new place is like until you review it?
dude!
click and see dumb dumb
I do agree that the reviewers of blogTO do not provide objective reviews, and are afraid to say anything that might keep them from eating for free. While you guys are a decent blog for this sort of stuff it is best for people to check out MartiniBoyz or others like that. Might be more trustworthy, and you'll be able to enjoy your dinner a bit more!
It's Lángos not Lagos! It's also NOT a dessert but a snack that is served a lot from street vendors in Budapest. Sometimes families do make them at home.
My first visit there was not as good as more recent visits, because I didn't realize how many wonderful homemade options they have. I'd love to help them redo their menus to make it clear what all the choices are.
On my first visit, I had the schnitzel with fries. It was the wonderful schnitzel that had me go back.
I have since enjoyed their stew and dumplings, dumplings with egg, goulash, chef's salad and cinnamon crepes. Everything has been delicious and lovingly prepared.
Just be sure to ask what is homemade (there are usually options that are not on the menu) and you will have a great meal.
The food is very good. It is a family-run operation, so of course the service is somewhat quirky, but it is great nonetheless - the staff are wonderfully welcoming, warm, and considerate of customers. I have never had a bad experience there. You are treated like a person - not as a number or as a faceless customer.
People should remember that this restaurant is family owned and operated - this isn't a restaurant chain, or a $100 a plate restaurant.
The schnitzel is first class, and the dumplings are wonderful. The desserts (all home-made) are also lovely. Toronto could use more family run restaurants like Kathy's Kitchen.
The menu could use some adjustments to better sell the wonderful food this restaurant has. The Hungarian food is first-class, and I have been to other similar restaurants of this type - all inferior to this restaurant.
I don't understand the negative reviews on here about Kathy's Kitchen. Please try the restaurant before you say bad things about it - it is really great.
Tried the take-out goulash soup : thin liquid , made from " goulash powder" , tiny dried meat pieces inside - I threw it out . The couple seems to be nice. They are overworked, and have no idea how to cook. Never returned.