Pam's Roti
969 Bloor Street West
Phone: 416.533.3688
 Profile |
 Map |
Near the corner of Bloor and Dovercourt, Pam's Roti can easily be overlooked. A closet-sized space nestled between Hurricane's bar and Nazareth Ethiopian restaurant, Pam's evokes a family gathering space vibe even though seats in the place are hard to come by.
But despite its tiny stature, what shouldn't be missed are Pam's excellent rotis. And don't just take my word for it. Proudly displayed east and west of the kitchen are clippings from the Globe and Mail and SunTV declaring the roti here as some of Toronto's best.
On the menu are four meat options - chicken ($7), shrimp, goat and pork (all $8.50) that can either be served as a roti or with a side of rice. For veggie-lovers, the thing to order is the combination of three vegetables of your choice ($7.50). Combinations can be created with okra, squash, eggplant, potato, channa, spinach and more. Each vegetable can also be ordered straight up for prices as cheap as 5 bucks.
Pam's recommendation (and hyped by the Globe as well) is the squash, spinach and channa combo so that's what I decide to have. Wrapped in a Caribbean style-shell stuffed with dhal puri, the vegetable medley inside is dense, evenly distributed and substantial enough to make a meal. Spice-wise, a medium here is pretty tame so those who like their rotis with a bit of a kick should definitely upgrade to the next level.
It's worth repeating that the filling here wasn't too heavy on any of the ingredients. So many other roti joints would get this wrong with too much emphasis on the channa or squash. But not here. Pam's roti is the real deal.
Photo from Richelle Forsey
Comments (11)
I love Pam's! Did she tell you she's moving to Bloor / Dufferin next month?
Also - Nazareth is amazing.
What's a double roti?
I like Pam's but I don't get the prices. $5.50 for potato roti. $6.50 for spinach. extra ingredients are $1. so a potato roti w/ spinach is $6.50, and a spinach with potato is $7.50?
and if i just order the spinach, is it 100% spinach? seems like it should cost _more_ than a spinach and potato roti, since spinach is more expensive, no?
Pam's has indeed moved just one block west of Dufferin - the space is much larger and the veggie rotis are still so good! Can't beat the chana, spinach and squash combo!
Pam's has been closed all week and now they have a FOR SALE sign in the window. I guess that's one more for your deadpool.
This place must be closed both the old location and new. I went by it on the dovercourt/bloor location and the sign is there but the roti shop isn't. I then walked past dufferin/bloor and saw it (same sign). I tried to open the door but noticed it was closed and there was a stack of mail so it must have been closed for awhile (time was about 2pm on a Wednesday)
Sadly - we've suspected Pam's is gone for a couple months now: we called to place our order only to hear a (tired sounding) recording of Pam say that they were closed due to illness. Weeks later, same recording. The shop has been closed since then. Very sad - I wonder what happened. Great food - nice lady.
This makes me sad. Lived beside her old place for a year, been Irish had never had Roti and loved the stuff. Always came home from work, put on Rice and Peas by Toddla T and got my order in. Lovely lady, amazing food. My girlfriend at the time even came to visit me in Dublin after moving back and flew a Madame Pam roti with her for me.
RSS