Restaurants
The Siddhartha
The place was cozy, candlelit, with a bold colour scheme that warmed the stark white paper on linen covered tables - most of them taken. It wasn't our first choice; The Siddhartha Pure Vegetarian down the street was closed for a private party, but we were happy with this alternative (both are related to the King Street West location). The decor and the impressive looking dinner buffet ($12.99) everyone was having, won us over.
The hot bar had the usual suspects, and plenty of them were vegetarian. I tried to taste everything, but stopped at a prudent two plates. Of the dishes I did have, most of them met my expectations.
The naan was fresh, soft on one side, crisp on the other. The basmati rice was fluffy with a touch of oil to keep the grains separate. Mattar paneer, which I never order as I'm not a fan of peas, was surprisingly my favourite. The chunks of white cheese curds were a good-sized cubic inch, softly rich and not rubbery, adrift alongside peas (neither mushy nor starchy) in smooth gravy. The cauliflower and potato in the aloo gobi were tender but firm, mildly spiced save for the perfumed crunch of an occasional ground spice. Also quite good was chicken tandoori, its flesh moist, the baked-in sauce smoky sweet, akin to barbecue sauce.
Much too sweet however, were both the sag paneer and the butter chicken. We all thought this was odd, as none of us have ever had either dish tasting sweet at all. Adding a spoonful or two of the raita (from the salad bar) toned this down and provided a touch of tang. The other two dips: mint and tamarind, went well with the fried pakoras and potato fritters.
As for dessert, the gulab jamun (syrupy dumplings) and kheer (rice pudding) were pleasingly sugary last bites to the meal.
With so many choices of similar places along Gerrard, it's good to know that if in search of temperate atmosphere and service, this is a place that can be counted on. Despite the misses, there were definitely hits that merited a return to try the a la carte menu.
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Both places are good. I've only ever ordered the buffet since it's such a deal. Anyone ever ordered off the menu?
My first visit to Siddartha was awesome. I went there with 2 friends for dinner then realized that they were about to close. We wanted to leave but the very friendly waiter insisted it was no problem. So we ordered. We then were kindly informed that it will take a while for the lassi since they were out of milk. We apologized and asked to cancel the lassi order. He laughed it off and informed us that someone has already gone out to get the milk so it's no problem at all. We should enjoy our dinner.
The food was absolutely delicious and the service, as you can guess, was EXCELLENT. They went out of their way to cater to make us happy. And happy we were.
Though the other restaurant was awesome, the 3 of us have never experienced a place being open and someone going to get an ingredient just so we could have a good time. We talked about it anytime Siddhartha's name would come up.
My husband and I went there again last year and was met with great service. A different waiter but he was very polite and prompt. The food as usual was delicious (though not really "authentic" Indian, but tweaked for foreign taste buds) and we left being happy. The warm and elegant decor didn't hurt either.
Yesterday, we went to Gerrard again to do some shopping and we thought we'd pay Siddhartha another visit. BIG MISTAKE. Read on to see why.
After walking in, we realized the place is absolutely packed (mostly non-south Asian patrons as it often were) with only 2 empty tables. We were sat and not wanting to go for the buffet (we weren't that hungry) we decided to see the menu.
While waiting for the waiter, we saw a group of 5 (my guess: they were European)walk in. Since there we no place to sit, they were waiting by the door. The place seemed to be run by only 2 waiters. I was beginning to wonder what is going on and where will these people sit!
Our waiter came over and we asked for the menu. He quickly (and not so much in a friendly way this time, but more like he was annoyed) told us that the staff is very busy and it will take more than 1.5 hrs(!) to prepare any order. So buffet it was. He asked us what we'd like to drink and we once again order the mango lassi we loved.
By the time we got our food (the chana, butter chicken, paneer makhani and lamb curry along with matar pulao. The lamb tasted sweet. So not Indian), that group was sitting right next to us and - GET THIS - we hard the same waiter (who just seconds ago told us the staff were too busy to prepare food for just TWO people) asking them "SO WOULD YOU LIKE THE MENU OR THE BUFFET"?
I could not believe my ears. It takes the staff 1.5 hrs to prepare food for a couple but no time at all for a large group?! I personally lost my appetite after hearing that. My husband on the other hand was like "they wanted us to go for the buffet, so we'll get our money's worth". I told him do whatever you want...I seriously can't eat.
We decided to pay the buffet price and have a word with the manager. In all this time, the waiter didn't bother to come around and see whether everything was okay. Let alone refill the glasses OR bring the lassi. I was beyond being shocked. Just moments before all this began, I was complementing the staff by remembering the previous visits :S
My husband went over, explained her what has happened and all she did was gave him a blank look and said she's sorry. He then politely asked "How is it that you are too busy for 2 and not 5? And we also placed an order for the lassi which never made it to the table."
She again gave him a blank look and said those 5 had a reservation. My husband asked "If they had a reservation why were they standing at the door for 15 minutes?! Wouldn't you have a table already booked for them?" (he's sous chef at a very popular Italian restaurant). She then asked the waiter (who was standing nearby and listening to everything) whether our complaints were true. He just gave a vague response (a shrug) and WALKED AWAY. Didn't even care either for his behaviour or for the manager's question. I am not kidding.
We just paid and left. Then made a vow to never return there.
I hate leaving negative reviews, specially for places I enjoy visiting but honestly...I'm very disappointed in the whole management and their services.
I should also add that the waiter was from the same country we were (not India though)...and the place seemed to cater specially to non-South Asians. Most South Asians have a problem with their own kind and they feel that they don't need to be professional with them 'cus who cares?! They'd rather be attentive to others. I know that 'cus I see it almost daily. I seriously didn't expect THAT from this place.