Best of Toronto
The Best Dosa in Toronto
Dosas may not be ubiquitous in Toronto, but from Mississauga to Little India they're not tough to find. For the uninitiated, dosas are a typical South Indian staple consisting of crepes made from fermented rice and lentils, accompanied with sides such as sambar (a tangy lentil soup with vegetables) and various kinds of chutney (coconut, tomato, tamarind, mint). Outside of the restaurants themselves, they often make an appearance at summer festivals at Harbourfront and the annual Masala! Mehndi! Masti!
Here are the nine best restaurants in Toronto to get dosa, as voted by the readers of this site.
Writing and photos by Mishal Cazmi
Madras Dosa Hut
This Albion location of Madras Dosa Hut is without a doubt one of the finer looking dosa restaurants around. From Monday to Friday, the bright red restaurant offers unlimited dosas for $8.99. The unusual offering of dried fruit masala dosa is a pleasant surprise with a spiced potato stuffing and crushed dried fruit glazed on the crepe from within. All dosas come with four chutneys and a generous serving of sambar. Suburbanites need not venture far because the restaurant has a second location in Mississauga. More »
Udupi Palace
Found in Little India, Udupi Palace’s front entrance boasts clipping after clipping of restaurant reviews, almost all raving about its quality dosas. For an extra dollar, you can upgrade a chilli cheese dosa to a chilli cheese masala dosa by asking them to add the potato filling. The restaurant wins hands-down for the tastiest sambar- light and flavourful with just the right seasonings it can also be equally savoured as a soup. A refreshing (and an incredibly tasty) falooda is the perfect way to wash down a savoury meal here. More »
South Indian Dosa Mahal
The recently relocated South Indian Dosa Mahal is certainly an eye-catcher with its bright pink walls and matching decor. For those with a large appetite, there are several thali options including the vegetable and dosa thali that comes with four plain dosas, sambar, chutney and three different curries - vegetable, potato and eggplant. The latter’s sambar is forgettable but the curries are well worth the order. Bonus! After filling up on dosa don't forget the take-out. Get 3 samosas for $1 or 10 samosas for $3.00. More »
Madras Masala
Madras Masala has an incredibly diverse range of dosas. Even after its dosa festival, items from its festival menu (off–the-menu items) continue every Tuesday for $4.99. The rest of the week, it offers the typical dosa fare, starting from $6.99 up to $10.99. In addition to its South Indian menu, the restaurant cooks up an equally vast selection of North Indian and Indo-Chinese items such as Hyderabadi Lamb Biryani and Gobi Manchurian. More »
Saravanaa Bhavan
On weekends, families flock to this restaurant for its weekend vegetarian buffet. On other days, people still drop in, usually for dosas. As someone who always gets masala dosas (with potato filling as opposed to a standalone crepe), this is the only restaurant where I’d think of forgoing the masala because the dosa and chutneys are oh-so-good. The dosa is as a dosa should be - crisp on the outside, soft on the inside. The tri-colour chutneys - tomato, coconut and mint - even as a smaller side, pack plenty of flavour and so to choose a favourite would be like asking to choose a favourite kid. More »
Dosa City
This suburban restaurant has been open for a little over a year yet it confidently touts itself as “the best dosa place in town.” The dosas are served with sambar and four different kinds of chutney - coconut, tamarind, spicy tomato, and coriander. It has very reasonable prices ranging from $6.19 to $8.49 for incredibly large dosas that consume over half the table. More »
Rashnaa
This South Indian and Sri Lankan restaurant in Cabbagetown makes a lot of good food, but nothing quite as popular its masala thosai (dosa). For a light lunch, the masala thosai is $5.95 with sambar and coconut chutney. During warm weather, it's nice to have the option to indulge in dosa on the restaurant's patio. More »
Dosa Darbar
Dosa Darbar is a relatively small dosa place on Albion located fairly close to Madras Dosa Hut. The restaurant is a good option for those on-the-go who’d like to pop in and out for a quick lunch. There are several daily dosa specials such as the Darbar Crazy Dosa for $7.99, a combination of four toppings - cheese, onion, rava, and mysore. For a lighter snack, there's also a baby dosa for $2.99. While the ambiance may be forgettable, the food is not. The accompanying sides (the sweet mint chutney are particularly a standout) and the potato filling are top notch. More »
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Best dosas ever.
Anjappar Chettinad (www.anjapparcanada.com) is the other one that comes to mind. They have two locations in GTA - one in Scarborough and the other in Brampton. They are a chain of restaurants from India, featuring Chettinad cuisuine, with many locations overseas just like Saravanaa Bhavan.
Nilgiris - foodpages.ca/nilgiris.ucomments (Markham & McCowan)
Udupi Madras Cafe - 265 Enfield Pl Mississauga
Madras Palace - www.madraspalace.com
http://www.blogto.com/restaurants/madras-pantry
next time you go there, insist on taking the 10% off the bill and pay tip directly to server, if you want to.
For those who complain about the 10% gratuity, you clearly don't understand the value of this place. Many rest including Mandarin charge for service, and the funny part is it's self service buffet! haha, anyhow, i just wanted to say that this place is quite simply out of this world
give it a shot on a weekday!! Cheers!
10% for a group of three customers OR 15% for a group of four or more customers......and for what? ?
1)The most uncomfortable environment which does not care for your presence as a customer for a short while?
2)A totally disorganized place where servers do not care to remember who ordered what?( why? Oh Yes, it brings Gratuity)
3)The so called management does not think fit to provide you anything other than what they can make you pay for. You are lucky if you can get a glass of water without asking for.Do not expect someone to refill your glass or water jug on your table.
4)You are not welcome if you ask for basic necessities like spoon, fork / knife and paper napkins. Even if you ask for, the server requests another one who quickly gives you an impression that you are a pain and he/she does not care since his/her 10% 0r 15% gratuity is assured no matter how you feel.
Friends, Why pay someone your hard earned money and get treated disrespectfully? and pay "Gratuity" on the top of it ?
1. they charge 10% gratuity for under 4 people and 15% over 4? i believe tips are to be given if you receive good attentive service, not to be collected by force! this compulsory charge, makes their food terribly expensive.
2. the place is a fire hazard and someday will lead to a lot of trouble for its owners and patrons. i am quite surprised how they have managed to get licensed for seating so many people in such a small place, without adequate moving space and room to manoeuvere and evacuate in case of fire. surely there is somethinh seriously amiss here.
3. the tables are designed to squeeze in max no. of people, there is hardly any room to sit or accomodate more food plates for a group. people are virtually breathing down each other's necks and could actually reach out and eat from your table, they are so close! you cant have a pvt conversation, i could hear every word the people next to me were saying.
all these things spoil your fun. looks like the owner is simply counting his take and least bothered about the comfort of his patrons. i for one have stopped visiting them.
are Resonable.and they have very good deal"s for take out"s.
and ihighly Recommend this place for the Dosa lovers.
They have moved to a new location but it is horrible. The wait is the same and it is true that you have to ask for water and the servers take long before they even attend to you.
This restaurant is expensive.
It was served with coconut chutney, tomato chutney and corriander chutney along with fresh and hot sambhar. I was surprised that it was 2 ft in length and 1 1/2 ft in width filled with potato filling (masala). Food was fresh and tasty. I enjoyed the dosa. When I finished my lunch and got the bill I was even shocked as the price was only 4.99$. Nothing can go wrong for this price. I would recommend all of you to try dosa at this place and you will feel satisfied.
One of my friend referred me to Dosa Darbar located at Islington Ave and Albion Rd. I ordered Special Green Dosa. This dosa is made from whole green lentil. The dosa was topped with green chillies, corriander leaf, cumin, ginger pieces and ghee was brushed on top of the dosa. The dosa
was filled with upma (wheatlets pudding) instead of masala made from potato. This combination was very unique in taste and I was totally satisfied. The dosa was served with coconut sauce, tomato sauce and corriander sauce along with steaming sambhar (lentil soup). All the items were fresh. The service was awesome as they served me with more chutneys and sambhar as required.
I would definitely recommend all of you to try this place.
You have to place an order at least an hour ahead, but it is totally worth it. The dosas have a nice crisp texture, and tang from the fermentation, and I love the accompanying dips.