We have the most incredible restaurant scene representing the entire globe right here in this one bustling city. If you want to go out for curry and clubs on any given night there are so many places to choose from Top Toronto Clubs. In order to introduce Torontonians to some new restaurants, and chefs, there will be a Curry Battle this Monday at the Drake Hotel. Organized by myself and Suresh Doss, there will be five restaurants dishing up delicious South Asian curries for everyone to try.
The competing restaurants include Rickshaw Bar, Tich, Saffron Spice Kitchen, Bombay Street Food and the brand new Kolkata Club.
Hemant Bhagwani made his name with his Amaya Indian restaurant empire, opening 34 restaurants since 2002. He sold the business last year and took a much needed break. Now he’s back with a new venture called Kolkata Club that just opened this week! Be one of the first to try the food as he’ll be presenting a curry from their brand new menu.
In their review of Rickshaw Bar, the Globe & Mail praised chef/owner Noureen Feerasta’s food, saying “(her) menu mines Indian and Pakistani staple foods, as well as a few dishes from Burma (her paternal grandfather’s family lived there) and the East African Ismaili Muslim diaspora (her family is Ismaili). It’s got the modern verve and lightness to bring it into right now.”
The couple behind Saffron Spice Kitchen, Johnny and Priya Phinehas, bring the tastes of Sri Lanka to their delicious menu where the caramelized eggplant curry has been a top seller for the five years they’ve been open. “People go crazy for it,” says Johnny from his busy restaurant at Queen and Spadina.
Tich (Punjabi for “cool”) Modern Indian Cuisine in Mimico has a secret weapon, a chef who specializes in curry. As Amy Pataki noted in her glowing Toronto Star review, “Curries are made by Sujoy Saha (ex-Indian Rice Factory) and served in French onion soup bowls. What’s inside, though, is very much Indian, evident in every crunch of cardamom, fennel and coriander seed.”
Over at Bombay Street Kitchen, sisters-in-law Amreem and Seema Omar bring the street food of Mumbai to Toronto. As noted in the Toronto Life review, “(they) thought that Indian food wasn’t properly represented in Toronto—that there was way too much butter chicken and naan—so they wanted to introduce dishes that are more regional to Mumbai.”
The event is free and open to everyone, a great opportunity to try five of the city’s best restaurants in one place. It all starts at 8pm at the Drake Hotel at 1150 Queen West.