Fantastic Lebanese fusion style food…read more Every dish was fantastic with many mixes of items. Even the vegetarian items were extremely flavorful. Loved the chicken and the beef kabobs Nice weather? Sit outside Extremely nice staff..... owner let me swear in Lebanese and the staff lost it Would definitely come back Highly recommended

I had business Partner lunch on Friday on their patio with the great weather. This was my first…read moretime at the restaurant and have to say amazing experience the service, the food & just overall ownership of the restaurant is amazing very great experience a go to for my next meeting in the area & will highly recommend to my clients & business partners. The best Lebanese food I have had in the GTA ever and I have been to a lot over the years.

Talk about getting more than your money's worth in a meal! Loaded with a generous amount of…read moreflavorful lentils, seasoned rice, lots and lots of meat, and the fluffiest borek this was one of the best meals I've had in a minute! This couldn't be finished in one go and we had to take it home for leftovers. We ended up getting an extra 3 servings. Hot tip: we had a lot of leftover meat, so we shoved it in a croissant and added a bit of garlic sauce and it was incredible!

I'm so happy that Istanbul in Canada is now located by Niagara Falls closer to the bridges and the…read morestates. I was fortunate enough to stop in and try their mixed grill, feta cheese pide, lava cake, knaffeh, kefta and chicken kabob platter all of which I highly recommend. Their bread for appetizers was fluffy and rich. Their baklava w/ ice cream was the best we've ever had. The knaffeh had the perfect amount of sweetness and was matched with their traditional Turkish tea. Their service was great. The gentlemen matched our interests with the menu and often checked in to make sure we were ok without being over bearing. The food was absolutely delicious and we were very happy we stopped in. The atmosphere was quiet as we noticed some people sit in but their takeout services are in high demand. Great location, fantastic food, truly a new hidden gem at just 8 mins from Rainbow bridge . The Mississauga location has been raved about for so long. I still have to visit but I am glad they are promoting together online and on IG which is how I found this one so close to home! Thank you!

Having been to the original location of Darna on Bayview Avenue multiple times (as Darna is one of…read moremy favourite Middle Eastern restaurants in the city), we decided to give their new location in Roncesvalles a visit. The menu was exactly the same, and the food, service, and ambiance were also almost identical to its original location - 5 out of 5 in all aspects. The menu can be described as "modern Middle Eastern", and is categorized into: - Mezze (the typical dips such as hummus, labneh, mutabal, muhammara, etc. - served with bread) - Shakshuka (different variations of shakshuka, which is a dish of poached eggs & tomatoes served with bread, typically eaten for breakfast or brunch) - Salata (Middle Eastern salads such as fattoush, jarjeer, tabouleh, freekeh salad... many contain typical ingredients used in Middle Eastern / Mediterranean cuisines such as halloumi, walnuts, pomegranates, and bulgur) - Mashawi (grilled items) - Fukhara (braised stews in clay pot) - Sawani (traditional oven-baked cassserole) - Darna Signature (their signature dishes - I recommend the Siadiyeh but I'm sure all are delicious) For most mains, you get to choose to have them with either rice or bulgur. If you come with a big group, I recommend getting at least 1 item from each group to try the different dishes styles and cooking methods (grill, stew in clay pot, oven-baked casserole, etc.). They also have a small brunch menu that consists of omelettes, manakeesh (Middle Eastern flatbread), and a "brunch for 2 tray". All of their dishes are great for sharing. Review of the dishes we ordered: 1) Falafels - This was given to us as a complimentary appetizer on the house. How very nice of them! The falafels were excellent - green-ish inside, indicating that they incorporated some green herbs as part of the chickpeas mix. They were aromatic, flavourful, perfectly crispy on the outside and soft in the inside. 2) Baba Ghanoush (tower of eggplant, bell peppers, green onion, coriander, parsley, chopped walnuts) - We always get this appetizer every time we come to Darna. It's not your typical baba ghanoush (the eggplant dip), but a beautiful tower of nicely constructed thick eggplant slices with bell peppers, green onion, coriander, parsley, an chopped walnuts for a nice crunch. We were able to order it without the pomegranate molasses (not a fan of sweet sticky stuff). It was already very flavourful without the pomegranate molasses. This was the prettiest dish on the menu IMO, like a work of art. 3) Jarjeer Salad (arugula, red onion, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms slices, carrot, walnuts, sumac) - Nice fresh salad as an accompaniment to the other main dishes. We were able to have it without the halloumi cheese and dressing as requested. 4) Mashawi (grill) - Lavraki (whole Mediterranean sea bass, stuffed with garlic and parsley, served with coriander potatoes and tomato-based sauce) - I was hoping for whole actual cloves of garlic or tons of chopped garlic inside the fish, but didn't see or find any. I didn't really taste the garlic, but it was still great nonetheless. (I prefer grilled fish and seafood with just minimal seasoning so the actual fish / seafood taste shines.) The potatoes that it came with were just so-and-so, but the tomato-based sauce was good - it had small chopped pieces of bell peppers. 5) Fukhara (braised stew in a clay pot) - Vegetarian Fukhara (potatoes, carrots, onions, bell peppers, eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, cauliflower, and vegetarian za'atar gravy) - This is another dish we always order at Darna. Ours was served with bulgur, which paired nicely with the load of soft veggies. The vegetarian za'atar gravy tasted heavenly, and I loved the variety of vegetables in this dish (especially the zucchini, cauliflower, and eggplant). 6) Sawani (traditional oven-baked casserole) - Bahri (Mediterranean sea bass fillet, shrimps, calamari, bell peppers, tomatoes, onion, garlic, coriander), served with specialty rice (seasoned yellow rice with fried onion and slivered almonds) - The "specialty rice" was really good! I loved the crunch from the slivered almonds. It paired really well with the very saucy Bahri. The sea bass was perfectly tender and soft, the calamari was perfect without being chewy or rubbery, and the shrimps were alright. The tomato-based sauce that it came with was very delicious as well. If you still have room for dessert, their selection consists of some of the best Middle Eastern desserts including pistachio knafeh.

I was here for lunch based on Yelp reviews and was pleasantly surprised by amazing food, dining…read moreexperience and elegant decor!

Food here is amazing. Customer service here is good…read more Cute little place in a rough area. But very cute.

Category: Ethnic (Turkish), Casual…read more I've got takeout from here twice and both times the food was amazing. I got the family platter for 4 but there was enough food for 5. It was a feast. The kebobs are juicy and deliciously smoky, cooked on charcoal. The humus appetiser was delicious and creamy. The meal came with amazing freshly baked lafa bread. Great food.

This place is a 10/10 for me. The food is always good every time I've been there. Recently I…read moreordered the chicken mandi with salad and rice, probably one of the many great dishes they offer there. The ambiance is very well laid out, lots of space for small and large gatherings. Customer service is also great. If you're ever in the area, check this place out, you will not be disappointed.

Xawaash is great if you love air conditioning. The restaurant has a lot of space, making it easy to…read morewalk in for dining; it seems like a place where takeout is more popular. You place your order at the front even if you are dining in, and they'll bring the food to your table afterwards. I had a chicken shawarma, a mango lassi, and a couple dessert items. If you like honey barbecue sauce on your shawarma, they do have that here! The food is decent but nothing I would go out of the way to have again or to try.

First time eating this restaurant It's really delicious!…read more I was attracted by the shawarma and ordered chicken shawarma wrap immediately I love the sauce! It is homemade. And the ingredients are fresh! I enjoy chatting with the owner. He is super nice! I'm glad to live in this neighbourhood which means I can eat frequently. My friend orders beef kabob and it is grilled right after you order! Fresh and hot! Looking forward to try more! Overall, wonderful customer service with yummy food. A definite yes to come here for a grab!

Waited over 15 minutes for one falafel wrap, and unfortunately it wasn't worth the wait. Although…read morefreshly made, the flavour was really lacking. The falafels were quite bland and the wrap as a whole didn't have much flavour. I didn't taste any tahini nor hummus. The vegetables also lacked seasoning. I asked for the wrap to be spicy, but there was no hot sauce to be found. I think it would've helped add some flavour. The space is nicely decorated, with limited seating, and the service was friendly. I was hoping for a better experience based on the great reviews and high star rating. I don't think I'll return.

I had a few minutes before I had to hop into the Danforth Music Hall for a show, so I figured I'd…read moregrab a quick bite at Zaad. I walked in and the first thing I noticed was how loud the music was. I don't want to sound like an old fuddy duddy, but the volume was at a level you would usually associate with a popular bar or nightclub. And since the only other people in there was a family of three, it really didn't make any sense. Anyway, I figured I'd forge ahead and grab the Lamb and Beef Shawarma Saj ("Mix of lamb and beef shawarma wrapped in a 12-inch traditional middle eastern style flatbread") and I requested that with everything and extra spicy. It's fine. They put way too much sauce and there were zero crispy meat bits, but it basically satisfied my shawarma craving. It's a lot of food, too, so much so that I didn't even finish. Zaad has plenty of potential (first turn down that music and focus on getting that meat crispy) but they're not quite there yet.

I was at a concert at the Danforth Music Hall and was looking to grab a quick bite after the show…read more Saw Zaad was just across the street and went in. It was quite late so it wasn't busy but they were still fulfilling online orders. We ordered and ate. It took a bit for me to get to order but I think it's just because they didn't realize we were doing separate orders. Overall it was good. My only complaint was that they were basically out of tomatoes so I just got two sad looking slices in my whole wrap. Otherwise, food was tasty (I had the saj which was a bit messy). I'm not in a rush to go back but it was solid.

For a few years I've been eyeing this restaurant. The place looks cute in photos, the menu sounds…read moredelicious. Finally being in the area one day, I popped in for a late lunch (luckily there was space, it's a fairly small restaurant) and I'm glad I tried it out. I kept it simple as I was dining solo, so went with the Chicken Levant plate, with rice/lemtils and hummus. If you think you know what hummus tastes like bc you picked up a tub at your grocery store, think again. This hummus had a deep rich flavour that just oozed deliciously good food. The chicken was nice and juicy, the rice/lentils were cooked to perfection. I honestly don't know what more to say then simply, it tasted lovely. A small salad accompanied it. Feel free to add sauce (extra $2, I chose the hot honey one). Definitely want to come back To try their other dishes, brunch, mint tea etc.

I can't even tell you how many times I've walked by The Haifa Room and been like, I really need to…read morego there sometime. So when the opportunity to pop in arose on a recent night out, I was thrilled to finally stop inside. I was very intrigued by all the cocktails, but I eventually decided to try the Siti Zainab ("dill infused gin + aquavit + dry vermouth + dill olive oil"). I chose correctly because it's terrific. The unusual flavors all work really well together, and I can safely say it's one of the better cocktails I've had recently. Even though we'd just eaten dinner, we figured we should grab some food, so we wound up ordering the 2pc Beef Kofta ("harissa tahini") and it promptly blew my mind. I've had plenty of kofta in my time, but this was perhaps the best of the bunch. It's so flavorful and super tender. Honestly I could've eaten about a hundred of those things. For dessert, we got the Labneh Cheesecake ("pistachio + hazelnut + baharat strawberry preserve") and it's just as good and so, so satisfying. Yeah, The Haifa Room is a top-notch little place. We'll definitely be back.