(Back-to-back Portuguese food in the GTA (is Hamilton included?) - 1 of 2) I was planning to look for a casual Portuguese diner or bakery but it was nearing the hour that they'd all be closing. This meant I had to eat at a regular Portuguese restaurant. I looked on my phone and found this one - Toma-La. I thought it was a weird name. Toma-La sits in a shopping mall along a big north-south artery from Hamilton out toward the airport named Upper James Rd. There is a good sized area of parking right in front of the store. I assumed you went up to the counter to order because I saw other people doing that. There is table service, too. Still, I ordered at the counter and the food was brought out to my table. I don't "do" chicken piri piri and I couldn't settle on anything from the regular menu, as it was later in the evening and I was tired. I looked at their specials menu, which changes (almost) daily, and saw they had salmon. I saw that it came with potatoes. I asked that they not be fries and the platter came with boiled potatoes. Now, being in the "Maple Leaf Country," I didn't worry too much about ordering salmon. (For that matter, I once had a surprisingly good salmon platter at a Denny's near the beach in Jacksonville, FL.) They delivered on the salmon. It was a nice filet and it was very tasty. With the platter, I had a pastel de nata and a bottle of the Sumol maracuja flavored soft drink, which I order often. I liked the ambiance of the restaurant. It's a little boring on the outside, but, inside, it's sort of modern rustic and industrial at the same time. I received very good service and there were other patrons in the restaurant as well as people coming in for Door Dash and Uber Eats. Who does that, anyway? I've never done this Door Dash or Uber Eats thing. Would it be those reasonably well-paid people who tech remotely and have a penchant for Thai food to counterbalance their often accurately profiled personalities? And, along with this service, I got a mini-seminar in culture because I asked about the parts of Portugal and its diaspora that the ownership and employees hailed from, and they were glad to oblige. The prices are standard for a mid-priced ethnic food eatery in a conventional suburban outdoor mall. Also, consider the exchange rate (divide by ~1.33) to arrive at American dollars. Note that the specials are nicely priced and they feature some interesting ones over the course of the week. As for the name, the word "toma" is also found in Spanish and is a verb meaning take. It was told that "toma-la" is a Portuguese expression meaning "take it" and I've also seen it as "toma-la da ca," which means "take it from here." The moral of the story is live and learn ... and eat. read more

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Spectacular. We here for lunch with my dad today. Got the marinated chicken dish which comes with two sides. So much flavour and fantastic portion of meat they give you! The seasonings and flavours are out of this world and stay with you the entire day. Couldn't help but eat everything entirely off my plate. The potatoes are so delicious as well as their piri piri sauce. We also shared onion rings and they were the most flavourful, and crisp crunchy onion rings I've ever had! 10/10 highly recommend! read more

Have ordered the chicken dinners for a family function for several years. Everyone raves about the quality of the food and the quantity is outstanding for the price. We have thought about changing the menu just for some variety but have been unable to find anything that even comes close. We always order the chicken dinner with potatoes and rice as our sides and it exceeds expectations. read more

The food here is the only thing that is good. The restaurant the night of my visit was empty. They have 4 people on staff and the tables are dirty. They have no forks to eat with and when I asked I sat for 30 minutes before they replenished them. I would recommend you find somewhere else to eat. Or just bored the food on line to go. You'll have better luck read more

Driving Upper James looking for a unique stop and came across Toma-La. I had the X-tudo, a chicken cutlet with ham, cheese, fried onions and peppers topped with a fried egg. It's served on a fresh Portuguese bun that I saw then bring in from their bakery, made me happy to know it wasn't frozen or from yesterday. The food was good, seems most people do the chicken which is what I'll be going for next visit with some rice. The place smells amazing, uses a real charcoal grill and has a selection of European candy and beverages. They also feature custard tarts (Natas). The only downfall is really their service is slow. The reason it's slow is because they talk to everyone and take their time with the dishes which is nice but I wouldn't stop here for a very quick lunch. Overall, I wish them luck and will be back for fire grilled Portuguese chicken. Mobark read more

Toma La - Portuguese Near Me - Hamilton, Ontario

Got a half chicken takeout dinner tonight. Chicken overall on the dry side and can't recall ever biting on so many bones in a rotisserie chicken in my life. Amount of sauce is a joke. Overall a disappointment given they ask for $20 for half a chicken with rice and potatoes. One time experience for me. Edit: downgraded to one star, since the food was pretty chatty all night. read more

This Portuguese hot spot is a great place for lunch or dinner. The half chicken dinner is to die for with their signature piri-piri hot sauce! The environment is nice with a smokey smell from the hot barbecue in plain view. The customer service definitely needs work but the food is above average for those who are seeking their Portuguese craves! read more

Toma La - Half Chicken Dinner - Portuguese Near Me - Hamilton, Ontario

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Is your looking for some authentic Portuguese treats like, BBQ, sandwiches, pastéis de bacalhau, etc... This is THE PLACE!

I like this Portuguese restaurant a lot. The lunch sandwich are so good, and the roasted chicken are fresh and juicy. Portuguese peri peri sauce fits perfectly with the chicken. Don't forget the portuguese tart to end up a perfect meal. read more

This place has great Portuguese food at reasonable prices. I had the X-Tudo Pork Sandwich ($8.00) and it was absolutely wonderful - nice Portuguese bun just loaded with ingredients, topped with piri-piri sauce. My wife had the Pulled Chicken Sandwich ($6.00) and was just as impressed. The sandwich was too big for her, so she took half home. She also raved about the custard tart (Nata, $1.75) she added. Definitely a restaurant to come back to. read more

I have to admit, they have the best chicken in town! It's barbecued with real charcoal, and not propane. It's so tasty,especially with their piri piri sauce on top. We always get the sauce on the side though, so we can add as much as we like. Their salad is very fresh, and lots of variety of vegetables to choose from. The Parisian potatoes are to die for. We always order the same dish; a whole chicken dinner with two sides. It always tastes excellent. Thanks for your wonderful service. Love the smell. Just thinking about it makes me soooo hungry! read more

The smell from the outside of the restaurant is super appetizing. We decided to try it as people nearby told us it was great. I'm not sure if i ordered the wrong thing or not... but it was not very good. I had some pickled pork dish. The pickled vegetables overpowered the dish and the pork was quite dry. My mom and sisters dishes were great! I don't think pork is their specialty, but apparently their chicken is quite good!! The doughnuts are quite delicious to be fair! The restaurant is not overly clean and the service is not the best. I think I ordered the right thing and I'd b willing to try it again if I were ever in the area. Pretty good food. read more

I visited this place today at lunch and will never go back. The place is smoked right out due to the open charcoal pit that is used to cook their chicken. Dont wear anything nice, your clothes need to go in the trash after. I ordered the pulled chicken sandwich.....yuk, I should have went across the parking lot to Taco Bell and spent less for better quality! The girl who took my order needs an attitude adjustment along with their other miserable employees that were frumping around. After waiting 25 minutes and witnessing the employees texting on their cell phones I finally received my sandwhich. With only one order to make before mine, I can't fathom how it took 25 minutes to make this piece of garbage. The place doesnt sell a big enough bottle of water to wash down this salty sandwich. Save your money, your clothes and your mind and go elsewhere. read more

Awesome, just awesome. Steak sandwich, mmmmmm. Whole chicken, mmmmmm. Rice & potato balls, that's right mmmmmmmm.

Coming from Burlington it was a bit of a hike, put worth it. First of all the smell of charcoal as you approach the restaurant is wonderful. I pre-ordered and when I arrived it's was ready ready to go and nice and hot, I ordered two whole chicken and 4 sides, two potatoes and two rice orders, also got an order of olives and 6 Custer tarts. All came up to $60 bucks, great value. This could feed 6 adults easy. Food was great, the chicken was so flavourful and that taste of charcoal is off the charts, potato were wonderful cook perfect with a great sauce! Same with the rice great flavour with all there food, that's what makes the place special! I will definitely be ordering from toma La again, not sure if I would eat there as it is kind of smoking, put that's what you get when your doing BBQ the right way, keep up the great work Toma La!! read more

Tonight was my 3rd visit at Toma la. It has a clean and appealing interior and is touted as a Portuguese pit stop. I've had the Chicken, on another visit I had the Steak and this evening the Bacalhou. In my opinion the Portuguese are know for their excellent chicken and fish dishes, especially the many variations of Bacalhou (cod). The chicken was good. It's cooked on an indoor charcoal BBQ. It was tender and flavorful. I should have known better than to order a steak on my second visit. Even by fast food standards it was average at best. Not tough but definitely grey and chewy. A 2 beverage meal. One isn't enough to wash it down. Tonight I ordered the Bacalhou a` Lagareiro for take- out with the vegetables in olive oil. They said it would be 20 minutes but it took 40. No big deal but when I got home I found the center of the fish was raw. Not under cooked, raw, inedible. I could have tossed it in a frying pan and cooked it myself but I threw out. If I felt like cooking I would have bought the ingredients at the Fortinos supermarket in the same plaza and made Bacalhou a Bras (not on Toma la's menu). It's easy and I could have prepared it in less than 40 minutes. I don't think I will go back to Toma la. read more

What a disappointment. 5 people working not one of them could smile. The tables were dirty, the chicken cold and dried out, the rice was cold and they increased their prices. I guess the take out is what keeps them in business - you don't see the dirty tables and you figure you're meal is cold because it was a pickup so by the time you get to it it's cooled off. There's lots of piri piri restaurants out there to chose from. Do yourself a favour and go anywhere but here. read more

I want this shared throughout social media. Toma Lá restaurant has terrible service that was shown today with an order I placed. My mother had gone to pick it up. First of all it was placed on 1 flimsy tray with shallow edges (very bendable) and no help was actually offered. The salad was barely even wrapped. So when my mom had to carry it out of the store part of the corner collapsed spilling almost half of the food (couldn't completely hold it under cuz it was hot) the girl holding the salad just stood there jaw agape. When I called to find out if they could do anything to help, they denied that the trays used had ever dropped food but admitted they were flimsy but never thought to double or even use the higher edged ones. They had the gall to offer to make me more food but that I would have to pay for it!!! I had already spent over $100 just for this food and terrible service!!! Never again!!! read more

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The portions were very generous with chicken and rice and potatoes. Not to mention, Delicious ! A great diner indeed.

Food is generally good. The service is ALWAYS horrible. If you want decent Portuguese food but don't mind terrible customer service, this is your spot. read more

You must get the piri piri chicken, spicy!! Love it, excellent fries too!!!! Best Portuguese food around. The bacalhau a bras is good too!! Must get a Pasteis De Nata for desert!!! Excellent authentic food! read more

The men cooking the great show.The service is horrendous.I am sure they do not want to work.They make sandwiches and had no buns.Two hours before closing was the excuse.So very last.Shame on you.Never going back.The orders are taking from such unprofessionals.They treat customers very very poorly. read more

Their food is good, prices are a bit higher but understandable for the great location. Service is always great. Authentic Portuguese food. I wouldn't say it's as much to rave about as everyone says but I still order takeout regularly. If I can, I make the drive to Burlington to the nearest Nandos for better read more

If I could give this place negative stars for customer service, I would. Granted - the chicken is delicious (hence the one star), but it isn't worth the belligerent and rude customer service that you receive. The first few times we gave them the benefit of the doubt and thought they were just having a bad day, but after 4 separate absolutely terrible customer service experiences, I wouldn't eat here if it was the last restaurant on earth. I've never been to an eatery who made you feel like you had to accommodate THEM, not the other way around. It's like they go out of their way to treat you like garbage... read more

I've been to this location 3 times but only managed to leave with food once. The other two times I was told I had to wait an hour for a chicken dinner so I left. I don't understand how they are still in business if they let people leave without food. Who on earth would wait an hour for chicken? I can make a chicken dinner in that time at home myself. There won't be a 4th time..... read more

$18 for a half chicken diner and drink. at that price the bird should have been great. it was ok. Not the worst I have had but not even close to the brickyard in brampton. read more