When it comes to halal options, the variety in the Greater 91原创 Area has increased in recent years, with more food representing different geographic and generational cooking. To celebrate Eid-al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, here are four restaurants I recommend checking out.
Matari Coffee
Khatab Hameed opened听Matari Coffee听last July at the听Erin Mills听Centre plaza at听3465 Platinum Dr. in Mississauga. The shop, named after the听Bani Matar coffee-growing region, is听as yet the only non-U.S. branch of a company听with headquarters in Michigan ().
The beans here, some roasted in Michigan and some at the Mississauga shop, have a strong cocoa aroma with a tart cherry tang听at the听finish.
For first-timers, the pour-over coffee听is the best way to taste the beans in their purest form. The san’ani is a plain cup of medium roast coffee with a hint of cardamom; the mofawar is a version with cream. The drink that鈥檚 popular with coffee farmers, says Hameed, is qishr, a nutty and light-tasting brew of coffee husks with cinnamon and ginger.听
While Yemen isn鈥檛 as big of a coffee producer today, compared to, say, Brazil and Vietnam, the country is integral to coffee鈥檚 history. The word 鈥渕ocha鈥 comes from the听, which served as a major port for the coffee trade dating back to the 15th century.
Due to the ongoing civil war in Yemen, getting beans over here takes a while, but Hameed says it鈥檚 worth it 鈥 not听only because the brews are good, but it鈥檚 also a sign of resilience. 鈥淲hen the war started,鈥 he says, 鈥減eople went back to (growing) coffee and thought, 鈥楾his is our pride; we should stick with something positive. It鈥檚 our hope.鈥欌
Pizza Karachi
It鈥檚 hard to听single out just one restaurant at the Erin Mills Centre plaza, as this sprawling complex with dozens of restaurants and takeout spots has become a major GTA food destination in the two years since it opened.
A short walk from Matari Coffee is this halal pizza joint at听3960 Eglinton Ave. W.,听which founder Athar Amir describes as 鈥淚taly meets Karachi.鈥
鈥淧izza is really popular, especially in Karachi (Pakistan), just like any big city with people from all walks of life, where people bring their food to share,鈥 says Amir.
The pizzas here are akin to the thicker, doughier, American-style pies popularized globally by chains like Pizza Hut, but with milk in the dough, there鈥檚 an extra creaminess.
Since opening the first of four locations, Amir says听the three most popular pies听are the spicy Mirchi Sauga, topped with chicken tikka, green peppers, roasted chilies, cilantro and onions; the less-spicy Afghani Feast, with a white pepper cream sauce, chicken tikka, red onions, tomatoes, black olives, jalapenos, roasted green chili and tzatziki;听and for听meat lovers, the Gosht Khor, with red听sauce, beef pepperoni, beef salami, chicken tikka, minced beef, hot peppers and onion.听There are also cheese, chicken kebab or beef kebab stuffed-crust options.
鈥淲e wanted to make it spicier, more flavour, which is closer to our traditional food,鈥 he says.
Amir听wants people to eat in, as the pizzeria is his throwback to the glory days of pizza buffets he visited with his family听as a kid in Windsor. As an added incentive to dine in, the pies are delivered to the table by a roving robot.
鈥淭en, 20 years ago you used to have the sit-down pizzerias, and we don鈥檛 have that anymore. So I want to bring that back.鈥
Crown Pastries
It was eight years ago when brothers Ismail and听Rasoul听Alsalha were rolling phyllo dough in听the bare-bones basement kitchen of their Crown Pastries dessert shop at the Wexford Heights Plaza in Scarborough, introducing 91原创nians to the delicate baklava that鈥檚 been in their family for generations (their grandfather used to have a bakery in Aleppo, Syria).听
鈥淚 remember when a customer came, we鈥檇 have to stop everything, wash our hands, cover the dough and go upstairs to help them,鈥 recalls Rasoul.听
The baklava 鈥斕齱hich goes easy on the syrup,听letting the flavours of the flaky pastries and pistachios shine through听鈥斕齱as an immediate hit.
Around this time, in the mid-2010s, other ventures such as Soufi鈥檚 in West Queen West and Newcomer Kitchen in Brockton Village popped up,听which created a bigger appetite for Syrian flavours throughout the GTA. The brothers opened a听second location of Crown Pastries, then a third and a fourth. In April 2023, a flagship 14,000-square-foot production kitchen opened at听1279 Kennedy Rd., not too far from the still-standing original location.
During Ramadan, the bakery听makes special items such as walnut-stuffed atayef, a folded pancake-like dessert eaten at the end of the day; ma鈥檃rouk, a date-filled sweet bread; and machabak, a crispy spiral of fried dough,听dipped in syrup.听
While the brothers have locations in Vaughan, Scarborough, Oakville and Mississauga, it鈥檚 only at the flagship location where they also serve breakfast and brunch. There听are Turkish pides, falafel, hearty dips like hummus and听mutabal; waffles and crepes; cheesy kunafa; and听bowls of foul that come with housemade pitas and pickled vegetables.听The Alsalhas鈥 favourite is the fatteh: crispy pita chips with cashews and chickpeas, smothered in a lemony garlic tahini yogurt.听
Chachee鈥檚 Chai Cafe
Big-box stores dominate the stretch of听Scarborough鈥檚 Golden Mile just east of Warden, along Eglinton Avenue East, but south of that intersection is a mini treasure trove of independent eateries. One of them is 听at 69 Lebovic Ave., a听chai bar run by siblings and lifelong Scarborough residents Maisara and Zubair Memon.听
The cafe,听originally called Chachi鈥檚, after听their dad鈥檚 鈥淗appy Days鈥-inspired childhood nickname, is becoming听Chachee鈥檚 to avoid confusion with a Canadian restaurant chain called Chachi鈥檚.听
鈥淲e felt like there was a lack of representation for the second generation of South Asians,鈥 says Maisara. 鈥淲e wanted the stuff we grew up with at home and stuff we鈥檇 find in 91原创.鈥
For the duo, that means extra-saucy butter chicken poutine and giant masala chicken cheesesteaks sharing a menu听with classic karak chai (a rich and creamy masala chai), faloodas (an ice-cream shake with basil seeds, vermicelli and jelly) and third-wave espresso drinks.
Since opening in March 2020, the cafe has grown popular with area students听who needed a place to study and hang out, as well as with night owls听seeking a post-dinner coffee.
鈥淒uring the evenings, it鈥檚 super busy because people want to get out, try new things, and just socialize,鈥澨齭ays听Zubair.
In 2022, the Memons opened a second location in Pickering, and听are working on a third in Mississauga.
鈥淚n Scarborough you鈥檒l find more of the OG (halal restaurants) that came up in the 鈥80s and 鈥90s,鈥 says Maisara. 鈥淲hereas Mississauga has more fusion and younger people opening up (restaurants).鈥
Correction听鈥 April 8, 2024
This article previously identified Chachi’s as a west coast chai bar. It is, in fact, a Canadian restaurant chain.听
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