Halleluia Restaurant - So good!

[magic]

Halleluia Restaurant on Eglinton, at Bathurst. Been curious about it for a few years, since it first opened. Finally went. Phenomenal! Fresh, perfectly prepared food. Warm, professional service. Garlic dill potatoes that should be outlawed they are so insanely good. Perfect soups. Beautiful meats. The decor could use a boost, kind of aging and without an identity. Otherwise I can't wait to go back.

[afici0nad0]

you guys recommend yummy grill in thornhill?

[macika]

Halleluia seemed that it's out of business...we wanted to go there last night, but it was closed.
iil mulino was empty too...2-3 years ago it was a fav of ours...organized many interesting wine events, sent regular newsletter out to regulars, there was good buzz around this place...now, nothing, empty...anyone been lately??
sette mezzo changed "hands"...new owners now and place re-done a bit...owner is the chef too, wife greats, serves, runs floor...look "grounded" people, not as "hip" as owner before...wonder what happened to him, Sol...? we had appetizers only and they were decent.
here you go, news for you from eglinton west...

[Ediblethoughts]

Darn! I had that one on my list of placess to go to. Seems you wait a little too long and you lose!

[canadianbeaver]

Did it have a sign or it was just not open? Maybe I'll give them a call to make sure.

[macika]

sign said "closed"...the whole place looked deserted...

[canadianbeaver]

That is very sad news!

[The__Rock]

Just called the Yummy Grill location who confirmed that the Bathurst/Eglinton Halleluia location has CLOSED.

Strange as last week, I placed $1200 in orders from work and everything seemed fine. I did think it was unusual that for a while now, Hallelluia was taken off the website, and whenever i went past there, it was always dead inside.

[Ediblethoughts]

Any idea why when I google this place (looking for a menu), the Yummy Grill pops up? I'm assuming these aren't the same places?

[magic]

Halleluia and Yummy are owned by the same people.

Glad you liked Mashu Mashu. It's one of my favourite restaurants in Toronto.

Next time try their 'Mashu Mashu' salad. To die for. And order their chicken souvlaki too!

[Ediblethoughts]

We did have the mashu mashu salad. I rarely eat chicken so I probably won't do the chicken souvlaki--but I will try some of that rainbow trout...

[food face]

The Rainbow trout comes hot on an iron plat and the portion is massive (ofcourse). I just ate some eggplant on pita from my fridge. Yum.

[Ediblethoughts]

Good to know! Thanks.

[Tatai]

I have a feeling that Hallelujah and Yummy Grill might have parted company: Yummy no longer has any mention of Hallelujah on its website. Hallelujah, on the other hand, hasn't even got a website anymore.

[wickalicious]

Actually, when I was there last week we noticed that a few things had dropped off the menu at Hallelujah (including the plov and the cheboureky). The waitress mentioned that the sister restaurant in the north part of the GTA still has the whole menu...so perhaps it's not that they've parted company, just that the powers that be have decided to focus more on Yummy Grill (?).

[Ediblethoughts]

Yeah, I don't like to go to a restaurant unless I can review the menu in advance. Too bad because I'd like to try out Hallelujah...

[Chester Eleganté]

Just look at the Yummy website, it should be essentially the same menu, but maybe without some of the Uzbek items. The cheboureky also was missing from the northern location. At Yummy Grill, I consider the ground lamb/beef kebab pita and the dill garlic potatoes to be among the must-try items. The tomato chutney that accompanies the lamb samsa (samosa) is also a refreshing hit.

[Ediblethoughts]

Any good veg stuff besides the dill garlic potatoes? (Do you know if the manti (dumplings) are vegetarian? I've always wanted to try hot borsch.

[wickalicious]

My recollection is that the manti are filled with meat (probably lamb).

[Ediblethoughts]

Oh well. Good to know. Thanks.

[Chester Eleganté]

It's like other restaurants of its ilk -- not much on the veg side apart from salads, dips, and falafel.

[Ediblethoughts]

I`ve actually found middle eastern places have a good selection of veg food: In addition to what you refer to above, there is usually lentil soup, hummus, lentil and rice dishes, eggplant (fried or some other way), garlic tomatoes, etc. I find it a much more veg-friendly cuisine than many others, for example, Japanese or eastern Europe.

[urbandreamer]

I am totally in love with the lamb kabob and falafel sandwiches--best in Toronto. Haven't tried their mains yet...but am curious to try them.

I chatted with the staff and they are "working on changes" soon--perhaps a facelift for the place, as it always appears so empty...sad, as it's so yummi!

[macika]

Agreed!
We went there for the food, nothing else!
Although, the chef/owner is a character...funny guy...
We used to do take out a lot from there too as it's in the neighborhood.
Haven't been for a while...so, we will check it out again soon!

[Sof]

I think that location is closed now, but the same owners opened Yummy Grill in Richmond Hill (Bathurst and Center I think).
I love the baba ganush and salad dressing...I buy them to use at home.

[magic]

The Eglinton location is closed?

[Tatai]

It does actually looked closed from the outside, but I peeked in the other night while walking past, and it was definitely open.

[magic]

Thanks for the info. Appreciated.

[phoenikia]

It was definitely open last Monday. I ordered the shawarma pita and a large beet salad to go. Not sure if their beet salad is always supersalty- but it was way, way too salty for me. Shawarma was generous and non-greasy- but on the dry side, kind of tough, might have been pre-sliced then nuked. Probably not what I should have ordered there.

If I'm on that stretch of Eglinton W and want Middle Eastern food to go, Jerusalem would be my first pick.

[food face]

It appears that a safe bet there is for the Dill fries and shnitzle. For sit down, Jerusalem is great. For quick and satisfying, King Falafel.

[magic]

Ya the first time I was there I was blown away by the food. Since then I've just watched it deteriorate in every respect. Wildly inconsistent would be putting it nicely. Jerusalem is really good. You should check out Mashu Mashu if you haven't already. More the Israeli style of Middle Eastern, but I prefer it even to Jerusalem. Not to take anything away from Jerusalem but Mashu Mashu is that good. At least so says I :)

[Ediblethoughts]

We tried out Mashu Mashu last night and really enjoyed it. While we were a bit surprised at how the "fried eggplant" and garlic tomato looked (not what the Jerusalem or Tabule gives you), the value for these dishes is so good and the quality of each dish is quite respectable. Veggie skewers were very good as was the lentil soup. And biggest surprise was the dessert: The only one we were told was a chocolate souffle---and it was huge and so good! We couldn't finish it--and that's not just because I'd eaten an obscene amount before getting to dessert. Anyway, definitely adding it to my rotation list of places to eat.

[food face]

Edible, I'm so happy you are a Mashu Mashu convert. It really is incredible value for the quality. I have never tried the chocoate souffle. The eggplant is a bit suprising. I find it incredibly delish considering it's a cold app. I sort of wish it was served warm but love it all the same. Good veg options for sure which I bet you like.

[Ediblethoughts]

I think we tried practically every veg option on the menu! I was very surprised to enjoy the eggplant as much as I did esp. given that I was psyched for the hot fried eggplant. This dish is almost like a BBQ-ed eggplant done soft.

[food face]

I went to Halleluia tonight. My only disappointment where the washrooms. The rest of the place is spotless but the washrooms where a disgrace.

I really enjoyed the food... The trout was very fresh. The Potatoes where some of the best and most interesting fries I've had. They are cubed fries. I love the sizzling garlic and flecks of fresh dill on them. It's a real comfort food kind of place. Apparently they are famous for their shnitzel and lamb kabobs.

[juno]

Aside from those remarkably tasty garlic and dill potatoes, there's not much to distinguish Halleluia from six or seven other Russian/Israeli restos around town. All their menus are pretty much the same, as are the prices. Hell, ALL of them do a good rainbow trout - it's almost a failsafe recipe (even I can do it at home). Most of them are pretty good on the other menu items as well, as is Halleluia. Where Halleluia falls down is in the details, like the aforementioned washrooms. Service is up and down. The on- tap beer never seems to be available. And the room is desperately bleak, as I imagine a neighborhood spot in Moscow. If it weren't for those wonderful potatoes - which no other similar Russian/Israeli joint can touch - it wouldn't be worth a special visit across town.

[magic]

Since my first visit and post and I have watched it steadily go down in terms and food quality, consistency, and certainly in their service.

Juno is right, its atmosphere is bleak indeed. And getting worse I found.

I don't really go anymore.

[The__Rock]

My wife and I regularly get food from here, either dine-in, or take out as we live right around the corner. We agree with the comments that there are a few restaurants (Sila, Me Va Me - both great restaurants as well) that pretty much serve the exact same thing for the exact same price. Either way, we would definitely recommend Halleluia (both locations - Yummy Grill in Thornhill), as the food you get for the amount you pay is great. You defininately will have left overs for the next day...i typically eat half of what is served, and save the other half for the next day (and i can eat a LOT of food). If you go on www.menupalace.com, you can get a 10% off coupon for their Thornhill location for Mondays - Thursdays.

[canadianbeaver]

I absolutely agree. It's delicious. Their chicken greek salad is amazing. Every thing we've had there has been perfect.