Madras Pantry?

[Foodiegal]

has anyone been to Madras Pantry yet (across from Trinity Bellwoods Park, Queen West). Dying to go, looking for any recommendations....everything looks great!

[Eatertainer]

it did look nice when i went in to try ordering a dosa and a mango lassi.

But, the kid taking orders was more interested in shamelessly trying to pick-up a woman who was waiting for her order. i got the impression that my asking for a dosa confused him and he thought I was trying to get in the middle of his "action". After being ignored for the 3rd time, i turned and headed for the door...the good news
..one of the cooks behind the corner heard me order the lassi and handed it to me as i walked away. i didn't have the patience to return to the cash and attempt to pay. So, thanks to the cook who gave me the free drink.

[sarnya]

Anybody out there know if Madras Pantry is officially closed? The signage is gone and there's paper covering up the windows. I've only heard rumours is closed and this BlogTO article is the only mention of it.

http://www.blogto.com/deadpool/2009/1...

If it did close, I'm pretty surprised...it just opened. It's not even there on Google Street view, which was taken around mid/late July. It's too bad... I enjoyed my butter chicken dosa and mango lassi from there. I was looking forward to sipping a cool mango lassi next summer but it looks like it wasn't meant to be.

[childofthestorm]

Go to Gandhi. The butter chicken roti will be better anyway.

[sarnya]

I've been going there for 2 years... It's a great place when you want to enjoy some quality butter chicken at home. Sadly, Gandhi is closed on weekends and Mother India is a bit of a hike from my place.

[num nums]

TasteTO seems to have confirmed that it's indeed closed a few days ago:
http://www.tasteto.com/2009/11/22/t-o...

I only tried it once and my experience was similar to others. I wasn't impressed that the dosa was premade and the filling was only luke warm. I ate in so I was eating it immediately. The decor was very nice though.

It's too bad though. It's nice that they tried to do something a bit different.

[LemonLauren]

do they have anything other than dosas? are there vegetarian friendly selections for dosas? thanks :)

[deelicious]

Yes, they have a mushroom medley veggie version. Havent tried it yet. Could be another veggie option too but I am not 100%.

[thebutcher]

I tried it yesterday for the first time and thought it was delicious. I had the Butter Chicken - nice flavour on the chicken, bit of heat, fresh ingrediants and great value for $7 (including taxes). Next time though I would put a hold on the curried potatoes that accompany this selection as it made it too heavy/filling. Very friendly services and the place is beautiful. Nice touch of self serve lemon water and while waiting I scanned the Indian groceries for sale on the side - will be back for some mint chutney and I'd love to try the Tandoori Shrimp Dosa.

[deelicious]

Its OK.

The dosa is very good and a great addition to the neighbourhood but the butter chicken filling lacks any kind of richness or depth of flavour. It was however great quality and perfectly cooked. I hate to say it but I think Pita Pita butter chicken would taste like this if they offered it. borrrrring.

Today I tried the beef. It was too tough to eat the wrap easily. I didnt mind the chew so much as the large chunks of beef that were impossible to manage because of the chew. Every bite and you were pulling out huge chunks of beef from the wrap...there was no way to "scissor" off a bite. The flavouring was good, but the pieces need to be a quarter the size or a better quality, less chewy, cut.

Welcome to my hood!

[chocabot]

I haven't tried it but bf did the week after they opened.
He said the Butter Chicken version was the best of the types he tried.
Their dosa is like a folded crepe and they make them ahead (assuming to deal with rushes) so aside from the fusion fillings, the dosa part is not the same as a dosa from Madras Masala or Udupi Palace.
He also tried a mango lassi and said it was too sweet.

I love the idea of another dosa place. The space is really beautiful too.
It's too bad this one doesn't seem worthwhile.

[visualhornet]

Went there on opening day. One of there Dosa hot plates wasn't working so took about 30min to get order. Also they ran out of a couple of ingredients so limited menu. I do recall the Beef was really good. The Tandoori Salmon not so much and the Jerk Chicken was rather disappointing. Will definitely give it a second chance. As opening days never seem to run that smooth. The owner of nyood and kultura has some involvement so, nice to see what changes the make.

[so_overrated]

I didn't know "Jerk Chicken" was apart of traditional southern indian food.

[Kasia]

i don't think there is any claim that this is a traditional dosa place, quite the contrary. it is a hand sandwich made with dosa, stuffed with a variety of fillings. i haven't tried it yet, but i kinda like the idea (the flavour will have to be there though). i noticed they have a kulfi sign outside - i hope this means that there is finally a west end source for this yummy treat.

[gregclow]

There has "finally" been a "west end source" for kulfi for YEARS. Several of them, in fact. Just head to Parkdale - there are a number of South Asian groceries along Queen Street that sell kulfi. Even some of the convenience stores in the 'hood stock it.

[Kasia]

good to know. i don't shop in parkdale often enough and when i do it's almost always at a tiny caribbean store. my oversight.

a propos kulfi, i tried it at madras pantry this weekend and it wasn't very good. the lassi wasn't great either - too thick and overly sweet.