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Chef of India
Categories: Restaurants Indian Restaurants Buffets Indian, Buffets [Edit]
30 Eglinton Ave EToronto, ON M4P 1A6
Neighbourhoods: Mount Pleasant and Davisville, Yonge and Eglinton
(416) 485-5552
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 11:30 am - 2:30 pm
Mon-Sun 5 pm - 10:30 pm
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
Giuliana B. said: "I'm a big fan of Kamasutra. We've been here on a couple of occasions and have always had a fantastic experience. The food is delicious, and its reasonably priced. My bf is gluten/wheat intolerant so we are always looking fo places…" read more »
17 reviews for Chef of India
17 reviews in English
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Review from Diane-a-Banana M.
Toronto, ON
2/5/2012
Best fish tikka ever!! If we were judging this place on the fish tikka alone it would definitely be 5*. Everything else is absolutely yummy, fresh and delish. No downside - even the service is friendly and efficient.
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Review from Imran N.
4/19/2011
Meh - i don't get it.
My colleagues love coming here. I don't.
The truth is:
-Food could potentially be left overs in the buffet (doesn't taste fresh)
- Meat options are limited
- Appetizers are limited
- Service is a little too much but this may not be something to complain about
- Dessert choices is only between two things.
Why do people love this lunch buffet? It's cheap, but if i'm doing a dirty buffet, i'd do the mandarin over this. And i really don't want to go to the mandarin either.Listed in: Yonge and Egl, I wouldn't do that if i were…
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Review from Terry P.
3/6/2011
Jaipur Grille is my favorite Indian restaurant in the neighborhood, but they have no buffet, making Chef of India the best choice if you're looking to stuff yourself. It is a lunch buffet only - 7 days a week, for $10.99.
The buffet consists of a cold food section, a hot food section, and dessert. The cold food section has carrots, chickpeas, coleslaw, a mixed veggie salad, etc. It's a good chance to get some fresh veggies in you before all the meat and sauces! The hot food section has tandori chicken, curry goat, curry beef, butter chicken, rice, naan, mushroom curry, vegetable pakura, a cauliflower dish, and a spinach dish who's name I also can't recall. There is also yogurt and a a sizable variety of chutneys and other sauces.
Desserts are rice pudding and Gulab Jamun - basically deep fried balls of dough in a sweet syrup - if you haven't tried it, it's better than it sounds!
In my experience it's never really busy there, but enough that the food is fresh. It's actually a very peaceful place to sit and have a leisurely lunch on a Sunday afternoon. The food is not amazing and some times the meats don't seem to be of the highest quality - but in my opinion, it is exactly what you should expect from a buffet.Listed in: Yonge and Eglinton Highlights
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Review from V M.
Toronto, ON
12/31/2011
I went there for an event. The downsides:
1) Extremely rude waitress. She asked us to move tables without cross-checking that we were actually a part of the event. Later, she actually yelled at our group to move as we lined up to pay the bill.
2) Food was luke-warm/cold. The palak paneer was really bad and had a funny taste to it. When we mentioned it to the staff, we were told that nobody had else had complained about it!
The upside:
1) Had a variety of dishes. That's about it!
Go there if you have no other option to eat. There are lots of other Indian places in Toronto that have much better food and service. -
Review from Monica B.
Toronto, ON
11/17/2010
I've been to Chef of India may times in the past. This restaurant is located above a salon and it's in a great location.
Upon walking in, you're greeted by a kind worker who seats you in the dimmed-lighted, nicely decorated restaurant. The restaurant has soft Indian instrumental music playing, and deep colors that put you to ease. It's pretty clean and spacious too, but there aren't a lot of people there most of the time.
While looking through the menu, you're given complimentary papadums to snack on. The menu consists of appetizers, soups, and Indian meat, vegetarian and seafood delicacies. They also have many rice and bread options, chutney's, desserts and drinks such as lassi and mango juice.
The food has generally been good. Once in a while you feel like you're eating re-heated food. The naan bread is a hit and miss- sometimes it's great, and other times it's too flaky and hard. The portions are good but can be better, and it's a little pricey. Also, The dessert menu consists of ras-malai (sweet cheese balls drowned in sugared cream), gulab jamun (fried milk balls in sugar syrup), kulfi (Indian ice-cream), masala tea (spiced Indian tea with milk) and more. The dessert portions are tiny and overpriced, but they're delicious!
I love masala tea; I live on it! The masala tea here is good but once again, the amount you get can be better. This tea is made and put in a small tea-pot for you, and comes with a small cup. However, there have been times where my husband and I have ordered the tea, and they gave us that little pot that is for one person and tell us to share it. That would be fine if they didn't charge us for two teas! The tea is expensive too- $3.50 each for such a small amount.
Furthermore, the service here is good, but it comes to the point of feeling awkward and uncomfortable. The servers are constantly watching you, refilling your water after each sip, did I mention watching you? My friends and I always walk out saying "did you see that? They were staring at us the whole time!" Once, the waiter even walked all the way across the restaurant and fixed my napkin on my lap without saying a word...awkward!
Overall, this is an okay restaurant. I rather eat somewhere else that offers reasonably priced food, larger potions and without feeling awkward. Now, I just walk 4 min east of this restaurant to another Indian restaurant called Banjara- my ultimate favourite Indian place! It's hard to recommend Chef of India since there is a better Indian restaurant only 4 minutes away.Listed in: Yonge & Eglinton
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Review from Phillip Jessie j.
Toronto, ON
12/3/2010
I was here today for the lunch buffet and it was nice.
lots of good indian food; naan, palak paneer, butter chicken, different kids of rice ect. Pretty good selection for most people. Unless you eat 5x your weight in food there should be more than enough variety for you. It tastes good and not like it was just microwaved or something
place is nice, fairly well organized for such a small space but it does seem to fill up quickly. Probably a good idea to make a reservation if you plan on coming here.
all in all a good Indian buffet. -
Review from Karl R.
1/4/2010 12 photos
Indian food I always find best appreciated in the buffet format. A la carte Indian food always seems rather pricey and portions are small. And of course I'm a forkin' pig. Many Indian restaurants offer a buffet setting but always at inconvenient times: Monday to Friday during the lunch hour. Unless you're working in a nearby office, you're basically screwed.
Weekend buffets are much rarer but Chef of India (the Eglinton branch) offers a weekend lunch buffet. I can do that. A very convenient convenience should you be taking in a matinee showing at the nearby Y&E theater
Buffets are always a balance between quality and quantity. Chef of India offers a smaller buffet (small as compared to, say, Mandarin) with your standards and it doesn't skimp on quality. The daal, curry chicken, basmati rice, et al were present and delivered solid taste.
I tend to judge a good Indian buffet by the quality of its tandoori chicken, naan, and pakoras. The naan was right up there. This was no Loblaws quality nann. The tandoori chicken was adequate although it was hard to find some juicer pieces. Pakoras I'm a bit spoiled in that there was a little Indian buffet near an old work place in Bellevue, Washington that -- and I'm not kidding or exaggerating here -- nailed the KFC recipe for its pakoras batter. The pakoras at Chef of India fell far short of that miracle but were good none the less.
My final test for a good Indian buffet is if they have gulab jamun on the dessert end. Gulab jamun are those sweet little balls of friend milk dough in a super sweet syrup. Heaven. Really. Most a la carte Indian restaurants will charge you $5 for one. So to find a big vat of the stuff and you can ladle at will, well, whatever an Indian buffet place charges it makes it worth it. I'm happy to report Chef of Indian has those puppies.
And the price? About $15 (including tax). What would a lunch at Mandarin set you back?
Anyway, good stuff, no skimping on quality, and they serve up all the favorites. -
Review from Constantine N.
Toronto, ON
9/7/2010
Firstly, Chef of India has a really lovely decor inside: both very Indian and very classy.
Most of the dishes that they serve taste very good. However, the only downfall about this place is that for the price, they tend to skimp on some of the items. Therefore, even though the food tends to be very good, you can't help but feel slightly ripped off when you pay $5.99 for two relatively small samosas, or $3.50 for a cup of masala tea. Overall, it's a nice place, if you can stomach some of the prices. -
Review from Jonathan W.
Calgary, AB
9/6/2009
I'm not an experienced Indian gourmand but I came here for the "best" Indian food buffet according to several reviews.
My experience....adequate sums it up. Limited options for the buffet. A few salad options to begin with. Rice, naan, then your standard masala, beef curry, butter chicken, lamb, tandoori chicken. The butter chicken was best but the food overall was far from authentic.
Not too spicy which can be good or bad. Hot and replenished quickly. Overall, if I have a craving I may be back but not anytime soon. -
Review from Nav T.
Toronto, ON
9/14/2011
I sincerely dislike the food at this place. The food is sweet and completely not authentic. Better places to go to around here are Jaipur Grille (great food and lunch value) or Banjara (better food than Chef of India but decor is drab).
My colleagues have also had some terrible experiences with the lunch buffet here. -
Review from Tung L.
Toronto, ON
3/11/2010 1 Check-in Here
Always go there since it is very close to my office.
FOR buffet The lamb is the main food i get, too much milk in the source, is not that bad but not worth it for the price.
IN Order dinner menu, Tast better and smell good... you will smell like it when you eat too much lol still bit costly for what you get.
will go there if project is paying me to do so ^^ -
Review from John F.
North York, ON
1/27/2010
This is a review of the dinner menu, as opposed to the buffet. We stopped here on a pit of a lark - wanted to get out of the house and picked the neighbourhood, then an eating place close to where we wanted to park.
Decor is a bit seedy and some of the decoration look like they may have been left over from a previous restaurant of a different ethnicity (Spanish?) . Don't let this put you off. Food and service were great. Helpful and considerate waiter - he even helped my put my coat on. A split appetizer order of tandoori chicken was tender and nicely presented. Main dishes of madras chicken and lamb vindaloo were also excellent and the lamb was buttery tender. Pistachio kulfi was a nice ending and generously flavoured with cardamom - we'll return to sample the buffet. -
Review from Sanita M.
6/21/2011
I love love love the Butter Chicken here!! Its soo great, amazing taste, just perfectly yummy... Chicken Tikka Masala is also great and one of the yummiest Mango Lassi :) I will come again.. Except I wish it was little little cheaper... and yes.. its always half empty.. more people please, it's great place.. Oh and the service is very friendly... but it takes long time to get your food, so have a little snack before. This is my 2nd favorite Indian kitchen place after Kama.
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Review from Elaine Y.
11/29/2009
I've been here twice and it's definitely not my favorite Indian buffet. The food doesn't seem too fresh and there's not a lot of variety. However the restaurant itself is very spacious and I especially love the window seats where you can look down to the street. Price is reasonable and service is great. I would go back only because it's right around the corner and I'm too lazy to go downtown.
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Review from Steven W.
North York, ON
4/10/2010 1 photo
Great lunch buffet.
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Review from Lauren W.
Toronto, ON
5/12/2010
I've only ever been here for the lunch buffet, and have never been disappointed. Servers are always polite, and constantly filling up empty water glasses. The buffet has a fairly large selection, compared to the other ones I've been to, and everything I tried was very tasty. The butter chicken is my favourite. I would like to try this place for dinner in the near future.
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Review from Serene M.
Toronto, ON
3/8/2011
Went there last Friday, every dish we ordered except the biriyani was sweet. Think the chef got his/her salt and sugar mixed up. It was overly sweet and completely put us off the food. Nothing great...especially for that price. If that quality came with a more reasonable price tag it would have got a more favourable rating. Didnt enjoy it..will likely avoid it again if i can
