Kathmandu Restaurant
Categories: Restaurants Indian Restaurants Himalayan/Nepalese Indian, Himalayan/Nepalese [Edit]
517 Yonge StreetToronto, ON M4Y 1Y3
(416) 924-5787
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
Jeremy P. said: "Often at times, one true indicator of how good a place is, is how busy they are on a Saturday night. If there's no one there, then you have to wonder what is wrong. We snagged a rather last minute 7pm reservation this past Saturday…" read more »
37 reviews for Kathmandu Restaurant
Review Highlights
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"The divine Butter Chicken, it is one of my favorites." In 9 reviews -
"Great food, but the Eggplant Bharta has a lot of oil in it." In 3 reviews -
"And if you have the stomach for it, try the bullet naan." In 15 reviews
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37 reviews in English
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Review from Ashley P.
Toronto, ON
2/20/2012
I went to this place for a late lunch/ early dinner. It was fairly busy for Family Day, and unfortunately there was only 1 waiter for the whole place. Needless to say, service was very slow, decor was lacking (looked tired and old) -- but the food was excellent. We ordered: chicken jalfrezi, paneer butter masala and aloo paratha. Everything was super delicious and came out piping hot and fresh. The chicken was good size pieces of white meat (no bones or fat).
I feel that the prices were a bit high, considering it looks like a whole in the wall. The food was great though, and I would probably come back here again. -
Review from Shari L.
Toronto, ON
3/2/2012
Eh? Yelp?
Unless the dinner here is amazing (and based on the lunch/left-overs, I don't entirely feel it would be), I don't know why it's a 4-star rating. I came here for lunch buffet, and it was a solid 3-star that might get 2 stars from customers picky on service.
Was the food bad? No. It was Indian food done decently. But if you've ever been to Trimurti or Little Indian on Queen West, you will know what a $12 lunch buffet can buy you in terms of quality and service. And this did not rank especially high for either.
I might come back if I'm starving in the area and want cheap, decent Indian food. But only because Queen West is a challenging walk on an empty stomach. -
Review from Nihal S.
Toronto, ON
12/6/2011
I would say the food is decent and you can specify any sort of modifications. It's not 'wow' but just 'meh'. You could go to any other Indian restaurant in the same price range ($9 and up) and get the same tasting stuff. It also takes forever for the food to get on your table.
The decor is just ghastly. It's terribly lit. And I don't think they have had a make-over in more than a decade. The music, furniture, and staff make it one hell of a gloomy place.
If you are in the area and want to fork out money for 'Indian food' - then you might as well go to 'Biryani House' which is just one block north, by Wellesley station. Their food is definitely worth every dollar!
I have visited this restaurant a couple of times over a few years. Recently, there has been a huge turnover off the staff and I am definitely not going back any more. The service is just terrible now. -
Review from Brian W.
Toronto, ON
5/25/2012
We've loved Kathmandu for the longest time. Unfortunately the last time we were there, it wasn't so great. Soon as I walked in the door, I looked back at the buffet to see a huge cockroach crawling down the wall above the food. I alerted my partner, and he went over to the food area. Sure enough it was in the food by that point. I know cockroaches in old buildings is common, but if you have food out in the open a restaurant must be extra diligent with pest control. It was such a turn off, I doubt we'll go back.
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Review from Desmond F.
Toronto, ON
4/16/2012
I went there last night for dinner (a la carte, not buffet). Food was absolutely great. Meat was tender, sauces were flavourful. Naan was fluffy, lots of rice for $2.99.
However, what really annoyed me was how long it took. I don't know if it's because of all the delivery orders they had to fill or because they're slow in general, but we sat there from 6:44pm to about 7:50pm waiting for our food to come. Ridiculous.
The noise level at this place is also above average. It sounds like a packed Chinese restaurant, when it clearly isn't one... maybe it's just the wall material or something. Tables are also fairly close together so that might be part of it.
Won't go there to get a sit-down dinner again. I might try delivery some time. -
Review from Howard H.
9/24/2011
This restaurant represents a rather serious disconnect between myself and apparently most other Yelpers.... I've given this place a couple of tries and frankly, do not see the appeal.
AUTHENTICITY: At best, it's diluted Northern Indian - there really isn't a whole lot of Nepalese anything going on here...
FOOD - Well, it's not the worst I've ever had, but the price/serving/quality ratios are so out of whack that it's kind of an affront to the senses. Also noticed a high degree of sameness - even among dishes that share very few core ingredients.
SERVICE - Just the right blend of indifference deftly laced with incompetence and just a tiny dollop of contempt.
PRICING - Seriously? Five bucks for plain Naan? FYI they had the testicular fortitude to call it a four piece order (one average size naan
You can do sooooo much better for soooo much less in sooooo many places within 2km of here. WHY WOULD YOU BOTHER? The second star? Kind of a mercy pop -simply because we get a lot of enjoyment out of making fun of them ....Listed in: Indian Eats; Sub-Continental…
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Review from Kat F.
6/6/2011 1 Check-in Here
Time for a reality check. The overall 4.5 star rating led me astray and I wouldn't want this streak to continue for other yelpers, so let's get on with the facts about my experience at Kathmandu Kathmandu.
PRICES: egregious. How can one justify charging $17 for buffet and $13 for a vegetarian dish? $5 for plain naan?? Indian food should not be this expensive. In fact, other than The Host, this is the most expensive Indian restaurant I've ever visited in Toronto (of dozens) and the service certainly didn't match the price I paid.
PORTIONS: I ordered the paneer butter masala (recall: $13) and counted 7 cubes of paneer. The value was more like $6. My $5 naan was 1 medium-sized piece cut into 4 squares. Rice was out of my price range so I didn't order it.
SERVICE: deplorable. 30 minutes before we were given water (after we had asked multiple times) and 75 minutes before our food came out. This restaurant is understaffed by aloof and unapologetic amateurs. As a final note, I must mention that I didn't see any South Asians among the staff.
Avoid. -
Review from sarah l.
6/6/2011 1 Check-in Here
This place is terrible.
Case 1:
waitress: Do you want anything to drink?
us: We will all have water, and can you bring the pitcher and leave it?
waitress: no.
me: what do you mean no? I can see ten pitchers and you won't come by enough to refill it... nothing against you, but I can see that this place is full and there are only two servers. Can you please just leave the pitcher?
waitress: [awkward smile] no, I'm not allowed to leave it.
me: ummmm... ok.
her: [awkward smile] [also note she was like 19 so this probably isn't her fault]
Case 2:
me: I notice the naan is $5-$6... how many pieces are in one order?
waitress: four.
me: sweet, that seems right, we'll only have one order then.
Case 3:
[seventy five minutes pass. 75. SEVENTY FIVE MINUTES]
[food arrives]
[four naan actually = 1 naan cut into 4 pieces. But it's not like I was going to order more at $5 per naan and wait the equivalent of watching a feature length film for it. This place sucks so bad.]
Case 4:
The bill. It's $50 for 3 very, very small dishes and 2 pieces of naan. The chicken dishes had 5-6 pieces of chicken in them and the veg dish had 6 pieces of cheese. The value proposition here is terrible. The dishes were $12-$14 and they should have been more like $8. I still cannot get over the naan situation.
Overall:
- the food here was fine but it's not outstanding.
- the service was appalling. Not only was it slow, it was somewhere between apathetic and resentful. Not once did we hear a "sorry for the wait." 2c tip worthy. Don't spend it all in one place.
- negative value rating. I would have been happier eating a $5 bill and keeping my other $13.
I will NEVER eat here again and I am shocked by all the 4 & 5 star reviews. I don't know what else to say other than this establishment is terrible. -
Review from Ayesha A.
8/24/2011
OMG this place is yummy and right on Yonge street and, unlike many Indian restos, it has my two favourite (not just one of 'em but both!) dishes: baingan bharta and malai kofta.
yyuuummmmmmyyyy
It's not uber cheap but also not that pricey, especially given the location.
It used to be my ex's and my go-to restaurant when we were too lazy to go all the way to Gerrard street but really needed some good desi food and a nice "date" spot (which can be tough to find in the annex and downtown core).
The waiters are nice, not overly talkative or friendly, but for the atmosphere it's pretty fitting.
Yummers, worth checking out! -
Review from S D.
Toronto, ON
1/13/2012
While Nataraj on Bloor was one of my favourite Indian restaurants (now closed), Kathmandu is a pretty decent and relatively inexpensive substitute. My friend and I go here every once and a while for their buffet. Not all of the dishes are winners, but the tandoori chicken and rice pudding are quite good and extremely filling! The chicken tikka masala and vindaloo are also pretty good. The ambiance, as noted by other reviewers, is pretty tacky. But, if I'm with a friend or a group of friends and having fun, the atmosphere diminishes in importance.
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Review from Vivek S.
Updated - 3/24/2011 1 Check-in Here
Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed my last meal at Kathmandu. Three of us shared orders of saag paneer, butter chicken and a lamb sali boti. (Aside: Sali boti is a Persian dish. Not really a stone's throw from Nepal, is it?)
All three were delicious and we left the table stuffed. But I feel I must make the point, and vehemently so, that the service here is SLOOOOOOOOW. Not a little bit slow, but we're-waiting-for-the-paneer-to-curdle slow.
But the food is still decent.Listed in: Namaste!
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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11/19/2009 First to Review
Indian restaurant masquerading as the capital of Nepal. No worries though, because the food is… Read more »
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Review from Jennifer K.
Markham, ON
3/18/2011 3 photos
It took me 90 minutes to travel one way on driving/TTC to have lunch buffet ($11.99) at Kathmandu! And it better worth it! And yes I have a good filling spicy lunch that put a smile in my face!
The buffet selections may not be huge.. don't expect to be at a Chinese buffet or a Japanese AYCE when there are 50 items for you to pick from. Here we are talking about quality not quantities.
All the food were all tasty, spicy and fresh... Yes spicy enough that I don't need any hot sauce and so delicious that I start having bits of food on my face and everywhere... Sorry for my friend that was eating with me, I hope I did not splash some of the sauce in his face!
Lunch Buffet only serves from Monday to Saturday, so for me it will be another painful TTC trip if I want to come down again! But I am IN if my friend says let's do it! -
Review from Hideki K.
3/25/2011
Thank you Toronto Yelpers!
Kathmandu Kathmandu was the first place I dined at during my current project stay in Toronto. It is really close to the TTC College subway station.
I went for lunch on Monday, and decided to skip their $17 CDN buffet because the offerings didn't look so great. Instead, I opted for their Butter Chicken ($12.99 CDN) dish, which proved to be excellent! It was very tasty and had a nice spicy kick to it. It was the best Butter Chicken I have had in the States and Canada.
Naan and basmati rice do not come with the dishes, so I had to tack on a rice order ($2.99 CDN). Although the dishes seem nice and cheap, after rice/naan and tax & tips, it still comes out to a shade above $20 CDN. It's still one of the more affordables places and delicious too, so I am a fan of this Nepalese restaurant!
My friend at U of T says many of his classmates agree that Kathmandu is their favourite Indian restaurant in T.O.Listed in: Best of T.O
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Review from Tong J.
I love you, Toronto! Where else in the world that I could have Spanish tapas for dinner and a lips-smacking good Indian buffet for lunch on the following day?
I was afraid this would happen. I knew I should have come here for the buffet. Kathmandu Kathmandu has already won me over and earned 4 stars for their awesome dinner items. Now, I'm completely head over heel. Thanks to their impeccable buffet.
Fresh. Hot. Tasty. Good variety. Affordable. Great service.
No tiny bits and pieces of tandoori chicken here. Instead, large pieces of drumsticks and breast+wings. Holy Heaven, they are scrumptious. I dare you to have only one piece.
The divine Butter Chicken, it is one of my favorites. I just can't get over the generous size of the chicken pieces. The sauce, that flavorful sauce!
Saag Aloo, I don't know how to describe the love I have for this dish. Just trust me, it's wonderful!
To top it off, fresh hot from the oven a basket full of naan delivered to your table as a part of the buffet.
Oh, Kathmandu Kathmandu, what are you doing to me?Listed in: Asia On My Mind, Top Notch TO
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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11/13/2010
It's always a delight to discover a great restaurant. It's even better when the new discovery is a… Read more »
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Review from Char C.
Toronto, ON
4/5/2011
This place was fantastic!!!
I dont know how I ate $60 dollars worth for two people but it was sooooo good. The butter chicken and the mango lassi were UNBELIEVABLE!
I just started to drool a bit.... -
Review from Steve L.
Toronto, ON
12/26/2011
Well for Christmas day it was very good food and very poor/ slow service.This is better than the other wayround.... Had the Tandoori and some veggie dishes.
We were glad they were open...and the chicken was perfectly cooked.....
S LeMans -
Review from Spiro P.
Toronto, ON
1/2/2011
Great food, but the Eggplant Bharta has a lot of oil in it.
The vegetable Thali is great. It comes with basmati rice, saag paneer, naan, and curried vegetables.
This restaurant is located on Yonge St (South of Maitland ST). -
Review from Lauren C.
Richmond Hill, ON
12/30/2010
I was pleasantly surprised by this place - I wasn't expecting much considering the shabby surrounding stores.
We had the aloo ghobi (typical), chicken khorma (yum!!) and mutter paneer (pretty good!). I was also impressed by the naan - it was flat unlike other places that make it more puffed up.
If you're in the area and looking for Indian food, this is your best bet. -
Review from Anthony C.
Toronto, ON
7/8/2011
The Saag Aloo & Chicken Tikka Malasa were excellent. Staff was a bit slow. Food arrival was quite slow even though the place was only half full. I suspect they were doing many delivery or take out orders. Decor could certainly be improved.
Price was quite fair.
Overall 3.5 stars! -
Review from Tu T.
York, ON
1/19/2011
This is probably the best Indian/Nepalese restaurant downtown.
The lunch buffet, served from 11:30-3:00PM M-F, at $11.99 is great. Their salad dishes are fresh and tasty. The main dishes are delicious and taste just as great as if you ordered a la carte.
Prices outside of lunch hours can be a bit steep ($15 for a take out order of saag paneer with naan bread), but totally worth it.
They also deliver but require an order of at least $30. -
Review from Ian C.
Toronto, ON
11/13/2010
They seem proud of their nepalese culture, but when I asked what on the menu is distinctly nepalese, I got an uncomfortable pause... so really, think of Kathmandu as an Indian restaurant.
Still, what food!! We got the eggplant bharta and the butter chicken and it was delicious. Service was good and I thought the price was very reasonable. A tip: just go with the regular naan, the fancier cashew nut naan didn't add anything to the experience and turned out a bit oilier.
I think the only thing keeping this from being a 5 is the ambiance and décor, which is pretty old school. I will go back for the food though, which is really whats important! -
Review from Jenny H.
Toronto, ON
12/10/2011
The only reason this place got two stars is because I am quite unqualified to judge Indian food, not liking anything spicy hot.
I do like lamb (the special posted on the window which was never mentioned inside the restaurant) so I ordered some and, although the sauce was too hot for me, I simply scraped it off and the lamb was very nice.
The naan was good as an appetizer. I cant discuss the veg as they were too spicy for me. The cucumber tomato onion salad seemed oddly dry and rubbery and was too heavy on very strong hot onions.
Service was downright awful. The servers were Chinese or Filipinas (not sure), with zero knowledge of the food they were serving. I asked what were the two sauces served with the naan, they did not know. Other questions about the food were met with quickly dissolving smiles. The food took forever to arrive, though the special was supposedly prepared in advance.
Not much else to say on this one that could be helpful to anyone, just that it wasn't for me.
Jen -
Review from Jeff M.
North York, ON
10/3/2011
went for lunch buffet and should have know that as empty as it was this was not going to be a good thing. There was my mother and myself and then another group of about 8 very loud people. choice at buffet was minimal, all dishes were Indian and not Nepalese. Had to keep asking for naan. food lacked spice, service sucked and when you got it they had attitude. My advise, if you are near it, walk on by.
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Review from Molloy J.
Toronto, ON
2/16/2012
Went here for the lunch buffet and loved it. I'm not an expert on Indian but I loved this place.
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Review from Andrew D.
11/3/2010
Amazing food, quick service, and excellent customer service.
The Kashmiri naan was amazing, as was the house special- full of chicken. The momo's and Samosas were the best part of the meal. Even the wine selection was good. Reasonable prices too for a 1/2 liter of Parteger b&g! definitely will be making the 5 hour drive from michigan more often for this gem -
Review from Ben D.
9/3/2011 1 Check-in Here
The food here was among the best I've had in quite a while, but the service was slow. At least two other tables became frustrated because they couldn't get water refills or their check, and there appeared to be a dispute between two of the wait people that played out in front of the restaurant in the form of scowls and terse comments. After we finished our food, we sat for an inordinately long time with no one to pull our plates, offer us dessert or bring the check. People arrived at the front door and were turned away while we sat wishing for an opportunity to clear out. We finally approached someone in the back and requested our check. The food is definitely good, but I'd suggest going to this restaurant at an off-peak hour to get better service. Better yet, just get take-out.
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Review from R T.
Toronto, ON
8/3/2011 1 Check-in Here
Best Indian/Nepali food around..
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Review from Feifei R.
Vancouver, BC
7/4/2011
I had butter chicken here two months ago. Huge plat! Finished everything, but super stuffed! It was great with friendly services. That's all I remembered!
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Review from Eugene M.
Toronto, ON
3/9/2011
I don't think we've had a dish that we didn't like here. Good food, friendly service, ambiance is par for the course. The buffet is good, but its worth stopping in for dinner to order a-la-carte. And if you have the stomach for it, try the bullet naan. Absolutely torturous.
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Review from Martin W.
1/26/2011
I have walked past this place many times and never had a chance to try it out despite hearing good things. I finally got the chance to last night and was very impressed with the food. Everything was very flavourful and bursting with spices. I ate a lot more than I should have but it was well worth it. A little bit on the pricey side, but not outrageous, and the service is a little slow, but also not outrageous. I would definitely recommend this place.
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Review from Lori R.
Toronto, ON
4/10/2011
Great food, the butter chicken, chicken tikka masala, aloo mutter, pakoras, samosas, garlic naan and every other dish we have tried have always been consistently delicious.
It does get a bit busy, which means the service can be a bit slow at times, but it's always friendly. -
Review from Sharky L.
Toronto, ON
4/17/2011
It's morning and the leftover still taste amazing. We ordered the standard butter, taste great and not like your normal butter chicken. We also ordered the chicken korma which had a nice fresh tasty sauce. Even the naans were fluffy and flavorful. Would love to go back again.
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Review from Melds B.
Toronto, ON
3/27/2011
We've been here four times, and have never left disappointed. We had the chicken tikka masala, lamb korma and garlic naan last night. My tastebuds are still dancing happily =) . The decor is nondescript, but the food here is outstanding. Five stars!
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Review from She S.
Toronto, ON
3/11/2010
we have only had take-out but the food is sooooo gOOd ... ummm butter chicken
the restaurant itself is sort of looks shabby could use a make-over but the food is wonderful and the staff are very nice and polite -
Review from Amanda L.
Toronto, ON
8/15/2010
Fantastic food. I love this place. I used to go all the time when I lived over off of Yonge St. Now I go across the city for this place. I love the pappadums, the butter chicken, and the alhoo gohbi. The lunch buffet is a great deal. I always leave completely stuffed!
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Review from Sonia P.
Toronto, ON
5/1/2011
I live a stone's throw from this place and wouldnt have visited it if I hadn't read the reviews online. Firstly the name Kathmandu doesn't make you think of delicious Indian cuisine. Secondly the appearance from the outside is just about ok. However, the food is amazing! The butter chicken is soooo good. It's my husband's favourite dish and he can safely say it's the best butter chicken he has tried so far in Toronto. The chicken vindaloo is also great - just the right level of spiciness! Another dish I would recommend is the Eggplant Bharta. Absolutely amazing. Also try the bullet naan (naan stuffed with green chillies).
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Review from Tamar K.
Toronto, ON
6/18/2011
just came back from a lunch buffet at this restaurant (my first time here), and felt the need to yelp about it immediately! the buffet was $12.99 (its a dollar more cuz its a saturday), and it was absolutely delicious! every item i had was amazing (other than the veg pakora which didnt taste so fresh).. the butter chicken was divine (a little sweet, thats exactly how i like it!), and the tandoori chicken was ridiculously good! i was actually super full and wasnt planning on tasting the tandoori chicken, but i kept seeing people go back to the buffet just for the tandoori chicken, so i decided to try it! and im glad i did! the vegetable curries were also all excellent, there was saag paneer, a chickpea dish, and another vegetable dish with a mix of vegetables, and a green bean dish (sorry i dont know their indian names).. i tasted all, and they were all really good! i didnt want to waste space on salads or desserts so i cant comment on those! ive tried so many different indian restaurants in toronto, and i found the quality of the buffet items here to be better than the a la carte in most, and much more reasonably priced of course! we paid just under $40 for 2 people, (2 saturday lunch buffets, 2 soft drinks, tax, and 15% tip).. which is pretty cheap for the quality and quantity! will definitely be back!
