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Madras Masala
Category: Restaurants Indian Indian [Edit]
796 Bloor St WToronto, ON M6G 1L7
Neighbourhoods: Christie Pits, Bickford Park
(647) 342-4359
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
21 reviews for Madras Masala
Review Highlights
21 reviews in English
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Review from Ayesha A.
1/2/2012
I, like many others who live in the Annex, was a regular at Banjara and always pitied the poor, empty south indian restaurant next door.
I hate that I waited so long to go!!
I'll admit I only went because I had a voucher, but the food was lovely.
Great service, too, unlike the neighbours, because I guess they have less customers. There is no waiting, etc.
We didn't even get dosas so we'll be heading back to try that out, but just regular paneer dish (a bit bland) and chicken dish (way better than neighbour) and then really interesting mango-ginger ice cream.
very nice!! go there, they are great and need the business!! -
Review from Good T.
Toronto, ON
4/15/2012
Went there after a while, late at night around 9 ish, since its close by. Had forgotten how much the place reeks of masala. Just cuz you make Indian food you do not have to announce it to the world, MM (Neighboring Banjara is equally guilty of this)
The food is pretty pedestrian. The flavors felt brazenly out of a packaged spice box. Started off with some chicken appetizers, and ordered some naan, lamb chettinadu and dosa for the group. Dosa wasn't super great, prefer Udupi Palace. The lamb was spicy enough and the naan was fresh and fluffy.The food was very filling. So far so good.
However, service was pretty bad despite the fact that our server seemed like a nice guy. There were no napkins/silverware on our table when we sat down and it proceeded that way until the food came out. Even then we had to ask for silverware before our server finally brought some out. We had ordered wine with the food, which we never got but were still charged for! There was a fruit fly buzzing over our food during the entire time we were there! The table next to us was dirty from the moment we were seated till we left about an hour later. I understand that it was almost closing time but that's no excuse to be so sloppy.
There's better Indian food to be had in the city. -
Review from Ada T.
Toronto, ON
2/18/2012
Definitely a fan of this place. Excellent service - waiters are eager to help you and want to make sure you're happy with the food. The biryani was the best I've ever had. Really flavourful and not dry at all. The Dosa (rice thin ones) was quite nice. The chicken curry and paneer was also really tasty. Only complaint was that there was cold air coming out of the vent for the whole time and we were quite cold. But since the food was spicy, it was a nice breeze for the guys who were sweating. :P
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Review from B D.
Toronto, ON
1/26/2012
I have been to Madras Masal many times, and have had great food each time.
I recommend the dosas especially.
I find it reasonable, not fancy dining by any means, but delicious and complex in their spicing. -
Review from Nick R.
Etobicoke, ON
12/30/2011 1 Check-in Here
Madras Masala and Banjara are right next door to each other. Itching for some Indian food we pulled in and saw that Banjara was slammed and Madras was dead. Since there was a line for Banjara we decided to hop into Madras to try it.
The service is very fast and friendly. Our server made some good suggestions for food choice as I am not too familiar with the cuisine. We had a butter chicken, a lamb dish and a Paneer dish. All excellent! Very fairly priced. I would eat her again. -
Review from Sonia P.
Toronto, ON
8/23/2011
My husband and I had a huge craving for dosa and decided to make our way to Madras Masala. While the dosas did satisfy our craving, I can't say we were blown away by them.
We ordered an idli to start. The idli was not as fluffy and soft as we expected. However, I liked the sambhar and the orange chutney they serve with the idli and dosas. My masala dosa was average and my husband found the chilli cheese dosa to be too spicy (which NEVER happens as his tolerance level for spicy food is very high!).
Service was good.
The other area for improvement was the cleanliness. I don't know if I am being too picky, but I didn't get the perception of this being a super-clean place. -
Review from Zoe R.
3/20/2011
Order two Dosas to go last night - so tasty and well done! Mmm... My partner and I ordered the Masala Dosa ($7.99 each). Came with Sambar lentil soup, which was vegetarian/vegan (I"m veg), but pretty salty... The two chutneys that they included were nice, went well with the dosa. I kind of wish they had a Tamarind-based sauce, as well... My partner also ordered Garlic Naan bread with a chicken curry. Came with pappadums, that tasted "okay". He was supposed to save it as a meal for the next day, but I suspect that the food was so tasty (despite having A LOT of visible oil), that he ended up eating the whole thing - right after polishing off his dosa meal ! The Garlic Naan was a powerhouse of garlic. I've never had that much garlic on a naan before. "Where's the naan?" my partner joked.
The dosas were so good, I'd love to go back today even, for seconds. No question that we'll be back. :)
Food arrived in less than the quoted 15 min.
Place was packed. I'd recommend RSVPing.
** There will be a Dosa Festival there! Mon-Thurs. throughout this July and August.Listed in: Colour me Multi-Ethnic…
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Review from Matthew S.
Toronto, ON
4/20/2010
Madras Masala is Banjara's (http://www.yelp.ca/biz...) less popular, South Indian cousin. It's in the same building as Banjara, has the same owners, and prices are similar, yet it's not nearly as busy.
The space is a little awkward; it's in a former donut shop and it shows. It has that nice-ish feel that's common in Indian places; proper tablecloths and napkins, nice decor, attentive service, and so on. The waiter was very friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable.
We had Chicken Xacutti ($11), Lamb Hyderbad ($11), Masala Dosa ($8), Paratha ($2.50), and Steamed Rice ($2.99). Both curries were good and the meat was tender, but I found them a little lacking in spice and flavour; maybe they toned things down for us whiteys. I'm not a huge dosa fan, but I enjoyed this version. It's huge and has a small ball of potato and onion curry in the middle as well as a variety of sauces for dipping. While the paratha was great, I wasn't huge on the rice, it was dry and didn't taste fresh.
I love that the food doesn't feel nearly as heavy as the North Indian fare at Banjara. I assume this is due to less cream in the dishes.
Given that the mains were $11 each, plus the cost of rice or bread, I just didn't feel the quality was quite deserving of 4 stars. Next time I'll ask them to make the dishes as though they were making them for themselves, i.e. more flavour and spice, and I may give them another star. -
Review from Ktimene G.
1/18/2009
After ice skating and tobaganning, we were hesitant on entering a nice restaurant with a tablecloth. But the host, with his soft voice, unassuming nature and knowledge of everything indian, was delightful, and the extensive menu had us salivating.
Within moments, we were chipping off pappadum and dipping it into perfect coriander sauce and tamarind chutney.
we ordered:
- Pani puri-- Indian street food that's hard to find. Pastry wafers filled with tamarind chutney and coriander water, that you "pop" in your mouth
- Idli-- sourdough rice and lentil cakes served with masala and chutneys. Tangy and chewy and light.
- Dosas of many kinds. Masala dosas, Spinach dosas, cheese doasas- - all with thick coconut chutney, tomato chutney and some other new flavors
It was just as good as homemade dosa and thali meals in Chennai! -
Review from Allison T.
Toronto, ON
7/30/2011
We sat outside - the space is a little awkward in regards to set-up (I think others have mentioned that it used to be a doughnut shop). We ordered two dishes & an order of rice. The portion size didn't match up with the prices. The food didn't stand out to me as anything special & I wouldn't choose to return.
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Review from Downtown D.
Toronto, ON
9/2/2009
My first experience with dosa so I don't have anything to compare this to. Our party of 7 all ordered dosas. Dosas are a type of thin crepe, the ones we had were made of rice flour. We ordered dosa masala (potato with onion), the one with cheese and I ordered the one with vegetables. It comes with 2 sauces for dipping, one made of cilantro, one with coconut and a small bowl with a type of tamarind sauce. Yummy!
I would say this is more of appetizer than dinner since some of us were still hungry later.
The price was $6.77 each including tax. Service was slow since I noticed some people who were seated after us received their order first.
I don't know if I would come back, I'd like to try other South Indian dishes and I heard some other places might be worthwhile to check out. -
Review from Amanda L.
Toronto, ON
8/19/2010
A great Indian restaurant with a relaxed atmosphere. We sat on the patio and enjoyed our dosas. I had the masla dosa and it was huge. Nice and spicy too! Service was attentive and fast. I would definitely go back.
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Review from Sarah O.
Toronto, ON
7/23/2010
Your stomach might hurt the next day but it's well worth the minor discomfort to try Madras Masala. I heard about the dosas here and wanted to try it since I've never experienced a "dosa" before (the closest being a thicker, spongier pancake at a restaurant in Little India which the name eludes me right now).
I tried the "Chilly Cheese Masala Dosa", "Kadhai Paneer" and "Gobi Manchurian" while my meateating friends ordered a lamb dish and the mysore (might want to reconsider a namechange) masala dosa. There were four of us and that was plenty of food. Don't be alarmed at the size of the dosa. It is after all as thin as a crepe. You could see the red chili flake specks in the dosa. It was crispy, greasy, and holy crap! spicy! (I'm not prone to select "white" whenever there's a chili meter option either). The dosa comes in a triangular shape on a metal platter with some dipping sauces. In one of the corners, it's filled with potato mash.
The Kadhai Paneer was not as memorable but maybe because I was so enamoured with the "Gobi Manchurian". it's what I imagine General Tsao Chicken tastes like if I ate meat. It was cauliflower coated in this thick, crispy batter and a gingery sauce sticking to it. Very delicious!
As for service, I think we annoyed the waiter with our presence. My friend ordered a bottle of beer but he brought a draft beer and the look on his face indicated that we shouldn't bother putting up a fuss about it. We're easily intimidated people.
Other than that, the price was very good (rice, 2 dosas, 3 dishes and a beer each split amongst 4 people came to around $22 with tip & tax).
I love Madras Masala's neighbour, Banjara but if I crave a dosa, this is definitely the place to go (even if you have to pop a few peptos later). -
Review from Martin y.
Toronto, ON
5/4/2010 12 Check-ins Here
This is my home-away-from-home (even though its only a couple blocks from me). Its a small restaurant, that used to be a donut shop (I think), and sits right next door to another indian restaurant (Banjara). That gets a bit confusing for some people.
The menu, however, couldn't be any more different. I love their dosa! And cashew rice pulao, and chicken hyderabadi. I don't think I've had anything on the menu that I didn't like.
The staff are great, and very friendly. Always willing to recommend something, or make something off-menu. I'm thinking I'll go here for dinner tonight. -
Review from Annie D.
Toronto, ON
7/24/2011
Wow! I live in the neighbourhood but had never tried this place before tonight. Quick service, HUGE portions (shared my cheesy masala dosa and there were still leftovers) and very, very good. It's too bad the outdoor patio looks out onto the parking lot, but otherwise it was great.
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Review from Kat T.
10/14/2009 1 photo
After hearing from a real-live Indian Yelper that this was Toronto's "most like mom used to make" Dosa, I headed straight here. After a walk across the Christie Pits park, I encountered not 1 but 2 Indian restaurants side by side. While Madras Masala has a small white with black print sign, the other place has a HUGE yellow sign. Stay to the right to enter a former coffee shop type of restaurant. The place was full by the time we left, so that's got to be a good sign. The number of Indians was also a good sign.
Madras Masala doesn't limit itself to South Indian food such as Dosa or Uttapam, but pulls out all the usual curries, naan and such.
To experience the most we could, we got one dosa, one uttapam and a rice dish. The Dosa was crispy, oily and had a small dallop of well-spiced potatoes. The Uttapam was a little under done and wet on the top bubbly part. The sauces were fine, but just not what I have grown to expect.
You'll never forget your first dosa. If mom used to cook like this, then sure, I could imagine this is your favorite. But, Dosa (San Francisco) was my first dosa experience and so far Saravhana Bhavan still comes closest in taste to what I crave.
Surprisingly alcohol is served here, unlike some other dosa places. I tried the unremarkable chai. I should have had a wine?Listed in: Dosa- Not a Somasa
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Review from John F.
North York, ON
Updated - 9/5/2009
Upping to five stars. Everything on return visits has been equally good. Madras chicken is a great non-vegitarian entree.
Listed in: Eating Places from Special…
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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8/11/2009
Great dosas with a lot of variety. Sambar and three chutneys included. I had the chillicheese… Read more »
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Review from eric g.
Toronto, ON
3/25/2010
This is the best neighbourhood Indian restaurant one could hope for. Varied menu focusing on South Indian (great dosas), but not exclusively so (love the Hyderabadi biryani). A friendly host who is happy to recommend dishes and has never steered us wrong. In fact, after half a dozen visits, we've pretty much settled on asking him what we should have. Huge portions - must remember to order less, or wheelbarrow required to take us home.
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Review from Hassan A.
Toronto, ON
12/28/2008
wonderful restaurant!! The food is exeptional. If you like spicy indian food you'll love this place. The staff is super friendly, fast, and curtious. Their curry platters as well as their eggplant is quite good. I was a huge fan of their naan bread. I think I ended up taking a whole bunch home. The ambiance of the restaurant isn't the best.....but their food makes up for that all the way. The best part is they are close to my house and they deliver now too!!
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Review from Roy A.
Toronto, ON
7/17/2009
I found the thali nice but not very authentic. Still enjoyed it but wouldn't go back.
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Review from Arvind K.
Toronto, ON
3/11/2009
I regret that I dint kno abt this place before today. A great place for south indian food.. everything in this place tastes as good as home food...this place has the best DOSA in whole of Toronto!!!
