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Sababa Restaurant
Category: Restaurants Middle Eastern Middle Eastern [Edit]
390 Steeles Ave WThornhill, ON L4J 6X2
(905) 764-6440
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
18 reviews for Sababa Restaurant
18 reviews in English
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Review from George A.
Richmond Hill, ON
2/9/2012 2 photos
To celebrate 25 years serving our community, Sababa made some incredible renovations to their restaurant. Come see for yourself.
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Review from Sozon S.
North York, ON
4/13/2012
I've been to Sababa probably about 10-15 times in the past 10 years. They offer tasty mediterranean food at a reasonable price. I love getting the Beef Kabob's medium rare with fries or rice. Service is good.
When you're done eating, you can walk over to the grocery store section and pick up some things not easily found around Toronto. Overall a very good choice for a night out. -
Review from Laura C.
Toronto, ON
First time here at this long time establishment for a friends birthday. I was told that they just renovated a few days ago and it looks nice. They are missing mirrors in the bathroom, I hope they put them up.
We had a great energetic server who went above and beyond to give us separate bills, including a sep one for our appetisers and one for our wine which only a few people shared.
Food was ample and tasty. For appetisers we god the combination salad which comes with crispy falafels and choice of salad or dip (3).
I was overwhelmed at the selection so be prepared when you order. They have 5 kinds of hummus and baba ganoush.
For our mains, AT and I shared a lamb kebobs (2) $15 and a ground meat kebab. All come with potatoes or rice and salad (meh)
It was tasty but not as flavourful as I hoped. Maybe the spices ? AT suspects it because it's not cooked on top of a charcoal fire that gives it that smoky taste.
Dessert we ordered a trio of cakes for the birthday boy.
The big tables help out with all the food but clearing the table wasn't a strong suit. He did wait patiently however with a credit card machine for each of us to punch in.
If in the area, definitely come check it out. -
Review from Edwin A.
In the Sababa grocery they offer the same food as the restaurant as the kitchen is shared between the two.
I've only done takeout over the years.
Falafels, beef or chicken shawarmas, beef hamburgers, I've had it.
They prepare everything fresh including their pitas which they bake in house.
Solid choice and reasonably priced establishment for lunch. $2.99 for a falafel last time I was there. That's cheap and it tasted good too!! -
Review from Toronto L.
Toronto, ON
7/11/2011
The Toronto Lover system:
5 stars = Must visit!
4 stars = Really good. I take my friends here.
3 stars = Somewhat worth it... if you have nowhere better to go.
2 stars = Below average. Attend only when necessary.
1 star = Do not visit!
I can't say very much about the restaurant, except that I've heard mixed reviews from people who attended the sit-down area of Sababa.
However, this review is about the takeout counter. It is one of the freshest, most consistent, tastiest, heartiest takeout counters in the city. Have the lentil soup. Have a falafel or a shwarma. Thank me later. Did I mention the lentil soup?
4 stars -
Review from Shari M.
Toronto, ON
1/2/2011 1 Check-in Here
Went to Sababa for a lunch date on New Years Eve day. There was no love connection with the date - or the food. My date assured me that what Sababa lacked in ambiance, that it made up for in tasty food.
Sure, Sababa makes their own pitas (they were meh), but to me - this place is not unique, and is not a good example of the complexities that middle eastern food offers. In fact, I am going to say that I found it quite disappointing. The beautiful smells of Pomegranate (http://www.yelp.ca/biz...) were not there. The complexities in flavour were not there. I had a kebab, and found it to be - meh. The serving size was not very large, and the entree seemed like it was missing something. It was overwhelmed by rice (that wasn't even warm).
I'll stick with Pomegranate and Sheherzade (http://www.yelp.ca/biz...) downtown. -
Review from Jonathan C.
Oakville, ON
2/4/2011
I tried Sababa for dinner tonight as I was in the area and a friend had previously mentioned it.
Reading one of the previous reviews, I ordered the Siniyeh tahini... I have to say, I was pretty disappointed. The "famous mediterranian salad" that it comes with is just a regular garden salad with some parsley mixed in, and the only side option is saffron rice or fries. The Siniyeh itself was alright, but the beef patty seemed overcooked, but the creamy and overly heavy tahini sauce made up for that. I will say the tahini tasted alright, but definitely not recommended for the health conscious. The saving grace for the meal was the pita bread, which did seem fresh and when eaten with the Siniyeh, it was alright.
Overall, Sababa restaurant is nothing to write home about, and with so many middle eastern and Korean options in the area, I pass on Sababa in favor of trying something else next time I'm in the area. -
Review from Lara P.
11/1/2011
This is the place to go if you want to get textbook-perfect falafel. Crunchy crust and moist and flavourful inner pocket. During the summer I came here each week salivating over the warm and fluffy pita which accompanies the falafel. Their salads are also very fresh and flavourful with fresh herbs and spices my favourites are the Sababa and Tabouleh salads. I usually get the combo and for $40 (not including tax and tips) you can have a full meal of falafel, salads and lamd with rice. I am getting hungry for the smoky lamb chunks while I am writing this review. But the best thing here that is consistently fresh is the seabass. I try to always come here to see if I will get failed by my experience but time and time again, I get consistently great food. The service is prompt and attentive but as long as they get my order right I have no more expectations because the food is lovely.
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Review from Ayelet B.
8/23/2010
I used to live around the corner and remember when they opened. My friends wanted to go to a new hip place but I insisted that I wanted to check out the tried and true. And I was so glad we did.
Everything is delicious. You need to come hungry for sharing appetizers and then an entrée. Their grilled eggplant salad with tahini is one of my favorites. I also love their different types of pickles and olives and the kubbeh (ground meat with pine nuts in bulgur). The majadhra rice is also perfect. They have a great meat selection and it's cooked to perfection.
Authentic and out of this world. The staff is also great. -
Review from Alex P.
Toronto, ON
9/28/2011
Had dinner last night with a couple of friends at Sababa and I thought the food was really good and reasonably priced. All the dishes were fine, but in particular the Lentil soup was really good. Cheers...
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Review from Leeor J.
4/10/2010
I've been going to this place my whole life. It is probably the best palestinian style middle eastern food in the city.
Its a restaurant with an adjoining grocery. Both the restaurant and the grocery are fantastic.
First the restaurant: Don't let the occasional sparseness of diners put you off. This place is great. I've probably had most of the stuff on the menu by now, but my regular order for years has been a bunch of appetizers (hummus, tabouleh, mixed pickles, eggplant salad - or just the combo salad) and as the main course - Siniyeh. Siniyeh is a great dish you can't get at too many places. It's basically a ground beef patty seasoned with middle eastern spices and covered in tahini sauce, pine nuts, and parsley, slow baked to perfection in the oven. It also comes in a tomato sauce variety,but i prefer the tahini one. The dish's in that category of the menu all come with a salad and your choice of one appetizer. So if you're going alone, don't order any of the other appetizers, it will be too much! and of course all the food is served with the best pitas you can get in north america (IMO).
the grocery: ok, best pitas in the GTA BY FAR. It is very hard to find this style of thick pocket pita anywhere and done correctly and super fresh almost anytime you go. The machine that churns them out is actually right behind the counter in the back where you order the takeout, and is pretty much spitting them out all the time. I make sure to buy as many bags as i can fit in my freezer whenever i go! Their hot sauce is also hard to beat.
Make the trek out to bathurst and steeles if you want the good stuff. -
Review from Monica S.
8/1/2010 1 Check-in Here
Big Fan! On my "must visit list" when in TO
Best Tzatziki - better than any place in SF
Yum Falafel Sandwich - yes Truly Med, even better than yours :(
Fresh Pita - could you ask for anything more..
Friendly staff.. -
Review from Liora I.
Toronto, ON
4/7/2010
The best middle eastern food in all of the GTA. This place is a restaurant, take-away counter and middle eastern grocer. They make their pita fresh daily in a wood oven and you can buy it packaged + still warm.
Sababa's babaganouj is the best i've every had + they make hard to find salads and dips like labeneh & turkish salad.
I have grown up eating at Sababa and have yet to find anywhere else that even comes close to the quality, variety and authenticity offered here. -
Review from Maria A.
Richmond Hill, ON
10/23/2010
Take out falafel and pita bread rocks
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Review from Brandon S.
12/16/2008
The best falafel I've ever had, no doubt. I'm usually just go to the take-out section inside the store but I've been in the restaurant a few times and the service has been a bit slow and the menu doesn't have the basic falafel sandwich which is usually what I want.
Listed in: My Old Neighborhood, The Places I Go Out
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Review from Ariel G.
3/18/2009
I have been a regular Sababa goer since moving to Toronto a couple of years ago. It offers very genuine Middle Eastern food, well prepared and reasonably priced. The grilled chicken hearts are absolutely delicious, as is the Foul Medames that is served as an appetizer. For 'whole fish' fans there is a delicious grilled whole fish. The appetizers are excellent. This is all served in a relaxed and convivial atmosphere.
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Review from Jimi S.
ON
11/15/2008 3 photos
It is my honour and privilege to let the world know of the best middle eastern restaurant i have ever tried in my life. i have been going here since i was a kid. It is unfortunate that nowhere downtown - lets call that anywhere south of st. clair, across the city from east to west- can you find a good falafel, much less a great one. And so, rather than continue to bemoan the bad falafel boring this city, let me confirm for you the freshness of a falafel you will taste tucked away amongst fresh vegetables, and real hummous (thats not HUMMUS as pronounced like "BUM" with an "H" + US--for there is no such word--try pretending that you are about to hock a loogie while saying "whom" then "moose" and you might come close to the proper pronunciation - sorry pet peeve), dripping in tahina and lord almighty in a soft, as in with substance, feels like fresh bread, easy to open up for a pocket-full-of-goodness pita and there you have it. AND THIS IS JUST A MEASLY FALAFEL SANDWICH!
god forbid you should try the hummous with meat, or the siniyeh in tehina sauce (imagine a flattened pancake of spiced lamb covered in what essentially is melted tehina {tahini}), or even simple pickled prizes like olives and pickles. for appetizers try the sambousek, or the kubbeh, both fried pastries, filled with ground lamb (different styles); or the labaneh, which is a type of cream cheese. If youve read any of my other reviews, you know i could go on.
And i will. Just to say that after youre finished eating, feel free to go next door to their grocery store and buy more falafel, more hummous, more of all the stuff you just wolfed down and check out many middle eastern foods made and imported from that part of the world for your enjoyment. (for a new take on chips, try BISSLI snacks.)
sigh. okay. im feeling depressed now. I might have to trudge my way out, halfway through this month, down to davisville subway station and buy a metropass or a day pass and just go there.
its that good. -
Review from David S.
Hampstead, QC
2/14/2010
One of the best middle-eastern restaurants I've ever been to. They have their own pita machine so it's always super fresh.
