Ghazale is inexpensively tasty

If it wasn’t for the amazing aromas wafting onto Bloor St. W. in The Annex area of downtown Toronto it would be very easy to walk past Ghazale - the place is tiny, but the food is big and tasty.

Nestled beside The Bloor Cinema in what used to be a clothing store, Ghazale (504 Bloor St. W.) is a Middle Eastern delight, filled with all the yummy goodness that makes Middle Eastern food – in this case from Beirut, Lebanon – such a delicious experience.

Opening seven years ago, Ghazale co-owner and son of the woman behind the recipes (his mother), Aziz Ahmad admitted, “When we first opened we had no experience in the restaurant business. What we did have is my mom’s amazing recipes. She can really cook well, so we knew people would like the food.”

Ahmad could not be more correct! The food is amazing. But most importantly it’s not going to clean out your wallet; the prices are as wonderful as the flavours.

You can get a Falafel sandwich for a mere $2.25, Spinach Pie for $1.49, Vegetable Samosa for a loonie, Tabouli ranges depending on the size you want but $1.99 - $3.49 is still a steal. Or you can go all out and order up a plate filled with a range of food for $5.49, a Chicken Shawarma for $3.29, Fava Beans between $1.99 & $2.99, or an extremely tasty Okra in tomato sauce dish between $1.99 & $3.99.

These prices are ideal for anyone on a budget or if you’re in the mood to grab a quick bite to eat while walking along Bloor St., or as you duck into the Bathurst subway on your way to somewhere else in the GTA.

Co-owner and son, Aziz Ahmad

But how are the people who work there, you might ask? Ahmad’s family are always smiling and wish you a heartfelt nice day/afternoon/night whenever you leave.

“This place is amazing,” said Alison, grabbing a Falafel sandwich on her way back from a night of dancing. “Everybody is so nice here, the food always tastes fresh and the flavours always manage to impress your taste buds. Too bad there aren’t more places like this in the city where you can grab a quick sandwich; it seems you either eat fast food or sit down and spend a ton of money in this city.”

Ahmad admits they will be renovating Ghazale soon, making it a bit less cluttered. It’s hard to image why anyone would want to change such a wonderful place to either sit down to eat (there are only 4-6 seats available, unfortunately) or line up and take food out.

“We’re going to do some renovations soon; we think it’s time after more than seven years. Although it’s a pretty small place, it’s going to look really nice when we’re done,” he said.

“We like our regular customers a lot; they always come in and say, ‘Hi’ even if they’re not coming in to eat. We really like being in this place, which probably explains why we’ve been here for so long,” he explained between filling people’s orders. The line-up grew from two people [myself and a friend] to over 10 in a matter of minutes.

Friendly atmosphere aside, what does the food taste like? The Falafel sandwich is filling, nicely seasoned and as spicy as you want it; the Spinach Pie [an S&H.ca favourite] is somewhat sour while the dough’s mild tastes lighten the bitter edge of the spinach; the Samosa’s are subtle while at the same time nicely spiced with the coriander and cumin jumping out at you. And these are just the quickie dishes – the finger foods if you will - but if you want more go ahead and order a more elaborate plate, everything tastes good.

It might be small, but the atmosphere and the flavours are huge. Here’s to another seven years of success and great food for Ghazale, a true neighbourhood eatery where people feel at home among the hot table and smiles.

Photography by Bouke Salverda