Dining at Ancila’s Indian Cuisine is sort of cryptic, so you'll just have to roll with it. Starting with the reservations: the restaurant accepts them, but I’m told to make sure to cancel, if necessary, as they won't take another reservation for that time. This led me to believe that the dining room is tiny, when in reality it’s a fair-sized establishment. Upon entering, I see one large table is occupied being served by a waiter; not in a rush I wait patiently and it wasn’t until a women (presumably Ancila) leaves the kitchen that I’m addressed and instructed to sit wherever I like.
She
returns to the kitchen and as I’m sitting there – without water, cutlery,
or even a menu – I begin to wonder what’s going on. Finally, when my friend
arrives, Ancila comes back to the table and things get clarified. We’re
advised there are no printed menus; instead, she'll ask questions to come up
with an order: On a scale from one to ten, what is your spice tolerance level?
Are you vegetarian? Of the proteins are there any you particularly enjoy? Do
you have any dietary restrictions?
With
that we decided on a creamy medium spicy vegetarian dish and a spicier tomato
based meat offering along with rice and naan. Ancila then went back to the
kitchen to prepare everything and didn’t return until later to check on our
experience.
There
was plenty of paneer in the tikka masala ($11); soft and fresh, it’s contrasted
by a slight crunch from the bell peppers and onion. Being a thicker sauce,
this went well sandwiched in between the warm toasted naan.
The
mutton in the karahi ($12) was cooked
well; stewed until tender with the collagen around the bone starting to break
down. Cooked to a level-7 spiciness, the tomato, ginger and coriander sauce
was hot enough to cause the tongue to sting and bring heat to your face. When too
much sauce was spooned onto the rice ($3), a forkful of cooling raita ($2.50) helped calm it back down.
A
downfall from not having a menu is not realizing all the options available. For
example, for the sides, aside from rice we also ordered butter ($1.50) and
garlic ($2.50) naan (any difference between the two is slight). However, after
finding their menu online, I realize they also serve flakey paratha and flavourful briyani, I wish we had those instead.
It’s a
quaint restaurant and with their no-menu system feels like you’re dining in
Ancila’s home. “Let me make you a bit of food, what would you like?” it sort of
feels like. The dishes take a while to prepare but what comes out is piping hot
and made-to-order. Just be mindful about adding items too late in the meal, depending
on the time, they may not be able to make dishes as even the samosa dough is
made fresh.
Like dining in a home, it’s a calm unhurried experience – there for a later dinner, Ancilia assured us to take our time and chat more, despite the restaurant being closed. What started off a little puzzling ended up being a good experience.
Like dining in a home, it’s a calm unhurried experience – there for a later dinner, Ancilia assured us to take our time and chat more, despite the restaurant being closed. What started off a little puzzling ended up being a good experience.
How To Find Them
Location: Mississauga, Canada
Address: 6905 Millcreek Drive
Address: 6905 Millcreek Drive
Website: http://ancilasindiancuisine.ca/
Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
- Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
- 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
- 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
- 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
- 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
- 10 - absolute perfection!
Is That It? I Want More!
Other Gastro World posts similar to this:
