My first job was at Bayview Village at the Bakery Garden
Café (now turned into Tabule). Once a fairly homogenous mall with eateries serving
mostly sandwiches, pizza, and burgers; the strip of restaurants by the O&B
entrance has gotten a diversity makeover. A new addition to the fold is Goa
Indian Farm Kitchen, the more upscale and polished restaurant by Hemant
Bhagwani (also known for Amaya and Indian Street Food).
Lunch is a great time to gather a group for a visit: their lunch
combination ($23.95) offers a choice of appetizer and main. Just be mindful of
their advice - our waiter noted the starters are not shareable and are made for
one person. In reality, the appetizer sizes are substantial and even the short
rib samosa arrives as large as a baseball cut into two. So, listen to your gut
and get a bunch of appetizers to share.
For us, we made the mistake of taking the waiter’s advice
and ordering two portions of the saffron eggplant. Sure, they’re tasty, like
shoestring fries made from eggplant, but since the vegetable soaks up oil, they
start to feel heavy after half a dozen. I would have much rather alternated
between the eggplant and the rawa pakoras
as well.
The sriracha chilli cauliflower is exactly as it sounds: bit
sized florets deep fried and tossed in a spicy sweet sauce. While there’s
nothing inherently wrong with the dish, it’s also not terribly exciting and
lacks any Indian flavours.
Luckily, I got my fill of exotic spices from the Goan
seafood curry main (additional $4.98), a combination of jumbo prawns, scallop,
tiliapia, and mussel cooked to perfection. For those who prefer milder curries,
this sauce is ideal with the coconut base enhanced by just a tiny bit of chili,
adding flavour without massive amounts of heat. In fact, the sweet onion,
tomato, and coconut milk tastes are what really comes through. Unlike their
appetizers, the main dish portions are better suited for one person.
Combos arrive with basmati rice dressed up with onion
frizzles, chick peas, and a bit of wild rice for colour and texture. While this
was more than enough food – we had leftovers – we had to add butter naan ($4), a hot airy soft bread glistening
with butter. Too bad we had to remind them about it after we were already
halfway through our meals.
While you could enjoy lunch with cocktails and wine, it was
the vegan mango lassi ($7) that filled
in as a drink and dessert. It’s as thick as it gets, but absolutely delicious
made with a coconut and soy milk base and tons of mango throughout. Sweetened
with maple syrup and dusted with cardamom powder and pistachios it’s a small
but tasty glass.
Even during the weekend it wasn’t overly busy at Goa Indian
Farm Kitchen, which allowed us to stay longer and catch up. Of course, being
situated in a mall, we could also run errands around the meal. For me, just
being in Bayview Village brought back a sense of nostalgia, it was the place
where I earned my first dollar.
How To Find Them
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 2901 Bayview Avenue (in Bayview Village)
Address: 2901 Bayview Avenue (in Bayview Village)
Website: https://www.goatoronto.ca/
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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!
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