[Review] Dr. Laffa Restaurant in North York

Website: http://www.drlaffa.com/
Twitter Handle: @DrLaffa
Address: 3027 Bathurst St., Toronto, ON
When I visited: March 2015, Media event

The Magnetic Dr. location is closed after the owners had split. Yoram Gabay, one of the original partners opened Dr. Laffa on the go, a small restaurant at Bathurst St. and Lawrence Ave., in the heart of other Jewish establishments. Having been to the  Magnetic Dr. location, the menu is similar offering tasty sharing plates, sandwich options, as well as large platters of grilled meats, shawarma and rice.

The restaurant has half a dozen tables and a service counter with a colourful array of salads and sides, which makes the joint an ideal spot for a quick meal or take out. At the media tasting, my fellow bloggers and I had an opportunity to taste a large assortment of dishes. When I thought we were finished, the owner generously gave us more dishes to try.

This may look like a fast-food restaurant, but the food is far from tasting like it. The food was authentic with spices shipped from Israel every two weeks, the meat was tender, and flavours popped with every bite. This place is legit!

Lineups of Jewish families come here to enjoy the taste of Israel, as well as dishes from Morocco and the Middle East. The restaurant was also featured on Food Network Canada’s hit show “You Got to Eat Here!”

Here were the highlights of my visit: 

With a name called Dr. Laffa, this is a must order during your visit. What is a laffa? It is a bread similar to a pita but thinner and crispier, made in a hot oven and done in approximately 56 seconds. Use it scoop up some of the tasty hummus including the Dr. Laffa hummus plate made of ground meat and pine nuts ($12.99), or the hummus with falafel plate. The falafel was ultra crispy on the outside.One of the best sellers is the laffa shawarma ($10.99) which was extremely filling and had a great balance of vegetables and sauce.

Having had shakshuka at a few restaurants, this is my favourite one to-date. The sauce was hot and savoury and an amazing deal for $8.99.

The whole grilled eggplant with tahini was tasty on its own or eaten with the laffa bread ($6.99).

We tried most of the menu from house-made soups, appetizers, fresh-cut fries, tasty salads, drinks and dessert. Needless to say, I was stuffed and satisfied!

 

Overall: 

You can’t go wrong with anything you order at Dr. Laffa; there is tons of variety and each dish is carefully seasoned. The prices are reasonable and you will leave stuffed! If you need help, Yorum and the team are welcoming and happy to answer any questions about the menu.

Please remember to check the website for up-to-date the restaurant hours. They are opened Sunday to Thursday 11:00 am to 10:00pm, Friday from 11:00am to 3:30pm, closed on Saturday’s, public holidays and Jewish holidays.

Thank you to Vicky @momwhoruns and Dr. Laffa for the invitation.

* The meal was complimentary but the opinions in the post are entirely my own.