Restaurants GuideIndian and Sri Lankan

Amaya starstar½ star good
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Reviewed by Toronto Life
  • 1701 Bayview Ave. (at Eglinton Ave. E.) View on map »
  • 416-322-3270
dollar Dollar Rating inexpensive
dollar dollar moderate
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Editorial Review

Chefs Dinesh Butola and Kirti Singh put together strikingly distinct textures, from greaseless folded pappadums to a moist mound of chaat jumbling sprouted beans, pomegranate seeds, crisp little pappadums and soft potato in a tangy yogurt dressing. Fragrant fenugreek leaves and the sly warmth of green chilies flatter juicy prawns and peppers; a touch more acid in the accompanying chutney of green mango, fenugreek, sweet pepper and green chilies would perfect the dish. Green chili ...

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Location
  • map marker #1
    1701 Bayview Ave. (at Eglinton Ave. E.)
  • 416-322-3270

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Amaya

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The highly praised Amaya the Indian room opened its doors in June of 2007 with thumbs-up reviews from all three of the city’s major dailies, and a glowing feature article and top 10 ranking by Toronto Life magazine’s James Chatto.

As Joanne Kates (Restaurant Critic for The Globe & Mail) writes…”all of which explains why Amaya is heaven-sent. The combination of silken service and excellent ingredients freshly cooked, with sensitive spicing, is seductive in the way that only the food of the subcontinent can be - rich, assertive, complex, exotic. Amaya prawns are very spicy but restrained, their sauce a tamarind-scented green mango curry with green chili and fenugreek, sweet and hot and perfectly balanced on the big barely cooked shrimp. Ordinary Indian restaurants throw some red-marinated chicken in the oven and call it tandoori. Amaya does tandoori duck breast, ruby slices in orange-inflected sauce with shredded apple. Move over, duck à l'orange. Coconut lobster curry is what happened when the maharani met Marie Antoinette: a sauce so creamy it meets and matches the soft flesh of barely cooked lobster, but unlike a French cream sauce, this one is jazzed with ginger, garlic and cardamom pods.”

Just as the food avoids clichés, so does the setting: the 40-seat dining room is accented with subtle hints of India through stunning photography, creating an inviting atmosphere that is casual and friendly, yet elegant and sophisticated.