Royal Kerala Foods — Local services in Toronto

Go to place for all things Malayali! Mini Kerala inside the store. They even have sadya for 5 in a box!! Recently discovered frozen vegetable mix for sambar and aviyal at the store. It's a godsend for Malayali folks missing home food and not having to locate all the vegetables within the same week, only to find the chena (yam) you scored at the beginning of the week has passed on to it's next life and is no more edible. A fleeting thought does pass through your mind - "what's the worse that can happen if I cook with some spoilt yam.." Word of caution, the worse thing is worse than what you have ever imagined. So back to the review.. Royal Kerala Foods also has some nifty utensils that are specifically used in Malayali dishes, like the chatti (earthen pot) for fish curry and anything else you wish to make in it. I figured it might present a bit of thermodynamic confusion, when you put it on a ceramic stovetop, so left it as an item on my imaginary wishlist when I get to have FIRE inside my imaginary house. One other item I go there for is the plum cake. Brings back memories of Christmas in Kerala. The intoxicating plum cake that I considered a child's alternative for alcohol, still tastes exactly the same. Speaking of plum cakes, if you can get hold of Pandhal cake shop's Aged Rum Cake, please do so. It is out of this world! I digress... Being a Malayali, you do inherit the taste for seafood. That's available here as well. Although you might want to reconsider your primary decision to consume frozen fish that you may have to pray to, lest it be older than you ;). Overall, if you're a Malayali, are new in the GTA and are looking for a piece of home and have chanced upon this review, Royal Kerala Foods is where you want to be. P.S. don't forget to visit their ready to eat food section - Mr. John's, next door. Think Porotta, chilli chicken, beef fry, pazham pori and beef cutlet.... Hope that...

I should have checked the negative review first and not the 4 stars in Google reviews.

I bought many items from here recently. First of all, there should be exact details regarding the rates of certain items. Many items doesn’t even clearly comes with a price tag or a label.

Secondly, I purchased frozen king fish from here for the first time. The shelf says $7.99 but doesn’t say the weight clearly and after coming home I realised it doesn’t have an expiry label too. The pieces are all broken gets powdered if you cut it. I have wasted my money and have to throw it away to avoid further serious poisoning. No return policies too, so please check before you buy !

Make sure that you have proper policies and regulations followed regarding frozen items as it’s a serious issue to safety.

I’m not sure if the store or authorities would follow or not but frozen items are definitely not worth here. I usually buy fishes from Walmart and it’s far better though the options...

This place has a lot of great authentic stuff. This place takes pride in selling unique, good quality items from Kerala. It is unlike other South Asian stores, which sell the usual items, many of which are really sub-standard in quality, poorly packaged and sometimes stale or rancid. (read my other reviews if you wish to know who) The girl at the counter was refreshingly very helpful, polite and honest, unlike the arrogance and rudeness I receive at some other South Asian grocery stores and take-outs. They also sell Indian Mixer-Grinders and spare parts for those machines. Such businesses which make the effort to offer good quality merchandise and good customer service should be patronized and encouraged to continue doing so as they will hopefully set the bar for other poorly managed...