Lena’s Roti & Doubles — Restaurant in Ajax

Usually I have a good experience at Lena's, however this one instance trumps any previous experience. Went in with my brother and nephew. Nephew asked for ice cream, his father asked several times what was the ingredients used for the mango ice cream before he ordered it. Person at the counter said they were not sure, so they called and asked the manager, the manager said it was just milk and mango. My brother asked more questions specifically regarding egg, pea protein and if the milk was any other alternative, as his son is severely allergic to these items. Manager/person at the cash further confirmed none of the above and just mango and regular milk.

5 minutes in, nephew starts to experience a reaction, brother asked again what the ingredients are...again, just milk and mango. We leave the restaurant because now the child (5yrs) is having an anaphylactic reaction, get him his medicine and call the restaurant back to ask them to get in contact with who made the ice cream directly, because we will need to share that with the hospital. At first my brother was told they can't do that...

The issues at hand... The ice cream is marketed as homemade ice cream and we were originally told that they made in-house. This should mean a level of awareness that the staff at cash do not have. Staff was either not trained properly or the language barrier contributed to the lack of communication. My brother's number was taken and he was told the person who made the ice cream would call us later...There was no urgency to assist us, even though we were explaining that this type of reaction can be fatal, we need to speak to the person who made it since there was no legitimate ingredient list. At no point did anyone express an apology In finally speaking with the person who makes the ice cream, the ice cream has custard (contains egg yolk) and coconut milk rather than regular milk.

Lena's....please be more mindful, considerate and compassionate in an instance like this. We are all very blessed that this did not end up FATAL. You have a responsibility to community as business owners and to the patrons you service, exercise that responsibility in training staff appropriately and with total awareness of the ingredients in your food that you sell. It could mean...

Terrible customer service. I called to place a order for 3 chicken roti (2 curry 1 stew) and 10 doubles. When i called the guy who answered the phone was completely rude and kept cutting me off. He kept saying ok ok ok yes mam okay. I repeated myself numerous times on the phone and when he repeated my order back to me it was wrong so i told him once more he said okay and then hung up. I drove from oshawa to get my food, at the Ajax location. I go to the counter told the guy my name, at which point before paying he proceeded to confirm my order which was still wrong!!! When i corrected him and told him no i told you multiple times on the phone thats not what i wanted he got upset with me and i guess they had to make me what i actually ordered because i waited for a while there. Finally he comes out with my food. One bag with what was supposed to be 10 doubles and 3 chicken roti (2 curry 1 stew). I go in my car and I'm thinking to myself you know what let me count this doubles. I don't trust that guy. LET ME TELL YOU HOW I ONLY HAD 8 DOUBLES IN THERE WHEN I ORDERED 10! So i go back again and i told him there was only 8. He rolled his eyes and within 10 seconds came out with the other 2 doubles no questions asked. It’s ridiculous because the order itself came upto $74.00! Paying and Outrageous amount of money and you’re not going to give me my food! This is my favourite spot for Trinidadian food but the guy who works there is...

A friend advised I visit Lena's. I've gone three times now. I absolutely love their boneless goat roti.

My first visit, I ordered a boneless goat roti and two doubles. Can't say that I'm a huge fan of their doubles but the roti was delicious.

On my second visit, I had ordered the regular size boneless goat roti - however, it seemed as though I had received the mini roti. This didn't change the quality of the food... just the portion size.

Today, my third visit, the restaurant was fairly busy. After a somewhat lengthy wait, a staff called my receipt number and order "chicken roti and an aloo pie"... I questioned him to see if he meant boneless goat and he replied with a "yes sorry, it's boneless goat".

After I returned home and ate my aloo pie (also really good), I took 2 bites out of my roti to find that it was indeed chicken and not goat.

Called the restaurant... the owner's daughter acknowledged the problem and apologized. She suggested I return to the store if I wasn't too far, I did. She asked me to bring the chicken roti as proof.

She ended up fixing my order, gave me two doubles and offered me a drink which I politely declined. This is great customer service and although they had made a mistake, they made me feel valued as a customer. Appreciate that and would definitely recommend Lena's to others!

Truthfully, I would've gladly taken the chicken roti with the two bites instead of the doubles. I was sad to see her...