Ambiyan Indian Restaurant — Restaurant in Markham

A really frustrating review to write because this resto could've EASILY been a 4 or 5 star experience.

Located on main street unionville, this resto has been around for awhile, outlasting many businesses along main st that have come and gone.

I came w/ my gf for dinner on a sunday. The aromas are amazing if you walk past the patio. We waited at the podium out front for a good 10 min before being acknowledged though servers kept glancing at us.

We ordered the seasonal special which was a 3 course dinner for 2. It included the chef's daily appetizer, 2 mains, 2 rice or naan (we got 1 rice and 1 naan) and also a choice of dessert b/w gulab jamun and kulfi.

Beef samosas: The chef's daily appetizer of the day was aloo tikki which was roasted potato cakes. The server told us we could pick a substitute from the menu which was around the same price as the aloo tikki so we settled on some beef samosas. The samosas were great. Perfectly crispy, packed w/ filling and not dry. They also came with 2 dips. A green, yogurty, minty chutney and a brown, sweet and spicy chutney. My gf and I were wondering if these were baked and not deep fried. Because it had that baked texture going on.

Basmati rice: The rice was moist and flavoured w/ saffron. Fluffy and well seasoned.

Garlic naan: We had a choice of plain, butter or garlic naan. We chose garlic naan and it did not disappoint. The bread was so fluffy, VERY garlicky and so soft.

Butter chicken: So we actually ordered chicken tikka masala but the funny story is, they gave us another table's butter chicken and gave that table our tikka masala later. The butter chicken itself was great. The curry was creamy, complex and had so many spices in it. They used breast meat cubes rather than dark meat but the chicken was tender.

Chicken korma: It's similar to butter chicken in that it's a curry but made from cashew nut paste and cream. I REALLY, really liked this dish but it arrived 20 min later than the rest of our food.

We ordered an extra serving of garlic naan to mop up all the extra curry.

Kulfi: For dessert we had a choice of kulfi or gulab jamun. We had both never tried kulfi before so we ordered up some pistachio kulfi. It reminded us of a rock solid indian ice cream lol. We really enjoyed it though. That nutty flavour to end off a heavily seasoned meal.

So you're wondering, why am I awarding 3 stars (I would give 3.5 stars but google doesn't permit half stars...and normally I'd round up but in this case I just couldn't) if the food was bomb?

Well, that would be the service and the price.

From the get-go, after being seated inside the resto, it was very apparent to us that the resto was understaffed. The patio seating is larger than the indoor seating and most of the staff are being stretched out way further than they need to be. The bar was being manned by 5 diff ppl (no designated bartender) and our server (he was a nice gentleman) was running around so much we rarely saw him. At certain points we had to wave down servers (and even a busboy at one point) for follow-ups.

I do understand there's a labour shortage in the service industry right now. But when there's corners of the resto being untouched by service, it needs to be addressed.

My other gripe is that this resto is on the expensive side for indian food. There are a lot of spots in markham or scarborough that don't have an upscale vibe but serve good food at lower price. On top of that, the portions could've been slightly bigger for what was being charged.

I did give a good tip at the end of the meal but for the totality of this review I can't give the resto 4 or 5 stars, which is a shame really. The food was really excellent but the service was driving my gf and I crazy by the end of the night. It was hard to flag someone down to even get our bill and that's not an exaggeration.

Would I return? I think I would, but I'd be apprehensive. The patio seemed well-serviced so maybe that's where I'll request to be seated next time. And maybe I'll bring a larger group of friends which might "improve"...

UPDATE: previously gave this place a 5 star review because of the food and customer service and now I am changing it to a 1 star review after picking up an order today.

I placed an order today over the phone for some curry and they mentioned it would be ready in about half and hour. I said ok and went on to run some other errands as I was hosting a party and had other food and stuff I needed to pick up. Due to traffic, I go to Ambiyan about 20 minutes late, and went to pick up my food. When I did give my name for the order to pick it up, the server who took my information said “you took a while”.

Now, I would understand this if they had to make the food and package it right now, but my food was literally already done and sitting in a bag off to the side, so I don’t see how it inconveniences him at all if I come later than expected. The restaurant also was fairly empty, with only about 3 filled tables even on Mother’s Day, so I really didn’t understand what that attitude was about. I had other errands to run, and traffic was unusually bad due to it being Mother’s Day evening.

Although a big part of customer service is the food, it’s also the way you actually treat the customers. I definitely will not be returning if this is the new standard of customer service at Ambiyan.

For those of you who are looking to not only try good food, but also experience what good customer service means, Ambiyan is not the place for you. Many other restaurants in Main Street Unionville offer great quality food while sparing you the attitude I experienced today.

UPDATE on the update: after posting this review, I was asked by the restaurant owner to reach out to him to discuss this matter further. I was happy to do so and sent an email, as requested. We chose a time and a day that works to hop on a phone call to discuss this matter. When it did come time for the call, I got no call at all. I waited a whole hour before losing hope on actually speaking with the owner as I had a work meeting to attend to. No email explaining what happened or of needing to reschedule.

After my recent experience at Ambiyan, I knew that the customer service on a restaurant level wasn’t good, but after this experience with the restaurant owner himself, I now know it’s the same on a management level.

Good customer service and customer support isn’t a privilege - it’s the bare minimum for any business in the service industry. Don’t settle for anything less by dining at Ambiyan. Save yourself the time, money, and most certainly the hassle and choose to...

Ambiyan Equals Ambiance !!

I have been to this Indian-style restaurant several times over the years for a drink and a meal. On this visit I decided to bring the kids along as they hadn't had good Indian food in a long time and finally it seems like we were at the time getting a little break from Uber-Eats, dining at home and always getting take-out food. This restaurant is located on the middle of the Main Street Unionville strip and has been a staple of Main Street Unionville for years. Did you know Ambiyan also doubles as a pub? One side of the restaurant is dedicated to the pub and it has its own pub menu. Since this was a family visit we ate the food from the main restaurant.

We were seated just under the roof attached to Ambiyan and were under a see-through vinyl which allowed us to catch a good breeze and protected us from the elements. In the fall and winter, this section is heated. We were seated and our server came to greet us almost immediately. he took the time to explain the food to my kids and started them off with Mango Lassies and an order of Cheesy Naan. The kids ate the Naan so fast I wan't able to take a picture of it.

Our food for that night,

Cheese Naan - With mozzarella and cheddar cheese duo

Gone in seconds

Chicken Kebab - Baked skewers of minced chicken seasoned with garlic and spices

A little spice but okay for kids when they eat it with the yogurt

Lamb Kebab - Baked skewers of ground lamb meat seasoned with garlic and spices

A little spicer then the Chicken but no problem, I selfishly ordered them for me.

Tandoori Prawns - Tiger Prawns Marinated in Tandoori Spices and slow baked.

An abolute delight

Butter Chicken

Classic, plaentiful and flavourful

Lamb Korma

Came in a rich and creamy cashew sauce

Vegetable Biryani

Made with spices and basmati rice, and packed with flavour

Sides

Raita which is made with a natural yogurt with coriander, tomato and onion.

My only disappoitment was that they didn't offer Kingfisher, an Indian Beer which I can find at many Indian restaurants in the GTA. In all the food was amazing and the kids enjoyed as much as the adults did. Our server was great and very patient with kids and helped them enjoy their meal and also challenged them a little to try some of the more spicier dishes. Another great meal at one of Unionville's most popular restaurants. If you havent been there, I do recommend you...