Haida Sandwich & Cafe (HAIDA PLUS) — Restaurant in Richmond Hill

My trip to Haida Sandwich was not one of rational planning, but of pure, confused magnetism. The universe was pulling me, against my better judgment, towards this establishment. The very name is an enigma: why would a sandwich shop borrow the moniker of the HMCS Haida, a massive old military vessel currently stationed near my Hamilton home (a vessel, by the way, I’ve never actually visited)? I was so utterly confused—a big ship named after a sandwich shop, or a sandwich shop named after a big ship?

Curiosity got the best of me. I had to stop. Like any sane person, I immediately parked and walked in, bracing myself for whatever hard-tack and military-grade gruel might await. Instead, I found a Persian deli. The universe is clearly playing a long-con prank on me, consistently luring me into places where the scent of saffron replaces the smell of... well, whatever a historic military artifact smells like.

Following the suggestion of a charming staff member (whose name I wisely chose not to pronounce to avoid a major international incident), I ordered the Haida Special.

And that, dear readers, is when my confusion turned to sheer, existential terror. The "Haida Special" is not a sandwich; it is a geological event. It's a deli-meat-and-chip-stuffed monster, a carb-heavy monument to human ambition. If food had size categories, this one would be in the "Newborn Baby" class. It was, I estimate, the size and weight of a well-fed infant—the kind of child you'd immediately put on a pedestal and worship as a meat deity.

How was one person to consume this beast? I felt less like a customer and more like a daring explorer, staring at a vast, unconquered land of processed cheese and sliced cold cuts.

The taste? Good. Too good, perhaps. It was an assault of flavour: the crunch of the chips, the endless layers of meats, the delightful goo of the cheese—it all worked together in a powerful performance of glorious excess. This sandwich understands the phrase "too much of a good thing" and promptly decides to ignore it completely.

In the end, I had to give up. No single human, armed only with a napkin and a dream, could defeat this giant. This sandwich requires a coordinated effort, a huge team, or at least a week of dedicated eating.

Overall experience… Excellent. I didn't get sick, I didn't eat brains, and I have enough leftovers for what I can only assume is the rest of the calendar year.

My final thought: Bring an army. You're...

WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE!! When I tried to order over the phone, the lady rushed me and wouldn’t let me continue ordering. She said I had to order online but they didn’t have all the options I wanted so I just went in store.

The woman, ONCE AGAIN, rushed me and told me they were super busy and I had to order quickly. Am I not a valid customer?

It’s a Saturday morning. When I went inside it was barely noon. How can someone speak to me this way?

The food is amazing but there’s no reason to be difficult to a customer who is bringing their money into your business.

EDIT: I am updating this part of my review after viewing the response from the store. I would like to clarify:

I was told to place my order online through door dash but the “special instructions” section is closed off so I cannot specify anything

The manager was offended I left a bad review so she called me and spent 10 minutes ranting to me over the phone not allowing me to voice my opinion This action felt very confrontational, a manager should know better than to attack a customer over the phone for leaving a bad review due to a lack of customer service on their end

I was told if I was to ever enter the store again, I would not be welcomed or at least not greeted with respect… all because I voiced my concerns

The manager also mentioned that the call was being recorded and would be taken up with the owner later, but all the owner would hear is the manager vigorously ranting.

Once again, I am one customer with one bad experience. I am not upset with the food or the kitchen, I am very satisfied with the meals. However, I am deeply disappointed in the customer service and that is my opinion which I am entitled to.

I can understand where maybe there may have been a misunderstanding so I appreciate the store apologizing. But I will never understand why the store manager had to call me to explain she was unhappy with my review meanwhile she provided bad...

The first time my little companion and I came to Haida Sandwich (هايدا ساندويچ), we ordered the delicious Persian Empire Pizza which seemed as big and mighty as the real Persian Empire at its height. Composed of beef, chicken, mozzarella, mushrooms, green peppers and olives, we had a mighty time trying to finish this off. And my little one also ordered an Americano burger for good measure - made with a premium beef patty, caramelized onions, mushrooms, cheddar and mozzarella. I was also very happy to discover the Iranian malt (non-alcoholic) beverage called "Istak". My first Istak was the lemon one - lemon is always best.

The second time we arrived, we ordered the Sosis Bandari (سوسيس بندرى) hot sandwich, and an Americano burger again. The Sosis Bandari sandwich was more than sufficient, brimming with meat. Was this not among the most intriguing and pleasing of tastes - the Bandari sausage playing off the tomato paste, pickle and parsley? (It has inspired me to buy my own Bandari sauce and experiment in the kitchen).

We particularly enjoyed the baseball game playing in the background, and it was a treat to see the Iranian-Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish (فرید یو درویش صفت) of the San Diego Padres strike out Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS Championship Game 5.

To celebrate the occasion, we ended the evening with a smooth, silky Coconut milkshake.

For visit number 3, we hope to order the cold Lamb Sandwich, and probably an Americano...