Fat Pasha — Restaurant in Toronto

We turn to Jewish and Middle Eastern cuisine when we're craving rich, full dishes that sing with exotic and exciting flavour combinations; but it’s not always easy to find the really good stuff. And, because we’ve been lucky enough to have eaten a lot of food from around the world it can be hard to delight our imaginations - and our palates. Fat Pasha certainly checked off all these boxes for us.

Ambiance:

It's a great place to gather with a group of friends. With an intimate feel (seating allows for about 40 people), the lively buzz in the room picks up quickly. It has a modern, clean feel with blonde woods, walls, and accents in whites and subdued blues. The tables are bit close, so it isn't an ideal spot for a romantic date night or private conversation. But it’s a great spot when you need a dose of social energy to pair with your big meal!

Staff:

The staff are lovely and attentive but can get caught up in the energy of the place, so you might have to be a bit assertive in getting their attention when the place is full. Our waitress was casual and straightforward with an easy-going air; her vibe suited the social atmosphere of the place.

Food:

We feel their menu is best enjoyed with a group of 4 - 6 or more. The dishes are intended for sharing, and some are quite large and hearty. Their famous roasted cauliflower alone would have been enough to contentedly feed two people. The three of us had ordered four dishes and were ready to lapse into a food coma by the end of our meal! We probably would have been quite content with three dishes, and a shared a dessert. Dishes come out one at a time, with a bit of space between each to let the rich food settle and make it easier to keep going.

Hummus: We started with the hummus - hard not to! They have a daily hummus special with a creative twist and a unique collection of toppings. This was perhaps the most decadent version we've ever had; super creamy, with whole chickpeas on top, pickled onions, parsley, tomatillo "salsa" and paprika – and of course lots of EVOO. It was delicious and has encouraged us to be more creative with our hummus at home!

Roasted Cauliflower: This is one of their most famous dishes, and when we saw the neighboring table dig in, it just had to happen. Tahini (made from sesame seed) and skhug (a cilantro and garlic based sauce), is layered over top. Pomegranate seeds and pine nuts are sprinkled on top with some grated halloumi. It's really, really filling (did we mention that it’s filling?) with lots of flavours complimenting and contrasting each other - we loved it!

Duck Schmaltz Latkes - Latkes are a "pancake" made out of grated potato. They're cooked in duck schmaltz, which is rendered duck fat. A version of schmaltz is used in many cultures and allows food fried in it to achieve a beautiful brown crispness. These latkes were nice and thick, with a crunchy exterior and a soft, tasty interior. Served with applesauce and sour cream these were a real comfort food for us.

Chicken Kabab - Big cubes of chicken breast in a lovely yogurt-based sauce and a side of delicious, sectioned tomatoes and drizzled with dill and parsley. Thank goodness this was a smaller dish, as by this point we were near the point of bursting. We were a bit uncertain about chicken breast as a kabab; when not done just right chicken kababs can come out dry. We needn’t have worried; the chicken was moist and delicious - they did a...

Dined at Fat Pasha last night because of the solid reviews and to try a new restaurant (new to us). Our server was nice. Someone from the kitchen ran our food and they were quite warm and attentive. The atmosphere is quaint. The temps are freezing at the moment and they have found a way to stop patrons from feeling a draft every time the door opens by way of heavy curtain.

The food was not great, unfortunately. We ordered the smaller dip platter with hummus, babaganoush, and a red pepper/feta/nut dip, it comes with falafel and tahini, as well as a few olives and pickled vegetables. It also came with two small rounds of a thicker pita (4 would be better due to the size). There were a few issues here, mainly, each dip was swimming in so much oil it became nearly impossible to enjoy texturally or to discern flavour. Oil should be a garnish, drizzled on top, but each of our dips were doused in the stuff. It made everything feel so heavy and we didn't finish the dips at all. We have never not finished a dip charcuterie at a middle eastern resto before. Usually, dip platters are soooo good! Disappointing for sure. I would recommend lighter use of oil, obviously, and a small bowl filled with giveaway (cheap ways to add value) items like pickled veggies. We barely had any which made the dish feel stingy for the price. The falafel was nice, although the outside texture was a bit spikey. For our main, we shared a brisket which took up one side of the plate. The other side was filled with onion straws. They added a horseradish sauce that was the most flavourful item of the dinner. Delicious. The brisket was tender, too fatty for my taste. I wish they asked what cut we would prefer beforehand. Our meat was slathered in sauce, however, and so the flavor of the meat was lost in it. Here, I would cut the mountain of onion straws to a quarter of the current serving, and sub with potatoes or rice. Something to help soak up the amount of sauce. Maybe offer more complimentary bread. Again, cheap to produce, so why not bring a basket of pita to the table? I think this place has great potential but right now the only thing that feels generous about the experience is the...

Food so good it got me philosophical.

Fat Pasha? More like Fill me with all this food again Pasha.

Me and my friend with whom i’ve shared majority of the meals I reviewed, decided to try this DELECTABLE plate style shareable pita falafel and dips meal. I forgot the name but it’s the first shareable plate on the menu. I am so grateful we did. I think every moment in my life led up to me consuming this scrumptious plate.

I truly think the human experience is analogous to this plate of pitas falafels and dips. You start with the pita, the bread. You are this bread. Pita is soft like our skin. Then you try an array of dips from sweet honey and yogurt, nutty tahini, tangy tomato based dip, bitter eggplant dip, earthy spinach dip and savoury hummus. This is similar to how as people we go through a variety of experiences in life ranging from sweet to sour. I find that the platter was a good balance of all the flavour groups you could ever experience.

Along with the dips you recieve a garden salad, some pickles, and a tomato feta crumble. There is an earthy quality to this plate. Everything feels very natural and grounding. Reminds me that at the end of the day, after all my achievements and material possessions i am just sentient being, comprised of the same molecular fabric as all living things, like the earth and the food we eat.

The falafel was spectacular! I ordered more to share. I think the falafels were like the friends we find along the way. Like my friend with whom i shared this meal. They are kind and warm like the falafel. My friend is adaptable and finds joy in all areas of life, like the falafel pairs well with all the dips.

The true meaning of life is to enjoy and savour all of the experiences no matter how good and bad, and it is enhanced when we have people like our friends to ride this journey with us.

We also had the Baharat drink so yummy, highly reccomend. I love cardamom and cinnamon. A nice edition of spice and fizz that i think we always need.

Anyways highly reccomend fat pasha, this was so scrumptious. I am so grateful for this...