Mangal Kebab House — Restaurant in Toronto

I had really high expectations for this place because it was so well rated, and the food looked good. It was even rated higher than our favourite place, Efendi. Unfortunately, we were severely disappointed and will likely not return again.

The grilled meats platter was definitely the best value in terms of price only, for what you get. It’s $80 and the portion was for two people but can easily feed four for the amount of food you get. However, what you get in the platter leaves something to be desired. Adana kebab was our favourite part of the meal and we’re glad we ordered an extra dish of it as the rest of the meal kind of went downhill from here. It was well seasoned, not dry and had a slight hint of spicy that was delicious. Beef gyro was salty and dry, lamb ribs were well seasoned but had basically no meat on them, just bone and skewers again, well seasoned but were a little dry. Rice was bland (also we asked for NO rice but they still gave it to us despite the fact that the person on the phone confirmed our order for us twice) and grilled vegetables were flavourless and oily.

Sebzeli pide carried surprisingly well considering we drove about 23 minutes to get the food. It was cold by the time we ate it which we expected since we got takeout but not soggy which is good. Bread wasn’t bad but cheese was rubbery and bland and it kind of reminded me of those frozen bagel bites.

The bread that comes with the other dishes was very oily and texture wasn’t good. This was very disappointing because we love Turkish bread and were excited for this. It’s usually the first thing we finish whenever we get Turkish food but this time, we had a lot of leftover bread that no one wanted to touch.

Sigara boregi (feta spring rolls) was VERY salty. I know feta is a saltier cheese but this was too much.

Hummus, baba ganoush and coban salad all did not have much flavour and were all again, very oily. It seemed that most of the dishes were very very oily. We ended up tossing most of the salad because we tasted more oil than freshness.

It’s possible the food would’ve been slightly better if we had dined in but because it was so oily, salty or bland for the most part, I’m not sure it would’ve changed my rating. Overall highly disappointing dinner and it was for my dad’s birthday too :(

Two stars is only for the adana kebab as that was good, otherwise this would be a one star or even zero. If I were to return (and it’s not likely I would), I would only get the kebab and nothing else, not even the bread, rice or vegetables that...

The Wyck Recommendation: Mangal (Scarborough) Rating: 3.4/5 The Iskender Justifies the Scarborough Strip Plaza Blues

Intro Scene Three guys in three piece suits and one lady dressed Ralph Lauren chic. In Scarborough that is not normal. We needed a place to talk business and inhale meat. Mangal looked good enough on Google Maps so there we were sitting in a weird strip plaza that feels like it never decided what it wants to be. No bar, no alcohol. Fully halal. If you want a Negroni look elsewhere. The grill smoke did the talking for us. There was even a photoshoot going on right next to us. It is Scarborough. We did not mind.

What Was Ordered Iskender. The hero. Saucy, juicy, worth a second visit. Beyti. Looked better than it tasted. All wrap, not enough wow. Lahmacun. Not crispy, just there. Forgettable. A few other things lost to business chatter and handshake diplomacy.

Service Commentary They take your order, grill the meat, drop the trays. If the owner is around you might catch some old school Turkish warmth. If not expect a transaction not a welcome wagon.

Vibe Check No ID. Bright lights, plastic trays, the smell of charcoal fighting the stale strip plaza air. Families, lone kebab hunters, three suits and a Ralph Lauren blazer pretending it is a boardroom. A random photoshoot happening beside your table. Nobody is here for ambiance. They are here for meat.

The Space Itself Basic tables, metal trays, a big charcoal grill. No decor to remember. The plaza is all parking lot and existential dread.

About the Neighborhood Deep Scarborough. A plaza you forget until you need to feed people in suits somewhere they probably do not belong. Parking is easy. The vibe is yours to bring.

Hits & Misses ✓ Iskender. Juicy, solid, worth it. ✗ Lahmacun. Limp, no crisp, skip it. ✗ Beyti. Nice photo, boring bite. ✗ No bar. No booze. Just halal meat.

Final Verdict It is not the Magal from the UK. Just a Scarborough charcoal spot that does the job. For local standards it works. I would still go to Kebab 49 if I want my Turkish done right. But the Iskender is worth dressing like a boardroom weirdo for. I will come back for another review when I am not busy shaking hands.

Perfect For Feeding suits when Scarborough calls. Making small talk over meat when you would...

(edit) I wasn't able to create a newpost under my account again but this place is still a 5star dining experience! This is just In addition to my last experience at Mangal last summer(2024). The 2nd time around we went for my brother in law's birthday (March7,2025)...they were all so impressed by the attention to detail! from the littlest things like giving us a paper bag for our take out since the one we had was already in a knot to the live singer singing happy birthday to my Brother in Law! It was truly a surprise for everyone. It was also my other sister and fiance first time and they were also so pleased to get this sort of service in Scarborough. The consistency in excellent customer service is something to experience. Also thanks to our amazing server....Bedo!! And the Mangal Kebab family again for the hospitality! We most likely will be coming again this summer with more of our family members when they visit us in Canada! We ordered the platter again and...the Turkish Ice cream!! Pairs perfectly with the Turkish tea they serve in the end 💯

(Old review summer 2024) My relatives love exploring new restaurants whenever they visit from overseas. We brought them to Mangal for a Turkish experience, they enjoyed the experience so much they recommended us to bring our other relatives here when they visit next year.

Our experience started with complimentary mezzes (3 small dips) and they enjoyed the fresh hot pita/bread that came with it. We ordered a few things, and they were most impressed with the mix platter for 4. The meat/rice was on top of some hot plate(coal?) the meat was grilled to perfection with just enough charcoal taste. My relatives (older) really enjoyed the authentic grilling flavor that wasn't over powered by salt/seasoning.

We ordered the Turkish ice cream (my all time favorite) cold baklava and some other cake milk dessert. All were very delicious but the milk cake dessert was a bit too sweet for my preference, however the complimentary Turkish tea was the perfect combination for the sweets!

In addition to the delicious food, our server Niusha made this experience a 5 star experience! Niusha was attentive, and made delicious...