Menali Restaurant — Restaurant in Toronto

TLDR: This place offers Nepali momos, Indian/Hakka cuisines, and great service. The portions are generous, and the pricing is reasonable. Would make another trip back to try more of the menu!

-[MASALA CHAI] $3.29 🫖 This is black tea steeped with cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves 🫖 It is also has milk in it when served, and is typically pre-sweetened for you 🫖 Now that I am no longer allergic to cinnamon, I am trying chai everywhere it is offered on the menu so I got one here!

-[JOOL MOMO - CHICKEN] $16.99 🥟 These are their steamed momos served in a rich broth made with vegetables like onions, and tomatoes 🥟 The broth they were served in was delicious but remember they are served fresh so they will be steaming hot! 🥟 Super tasty if you ask me

-[MOUNTAIN HARIYALI MOMO - CHICKEN] $17.99 🌿 The sauce for this one is why it was ordered - the sauce was made out of green herbs, yogurt, mint, and spices 🌿 I don't know how to describe it but it worked so well together in terms of the combinations of flavors 🌿 Highly recommend you give this a go!

-[PALAK PANEER] $15.49 🌿 Tender cottage cheese in a blended creamy spinach sauce that is super flavorful 🌿 I always order palak paneer because I actually prefer this compared to dishes with meat because of how delicious it is 🌿 Despite it being a vegetarian dish, I promise it is extremely filling

-[GARLIC NAAN] $4.99 🧄 Always something I order when I want naan, and this did NOT disappoint 🧄 The naan portion is quite large so two orders of naan is well above what you will probably need if you ordered the way I did haha

-[KEEMA NAAN] $6.99 🐑 Naan stuffed with seasoned minced lamb 🐑 I'm not 100% sure what the seasonings were but something in it was not my favorite flavoring - it was still good but I think I would have preferred a cheese naan for next time!

📝 Even after all that food, the bill was only less than $40 because it was split between two people. It almost felt like we robbed them 😵‍💫 The food was honestly so good, and our server was kind enough to help us with deciding what...

I am so happy that I took a chance on this little known treasure on the Danforth! There are so many beautiful facets of this restaurant that deserve to be amplified. The restaurant is only a 3 – 4 minute walk from Chester station, making it a super convenient location. The walls are adorned with uniquely framed posters of lovely images which are backlit from within. I can just imagine the incredible ambiance that would be created at night.

I appreciated the extensive selection of appetizing menu items, that also include some vegan options. Our server, Melina, could not have been more gracious, helpful and attentive. She managed to find so many little ways in which to enhance our dining pleasure and experience.

We tried several dishes that included: Mango Salad, Veg Chow Mein, Tandoori Chicken Wings, Chicken Karahi, Bhindi Masala and Chicken Biriyani. Everything made our taste buds sing and the care with which the food was prepared and presented, was almost palpable. The portions were generous and made for incredibly tasty leftovers to enjoy the next day. The Mango Lassi was perfection, with just the right balance in all ways. The Kheer was very refreshing and had the perfect level of sweetness as well.

My family and I enjoyed an incredibly satisfying meal and stellar service. We were quite eager to share this delightful new discovery with others. It feels really good to support family-run businesses who put their heart and soul into all they do, and deliver with exceptional results. Also, if your timing is right, you might manage to catch a glimpse of who the restaurant is named after. You might just...

We stopped by Menali a few weeks ago for a date night dinner on the weekend. The restaurant is well rated and has a good amount of variety in Indian (and Hakka) cuisine on the menu.

The restaurant is a lovely space. There's plenty of seating here. The staff are very helpful and friendly.

We ordered a variety of dishes. Starting with chilli fried Momos, which was not enjoyable as they seemed a bit overdone. Momos are generally light and fluffy. In this case, the outer crust was crisp but then the Momo as a whole was quite chewy. The 'chilli sauce' is quite flavourful and savoury, while a little on the salty side. Not a bad starter but I would avoid the fried version.

For our mains we ordered tandoori shrimp, saffron rice and an eggplant curry.

The shrimp were a miss. They were overcooked and chewy. The mint sauce however is quite good.

The eggplant curry is a little on the sweeter side but we both enjoyed it. It's creamy, savoury and spiced nicely. Paired with rice or naan this was excellent.

Lastly the naan and rice here are pretty good. Saffron pilav was good but again not worth the price imo.

Overall, this is a pleasant restaurant for a nice meal but if you're looking for good Indian food, Menali...