Moldova Restaurant — Restaurant in Toronto

I'd like to give Moldova Restaurant more stars, but, sadly, my Chicken Kiev was partly raw inside-- fully pink/uncooked meat showing--, which is simply inexcusable in a professional kitchen, let alone one whose flagship dish this is meant to be. "Rare" beef, duck, or pork, I can tolerate no problem, but chicken? There shouldn't be a need to even discuss this. With the amount of these you've prepared over the years-- thousands upon thousands, I'm sure-- you'd think it would be consistent... but I guess not, I guess there's always some level of variability. I of course received an apology, and the chicken was of course swiftly rushed back to the kitchen, where it was cooked further to an appropriate doneness, but your appetite isn't the same at that point. The right thing to do would've been to void the dish off the receipt (we were a party of two, with multiple dishes ordered), or at the very least make one from scratch- maybe throw in a dessert for the inconvenience. Beyond that, our waitress was very warm and accommodating, and the place is nice and clean. Have heard many good things about the spot over the years, though it's been noted to me there's been something of a decline more recently, with perhaps consistency (as I experienced) being something of an issue. While this was my one-and-only experience dining at Moldova, and really not THAT big a deal in the grand scheme of things, I think, I just don't see any reason to risk it and go back to spend my hard-earned money there again. Maybe the chicken will be properly cooked next time, maybe it won't- it's...

It is an experience you must approach with a bit of patience and curiosity. Here in this tiny, unassuming space you will find delicious, affordable home-style cooking of East European recipes. I am Georgian by nationality and I must say with their food they actually managed to make my feel home.

If you've been thinking about trying something that's homemade, tastes good, smells good, isn't cheaply made - then this a place for you.

Let's talk about food:

Pirogies are a top 3 underrated food ever. Boiled preferably but fried are still dynamic. Some might call it the dumpling of Eastern Europe. Great to share , better to eat.

You must try this traditional food called khinkali it is made of minced meat either pork and beef/lamb/cheese/mushrooms with coriander and some spices. Now, believe I've eaten a lot of them in my lifetime. The ones I ate here are no worse then those in Gerogia.

I mean, I am no khash expert or extreme khash fan, but their khash has to be one of the best I have ever tried. I am not sure what is the secret but it tasted very smooth and delicious. Next couple of days after my visit I was bragging about their khash to my friends.

Phali, qufta and lobio were all delicious. I was raised on these, I know what they are supposed to taste and I tell you they taste good.

In interior itself isn't overly fancy, it's casual, but very cozy. To me it was even more appealing like that.

I have just one tiny complaint - the service time was a bit off - but their attitude was on point.

Overall it was an experience I am certainly going to repeat over...

Atmosphere + Service: Our server was friendly and patient. She answered questions that we had about the menu and brought everything out in a timely fashion. The restaurant and washrooms were clean and well lit. They played some classical music in the background (not too loud).

Food: The restaurant gives you some warm bread and hummus to start with. The hummus was good and tasted homemade. My friend and I got a ‘Borscht Soup’ to start with – a solid 8/10. For mains, we got ‘Brizol Moldova’ with buckwheat and ‘Metitei’ with home potatoes. The ‘Brizol Moldova’ was good but personally I wouldn’t get it again – I just found it to be a little chewy and not as flavorful as it could have been. I liked the buckwheat, but my friend was not a fan (it’s similar to brown rice – a little bit textured and a little bit nutty).

The ‘Metitei’ (grilled lamb / veal sausage) was amazing! My first time trying it and I would 100% order it again. Juicy and the lamb flavor was present but not overpowering. I’m just sad that they only give you 4 pieces – I could eat a whole plate of those by themselves. The home potatoes were crispy and perfectly seasoned. Both mains also came with pickled cabbage and red sauce (on the side). I loved the red sauce – it tasted almost like a watery spicy ketchup. My friend felt like the sauce went better with the appetizer bread than the dishes themselves. Personally, I was just enjoying the sauce by itself with a spoon.

Overall: I...