Restaurant Boustan — Restaurant in Toronto

I had the pleasure to dine in at Boustan today and the experience was amazing. I am a shawarma person and the shawarma has go be really really good for me to visit the place again, and I can say with confidence, it was THAT DAMN GOOD.

Why? Okay so let me start. If there is a thing called medium rear in shawarma world, this would be it. The meat was just a little crispy on the outside (not like potato chips just a little bit) yet it was not dry when you chew it, it was the right kind of juicy you would want your meat to be.

The serving bowl had the appropriate distribution of all the food, just the right proportionate mix of meat, rice and fries. Unlike what I have seen in others, either too much fries or too much rice instead of a harmony.

The sauces were neither too thick nor too watery. They felt like freshly made right out of the kitchen.

And it was not served in a styrofoam box, they had a nice presentation of both the food and the ambiance in the dine in section.

The reason I liked this better than other shawarma joints was the quality and quantity of the food, specially how well cooked the meat was and yet it was not dry at all. Most shawarma places I have tried, their sauces starts to get thick like gravy and breakdowns infusing with the meat before you can finish your meal. That really kills the taste of the meat itself. But here, the sauce would season the meat instead of covering it in a thick gravy. So you get the best taste of both the meat and the sauce.

The staff were very pleasant. I did get to chat a bit and I was delighted to know that the owners of the joint were in the kitchen, preparing the meals along side the other staff. That says alot about how devoted they are to make sure each customer is not just a one time sale.

If you love Shawarma (and i really mean if you are a shawarma enthusiast) and you havent tried this, you will definitely not be disappointed.

Best of luck to ream Boustan...

I've been here twice trying 2 different things and i was still disappointed. I didn't want to write a review but this second time made me share my opinion.

First time, I got a shawarma bowl and this is not a classic bowl you get from other shawarma spots. Their chicken is super dry and they are so stingy with the sauces they charge extra $1 for different types of sauces which I was incredibly disappointed.

Second time: Here is where things were bad. I went with my girlfriend and we got 2 shawarma wraps. I was looking at the pictures and they looked pretty good so i gave it a try because the bowls were horrific. First things first, I asked the lady at the front for 2 wraps both no onions and one of them no pickles. Very Very simple tasks. I thought i was able to pick my sauces while she makes them but no. She was making the order but I thought it was a uber order so i didnt say anything, but she put pickles in both which i specifically told her no, because i never get pickles at any place. She then handed me the order, and I told her "oh i asked for no pickles" - you need to understand i did not know this was my order she was making. and she told me no you said no tomatoes. Without apologizng or asking if she can redo it, she just put it on the counter and started to walk away. At this time there was no one else in the store so i dont understand why she walked away. she was extremely rude and did not offer to remake my shawarma. I did not even touch the bag and I told her she made it wrong. She had too much ego and was super rude. 0/10 service. I ended up taking all the pickles out by hand afterwards. This is not how you run a restaurant. My mistake for coming back a second time thinking it would be better.

Will...

Edited - June 2024 The owner, Moeeza, reached out to me directly and apologized. She invited us to meet with her, came out to talk to us, and even prepared our dinner for us! Thank you so much for helping turn around this experience Moeeza!

Edited - May 2024 The atmosphere is not that great because the music they play via Bluetooth is constantly skipping.

The service is awful. We ordered 2 bowls online only to realize that their new online ordering platform is through DoorDash so we were up charged for food that we picked up ourselves anyway. It was not obvious either so people would not realize that they are getting overcharged. They messed up our 2 Stan bowls when we did an 11pm pick up- we were 1 of 2 takeout orders in the restaurant so there was absolutely no reason to have any mistakes.

The only reason we keep going back is because of the food. But the service needs to do better.

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I love Boustan’s and I’m so happy they opened up Toronto locations so I don’t have to wait until I go to Quebec.

The food is delicious but sometimes they get my order wrong and forget to give me a sauce. Service is a hit or miss so I just...