ROWDYS Indian & Hakka — Restaurant in Toronto

I recently visited Rowdy with high hopes for a delightful dining experience. While the staff's behavior was good and humble, unfortunately, the overall experience fell short of expectations. Here's a breakdown of my visit:

Service: The staff promptly took our order, considering the restaurant was busy. However, there were significant delays in receiving our dishes. We understood the possibility of delay due to the rush, but what transpired was unacceptable. The first dish, Samosa Chaat, arrived promptly within 10 minutes. Subsequently, the Fried Rice, Chicken Noodle, and Egg Noodle were served, but we had to wait a staggering 45 minutes for the fourth noodle dish. By the time it arrived, the previously served dishes had turned cold. We had to request the staff to microwave the food to at least enjoy it hot. Such extended delays and the subsequent need to reheat the food greatly affected our dining experience.

Food Quality: As a fan of Hakka cuisine, I have explored various restaurants in the east of Toronto. Regrettably, the Hakka dishes at Rowdy were a disappointment. The flavors were completely lacking, leaving the dishes tasteless. I urge the chef to either improve their Hakka recipes or consider hiring someone proficient in cooking Hakka cuisine. Additionally, the chicken noodle dish we received initially contained no chicken at all. After pointing this out to the server, they took the plate back, only to return with a few dried and flavorless pieces of chicken. This subpar experience greatly affected our overall satisfaction.

Highlights: Amidst the disappointing aspects, there were a few positive elements worth mentioning. Prashan (assuming the correct name) stood out as an excellent and honest server. He addressed our table with politeness and even served us a complimentary sizzler. However, the sizzler, unfortunately, lacked taste. Additionally, the Samosa Chaat and Papdi Chaat were enjoyable, and I would like to suggest adding sev/bhujiya on top of the Samosa Chaat for added texture and visual appeal.

Garlic Naan: The Garlic Naan was a redeeming dish, with perfect texture and a light, fluffy consistency. However, it lacked the expected amount of garlic topping. Although it was enjoyable, the limited garlic content affected the overall flavor.

Billing: Upon receiving the bill, we noticed an incorrect charge for the sizzler. However, Prasanna promptly resolved the issue and kindly offered us a 10% discount. While we appreciate his assistance, it couldn't salvage the disappointing experience we had.

Conclusion: As a resident of Toronto for the past five years, I have explored numerous Hakka restaurants in the area. Unfortunately, my visit to Rowdy was the worst I have encountered so far. I have attached photos to support my claims. The underwhelming flavors, significant delays, and overall dissatisfaction ruined our dining experience. Consequently, it is regrettable to say that this is the first restaurant where I chose not to leave a tip.

Overall, I hope that Rowdy takes this feedback constructively and works towards improving their Hakka cuisine and service quality. With necessary improvements, they have the potential to create a better dining experience for...

I had an incredibly disappointing experience at Rowdy’s, both in terms of customer service and what I believe to be a serious health code violation.

We called ahead to place an order, and while the woman who answered asked if we could hold for a moment, she never actually returned to the phone. After waiting for ten minutes, we hung up and called back to confirm they were still open and taking orders. She assured us they were and told us the food would be ready in about ten minutes. To be considerate, we arrived fifteen minutes later, allowing more than enough time for our order to be ready.

When we got there, an Uber Eats driver was waiting for a pickup. The employee let us know she would assist him first, which was completely fine. However, once it was our turn, things quickly fell apart. I first paid for our food but realized I had forgotten to add drinks, so I asked if we could purchase them separately. At that moment, the employee seemed overwhelmed and confused, unable to give me a clear answer before abruptly telling me to take a seat.

That’s when I realized what had actually happened—she had mistakenly given our order to the Uber Eats driver, who had already left with it. Instead of addressing this upfront, she simply told us it would be another ten minutes without any explanation. Naturally, I assumed they were remaking our food, as that would be the only acceptable solution.

Instead, the Uber Eats driver returned ten minutes later with our food—food that had already left the restaurant, been in someone else’s possession, and traveled who knows where. Rather than discarding it and making a fresh order, the employee simply retrieved the bag from him, handed him the correct order, and handed it to us as if nothing had happened. When I brought up my concerns, she assured me that the Uber driver never touched the food because she had packed it herself. However, the bag wasn’t even sealed—it just had a loose knot on top, making it easily accessible and resealable.

To be clear, I don’t blame the Uber driver at all. He was simply doing his job, and the mistake was entirely on the restaurant. If anything, I feel bad for him and hope he was compensated for the mix-up.

At the very least, some acknowledgment and an apology would have gone a long way. I understand that the drinks I requested cost money, and I had no issue paying for them—but after making me wait twice as long and attempting to pass off compromised food as if nothing happened, a small gesture of goodwill, like covering the drinks, would have been appropriate. Instead, had I not spoken up, they would have continued pretending nothing was wrong - yet she denied any wrong doing and assured it everything was fine.

Mistakes happen, but the way a business handles them matters. In this case, there was no accountability, no effort to fix the situation properly, and no concern for basic food safety. I won’t be returning, and I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone who values their time, money, or the integrity...

Omg this place is amazing! Definite must try. Found it by chance searching late night hakka and had no idea it was their first day.

Before going into the exceptionally tasty food, Malaika, the hostess, is incredible. Super friendly, helpful and just a lovely person. Everything a hostess should be and was helpful with the ordering.

Now, the food. We got Butter chicken, chili chicken (with gravy), hakka garlic noodles with chicken and shrimp, a mango lassi and some gulab juman for desert. Total was I think $60 before tax and very reasonable for the portions.

The butter chicken is honestly incredible, some of the best ive ever had. It is bursting with flavour, and there is sort of a zestyness to it, i think some lemongrass. My wife and I kept saying wow after each bite, so good. And the chili chicken is honestly one of my favorites I've ever had, and I've had a decent amount. The flavors are just so good, and there are a lot of fresh herbs and spices giving it this irresistible flavor combo. A lot of chili chicken is a little dull and heavy but this one is just phenomenol. I got medium spice and it had quite the kick. The noodles were good, though my least favorite of what we got, but thats more because the butter and chilli chicken were so so good. Wife loved the mango lassy but was hoping for a bit bigger of a size, I think it's 3.99 or 4.99. Desert was lovely.

Honestly it's a 10/10 first impression. I'd like to try more of the menu but the butter chicken and chili chicken will be mandatory buys every time. I will be going out of my way to stop here for dinner.

If you like Indian food and Hakka, I highly recommend you try it out. It's open late too, which is the only reason I tried it as opposed to my usual hakka spots in Markham/Scarborough and...