The Copper Chimney — Restaurant in Toronto

This is a review on delivery

Fried appetizers like the mixed vegetable pakora ($5.50) are terrible for delivery. Pakoras I’ve had in the past have been fluffy fritters studded with shredded vegetables, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Copper Chimney’s are dry like food court falafel that have been left on the warmer all day. It’s such a shame, as I can see the large pieces of onions and carrots in the batter. It’s just so overdone (or perhaps fried during lunch and merely re-heated for dinner) that I had to wash it down with a drink.

Another overcooked dish was the lucknowi reshmi kebab ($14). Maybe tandoori is something that must be eaten at the restaurant, as Pataki’s review mentioned it being moist and delicious. What arrived at our house was covered in a tasty spice mixture (like a slightly spicy saffron), but so dry that it’s like eating cubes of chicken breast that has been reheated in a microwave and then cooled down again. Another gulp of drink to get this down.

The best part of the dish was the creamed coriander and mint chutney dipping sauce. It’s such a great refreshing bright yoghurt sauce that I tried it with everything in the meal. If you don’t get the kebab, it’s even worth ordering the condiment solely to put on other items.

Finally, the meal improved when I turned my attention to the saag paneer ($12), the spinach and onion puree so fresh and vibrant tasting, unlike so many other places where it’s rendered to a dark mush. Large cubes of soft Indian cheese are mixed throughout, these were thankfully left neutral and remained moist.

The saag goes wonderfully with basmati rice ($4) or garlic naan ($3.50), both sides arrive in huge portions (the naan two times larger than ones found in other restaurants). I just wished we ordered more curries to go with the grains.

Instead, I had to try their shrimp biryani ($17) and wasn’t disappointed. Despite it looking like another order of basmati when we opened the lid, get through the first layer and you’re greeted with a lovely fragrant rice that’s filled with flavours and a kick of heat that had me reaching for the raita. Here the shrimp were cooked nicely, still plump and tender despite trying...

I booked a reservation for my daughter's 16 birthday last week. The reservation was made days before and in my conversation with the person who answered the phone, I was told that the 7pm time slot that I wanted was unavailable, but that I could have 6:30, or preferably 6pm. I accepted the 6pm slot just so that the dinner wouldn't be rushed. My name and phone number were taken. The day of the reservation, I called Copper Chimney again giving my name and the time of the reservation, and asking to increase my party from 6 to 7 people. I was told that that was not a problem. I dropped my daughter off and received a distressed call from her minutes later saying that there was no reservation for her. She put the person who told her that, on the line . He repeatedly told me that I was wrong in thinking I had made any reservation.He had no record of it. He kept saying that I must have booked it somewhere else. He also told me that I had not called earlier that day to add a person to the reservation. I was just incredulous and absolutely appalled. I had 6 girls coming to a birthday dinner and didn't know what to do. After my protests, the restaurant did put together two small tables right beside the kitchen, with one chair on one side of the table, to allow passage of staff and the rest on the other side. Initially, 2 girls had to share a chair, because there weren't enough available. There wasn't enough room to accommodate all the food either, and the meal was rushed because it was so uncomfortable. It is hard to express how disappointed and angry I was. My daughter's birthday dinner was ruined, because one person didn't record a reservation and another person didn't check when I called a second time. Today I called the number on the website again, just to make sure that it was the correct one. Again as before, they answered with"Copper Chimney, may I help you?" They could have helped me the first time, by recording my reservation. As for the food, it's fine, especially if you like a lot of sauce. However neither I nor my daughter will...

I absolutely agree with Aesha Patel's review...their food is good but the staff at this restaurant is so rude and unprofessional, they don't know what customer service is and how one should behave with the customers. They keep talking, laughing and giggling at the counter when customers are present making their dining experience unpleasant. It is not some road side restaurant where you expect all this to happen. We are paying good price for the food and ambience but their servers don't care at all. They keep chatting in hindi at the counter which even their customers being Indians can understand but they don't care. We requested for a change in table due to this very reason and their server said "no, no, no" so rudely!! Have some courtesy atleast while replying to your customers!! And if you cannot change the table, then atleast behave at the counter when customers are present. To Aesha Patel's comment, I myself saw one server replying so rudely to a customer who walked in yesterday and moreover, she did not even want to take their complete order by saying "I don't think you can eat so much"!!! What the hell!! How can you say that to a customer?? I was completely annoyed with their behavior. I am sure there would be so many people who would agree with me on this. Their pick up services could be good as I said their food is nice but dining in their restaurant is not a nice experience primarily because of their staff.

I believe the OWNER of this restaurant is least bothered about how his/her employees behave.

WELL YOU DESERVE AN APPLAUSE FOR YOUR COURTEOUS RESPONSE! YOU ARE THE ONLY RESTAURANT WHICH EMPLOYS...