Yaffa Shawarma & Falafel — Restaurant in Toronto

I passed by this place and loved to give it a try; Jaffa (Yaffa) oranges are my favourite oranges, especially Jaffa cakes (a British snack),

Beautiful and minimal design. Small menu offering Middle Eastern handheld foods.

My friend and I excitedly walked in ( Monday evening) and were waiting to order, and this is when things went wrong; as we were waiting in front of the POS to place our order, the staff completely ignored us and started taking orders from the gentleman behind us. There’s no way the staff could not see us or we arrive after the gentleman behind us.

After processing the customer's order, The staff realized that we were waiting to order; we ordered a falafel pita, grilled chicken pita, and two sodas, but he failed to ask if we wanted bottled coke or canned coke.

We chose our topping when the order was ready and received our food.

I personally liked the falafel, it was fluffy on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside, the sauces had a good flavour except the hot cilantro sauce which for me was not as spicy as I was anticipating but that’s me, maybe that’s how Yaffa’s wants the sauce to be.

My friend enjoyed the grilled chicken a lot he loved the flavour but he made a comment that it was not hot in temperature.

Overall In terms of food, we had a great experience, loved the topping options especially the marinated carrot, Israeli salad, Anba (mango) sauce and variety of pickles.

I believe staff needs more training keeping the service consistent. They also need to familiarize themselves with the toppings provided. Maybe they can be encouraged to upsell the orange juice or bottled Mexican Coke.

If I may suggest, maybe slightly heat the pita or laffa before adding the toppings.

The dinning room was clean, bathroom was also clean, just a slight observation, the soap dispenser was a bit far from the sink, there is plenty of room available near the sink to place the soap dispenser.

Over all a great place, I would love to try the Sabich and the kebab next time I visit.

Update: I paid a visit once more and tried the sabich sandwich, I had to say I loved it. Service improved but it was a different staff, so maybe they know the food and been in the industry...

“Anything is possible at Yaffa” - the server said to me as I asked her for some sweet mango sauce on the side of my shawarma wrap, and the saying couldn’t be more true. I stumbled in here after a long bartending shift thinking I was walking into yet another greasy late night shawarma spot but I couldn’t be more wrong.

Firstly, the portion sizes are massive. My wrap was as big as my forearm. I couldn’t be more pleased especially since the size reflected the price.

Secondly, the food was fresh and delicious. It couldn’t be farther from trash late night food. I actually felt like I was eating a quality meal that somebody’s parent lovingly crafted. Their array of toppings is magnificent, and the meat was succulent and juicy.

I had intended to eat only half of my wrap but I couldn’t help myself (hence why I can’t attach a picture). I crushed the entire thing and despite being full & content, I craved more.

Lastly, the service was spectacular. Most places that are open that late offer no frills service. In and out. This team wasn’t like that. They were happy to be there despite it being nearly 2 am. They were patient and kind and offered awesome suggestions.

I will 100% be back and will likely not be going to other shawarma places in the...

I got food poisoning after eating a shwarma from this place.

I ordered online through doordash 30 minutes before I went to the store to pick up the food. When I went there I was told they didn't have my order. I didn't have any mobile data on my phone and they wouldn't share their wifi for me to show my order receipt. So I left the store and connected to the pizza pizza wifi to pull the receipt in my email. After I showed them my receipt, they asked if I just ordered before coming inside the store where I showed that the receipt was sent 30 minutes ago. They then wrote down my order and made it in 15 minutes.

I really surprised by the small pita bread they used for the amount charged. For the Laffa bread was almost $8 extra. But anyways I had no other way because I got the sandwich on the way tp work.

The taste was OK. Nothing too special. O would only taste the hummus and garlic, not the other sauces. There was little vegetables, tho the meat portion was good.

After that fiasco and work, I went home and slept. The next day, which was thankfully a Sunday, I had to go constantly go to the bathroom. It was bad that I had to take off work and school today. Thanks to my medical student roommate who gave me...