Ba-Li Laffa — Restaurant in Vaughan

When visiting Toronto, Ontario last week, relatives told us we had to check out Ba-Li Laffa in Thornhill. This authentic Mediterranean restaurant has lots of seating with plenty of room. Our server was so welcoming and told us to be ready to experience a "true Israeli cuisine." The meal started off with plenty of spiced pita bread and a slew of sauces/dips/salatim including Chummus, Marinated Eggplant, Matbucha and Babaganush. Each dip had more flavor then the next and looked so bright and vibrant. Honestly, we could have ended the meal with dips and pita bread and we would have been very satisfied. They also have an extensive drinks and wine menu. I had a Tequila Sunrise and my kids had nonalcoholic fruit Daiquiris. Both were delicious. Next we tried both the Moroccan Cigars and the Pulled Beef cigars. Both were steaming hot and full of flavor. Believe it or not, the Moroccan Cigars weren't too spicy which enabled us to enjoy more of them. The Cigars came with an amazingly fresh Israeli salad complete with sweet and tangy dressing. I was really excited when our server, Nicole, brought the next dish. It was authentic Beef Arayes. Now I have never tasted Arayes, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. They are to this Canadian like a hamburger in pita bread. Truthfully though, it is way more than that. The spices, flavors and heat blended together in a perfect bite. Now it was time for the Pulled Beef Flatbread. Now we have had many a meat flatbread. Many of them get soggy quickly and the flatbread gets kind of dough-y because of the wet meat on top and sauce. Bali Laffa’s flatbread had this amazing crush on the BOTTOM of the bread. Not soggy at all. Delicious and crunchy, not to mention the amazingly tasty onion jam on top of it. A must have if I may say so along with the Arayes. My family also happens to love wings, whether sweet or spicy, we love them all. So it was no surprise that we ordered the sticky and sweet Honey Garlic Chicken Wings which were “finger licken good.” It was time for the big main. Nicole approached the table holding a big meat board which had pieces of schnitzel, grilled chicken and steak with fresh chimichurri PLUS an accompaniment of shwarma. Everything was out of this world, fresh, hot, tender and packed with flavor. Lastly, our server dropped off one of their Chinese dishes called Mongolian beef with shanghai noodles. Now all the Mediterranean food was authentic as can be as confirmed by our daughters who just returned from the year in Israel, but a Mediterranean restaurant serving Chinese??? Could they pull it off? They certainly can. It was some of the best Chinese food I have ever had. The noodles had the perfect texture, the meat and sauce was perfect and tasty, it was heaven. After nine plus hours on the road, this was the perfect way to relax and eat and enjoy ourselves. If you find yourself in the greater Toronto/Niagara Falls area, you need to check out...

Mother’s Day. One of the busiest restaurant. days of the year. And Covid. People desperate for take out for a special occasion. For a restaurant that is used to having very busy Sundays, how can you mess this up? You have been offering take out since day 1 and during Covid, since April 19th.

I placed an order in the late afternoon via the website and was given a pickup time of 6:45 - 6:55,.

When I arrived at 6:45 pm there was a parking lot full of people waiting to be called. When one of the customers names was called, I asked that that customer what time her pick up was confirmed for, she told me 5:45 pm. - the restaurant had her waiting in the parking lot for 1 hr.

A few minutes later I heard one of the staff say “we weren’t prepared for this. At 7 pm I heard they were cancelling orders. When I placed my order online I had to provide my cell phone number and email address. At 7:30 pm, Bali Laffa had still not send any notification, phone or email, about the delays or cancellations. Don’t cell phones and email work BOTH ways?

No posting about it on their website. Good thing someone came out of the restaurant at 7:15 to take our names ... but at 7:45 pm we were still waiting for updates. I should have just left but I was hostage to the fact that there aren’t too many kosher take out options and it was getting very late to start the process all over again.

There isn’t ANY excuse for not having a back up plan for one of the busiest restaurant days of the year.

Today, Bali Laffa management showed an appalling disrespect for their customers .... they should have not taken orders to start with when it was known they had a staff shortage, or should have taken down the site for the day - that would have been better received than: having customers arrive with no prior warning that there would be a delay of over an hour, not offering the waiting customers the option for the restaurant to call them when the order was ready instead of making them wait in the freaking cold parking lot, not offering a discount when they actually placed the order in the customer’s hands, and not offering some discount at a...

I rarely write negative reviews, but this one needs to be expressed. Today, my family and I visited Ba Li Laffa, where I had made a reservation for 10 people. Initially, the server was polite, but once the food was served, she never checked on us again. Despite understanding the challenges of a busy restaurant, this level of negligence was unacceptable. We had to personally ask for napkins and inquire about missing items such as tea. The kids had to request their drinks multiple times, and one of the meals arrived 15 minutes after everyone else's. There was no apology or acknowledgement of these issues.

To make matters worse, three members of our party had to step out for 30 minutes but intended to return. Another server, who had curly hair, approached us and asked if we could give up half of our table. We explained that our party would be back, but she responded with hostility. Later, she abruptly brought the bill and displayed extreme rudeness towards me. I informed her about my unsuccessful attempts to order dessert and hot beverages due to the lack of attention from the staff. It was ironic how she had time to be rude to me and my family, yet neglected to clear our empty plates. Despite being unable to order dessert or hot beverages, I was coerced into paying the bill as they seemingly tried to rush us out.

Ultimately, she remained at the table until we reluctantly agreed to give up the second table. Just five minutes later, our party returned, leaving us cramped with nine people at a six-seater table. Throughout the entire ordeal, no one from the staff attempted to apologize or show any kindness towards us. After repeatedly requesting the bill, it took a frustrating 20 minutes to receive it, only after I got up and asked for it myself.

I have no intention of returning to Ba Li Laffa, and I cannot recommend it to anyone. It's particularly disappointing that, due to the included 18% tip for large parties, we were treated in such a disrespectful manner. I genuinely felt that my family and I were disrespected, and I hope the management will seriously consider...