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While we were in Toronto, our friend BD and JG took us to a Middle Eastern restaurant called Fat Pasha. Looking at its website, it has some interesting items, including meat options for the carnivore in Mr. and I, and many vegetarian options for BD and JG.

Food

We ordered a bunch of things to share, plus a couple meat dishes that Mr. and I got to enjoy all by ourselves.

First of all, a Salatim Platter. You can order 3 things for $14, or 5 for $23 or 7 for $32. We chose the Beetroot Relish, Cranberry Bean and Chopped Eggplant. We ate with our eyes first as the platter had such beautiful colour combination and it’s quite pretty to look at. The beetroot relish had a nice pink hue, a little bit acidic, quite refreshing on the palate. The cranberry bean was slightly spiced, but you can still taste the tartness in cranberry. The chopped eggplant was meaty, had the most savoury mouthfeel to it. I liked the addition of chopped nuts and oil drizzle and a dash of sea salt on top of the spread, to add some texture and depth of flavours. The accompanying pita bread was hot to the touch, seasoned and we kept on ordering more to finish the spread.

The Chopped Liver and Onions was a tasty take on liver mousse. When the plate arrived, we had to mix in the liver with onions and a hard boiled egg. It came with slices of grilled bread and pickled horseradish. I’m usually not a horseradish fan but this was quite mild and the peppery note really helped with the liver taste. This was quite a generous portion of liver mousse and Mr. and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Fried Crushed Potatoes was really good! It didn’t feel like a side at all. Potatoes were crispy, and there were plenty of sweet roasted garlic on the plate to balance out the seasoned potatoes. For $7 we ordered some Duck Confit on the side, and that, was succulent. The meat was tender, slightly crisped up, and very flavourful.

The Grilled Squid was Mr.‘s favourite dish of the evening. The charred mark added some smokiness to the squid, and the meat was just. so. tender!! The squid sat on top of a salad with cucumber, cherry tomatoes and olives. It was very refreshing; made a good summer salad.

The Fat Pasha Hummus was a generous portion too. It was nicely seasoned, and I liked the addition of whole chick peas to the dish for some texture, and once again it went very well with the hot, seasoned pita bread.

Lastly, the Couscous almost gave us a sweet finish to the meal. The use of apricot and pomegranate brought sweetness, tartness and crunch to the otherwise mushy couscous, and the olives added savouriness and umami to the plate. It was very well done.

Atmosphere

We sat in the patio area in the back of the restaurant. It’s like a secret garden! So quaint yet full of energy from the diners. The decor was nice, and the servers were friendly.

Final Thoughts

The food here was really good! We enjoyed the vegetarian dishes just as much as the meat options and we didn’t miss not having a full size meat entree. I’m curious about how the BBQ broccoli and roasted cauliflower taste so I guess I will need to go back to Fat Pasha the next time I’m in Toronto!

Fat Pasha
414 Dupont Street, Toronto
647-340-6142
www.fatpasha.com