Govardhan Thal

I have been several times to this restaurant having great expectations and I think my conclusion at the end is: STAY AWAY.
This is probably the only Gujarati restaurant (I am Gujarati) in Toronto at the moment. Although they may have tasty dishes at times, I would avoid for the following reasons:
1. Poor service. They don’t have any servers. On a busy day, you will wait endlessly for your next ‘rotli’ or buttermilk and it will arrive late if you are lucky and if you are unlucky, you may wait endlessly and decide not to have any more. The owner mans the cash counter doubling up as the server, and can be very rude.
2. Freshness of food. Food at the buffet is often stale, has dried up or has hardened (take the khaman dhokla for example).
3. I have seen plates of «khaman dhokla» right outside the men’s bathroom. No elaboration required.
4. Inhumane conditions for customers to sit in and for the poor cooks to cook in (you can see them cook in front of you). It has zero ventilation and no air-​conditioning. On a hot July day around 1 pm, there were no fans turned on. At the request of a customer, the owner grudgingly turned on a single fan. Customers are baked sitting there, but the poor cooks are fried inside sweating profusely.

Super gujarati thali. The buttermilk, kadhi and puran poli are delicious. Large variety with authentic indian food.

This place is probably more like a 3.5 to me just based on flavor of the food, but the hospitality of the owner is incredible and he makes you feel right at home, which easily bumps my rating to a solid 4 stars. Good amount of variety on the buffet-​style menu, and at a more than reasonable price.

You can get better options at that price.

Don’t like attitude of servers
Not worth the money; food isn’t as tasty some taste spoiled and is not worth the price that I’ve paid for. Attitude of servers was not pleasant; don’t plan on revisiting.

Not bad — but could be a lot better for the price you pay
The food is decent; atypical for ethic Gujarati fare and hence almost all main course items are tad sweet; food is served buffet style and a set menu. Service is mediocre, at best nonchalant; you get there, eat, leave, no frills. Ambience is lacking a lot; cramped and bare bones. They could do better in this dept. for what they charge.
Go there if you must eat traditional Gujarati cuisine. Expect nothing; and thou shall not be too disappointed.

Awesome food. Small family joint with thali style buffet and fresh rotis of all types. The place is a bit cramped for space which is the only down side. Would recommend.

Came here with a couple of friends last night and it was great! I am not too familiar with Gujurati food but I thoroughly enjoyed it anyway (not super spicy, so just right for me).
My favourite dish was one with sweet potatoes and eggplant. I also really enjoyed a roti with sweet filling. :)

The food is simply outstanding. The ladies are very friendly & hospitable.
Hole-​in-​the-​wall places like these have the best food. Don’t look for ambience — just food. Better ventilation is needed to exhaust the cooking smells since we all got out smelling of surthi-​undhiyu! The eating dishes like cups, plates could be cleaned better.

This is my favorite south asian restaurant in Toronto. OK in North America. Home style Gujarati food, family style. Tushar and Bina Shah put out the best pure veg Indian food imaginable. Their selection is always varied, with splendid dals and vegetable dishes, and always a few sweets. The crowning touch though are Bina’s hand made breads; they really lift the experience into an ethereal realm. Her dokha is scrumptious too.

Pure. Gujarati. Food.
Pretty much says it all, right? Sometimes a vegetarian buffet made to order and continually replenished is all you really need as a quick culinary introduction to Scarborough, a dynamic and growing eastern suburb of Toronto. This is an epicenter of South and East migration, and it has left an indelible and delicious imprint on the landscape. This isn’t about generic «Indian» food: these are regional delicacies and specialty dishes: lentils, chick peas, potatoes, all sorts of rice and breads and chutneys and spinach and tomatoes and garlic and onions and the sweet smells and intoxicating aromas of spice after spice after spice … A sensual feast for a fraction of the cost of the what you would pay in the downtown districts.
Really, that’s not a bad way to get lunch, at all. In fact, it’s one of the more memorable meals out I’ve had in months. Served on metal trays and tiny bowls, all in a shopping district catering to the local South Asia community who are its most frequent guests. You feel right at home even if you’ve never been to Northwest India or tried this style of food before.
Pure. Gujarati. Food.
Try it sometime.