Armenian Kitchen - North York

I didn't know that Armenian food was similar to Lebanese food. Shawarma, pickled turnip, hummus, and a dozen more tasty food options here. I enjoyed the vegetarian platter with chicken and a yoghurt drink.I barely finished my dinner and loved the chewy pita served with.

The Armenian Kitchen has been in business for over 30 years. It also comes up very often when I search for places to eat that aren't far from where I live. When I first arrived, I was a little wary about the strip mall that the AK is situated in, but upon entering, my suspicions subsided. The atmosphere in the restaurant was very relaxed, and the place was clean. I ordered take out; a lamb kebab wrap and a chicken shawarma wrap. The lamb wrap was worth it, the chicken shawarma not so much. I did not see the chicken being shaved from the spit, and it definitely did not taste as marinated as shawarma meat is supposed to be. The pieces were dry and so chunky that they hardly fit in my mouth. Overall, the experience wasn't bad, you get your money's value, but it could have been better.

Armenian Kitchen was rated online, so we decided to try it out. I'm Middle Eastern and love that food. When I walked in, I was a bit disheartened - it may have been nicer in its hey-day - but it was looking a bit tired. However, it was clean. We ordered a few appetizers - hummus, lebane, falafal, fatouche, and some shawarma. The bread was nice and warm. The hummus was wonderful - creamy, well-spiced and tasty. The lebane had good consistency, but was sooo bland. No sour taste, no salt. The Falafal with tahini was delicious. The fatouche was crispt, but again, needed spicing. Where was the sumac, the salt, the lemon juice? The Shawarma was not well-spiced and was so greasy - it didn't taste as if it was just carved - it felt like it was refried on the stove. We had to ask for water about 4 times and same with coffee. We gave up on the refill of coffee and waited forever for the bill. There were 2 servers, but there were only 3 tables filled. I would definitely not come back here. The food wasn't anywhere the previous reviews. It was disappointing.

A friend and I recently met for lunch at the Armenian Kitchen on Victoria Park. Neither of us had visited before. If you don’t mind creepy Scarborough strip malls the restaurant is somewhat approachable.I can describe the interior as 1970’s high school cafeteria. Not a lot of thought put into the décor, or the placement of the tables. Not a big deal as we were there for the food. We heard it was good.We waited 15 minutes in a near empty restaurant for service. We were not in any hurry, but expected that someone would be by within a reasonable time to check on us. We experienced one of those time zones when you hold up your arm in an attempt to capture the two wait staff’s attention and they each slowly, in some weird synchronized fashion, wander their eyes around the entire premises in a total gaze while folding cutlery into napkins but never, never, NEVER seem to see you. Then they start to clear the many empty tables on the far other side. I will say that was very annoying and put me in a bad mood.Eventually someone noticed my waiving arm in the now near completely empty restaurant and brought us a complementary plate of pickled turnip. We both enjoyed the unique flavour and texture. We later asked for more but never received it. They don’t serve green tea. Maybe not odd, but somewhat unusual. The chicken shawarma and rice was very good, but not as hot as I would have expected. We ordered a side salad. It came, very cold, on the same plate which made the chicken seem even more cold. Not so good. The salad was not the salad we ordered. I can’t tell you what it was, but it was the best part of the meal. Very minty. Just wish I knew what it was.For the price, the meal was fine, inexpensive, and extremely filling. The service was lacking, but we arrived after normal lunch hour so perhaps everyone was tired.Would I go again? Yes, at least to see if the we experienced an off day, and to figure out what that salad was.Good value but be prepared to wait (and maybe wait uncomfortably close to your neighbours).

على الرغم من الاسم الامريكي للمطعم إلا أن أشهر اطباقه هي عربية، منها الحمص والمتبل والكفتة وكذلك الشاورما على الطريقة العربية!