Mamakas Taverna – Michael Eats

Tasty Greek Brunch at Bar Koukla

Published on April 10, 2024April 10, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 88 Ossington Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://mamakas.ca/bar-koukla/

I visited Bar Koukla for brunch recently, and it was thoroughly delicious. But then this place is an offshoot of Mamakas Taverna, which I like quite a lot, so I probably shouldn’t be surprised.

I tried the patates arnaki, which features tender braised lamb served with Greek-style roasted potatoes and a yogurt sauce.

Every element here is so good — the lamb is tasty and super tender, the perfectly cooked potatoes are infused with an almost meaty flavour, and the yogurt adds a nice zippiness that cuts through the richness of the meat and potatoes. It’s a great dish.

My only complaint about the place actually has nothing to do with the food — I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned the furniture at a restaurant, but the saggy, backless chairs here are absurdly unpleasant to sit on. They’re so flagrantly uncomfortable that I have to imagine that this is a purposeful choice to encourage diners to leave faster to improve turnover. It’s a sour note on an otherwise stellar meal.

Outstanding Greek Food at Mamakas Taverna

Published on March 25, 2020 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 80 Ossington Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://mamakas.ca/

I had an idea that Mamakas Taverna was probably something special when I tried their pork souvlaki at the recent OssFest street festival and was completely blown away. I was finally able to visit the restaurant itself, and yeah. Yeah. That souvlaki wasn’t a fluke. Everything is so good.

It’s the type of place where you order a bunch of stuff and share, which works out well because everything is so incredibly delicious that you want to try the whole menu.

There’s the spanakopita, which is basically the platonic ideal of that dish, with a crispy, buttery exterior and an intensely flavourful spinach filling. The filling was actually quite unique, with a mildly sweet, citrusy tang that does a great job of balancing out the richness of the dish.

There were these keftedes — perfectly-spiced beef and pork meatballs with a delightfully crispy exterior from the fryer.

This looks like a pretty standard salad, but the meaty lentils combined with the fresh herbs and the nice pops of sweetness and crunch from the pomegranate — not to mention a dressing that complements it perfectly and isn’t over-applied — made it just as memorable as any of the other dishes.

The octopus was probably the simplest dish I tried, and proof that if you’re working with great quality ingredients and preparing them well, further ornamentation is unnecessary. The meat had a great amount of char from the grill, with a mild sweetness and nice meaty bite. If you’re queasy about eating octopus, you need to get over yourself; you don’t know what you’re missing. Bad octopus can be rubbery and horrible, but good octopus is like the delicious love-child between a scallop and a pork chop.

My favourite dish of the night was also easily the least photogenic. No, this braised short rib doesn’t look like much, but holy moly it was ridiculously good. Insanely tender (but not mushy) with just the right amount of perfectly creamy fat and an intensely beefy flavour, it was basically like the best pot roast you’ve ever had.

The dessert — a walnut spice cake with yogurt mousse — was just as delicious as everything else, because of course it was. The cake was nutty and rich, and the tartness of the creamy mousse complemented it perfectly.

Mind-Blowing Souvlaki at Mamakas Taverna

Published on September 19, 2019October 17, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 80 Ossington Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://mamakas.ca/

Mamakas Taverna had a booth at the recent OssFest street festival on Ossington, serving up chicken and pork souvlaki. It was almost improbably good. Like, is the food at a street festival even allowed to be this good? It was easily the best souvlaki I’ve ever had.

It’s simple enough — it features pita bread slathered with tsatziki, and topped with chunks of pork and tomatoes (onions are also an option, though I skipped those).

Every element here is amazing. The pork is cooked on a spit over coals, giving it a nice smoky flavour. It’s perfectly cooked and amazingly juicy.

They chop the pork up and toss it in some kind of magical, zesty sauce; little touches like this make all the difference. The pork would have been perfectly delicious if they had just served it as-is, but that sauce kicks up its flavour, adds additional moisture, and elevates the wrap from good to great.

The creamy, mint-and-garlic-infused tzatziki is just as delicious as the pork, and complements it exceptionally well. And the bread is the perfect vehicle — it’s fresh, a little bit chewy, and amazing. The whole thing is exceptionally delicious.