Aish Tanoor – 994 Eglinton Ave W, Toronto, ON M6C 2C5
Country: Israel
Seating: Decent sized indoor and outdoor seating
Must-try Dish: Mushroom Hummus

Seeing as Andrea has spent some time traveling in Israel and even considers her favourite restaurant to be in Jerusalem, Aish Tanoor had some big shoes to fill. Israel is a transcontinental country located in the Middle East on the Mediterranean Sea and borders countries such as Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt. Given the country’s region and diverse population, Israeli cuisine has the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern roots with influence from around the world.

After very little time wasted, we quickly had our server place an order for his 2 favourite dishes including a fully loaded Shawarma and Shakshuka. Shakshuka is the perfect example of a non-native dish that was said to have been brought in by Tunisian Jews starting in 1948 as part of a mass Jewish exodus. Shawarma has become a very popular dish for people on the go or after a night of drinking. Aish Tanoor brought Shawarmas to a whole new level with fresh ingredients and rolled into a house-baked laffa (Levantine flatbread) that the owner was very apprehensive in revealing the process of its conception. I mean apparently, we could have been spies from the nearby competition.

As we were discussing our food choices, we were thankful that we decided to put in a last-minute order of the mushroom hummus, which ended up being our favourite dish of the night. The hummus was one of the best hummus’ we’ve ever had and the sauteed mushrooms just worked so well with the flavour profile. Loading each piece of freshly baked laffa with a generous dollop of hummus accompanied by a mushroom… Trust us, there was no trace of the hummus by the time we were done with it.

Aish Tanoor is located directly on Eglinton in an area that offers many Isreali eats. What brought us specifically to this restaurant, despite the raving reviews, was what Andrea described as a “fantastic patio”. If you’re looking for great Israeli eatery, stop by Aish Tanoor. Apparently, the shawarma is so popular that they ran out fast, and we were lucky enough to get the last order of the night.

Eat with you soon,

Mandrea Bike
(Mat & Andrea)