Zaad – 348 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M5S 1W9
Country: Jordan
Seating: Indoor dining
Must-try Dish: Falafel and Rice

For some of you, Jordan could be familiar from the Indiana Jones film The Last Crusade, which features Petra, an ancient archaeological site in the Jordanian desert. But there’s a lot more that this alluring country has to offer including the desert, the Dead Sea, Middle Eastern hospitality, and of course delicious cuisine! 

Zaad dropped on to our radar when they liked our post on Yemeni cuisine, and we realized that we didn’t have any Jordanian eateries in our repertoire so we made our way to Bloor and Spadina for some Middle Eastern flavours. 

In Mandrea Bike’s usual fashion, we left the Jordanian in charge of what we were going to eat, which resulted in both delight and full bellies. 

The original plan was to get a chicken shawarma plate, as it came highly recommended, and there was a deal on for a dinner for two. Naturally this wouldn’t have given us enough samples of the food, so we added in a hummus plate and three different grilled meats. The shawarma plate allowed us to try some shaved chicken, pickled beets and turnip, lettuce, and most importantly, the rice. This rice will stay with me for a very long time. Although the exact recipe of what the rice is seasoned with wasn’t revealed other than “Jordanian spices” with a cheeky smile, Mandrea Bike was, and remains obsessed with it. 

Once we got over our love for the cinnamon and cardamom infused rice, we dived into the hummus, which was bursting with lemon notes. We finally conquered the three grilled meats: Kofta (ground beef), Shish Tawook (chicken) and the Zaad Kabob (chicken with house spices and garlic). The Zaad Kabob is the winner and is worth getting, perhaps with an extra side of rice. 

As we were finishing up, our world was turned upside down when the Zaad staff offered us a plate of steaming falafels, on the house. Our initial thought was that we made it in the food blogging world, but this was quickly overshadowed by how amazing these falafels tasted and that it moved up the ladder to our favourite spot. The outside was perfectly crispy, while the inside was moist and full of flavour. Despite being full, we couldn’t help ourselves to finishing these last bites. 

The decor of the restaurant has a trendy, chic Middle Eastern vibe with colourful tiles and some pretty good Arabic hip hop playing in the background. The staff is friendly and they are proud to show off their national cuisine, as most are of Jordanian origin. 

Although the word “Zaad” hails from the Persian language, this restaurant is otherwise fully Jordanian. If you’re in the neighbourhood and want a quick bite, this is an excellent option that will have you planning the next trip for a dose of seasoned rice. But even if you aren’t in the neighbourhood, Zaad is easily accessible by transit, and is worth the trip. 

Eat with soon, 

Mandrea Bike
(Mat & Andrea)