📍 Wanaag Restaurant Somali Grill and Cafe – 224 Parliament St, Toronto, ON M5A 3A4
🌍 Country: Somalia 
🔥 Must-try dish: Grilled Goat
🎭 Dinner guest: Pornstar Sam & Suited Sebastien
🪑 Seating: Indoor seating only.
👍 The high: The service and food at Wanaag’s was an excellent glimpse into Somalia’s culinary traditions.
👎 The low: The portions are seriously huge, so don’t over order because you’ll likely waste some of it. 

Wanaag is one of Toronto’s best kept secrets. This was our first foray into Somali cuisine, and we were blown away. It’s a meat and carb forward experience, filled with bold yet approachable flavours. The meats are either grilled to perfection with charred edges or slow cooked until tender in rich sauces. Each main dish comes with a comforting lentil soup and your choice of carb: rice, ugali, or chapati. Trust us, you’ll eat very well here.

Somalia sits on the Horn of Africa, bordered by Kenya, Ethiopia, and Djibouti, with the Indian and Arabian seas hugging its coastlines. Its location at the heart of ancient spice trade routes has deeply influenced its food, which draws on a mix of global flavours. Somalia is also known for its rich artistic heritage, especially poetry, and more recently, its complex maritime history.

What makes Somali cuisine so appealing? For starters, everything is made fresh to order. The grilled meats taste like they’ve just come off your backyard barbecue. And because Somalia is a crossroads of spice routes, the food bursts with familiar flavours: cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, coriander, cloves, and garlic, without being spicy. (Chillies are used sparingly.) Plus, even the pickiest eaters can get behind the comforting combo of grilled meat, carbs, and familiar sides.

Appetizers
We knew the portions were going to be big, but we couldn’t resist kicking things off with Beef Samosas and Buu (also known as Mandazi). The samosas were the perfect size, with a generous meat to pastry ratio that left us wanting more, but not needing more. The Buu, a light, slightly sweet fried bread, reminded us of an old fashioned Tim Hortons donut (in a good way). It was fluffy and easy to inhale in a few bites.

Mains
Each main comes with lentil soup and a choice of carb, and since there were four of us, we opted for four different meats, all three carb options (we doubled up on the rice), and of course, lentil soup all around. It was a cold winter night, and soup was very welcome.

• T-Bone Steak
  This one gets rave reviews online, and we totally get it. It was easily one of the best dishes of the night, perfectly cooked to our preference, and completely devoured.
  
• Lamb Shank
  “I don’t like lamb shank,” said no one ever. The meat fell right off the bone—tender, juicy, and deeply flavourful without needing any sauces. It had clearly been slow cooked for hours.
  
• Grilled Goat
  A must order. This dish took the crown for us, thanks to the incredible char from the grill. It tasted like it had just come off a campfire. Even if goat isn’t your go-to, Wanaag might just change your mind.
  
• Chicken Stew
  This dish brought a different vibe to the table—moist chicken in a well spiced sauce with a touch of heat and smokiness. It was the most spice forward of the dishes and a perfect excuse to scoop up extra rice or chapati.

Drinks & Atmosphere
Bonus: Large plates come with a complimentary juice—get the mango. It tastes like dessert. There’s also Somali tea, steeped with ginger and cardamom, to help you wind down after all that protein.

The vibe? Warm, casual, communal. Families, groups of women, solo diners—all enjoying the food, many chatting in Somali or Arabic with the friendly staff. It felt like we were part of something special, even if the only way out was a slow roll to the door.

If you’re craving something both comforting and new, Somali food at Wanaag should be your next stop.

Eat with you soon,Mandrea Bike
(Mat & Andrea)