2018-07-29

Jerusalem Restaurant (Middle-Eastern)















Jerusalem Restaurant is located at 4777 Leslie Ave., about midway between Sheppard and Finch Avenues in North York, Toronto's northern district. Jersualem has a striking interior with a skylight with indoor tree, Roman columns and large semicircular booths reminiscent of Cynthia's Paradise; it's quite elegant. We went for weekend lunch. AYCD pop is also available for $1.99.


Lentil soup was delicious, rich in cumin. Mishy did not like the falafel, but I did although it was a bit dry. Crab salad was good but could have used a bit more flavor. Tabbouleh was excellent and fresh, well seasoned. Stuffed chicken was very good and flavorful. Stuffed crêpe with cheese and spinach was delicious and the stuffing was nicely cheese-flavored. Mishy loved it. There was an entire roast lamb, head and all... I think this is why the Sunday brunch was significantly more expensive than Saturday, and if so I definitely would have given it a miss. Ozra pasta it was good, but I wished it had no lamb in it… I don't like lamb both for the ethical issue of slaughtering a baby animal (I avoid veal for the same reason) and it also has a gamey flavour I find unappetizing. One of the staff there managed to put some of the roasted lamb on my plate while I stared at it; well, if you're a fan it was definitely flavourful, just not one I personally enjoy.


Stuffed zucchini very good, normally not into zucchini but the spicing overpowered the blandness. Beef kabob was very good in a nice gravy, rather like a Middle Eastern meatball. Rice with chicken is a nice pilaf. Chicken kebab very good nicely spiced and not overdone. Grilled basa filet was good but needed some lemon. Happily, the nearby lemon potatoes were able to lend their flavour. Lemon potatoes themselves were good; the two flavors unexpectedly go well together. Hummus was excellent and very good on the falafels. Couscous was good and tasted authentic. Chickpeas were tasty but were dry. Mixed vegetables were all right but a bit short on zest and flavour. The green beans still had stems on them.


For dessert, there was no ice cream but that wasn't an issue there were plenty of other options. Halva is a delicious bittersweet confection. Macaroons were good, but I think they got them out of a box. Date squares were very good. Baklava was quite good as well, and tasted it as if it was made on premises. Namoora was very good with a nice flavor wheaty flavour ... it's made with wheat farina aka Cream of Wheat. Turkish delight was the best I've ever had, with rosewater, mint and lemon flavours rather than just the usual rosewater. Rice pudding was very good, though a little more cinnamon would not have been unwelcome. Mahalabiya (Lebanese custard) was very good with a wonderful subtle flavour. Panna cotta custard was very good with a drop of mango in the centre. However the caramel custard had a burnt flavour, Mishy and I both noticed and neither liked it much and we certainly did at other locations (such as Genghis Khan Mongolian Grill.)


Lunch is $24.95 lunch on Sunday, even though it is $17.95 on Saturdays; as noted this is probably due to the entire lamb which I didn't want anyway. We weren't able to go on Saturday as we wanted to, and were foolish enough to assume that day's price also applied, so I can't really fault the establishment on this and will rate as though we went on Saturday and disregard the lamb as a personal preference. In this case, most of the items available were quite good although there were a few shortcomings, plus we loved the atmosphere and ended up having quite a long and relaxed lunch there which certainly held us over until the next day. As well, almost all of the offerings at Jerusalem are unique among AYCE restaurants. Thus $17.95 would be quite a good value, especially with the AYCD soft drinks as noted.

Rating: 8-8.5/10



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