7. AmayaSometimes a restaurateur just happens to pick the right moment, the right mood and the ideal location. The sitars were perfectly aligned for Amaya’s opening on the Bayview gourmet strip, the comfortable (if noisy) room’s popularity assured from day one. It isn’t the first Toronto restaurant to offer contemporary, high-end, slightly westernized Indian cooking in the style of Vij’s in Vancouver—it just seems to have got everything right. The formula is simple: high-quality ingredients; light, fresh textures; smart, friendly service; good cocktails and compatible wines. Amaya goes further, however, with the best Indian breads in the city, and scrumptious ideas like okra masquerading as frites—julienned, dusted with powdered mango and fried to a crisp. There’s another difference between this kind of restaurant and the traditional curry house: spicing is much more subtle and interesting than any hot-as-hell vindaloo. Not to be missed: fat, juicy prawns perfumed with fenugreek greens and a gently building green chili heat. Since it opened, the owners have added a takeout-delivery store down the street, and other restaurants are in the works. This could be the start of something big.
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[James Chatto, April 2008]
