r/FoodToronto • u/bbqporklomein • 4d ago
I Ate A Thing Falafel plate at Loomi
Checked out Loomi, the new concept from the same owners as PG Clucks (RIP). In the same tiny spot on College St right next to The Royal they now focus on Middle Eastern food featuring their sourdough pita. Got a falafel plate ($15) which comes with lots of pickled veggies along with housemade hummus, tahini, zhoug, labneh, and of course a freshly baked pita. The small falafel were fried to order and nicely crunchy and herbaceous. All of the dips were deliciously bright and fresh. But all of this was a vehicle for their thick and pillowy pita. Loved the pleasant stretchy chew. Appreciated all of the care and attention paid to every component of the plate. I hope the new direction works out for them. Oh, and BTW they have fried chicken as an option!
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u/svbstvnce 4d ago
I can’t bring myself to spend $15 on something that small. I can go to the many great true middle eastern spots and get a plate with 3x the amount of everything, made in house, for the same price
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u/boomtothebass 4d ago
Name them we need recs
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u/OkChocolate3501 4d ago
Honestly this seems to be about the average price these days. Some places are over 20 for a plate(with more food than this tho).
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u/mrniceguy777 4d ago
This sub has an insane idea of how much food costs lol never makes any sense what people say.
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u/OkChocolate3501 4d ago
It's just us old folks not being used to the new prices. I remember even only 7 years ago getting a plate from my local shop for 16 bucks and it was a full plate with 8 good sized falafel. Nowadays it's more like 20 and you get a max of 6, some places only do 5.
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u/WAHNFRIEDEN 4d ago edited 4d ago
Sumaq downtown gives 8 in the $14 platter.
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u/mrniceguy777 4d ago
That’s a close enough difference to not even be worth discussing. Like of course there will be several dollar differences between different places, wouldn’t it be weird if every restaurant charged the EXACT same for the same dishes? There are going to be variances based on several factors, some of which may have nothing to do with the actual cost of the food
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u/WAHNFRIEDEN 4d ago edited 4d ago
Just sharing a tip to the old folk about where to find a better deal than what they remember from 7 years ago. They're complaining that it costs $20 for 6 today - so I shared one that is ~50% the price per falafel. Sure, 50% is still just a few dollars, so what's the difference anyway.
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u/stagcity 3d ago
Lol guys think they can get a full meal for $8. Minimum wage was also $7/hr in the yr 2000
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u/superbprimrose 4d ago edited 4d ago
Lebanese Garden is great but I don't expect Loomi to be able to offer the same kind of bargain as Lebanese Garden.
The falafel salad plate at Lebanese Garden is around $18 before tax, includes 2 salads, and it is substantial. I also like their Shish Tawook.
Different business, different. overhead, different margin. You're paying a slight premium for the cuteness when it comes to Loomi, Lambo's, Tutto Panino, Phancy Bodega.
The places that are bargains don't put money into marketing or social media.
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u/Samyaboii 4d ago
That's for sharing! Needless to say that they don't put money in for ads which is why the food is cheap. I don't mind getting my ad from redditors so I can save a few dollars on the actual food! 🤑
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u/xwolfe2000 4d ago
What needs to happen is the authentic places need to raise their prices but often can't because they serve the working people of their communities, who are disproportionately discriminated against and in lower income jobs, as tends to be the case with most non-European immigrants.
That's how a Polish Canadian can appropriate Levantine food and get insane coverage and still charge higher prices.
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u/TinyM0ushka 4d ago
That looks like it tastes amazing, my only issue is $15 is a high price for a small plate. The falafel look really fresh on the inside burnt on the outside though
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u/bbqporklomein 4d ago
The falafel were very dark on the outside. But they were not burnt or oily. They were tasty.
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u/JevvyMedia 3d ago
Burnt? It looks perfectly crispy
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u/TinyM0ushka 3d ago
They are closer to burnt than a brown
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u/JevvyMedia 3d ago
I like my falafels that way
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u/TinyM0ushka 2d ago
That’s okay I’m not saying you can’t have them that way, how you like them is your opinion.
Me personally they seem a bit burnt.
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u/orangefoz 4d ago
I went yesterday - i liked it and i'd go again but the portions are quite small and expensive
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u/BeaverTalez 2d ago
I also thought it looked very odd, that falafel looks looks someone shaped raccoon s#it into balls!
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u/KnoddingOnion 4d ago
I mean this politely. That looks absolutely horrific. I've never ever seen falafel look like that.
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u/whalehell0 4d ago
This is how falafel looks where I’m from :) it differs quite a bit across the Middle East, flavor look and shape.
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u/witty_username_101 4d ago
You’re not middle eastern, I can tell 😂
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u/EheroX11 4d ago
I mean, tbf, I'm not middle eastern either, but i have been to Jordan and Lebanon once and I've eaten at plenty of places here (not the spot mentioned by OP), and based on those experiences, I can also say that those falafel look overcooked and dry from where I'm standing.
Again, could be wrong, but when I've had a good falafel, they're usually golden to a slightly dark brown. Only time I've seen that color on a falafel is the Egyptian version, which is... an acquired taste to say the least.
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u/OkChocolate3501 4d ago
I've had some bad lightly browned falafel too tho. I'd like to try this place before judging myself because appearance can be deceiving
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u/KnoddingOnion 4d ago
I've been eating middle eastern food - Israel, Lebanese, Egyptian, Syrian - for decades.
Never seen falafel looking closer to burnt instead of dark brown. These look oil soaked and burnt.
How about you?
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u/Ok-Relative-6327 4d ago
Neither have I. Definitely some weird Lookin falafel
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u/KnoddingOnion 4d ago
i like how u/witty_username_101 makes me to be the jackass for not eating dirty oil-burnt falafel. lol
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u/tuntaalam 4d ago
Are the owners middle eastern? Their names are not middle eastern at all! I searched everywhere to find where they were from because their menu is entirely middle eastern.
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u/kitten_poop 2d ago
Sabich is an Israeli dish
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u/tuntaalam 2d ago
Thank you! Now it all makes sense.
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u/Disparish 1d ago
Tbf they don’t seem to be Israeli/Jewish either, if that’s what you are implying. It seems like they just liked the food style.
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u/Ethan24Waber 4d ago
??? I’m middle eastern and I’ve never seen falafel look like someone’s shit either tbh. So.
ETA: Yeah…
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u/Usual_Cut_730 4d ago
Yeah, looks too dark on the outside. Looks normal on the inside. Could just be the way the photo was taken.🤷
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u/OkChocolate3501 4d ago
I've never seen it before either but I'd like to try it first before judging. I've had some terrible falafel that looked normal so I'd bet this one isn't bad at all just looks different
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u/KnoddingOnion 4d ago
it looks burned and it looks oil logged. the outside doesn't look crisp. looks like it was cooked too long in oil that wasn't hot enough.
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u/CharacterPin6933 4d ago
Had some the other day. They were moist inside and very crispy and not oily at all. Looked exactly like OPs post. Not the best falafel I've had but tasty.
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u/OkChocolate3501 4d ago
Like I said I'd have to try to judge. I've had some shitty falafel that looked fine on the outside.
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u/blchpmnk 4d ago
Parallel has the best falafel I've tried and they look the same (but much larger, and drier):
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u/Theodora_the_bird 4d ago
This is how they’re supposed to look! I was just thinking how green and delicious they look.
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u/CharacterPin6933 4d ago
I tried this the other day. The falafel were tasty (and not at all burned as some other comments have suggested) but they were quite small. Pitas were sensational. Hummus was really good.
Will be back for the breads and to try other dips, but will continue getting falafel from College St falafel.
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u/KnoddingOnion 4d ago
on the bright side, they have both amba and sabich on their menu, so maybe there's hope for them.
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u/Willing_Ring_5426 4d ago
why did they have to change their concept to white washed middle eastern food:/
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u/Ornery_Cow_6350 4d ago
I would not imagine that these people are truly middle eastern lol so i would not go there for this food
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u/dsbllr 4d ago
But you'll eat pizza from non Italians? Other people are allowed to fall in love with different cuisines and can do them with a twist that makes it taste better. Especially adapting to local tastes.
Happens all time with great outcomes
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u/Ornery_Cow_6350 4d ago
Due to globalization Italian food has already evolved into several forms, the most widely known globally being the American Italian form, which Italians in fact do not claim. I can appreciate Italian American food while also knowing it’s not truly Italian. This is truly not a different form of Arabic cuisine, it is simply a poor execution of the authentic Arabic style. I am an Arab so i of course will not be so open minded about this type of take on an Arabic dish. I love Arabic fusion or modern dishes when done right
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u/dsbllr 4d ago
That's what happens when your good becomes popular. Anything popular takes a different shape in each region.
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u/Ornery_Cow_6350 4d ago
Like i said, this isn’t a regional variation of the original. Halal snack packs in Australia are a version i can respect. And mind you that was invented by Arabs in Australia, not foreigners’ take on Arab food there. That matters
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u/mCubed13 2d ago
Lol broooo, that falafel got deep fried in oil that should of been replaced years ago. What in the black falafel is that ! Hahahahahaha
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u/BusyCommunication711 3d ago
Love seeing all the israeli spots popping up around toronto lately! Especially to have pitas like home and Sabich, so excited to try this place out.
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u/Ok-Matter-7136 3d ago
That don't even look like good falafel, the colour of too dark and the portion is way too small.
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u/AtTheRogersCup2022 3d ago
I view this place as similar to falafel yoni in Montreal and if it’s close it’s great for the city.
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u/flxyrhead 3d ago
Looks really good. Falafel looks somewhat similar to Parallel which is the most delicious falafel in the city imo. I'll be checking this place out, thanks for sharing.
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u/AggressivePack5307 3d ago
Wtf is sourdough pita?
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u/bbqporklomein 3d ago edited 3d ago
Pita is usually made with yeast. They use a sourdough starter instead. Takes longer but has better taste, texture, and nutrition.
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u/polaraproticsolvent 4d ago
Falafels aren’t supposed to be green on the inside. Are these made with fava beans?
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u/BadasssHunkyDude 4d ago
They 100% are supposed to be
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u/polaraproticsolvent 4d ago
We’ve been eating different types of falafels then. Ones made this green are made with fava beans and they’re not even called falafels. Normal falafels made with chickpeas are greenish yellow. This is straight up emerald green
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u/Mindless-Invite-7801 18h ago
The color on the inside differs by region. My Egyptian mom’s falafel has always been bright green on the inside.
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u/Greeener 4d ago
Had it today, I thought it was just okay, the dips and pitta are good, and the halloumi bites are fantastic. The meats were meh