Jomidaari - Super delicious Bengali Cuisine in town!

Bengali food always excites me; in my opinion, no other cuisine offers the rich diversity of flavors that a Bengali platter does. I was thrilled to try Jomidaari, the first Bengali restaurant in the GTA, especially after reading such glowing reviews. However, my excitement quickly faded with the first bite of the thali. I ordered the largest thali on the menu, featuring mutton, ilish, fish, chicken, prawn, shukto, a vegetable dish, dal, rice, luchi, papad, chutney, and two types of Bengali sweets. While the spread looked alluring, the taste of the non-vegetarian items fell far below expectations. 1. The chicken curry was made with skinned chicken, which was bland and under-seasoned, lacking even basic salt. The gravy was thin and watery, making it difficult to find any real flavor in the dish. 2. The mutton was extremely chewy, and the gravy had an unpleasantly sour taste. It seemed as though stale gravy was used, and the undercooked mutton only added to the disappointment. 3. I’ve been eating katla, rohu, ilish, and bhetki (both sorshe and jhaal preparations) since childhood, so I can tell the quality of fish from the first bite. Unfortunately, the fish here had a strong, unpleasant odor, and the jhaal was a complete letdown. It seemed like the chef didn’t even bother cooking the jhaal for more than a couple of minutes; the raw onions and tomatoes were floating in the watery gravy, making it taste unfinished. 4. The same issue with the ilish – it had an awful smell, and the flesh, which is typically as soft as marshmallow, was so tough I had to exert effort to break off a piece. That alone spoke volumes about how stale the fish was. The sorshe gravy tasted as though it was made from canned mustard sauce, completely lacking the pungent, aromatic essence that freshly grounded mustard brings to the dish. 5. Although I’m not a big fan of prawns, I must admit the coconut gravy tasted quite decent. No complaints there. 6. The Biulir daal on the menu was slightly undercooked and, once again, had a watery taste and texture. 7. The Shukto was absolutely perfect; the chef managed to replicate the authentic flavor notes of a well-made Shukto. The beans and alu posto were also deliciously satisfying, truly finger-licking good. 8. This is a newly opened restaurant, and I understand they are still working with a limited staff. As a result, you may find yourself waiting quite a while for the server to take your order or refill your water jug. The most disappointing part of the experience was the price of the thali. They charge $59.99 plus taxes for the largest thali, which feels exorbitant for food that was below average. I don’t believe it’s worth paying over $69 for such a lackluster meal.

November 11, 2024 on Google

I never thought I’d have to leave a drastically opposite review within 3 weeks of my last review. But, after having a wonderful first impression of Jomidaari, we decided to take our Non-Bengali friends who love Bong food for a Birthday treat there… and what ensued was somewhat like this: After finishing our starters, we wanted to order a Hirak Rajar Bhojan and like last time we were told that no more Mutton was available and that it would take about 2 hours - almost 10 pm for the mutton to be ready. So we asked the server what it could be replaced with… the only thing comparable was Ilish and he said that he would check and let us know! However, he never came back to confirm. And, after almost 2 hours wait time, around 10 pm, they served us Hirak Rajar Bhojan with shukto, daal, bhaja, veg and chutney… we had requested beguni for bhaja but we were served vegetable chop. Then, after quite some time they brought us the fish and chicken… and long after that they finally served us the mutton 😮 At that point, it was clear to us the reason for the almost 2 hours delay in serving food! They didn’t want to serve Ilish in place of Mutton.. which is fine except for the wait time. And, the fact that they didn’t have the decency to let us know! That’s not all, we had to bear more.. after several reminders for the missing luchi and after we were pretty much done with dinner, they served us 2 pieces of Luchi! This is just about the first order. My non-Bengali friend, whose birthday we thought we were celebrating, had ordered a Sandalwood Lemon yoghurt drink that was served after repeated reminders around 10 pm… and when everything else was served and my friend was still waiting for Fish Fry, the owner came and was surprised to find out that we were still waiting for ‘Fish Fry.’ At this point, we were so frustrated that my friend told him to cancel the order… and to our surprise, the owner, happily said that he will cancel the order. No apology of any kind was offered. Of the other dishes that we ordered, the pabda came over fried and bland and the chanar kofta that we found really delicious the last time, was served really hot (read jhal) and it’s supposed to be on the sweet side. There were some other miss-es which I don’t want to elaborate on… but, at the end, we left the place with an overall negative feeling. This was one place that we really wanted to love and thought that we would, but apparently that was not to be. All the people that we had recommended Jomidaari to, we will apologize for recommending a place that’s not worth it and completely lacking in professionalism. Just for reference, this was my previous review 3 weeks back… We went to Jomidaari, the newest hotspot for Bengali cuisine in town, for our Nabami dinner and we couldn’t be happier with the food. Hands down the best Bengali (authentic Kolkata style) food in the GTA! We had ordered fish chops for starter which was yum! Then we wanted to order the Palanna Bhojon but couldn’t as there was no more Mutton available on Nabami night. So, we settled for the Kukkuti Bhojon with an add on dish of Chingri for the Main Course! The shukto, the dal, the bhaja, the dhoka - everything was outstanding. And, everything being served on Kansa plates made the experience so much more authentic and reminiscent of home! We had separately ordered Luchi & Chhanar kofta and I loved the chhanar kofta! The Chhanar jilipi & mishti doi that was served as part of the thali was delish. The drinks menu looked interesting with some pretty cool concoction of the Orient and the West… but sadly, there was no more hard drinks available for the night. For the decor, the whole place is painted with Red paint in typical Alpona style and I loved the vintage style colorful lamps in the little alcove that they have in the restaurant… Will highly recommend…

October 13, 2024 on Google

As a Bengali from Kolkata, this place feels like a breath of fresh air. The decor is cozy with limited seating, but it's the food that truly stands out. I believe this is the first proper restaurant that genuinely serves Kolkata-style Bengali cuisine. Naturally, I had to try a bit of everything. I started with the fish fry—perfectly cooked bhetki fish in a deep-fried coating, served with kasundi and salad. It was delicious. Next came the beguni, deep-fried eggplant, a staple with dal-bhaat for every Bengali. Though they were fried to perfection, I wish they'd kept the traditional beguni shape instead of making them round. The Chicken Mughlai Paratha, served with aloo dom, was incredible. No other place pairs aloo dom with Mughlai paratha—it's a signature Kolkata combo, so definitely try it. The egg roll, though I didn't get a picture, was also delicious with just the right level of spice, exactly how we like it. For the mains, I had the Mutton Kosha with basanti polao. The polao, a sweet yellow rice, is hard to find, but it perfectly balanced the richness of the mutton. Definitely give this combo a try if you visit. Then we tried the luchi, which brought back memories of home—so good! The veg platter offered a variety of dishes, and I was thrilled to have dhokar dalna, a dish I dearly miss from back home. The only letdown was the shorshe ilish. It didn't quite hit the mark for a typical Kolkata-style preparation, and the quality of the ilish was disappointing. However, the veg platter came with malpoa and mishti doi, both of which were fantastic. The aam panna drink is also a must-try—it captures the authentic Kolkata flavor perfectly. Overall, I'd say this is a must-visit for anyone from Kolkata looking for a taste of home. The prices are slightly high, but for the most part, it's worth it. P.S- love how they’re using these authentic utensils and I hope they keep using them to maintain that uniqueness!

September 9, 2024 on Google

A Delightful Bengali Experience at Jomidari My wife and I dined at Jomidari in Mississauga during Friday lunch hour, and we had a fantastic experience. We were the only couple there, so we received full attention from the staff. Got two glass of complimentary Ama Pana. First and foremost, I must applaud the owner's (Avik Da) vision and effort in creating this restaurant. Bringing authentic Bengali cuisine to the heart of Mississauga is no small feat, and it shows a lot of courage and passion. The menu offers a wonderful variety of traditional Bengali dishes, all prepared with great care and authenticity. We ordered the Rui Fish Thali, Luchi, and Kosha Mangsho (slow-cooked mutton curry). The Kosha Mangsho and Luchi were absolutely mind-blowing, especially with the perfectly spiced mutton (Jhal-Jhal). However, the fish had a slightly different taste. I can’t fault the restaurant for this, as fish can be unpredictable if it’s not fresh. After a long time, we truly enjoyed the taste of authentic Bengali cuisine. That said, I do wonder how the service will hold up when the restaurant is full, as I only saw one server during our visit. Overall, the experience was truly memorable, and I can’t wait to return and explore more of their menu!

August 31, 2024 on Google

Super delicious food at Jomidaari, every food has authentic Bengali taste. Living far from hometown the same taste of mom’s cook food is what you get at Jomidaari. It is the best Bengali restaurant in GTA and surrounding areas. Their hard work to bring the taste of bengal, followed by the food served in brass utensils really commendable. All stars to this restaurant and their team. We wish to visit there again and again.

August 25, 2024 on Google

We had ordered mutton kosha, Chicken chop, chennar jilipi and rosogulla for an event. The chicken chop and rosogulla were average tasting, nothing like their authentic versions but at least bearing some resemblance. The mutton kosha was the worst mutton I’ve tasted, the pieces were hard and not fully cooked - slowly cooked mutton is easily separated from the bone, ours still had tendons attached to the bone and were difficult to cut through (see pictures). Quantity was quite less compared to the price but did not matter as we could not eat it anyway - even the curry was barely edible, full of oil but no taste. Chennar Jilipi had maida (All purpose flour) instead of chenna (paneer), which seems like an attempt to cut costs further despite the already high prices. The middle of the sweet was so stiff we had to throw it out. (Pictures attached) The decor of the place is nostalgic, but the teething issues of this restaurant seem to be never ending as the owner could not figure out the basic operational details, not a great experience during the pickup either. Never making the mistake of visiting this place again and would advise everyone to not get blinded by inaccurate reviews and waste their money when much worthy alternatives are available in town.

August 25, 2024 on Google

Finally found an authentic Kolkata Bengali-style restaurant!! We tried piyaju pakora, beguni, chotpoti, bhojon platter. Everything was pretty good and tasty. The owner is also very generous and humble. 10/10 customer service Can't wait to go there again and try more items

August 23, 2024 on Google

I recently dined at Jomidari in Mississauga and it was a delightful experience that took me straight back to the flavours of Bengal. From the moment I walked in, the warm and inviting ambiance set the tone for a wonderful meal. The menu offers a fantastic variety of traditional Bengali dishes, each prepared with authenticity and care. For the main course, I tried the kosha Mangsho (slow-cooked mutton curry) with luchi both of which were outstanding. The mutton was tender and full of spices, while the luchi was “fulko” a combination that was impossible to resist. The service was excellent as well. The staff were friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable about the dishes, which made the experience even more enjoyable. The owner himself took our order and made sure we had everything we needed. If you're in Toronto and craving authentic Bengali cuisine, Jomidari is a must-visit. The food is top-notch, the atmosphere is welcoming, and the overall experience is truly memorable. I can't wait to return and try more from their menu!

August 11, 2024 on Google