Papyrus

Papyrus is truly a gateway to Egypt. From the moment you step inside, you're immersed in an authentic Egyptian ambiance. The vibe is warm and inviting, and the traditional music adds a beautiful touch that makes you feel like you’re right in the heart of Egypt. I had the pleasure of trying their Koshary, and it was absolutely delicious! The flavors were rich and perfectly balanced, making it a must-try dish for anyone unfamiliar with Egyptian cuisine.

December 7, 2024 on Google

Follow @bredgyeats for more food posts! A well-known street food in Egypt, koshari combines the texture of fried rice, chickpeas, and macaroni with the aromatics of caramelized onions, tomato sauce and lentils, for an all-in-one bite that will make you keep coming back for more, I assure you.

May 23, 2024 on Google

Love this place! If you have never eaten egyptian food, please take the tasting menu to try different things. This was our second time here (came for winterlicious), and it was just as I remembered, really good! 😍 Love the Koshari and the Birds Nest Konafa!

January 29, 2024 on Google

I went there for their Winterlicious menu. We ordered the following dishes: (appetizers) bissara, dokka; (main) koshari, hawawshi (we ordered both the beef and chicken/goat cheese); (desserts) bird nest konafa, konafa Canadiana. We also ordered their two available ice-teas (saffron and hisbiscus) First, the place is quite small. It has only about 8-9 tables. There is only one person in the front room serving everyone so the service can be a bit slow. It is not a problem if you don't need anything, but if you ask for anything extra, like more spicy sauce, it will take a while to arrive. Second, the food is quite good, but nothing special. It's not a place I would go out of my way to come back to. For the appetizers, one was a hummus-like dip with 2 small pieces of pitas bread. The other was dry dip with 2 small pieces of pita bread. I felt that they were really stingy with the pita bread. The hawawshi is described as a burger but it isn't really, it's more like a calzone. The koshari tastes similar to a pasta/rice/chickpea salad. The konafas were ok. I think the bird nest one tasted better than the Canadiana. In sum, the food was enjoyable but not memorable. If I could give a rating of between 3.5-4 I think that's more accurate for me. As for the ice-teas, I wouldn't order them again and I do not recommend them. They tasted like low quality powdered drinks of some sort. The saffron one had a weird taste, and not sure how I could describe it. My dinner mate said maybe plasticky. the hisbiscus one didn't have much flavour. I saw them take the drinks pre-made from the fridge. I doubt they made the drinks themselves. Also, they handed us the receipt before we even finished our meal, which I thought was a bit odd. We had late dinner so it wasn't like there was a lineup of people looking for a table.

January 29, 2024 on Google

Went for 3 couse Winterlicious which is a bargain - and great way to sample their wonderful menu! Make your reservation! Small super casual dining area (maybe 12) which is modern and clean. Front part is geared for takeout. We tried the lentil soup and yummy hummus to start, followed by koshari and hawawshi; the latter had some delicious tahini! We both enjoyed the pistachio bird nest konafa -a lightly sweet and interesting textured dessert. Excellent place for vegetarian/vegans and all items tempting. Water was refilled attentively and service overall was timely. Seemed like one person running the whole place when we were there. Accessible. Bathroom downstairs. Can park on side street for free depending on day/time. Close to Chester subway. Definitely one to try and return to try more!

January 28, 2024 on Google

Came here to try their “Leave it to Us” meal for two. It was very filling for two people. The staff were very humble and friendly. Didn’t know there was this vegan gem situated in Greektown. Our meal came with the following: Dokka, Hummus, Cucumber Pickles & Bissara Salata Baladi & Egyptian Bread Ful, Tameya Koshari I would say everything was prepared well, plating was very nice and the taste wasn’t too overwhelming even though we asked for the spicy version. Throughly enjoyed our vegan night out :)!

August 19, 2023 on Google

I have often passed by Papyrus and made a note to try it. The idea of Egyptian food on the Danforth was so intriguing I didn't know what to expect. With a mostly vegan and vegetarian menu I had to really coax my partner to give it a go. Of course we had to order the two meat dishes on the menu, namely the beef hawawshi and the chicken hawawshi. Both were very good and nicely spiced. Wanting to try more we alo ordered the full and tameya platter that came with lentil hummus and salads baladi and bread. The Tameya were so good we ended up ordering a side dish of 3 more. And the owner who helped to serve us and who was so kind and took time to explain everything and reccomend what order to try things etc. Also brought us a small bowl of Koshari to try (Egypt's National dish). Wow what amazing flavour! The layers of rice, lentils, pasta, tomato sauce with chickpeas and caramelized onions spiced to perfection made this a stand out dish for certain. We already agreed at the outset to try dessert so we needed to pace ourselves and brought some of the hawawshi home. So we split a Bird Nest Konafa and it was simply remarkable! Light vermicelli pastry filled with pistachios ( and exceptionally good quality ones at that) with a hint of coconut! We had to admit next time we are each getting our own! It was that good. Not too sweet just ever so flavorful. Like everything we had the textures and layers of flavour made this a truly wonderful meal experience. And my carnivore companion had to admit how much he loved the vegan and vegetarian cuisine. We also had 3 glasses of wine. There is no doubt at all that we will be back. And if you are vegan or vegetarian this is a must try restaurant in Toronto for you. Be warned however that it is small seats about 20 or so. So make a reservation!

January 7, 2023 on Google

So happy I walked past and saw the konafa! Everything looked absolutely amazing, and tasted even better. It’s so hard to find authentic Egyptian food or high quality in Toronto but Papyrus absolutely delivers. I especially appreciate the effort put ingot sustainability, and the wide range of vegan options! The koshari was to die for, I’ll be dreaming of coming back for more Egyptian comfort food. The foul and falafel sandwich was so amazing that it was eaten too fast to get a picture. I also really loved the card given explaining the history and culture of the food, lovely touch!

December 22, 2021 on Google