Tich

One of my girlfriends recently had a baby, and we decided we should get together for dinner with our next generation. We thought a good meeting point would be Etobicoke, so one of my friends made reservations at Tich.

Restaurant: Tich
Location: Etobicoke
Meal: Dinner
Day: Saturday
Son's Age: 9 months

Tich is a modern Indian restaurant that was also featured on You Gotta Eat Here, so we were pretty excited. My friend had called ahead to let them know that our party would have two babies in tow, and both babies would be arriving in strollers. We ended up having to call and push the reservation back a few minutes because we were running late, which typically occurs when you are going places in big groups and/or with babies.

Accessibility: ⭐⭐
Since we were a group of 5 adults and two babies, the restaurant was prepared for us and seated inside where we had space to park our strollers.

As a warning, there is enough space to push the strollers through as long as other patrons push their chairs in, so we had no trouble getting to the table; however, when we were finished, we pretty much had to interrupt every table on our way out to ask others to make room. Also, there is a step at the entrance. The washrooms are located in the basement, so the stroller definitely isn't going there. I didn't actually use it this time so I can't report on the diaper changing situation, unfortunately. 

Service: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

As I mentioned, we made reservations ahead of time, so the staff was prepared for our group. The server seemed accustomed to explaining the menu (there aren't a lot of Indian restaurants in the area), but was relieved not to have to explain it to our party. I was able to get cup of hot water for my son's food. 

Overall, our server was quite friendly and helpful. However, when we called to say we would be late, we were informed that there was a reservation after us, so we would still need to be finished within the allotted time. Since two of us had babies that needed to be home for bedtime, we were fine with this, but at the end of our meal when we were paying the bill, the server announced that the next reservation had arrived. He politely asked to remove one of our tables, since it was supposedly just a party of two, and we agreed. He moved the table over and set it up while we finished paying the bill and putting our coats on. When we were leaving, the table he had removed was still empty, and we didn't see anyone at the door. As such, I'm not sure why we were rushed out, but it was one strange hiccup to an otherwise pleasant evening. 

Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
We started with the assorted tandoori platter, which included the tandoori chicken tikka, hara mirch tikka, jumbo prawns, lamb chops, and achari paneer.

This was so good. I really liked the hara mirch tikka, and the achari paneer had a nice amount of heat to it. We then ordered a few mains, and to be honest this visit happened in January so I don't remember everything we ordered, but I know I asked for the Hyderabad lamb shank.

We all ordered mango lassis, and I know there was a lobster and prawn curry and the Bengali fish curry.

There is also a chicken curry and another lamb but I forget exactly which ones we ordered. Everything was delicious though, and not just the same food you get at traditional Indian restaurants. We also weren't sure how many sides to order, so our server brought us some saffron infused basmati rice and a mix of plain naan, butter naan, garlic naan, roti, and lacha paratha. Everything was tasty and it was the perfect amount of sides to go with the food, which was more than enough for the group. I highly recommend coming in a group so you can try different menu items because there was no low point to the meal.

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐½
When it comes to the food, the show didn't lie - you really gotta eat here. It's not the easiest place to bring a baby, though, but if you have a larger party, not only can you try more dishes, but hopefully your dinner companions will take turns entertaining your kid!

Kamasutra Indian Restaurant & Wine Bar

I'm finding that, as a mother, I don't have time to do things that need to get done. For example, I desperately need to vacuum and dust my house, for example. My bathroom counter is a mess. My desk needs to get organized. I let a lot of these things fall to the wayside, as I'm sure many new moms do. When I realized my dog needed bathing, however, I realized I couldn't just put it off, so instead I paid a groomer to take care of him. As a result, I found myself in East York with an empty stomach and 2-3 hours to kill.

Restaurant: Kamasutra Indian Restaurant & Wine Bar
Location: Davisville Village
Meal: Lunch
Day: Thursday
Son's Age: 22 weeks

The restaurant was empty, so I could sit wherever I want. The section by the window is slightly elevated, so to be fair, the majority of the floor is stroller accessible, but I was stubborn and chose to navigate my stroller onto the elevated part.

Accessibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
So I did manage to get the stroller next to the table where we could both look out the window.

My son is a little shy in the photo. Anyway, I forgot to take a photo of the washroom, but there was no change table available, although there was enough counter space that, if necessary, I could have used.

Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Service was fantastic! My server was extremely pleasant and constantly came by to chat and interact with my baby. She was helpful with the menu and asked if I enjoyed the food or if there was anything else I needed. I did not feel rushed at all. She also helped me get the stroller to my table when I stubbornly chose to sit in the inaccessible part of the restaurant. Her friendliness really made my experience memorable.

Food: ⭐️⭐️
Unfortunately, I can't say that the food was memorable. On weekdays, there is a lunch special served with vegetable samosa, garden salad, basmati rice, and naan. I chose the lamb roganjosh for my main.

I should preface that I eat a lot of Indian food. I really love eating Indian food, so I suppose I can be easily disappointed. First of all, the special came with half a samosa, which is an interesting albeit misleading choice. I suppose they cooked it so that it wasn't as greasy as a typical samosa, but I found that this took away from the flavour. The garden salad was likely the restaurant's way of incorporating vegetables, and it was just a typical salad. The lamb was fine but mild and the spices definitely tasted toned down. I wonder if this is a product of catering to the East York clientele. I admit that when people are unaccustomed to Indian food, I hear them say that it is too strong, too rich, too greasy, or too spicy. I like all of these things, and while eating this I couldn't help but think that the people I know who typically don't appreciate Indian food would probably be okay eating this.

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️½
The service really elevated the overall experience for me, and it isn't too difficult to bring a baby here, but in terms of food, you can definitely get better Indian food elsewhere.