Udupi Palace - Toronto

I 've eaten veg thalis all over south India. Some are excellent. Some are not. The thali at Udupi Palace falls under the 'are not ' category. Many of the individual dishes tasted the same. There were no fresh ingredients like; fresh green chilies, no onion, no...chutney or pickle. None of the bright flavors I 've come to expect in a good thali. The chapati was not freshly made. The rice was luke warm. The whole thing lacked inspiration. No pride in the thali they serve.

We had high expectations, having been told it was the best Indian restaurant in the area. And the ghee dosa did not disappoint. It was fantastic. It looked stunningly beautiful on arrival. It was crispy and perfectly shaped and prepared. The sambar was also quite...good. However, the coconut chutney was appalling. It was mushy and watery with a slightly coconutty taste but was otherwise flavour-free. The potato masala inside the dosa was equally dull, with a few visible mustard seeds, as well as zero cashews, zero coriander leaf, zero ginger, zero green chilies, and zero onion. The thali looked good, with several attractive dishes filled with different curries and masalas. Unfortunately, all of them tasted pretty much the same. The chapati was okay, but clearly not freshly made. The rice was okay. Again, there was zero pickle, zero coriander leaf, zero green chilis. For a South Indian restaurant, this lack of complex flavours we associate with Indian cuisine was surprising and disappointing.

My family has been coming here at least every other month since the opening. Our last visit was disappointing, and when we didn't see the owner, we thought that possibly ownership had changed. Last weekend my wife and I were back, and were happy to...see Hubert Dmello behind the counter. Our orders were excellent (rava, Mysore and chili cheese dosas and 2 orders of their fabulous Machurian idillies. We thought we would beat the crowd by getting in 5 minutes after opening, but found there were at least 5 other tables full. Udupi was very good, and we will by back next month.

What drew me to Udupi Palace was the 100% pure vegetarian menu. Came here for a weekday lunch. The place was empty which made it nice for a quiet atmosphere. The food is prepared very good but the prices are steep for lunch time. They...should offer lower prices during lunch especially on weekdays. Overall a positive experience. There are a number of choices for dining at Gerrard India Bazaar and overall Udupi Palace is a good place to eat, It's authentic and the food tastes good and healthy.

This is my favourite restaurant on Gerrard. It looks a little like a regular cafe not a restaurant but the food is delicious and prices are great. Vegetarian with no liquor licence. Family orientated.