Another Covid-era success story, The Kettle, a new(ish) Indian-Canadian fusion restaurant, offers mouth-watering dishes and incredible culinary experiences.
Faiz and Sana, George Brown culinary arts graduates, friends for over 10 years, and industry veterans, spent years working across the food scene in Toronto and gaining experience in every restaurant department. During Covid when they lost their jobs and were forced to reassess their lives, they decided to finally open up their own brand. Together, they wanted to offer something new to the city, something flavourful and fun and focused on authentic Indian cuisine paired with Canadian ingredients (think butter chicken pies).
Their most popular dish is the Kheema Toast, sourdough bread topped with ground beef and a sunnyside egg with their house maple sauce. The Masala Egg Bennyis something you won't want to miss either: sourdough bread, homemade potato bajji, two poached eggs, and topped with a curried hollandaise. For my sweet tooths out there, there is the Challah Gulab Jamun French Toast; the Kettle injects a cream cheese flavoured with cardamom and saffron inside three pieces of challah, then tops it with maple-soaked gulab jamun, berry coulis, mint and whipped cream. Brunch is available on weekends from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Another very cool offering they have is a Desi-style afternoon tea called The Kettle Experience. They have two choices, the Desi Special and the more elevated Vi-Desi High Tea, which has heartier savoury options. Both versions can be made with meat, vegetarian or vegan, and they all come with a kettle of masala chai and an assortment of biscuits. The Kettle Experience is available by reservation only on weekdays from 2 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Some other dishes The Kettle is known for include the Smoked Chicken Curry with malabra parantha, which is cooked over coal smoke, so it has an authentic smoky flavour. Of course, the Butter Chicken Pie, butter chicken is stuffed into a buttery flaky pie and served with masala potatoes on the side. The Dahi Puri is a popular appetizer if you're looking for something lighter: rice cracker puff balls filled with lentils, potatoes, and homemade tamarind chutney. If you're in a snacky mood, their House Special Kebabs are gluten-free and made with minced beef stuffed with herbs; it's crispy on the outside and mouth-melting on the inside. Their Street Style Tacos (and their taco shells are made with their homemade parantha) are stuffed with tandoori chicken and creamy slaw, cilantro, and house sauce.
For dessert, the Tender Coconut Payasaam is vegan and gluten-free and uses fresh organic coconut flesh as the panna cotta, with no added sugar, and it just melts in your mouth. Personally, I'm going straight to the Gulab Jamun Cheesecake; they soak the gulab jamun in maple syrup and make a crust on the bottom with Parle-G biscuits - the maple-soaked gulab jamun is layered on and the cheesecake mix is poured on top.
The Kettle also does an in-house chai, made-to-order, and highly recommended. You can pair it with some Indian pastries you can get at the counter, including Mawa Cake and Butter Chicken Pops. If you're not a chai person, you can get a Delhi-style cold coffee which is an Indian decoction of coffee with cardamom and star anise mixed with infused milk and ice cream. Don't sleep on their mango lassi either, which is creamy, foamy and flavoured with rose petals.
The Kettle wanted to bring the theme and comfort of what a literal kettle represents to Toronto. Faiz and Sana want to show Torontonians Indian cuisine that goes beyond just naan, curries, and biriyani. Their goal is to have folks come in and feel that they're in a modern chai stall, with the contentment and joy that comes from sharing samosa chaat and a kettle of chai with friends. As a note, all meat on the menu is hand-slaughtered halal.
