We live in downtown so it was 10 min walk for us (Perks of living in downtown). Ambience is very soothing. We went Thursday night for meeting some new friends, not many people. It is multi storied restaurant, we got table on second floor. Beautifully decorated. We ordered kofta sabzi, jackfruit masala and garlic naan. Food was really good (loved the kofta curry). Crew was friendly and professional. If you want some quiet time and eat Indian food this is the restaurant for you. We will definitely come back. read more

The menu looked fancy and elaborate. Chef Sharma had done a great job on the ambience, however the food was not the best. I had chicken tikka platter, the presentation was excellent, however tasteless. For mains, I ordered daal fry and roti. Daal was excellent , but tandoori roti was sub par. I had gulab jamun for dessert, it came on a rabri base, it looked good, but when I was my gulab jamun, I don't want anything else with it! For these reasons I didn't take my family here, as we are real foodies and love real Indian food. read more

First let me say we eat Indian food once a week, love our Indian night outs. After searching through reviews on Indian restaurants, we choose this one for our Sunday night meal, nice people, good service but first thing we noticed was how dirty everything was, the floors, the bathrooms, and the light switches looked like they hadn't been wiped down in years. Food came, we ate a little and were done...oily greasy and weird flavors. Paid $150.00 and threw 3/4 of the food away. Michelin Star restaurant..maybe 3 years ago read more

A great Indian dining experience! We came here for dinner on a Wednesday evening as we wanted to try some Indian food in Toronto to see what the hype was about. I didn't find any available reservations online despite it being a weekday & decided to try the walk in route. We arrived at 5:30 when the restaurant opens and were lucky to be seated right away! The place started filling up really quickly so it is possible we wouldn't have had gotten a table if we came a little later. The summerlious menu is also currently being served but we decided to go the ala-carte route. I started off with the salted lassi and they bring complimentary papad to the table. Our dinner assortment included: From the tandoor: paneer and bhatti chicken. Both extremely flavorful. The chicken was moist, tender with a spice kick Chilli naan: a little tough but definitely with some spice Lamb biryani: oh so flavorful. This is on the spicer side for those who cannot handle spice however does come with raita(yoghurt) Dessert: rabdi falooda. My favorite part of the meal! I enjoyed this dish immensely!! Our service was impeccable and servers extremely attentive. I loved the plating of every dish which was modern. I noticed those who got the prefix summerlicous meal also received sizable portions of each course unlike what I have witnessed In United States. Overall: this Indian meal was definitely worth it! read more

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Had the pleasure of trying Aanch for dinner with my wife. Ordered the olive cheese naan and avocado anar chaat as appetizers. The olive naan with the accompanying yoghurt dip made for a unique but very tasty dish. The avocado chaat was also very good. For dinner we had the Bukhara daal and spinach kofta with a plain naan and an onion kulcha. Daal was very good, rich and flavourful, but absolutely loved the kofta. One of the nicest cashew gravies I have tried. For dessert the gulab jamun was served hot on a bed of kheer (rice pudding) which was flavoured with saffron, pistachios and raisins. Will definitely be back. Looking forward to the left overs for lunch tomorrow. read more

Since you need reservations, we made one for about 8:30 pm after viewing some attractions in the city. Service was very, very slow, but when we (eventually) got our food, it was delicious. We ordered mild, however some dishes were noticeably spicy, like the paneer kulcha. In total, tandoori paneer, dal makhani, paneer tikka masala, kulcha, and roti were amazing. This place had great environment and food, however I would really only return if I had at least a couple hours to spare because of the slow service :) read more

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This is one of the best Indian restaurants in Toronto and going there for the second time proved a point that my choice is not wrong. this time I also had my reputation at stake because I was actually recommending this to a group of friends and they were some of them who never have had food here. The first most pleasant thing was that the staff was quick to respond it was a nice seat and also made sure that we had our booking available for the time we made it. We shall started off with the samosa platter, kurkure bhindi which is crispy okra and Mirchi chicken kebabs. All three dishes were super delectable. My friend who is a local said, "this is the best fresh samosa I've had", and the other guy said "I basically don't eat okra and if it's this good, count me In". Once we wiped those clean, we basically went with the Kebab platter, paneer kulcha, jack fruit curry, butter chicken and paneer butter masala. All I can say is that every single dish was delectable. Jackfruit curry was a surprise winner and took everyone by surprise including me! The jackfruit was well cooked and spice levels were just perfect. We closed the evening dinner with masala chai which was served in traditional cup and saucer. Overall was an amazing dinner with great service ! If in Toronto, this is one place you gotta gotta go !! read more

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I ordered takeout at Aanch on a weeknight. The place was busy at 8:30 pm on a Tuesday night... always a good sign! I ordered appetizers, Kesari Paneer Tikka ($13) & Peshawari Chicken Tikka ($17). The food took close to 25-minutes to arrive but was very delicious. There were 4 generous portions of Paneer cubes, cut in a triangle shape and were seasoned well. There were about 5 large pieces of chicken breast which were marinated well too. This was accompanied by a not-so-great tasting mint chutney, and also came with a small portion of side salad. Friendly staff and I was also given a discount on my check if I paid with cash. read more

Fantastic food. Excellent and attentive service. Would definitely return. Butter chicken and and Diliwalla Butter chicken were both very tasty. Samosas were perfect. read more

Exceptional food and fast and friendly service! Highly recommend if you happen to be downtown!

Came here for summerlicious on Sunday at around 12pm. It was a little odd that they were cleaning the carpets during this time. There was a lot of noise, and the ambience just wasn't great. That being said, the food was pretty good. I got the corn patty with figs as the app, and it was unlike anything I've ever had before. Then I got the chicken dish, which was fresh and delicious. There was a lot of food on the entree plate (curry, naan, salad, yogurt sauce, rice, lentils). The dessert was horrible. I got the saffron pana cotta and there was a thick skin on top. It tasted like an over gelatinized jello. The service was slow, but our server was very friendly. read more

Aanch - Indian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

We are an Indian family so we know when Indian food is badly prepared. It was my mother's birthday yesterday and she wanted Indian. We looked for the best Indian restaurant on Yelp, and found Aanch. The menu looked amazing, so we ordered food from there looking forward to an amazing celebration. We were so disappointed Except for naan, it was all pretty bad. They have high end prices but their packaging was pretty low end and the food sub standard. Biriyani - it looked and tasted like they mixed leftover curry mixed with rice Malai Shrimp with mozzarella and salsa - tasteless. there was only shrimp nothing else. No sauce or cheese Mutton Korma- basic curry def NOT korma Chicken Xacuti- not sure what this was Tangy Masala Crispy Calamari with tomato coconut chutney - this was the worst- there was no sauce and the batter was a crumbling. We could not eat it. This is the first and last time we will order from this restaurant. read more

Aanch - Calamari - Indian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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Summary: Fancy Indian food in terms of presentation and price but taste wasn't mind blowing and service was quite slow. Food: I got the cauliflower vegetarian dish which was quite good. But their mains don't come with rice so we had to order rice and naan with it which cost extra. We also got the rosemary naan which was good but tbh I think the regular naan taste just as good. My friends got the lamb dish, butter chicken which they said was good but not amazing. For dessert we got the sweet balls (can't remember what it's called) which was actually quite delicious and the presentation is lovely. Ambience: there's really no one in the restaurant when we went so it's nice if you want a quiet dinner. I probably would not return again but it was nice to try once! read more

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Had dinner with friends at Aanch this past Friday night... Service is great. Friendly and helpful. Ambiance is nothing special or memorable, or Indian-themed. I also don't understand when an Indian restaurant plays 80s music? So weird. Food is terrible. Really just terrible. The peas pullao had undercooked rice and frozen peas. The tadka daal was passable but quite spicy. The salad with sprouts and mango had everything in the world EXCEPT mango. It was just a weird salad. The okra I ordered never came out. I think this restaurant might be better with meat dishes as my husband and friends said the chicken 65 and butter chicken were quite good. I didn't try them. Prices are high for the portion and quality. I wouldn't return. read more

Nice atmosphere. Totally Indian. Ordered some vegeterian dish... It was amazing! And we split an entree! Service was 11 outta 10! The chef was available to ask questions! Highly recommend! read more

Aanch - Indian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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Man oh man! This is my second time trying Indian food (I know I know). But my first time was from my friends grandparents authentic kitchen. So I think I can judge :). Anyways, to start. We had the okra appetizer. It's basically fried okra, and I did enjoy it. I really like okra so no disappointment there. I wanted sea food but didn't want something too saucy so I got the malai shrimp and rice. Both were really good. I'd recommend getting something saucy though as I'm sure that has a lot more flavor. My co workers got the paneer tika Marsala and the garlic naan. We shared so I got to try a little bit of everything. Nothing disappointed! I enjoyed all the food so much and it was very flavorful. To end it we had dessert, rice pudding and mango ice cream. It was the perfect way to end it. Perfect amount of sweetness. The setting is really nice. And the plating of the food is really pretty to be honest. For sure recommend! read more

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Very tasty Indian food in downtown Toronto. I ordered the Malabari salmon which was excellent, although I had to send back the first serving because it was raw on the inside (I had requested that it be cooked all the way through but it did not come that way). When the dish arrived it was cooked perfectly and was excellent. My son ordered paneer tikka masala which he enjoyed. Unlike Indian restaurants in the US, rice is an extra cost dish so the total for my son and me was about $90 - a bit pricy, but I understand food in Canada is generally more expensive than in the US. All in all a very tasty meal. read more

A friend and I were looking for Indian food while in Toronto for the weekend. We popped into Aanch and the service was great, but the food was fairly lack-luster. It wasn't bad, but it was't particularly flavorful. When it comes to Indian food, not flavorful is just.....confusing. As I said, service was great, but prices were high and food wasn't worth the visit. There's great Indian food in Toronto - I'd skip this place. read more

This is my first visit to Aanch Modernist Indian Cuisine. My first impression when I walked in was that this would be a good experience. I flipped through the menu and saw a lot of old favourites as well as a some new ones. When I see Chicken Lababdar, I order it. It has always been one of my favourite Indian dishes and I like to see what each restaurant does with it. I have another rule: if mushrooms are offered on the menu in an Indian/Pakistani restaurant, it will be on my plate at least once. This is of course a big thing for a restaurant to live up to and to do it well. The restaurant was very clean, well staffed and offered a full bar. Il not a drinker, but it's nice for people who drink. The design is very well thought out and the staff were very courteous and helpful in helping me to find food that I can eat. I must eat a gluten free diet and avoid several other foods, so finding a restaurant that caters this well to my diet is a win win. The food is excellent. The sauces are very vibrant and the portions very generous. Good Indian food is as much about the dish as it is about the extra touches: a little extra ginger grated on top, the chef coming out asking if when I come back if he can make me a special bread because of my allergies. The talk about how and why they cook the way they do. Over the top. If you were to ask me what I thought, I would say we must go, we must. read more

Aanch - Indian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

The food was below average. I ordered the shrimp curry, the shrimp was a tad bit undercooked and the curry just ok. Had higher expectations based on reviews. read more

Amazing food AND great service! Warm ambiance, friendly staff, great food. All the reviews were great, but they still exceeded our expectations! Such a great find! read more

Aanch - Indian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Great service, value and a delicious twist on Indian cuisine. I came here for lunch today enticed by the "modernistic" moniker in the title and also the yelp reviews. I was greeted warmly and seated at the bar where the staff promptly made friendly conversation. I got good recommendations on the menu and ultimately opted for the seafood thali. What a treat. The dish came with 3 bite size fish pakoras, lentils, potatoes, naan, pappadum, shrimp malabar, rice, yogurt, salad and a choice of gulab jamun or rad malai for dessert. The server forgot to ask my choice and brought gulab jamun, but when I asked for ras malai, he brought me that and didn't exchange it. I got two desserts! The lentils were a little salty for my taste, but I loved loved loved the shrimp. It's a perfect helping of 4-5 shrimp in a savoury tomato sauce. And the rice was so fragrant! The naans were perfectly tender and had a nice grilled flavour. I wasn't a fan of the potatoes, but that's not to say they weren't delicious. The gulab jamun was a healthy size and sweet! And the ras malai was liht, creamy, not too sweet, and generously showered with pistachios. I liked the place so much I topped off my meal with a steaming cup of unsweetened chai. This place is great, it has a nice intimate atmosphere. You should come. read more

Aanch - Lunch seafood thali special 20$ for appetizer, meal and dessert! Great deal! - Indian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Had this last night as I was exhausted after the game. Loved every bite of the Dilliwala Butter Chicken was delicious, the Cheesy Olive Naan was great as well, will go back read more

I was in the mood for something different from my normal lunch fare and was excited to see that a new Indian restaurant opened up in the entertainment district. The interior is very modern and is definitely the type of atmosphere where you can have a business lunch. There were definitely a few of those around me when I was there. The lunch menu seems to focus on thali, which allows you to sample a variety of options for a single price. Apparently, there is a separate Monday/Wednesday/Friday menu and a Tuesday/Thursday menu. I ordered the chicken thali with chicken curry. I asked for the khalfi (ice cream), but I don't think the waiter heard me and I was given the kheer (rice pudding). The thali came with an appetizer of a samosa and Tandoori chicken. I really enjoyed the samosa and the Tandoori chicken was really well cooked and perfectly spicy. For carbs, there was basmati rice, a papadum, and a naan. The papadum was thin and crispy and the naan was soft. I wasn't expecting to get both, so it was a pleasant surprise. Next to the carbs was the chana pindi, which is a chickpea dish. The chickpeas were perfectly soft and tender. I don't recall the vegetable dish, but it was delicious and quite spicy. I used the yogurt raita to reduce the heat. The chicken curry was excellent. At first, I thought it was too sweet, but over time it became less sweeter and much more spicier. The chicken was not dry. Finally, I tried the dessert and I'm glad that it was delivered instead of the ice cream. It tasted like rice in a sweet milk sauce and was enjoyable to eat. During lunch service, the chef came out and asked everyone about the food. He was very gracious. I am not a connoisseur of Indian food at all. However, I really enjoyed the food at Aanch and will very likely come back. read more

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Partner and I love Indian food and used to come here all the time when it was still called 259 Host. We were pretty devastated when 259 Host shut down earlier this year. So when Aanch opened we knew we had to pay a visit. Food- 4/5. Pretty extensive menu, but vegans/dairy-intolerant people beware... almost every single dish and sauce has dairy! I ordered from the vegetarian menu, but had to ask the chef to omit dairy from the Mushroom Medley. The only 2 vegan mains are the cauliflower and the okra dishes. Vegan carbs is rice since all the naan breads are made with dairy. My vegetarian partner really enjoyed his dishes though! The rosemary naan was especially well liked. Our only criticisms about the food are that the mains were a tad too spicy and too oily. Overall the dishes are very similar in taste, quality, and selection to 259 Host. Portion sizes are also larger here compared to other upscale Indian restaurants in the GTA. Ambience - 5/5. Clean, quiet, romantic. read more

We're in Toronto on vacation and found this place thanks to Yelp! We love Indian & have sampled it in cities around the world. The interior is very nice and warm. The bar selection is extensive. The menu has lots to choose from & the food was very good! We had the Fish Pakora appetizer to start, delicious. Then I had the Paneer Tikka Masala & asked that it be prepared mild, because I'm a wimp. It came out too spicy for me, but was better after adding a side of raita to cool it down. My husband got the Dilliwala Butter Chicken. He prefers very spicy & this was only medium to his palate. So spice/heat levels can vary. Service was stellar until a large party came in, then there was a bit of scrambling to catch up. We were overall very happy with Aanch and recommend it! read more

Aanch - Indian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Upscale restaurant near convention center with good ambiance, not too noisy. Service was good, not the most friendly though. Naan was fresh & hot, the baingan bharta was overly salty, so a bit disappointing. Good masala tea. read more

The food is amazing We ordered (through Uber eats) 2 onion kulchas, palak paneer, raita, and the avocado chaat. Everything was amazing, even the raita was seasoned to perfection Highly recommend! read more

The lunch and service was very good. We were tourists in the city so we were in a bit of a hurry but I wish I could have ordered more. We ordered chicken kadhai and butter chicken. The chef came out and asked us if everything was good. The place looked great and neat. read more

We were excited to try this place as it opened at the location of erstwhile restaurant - 259 Host. I understand that the chef and staff are the same and have taken over as new owners! The place is also renovated with a new bar. We ordered Veg Tikka, Rosemary Naan, Shahi Paneer and Peas Pulav. All items tasted perfect! The only spoiler was the wait time for the food to arrive, otherwise would have rated 5 star! read more

After our flight arrived and we got checked in to our hotel we decided to wander around until we find something interesting for dinner. Yelp sent us here and we are so glad it did. Even without reservations they quickly and happily made accommodations. Everything was excellent. Highly recommended! Had to go back a 2nd time, the very next night. We got Mirch Tikka and Lamg Vindaloo to go with the rice and naan. Excellent! read more

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Surprisingly, I found it difficult to find exceptional Indian cuisine in Toronto. Aanch was a pleasant surprise after a couple failed attempts and other nearby Indian restaurants. One of my favorite aspects of Aanch is their modern take on both the cuisine as well as the presentation. The chicken vindaloo was good, not my favorite, but still very good. The presentation, the naan, and even a great beer glass helped to make the meal one of my favorites in the area. read more

Aanch - Dining room - Indian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

We came to this spot because of their unique menu items. I was so excited to see tunday kabab and nalli nihari for the first time ever on a menu outside of India! Both items were very good although slightly different from the originals (which is to be expected at a place that calls itself modernistic). Flavors were spot on. We got Ras Malai which was way too sweet and the texture was off. The servers were confusing and they missed our initial order of nihari so we had to ask for it later and by then we also needed more naan. We will still be back to try different items but probably steer clear of the desserts. read more

What a fantastic restaurant with awesome food that is presented beautifully! I have been to this place thrice now and each time I have been pleasantly surprised at the quality of food. I ordered different items each time and left the place 'licking my fingers' each time! Great place and definitely worth the price!!! read more

From out of town and hotel recommended which made me nervous. Food was fantastic. Had the coriander and green Chile naan as well as a spicy version of butter chicken (Dilliwilli maybe?). Very good service as well. read more

Absolutely fantastic. Some of the best Indian food I have ever had! I highly recommend the Dilliwala Butter Chicken and Amchuri Paneer Cutlet. The staff were all also very friendly and the atmosphere was perfect for a lunch or dinner date. read more

Aanch - Indian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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Good experience when it comes to decor. They have a very decent thali option. I chose the chicken thali, which had salad, chick peas curry, one veg curry, chicken tikka or curry , samosa and kulfi or kheer, papad ... nice music to accompany. I would visit again. read more

Aanch - Indian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Really good food and has a Michelin star. Surprised it's not at the top of Yelp. The reason we came is because our Uber driver cancelled but we are sure glad he did. The ambiance is also nice with Indian music playing while we ate. read more

I wish I could give this place an extra star. I am an Indian so I have a very high expectation of Indian restaurants. The entire meal from appetizers to the main course to desserts was amazing. They do a surprisingly good job of both vegetarian and non vegetarian dishes. The pan kulfi in the desserts is a must try. Tip: Its easier to find a spot if you reserve in advance. read more

One of the best places to have authentic indian food. One of the most amazing butter chicken and dal makhani i have had since i moved to Toronto. The only thing they need to work on is service. It is pathetic. Have to wait long for the order to be taken, food to be served and for the final bill. Sometimes they tend to serve cold naans. I just go to this place for the taste of food but everything else disappoints me. read more

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