Avli Restaurant

I’m so sad to hear they are closing because of the owner’s health after a serious car accident. Such lovely food and great service. The Danforth will not be the same.

I hate taking chances with new restaurants because I’m so frequently disappointed, but not this time! I’m mean the last time I ordered in spanakopita (from a different place) whatever arrived was inedible and full on gooey cheese and not much else. Avli’s spanakopita, on the other hand, isn’t in filo, but the pastry was light and crunchy and the filing perfect. Food arrived piping hot (delivery dude apologized for being late, but I’m pretty sure he wasn’t), the greek salad was fresh and tasty (although a bit of vinegar in the dressing never killed anyone). Moussaka is also very tasty and well spiced. It’s a rare day when I finish a delivery meal feeling genuinely satisfied, meaning Avli’s my new go-​to when I’m in the mood for Greek.
My only disappointment was that I didn’t take a chance on the saganaki (my favorite!). When restaurants mess that one up, they tend to do so spectacularly, so I decided to hold off. I’m pretty sure this place will get it right though.

We have been to many restaurants on the Danforth and this is one of the top choices. There dips are amazing and can be a meal them self. There lamb and chicken were perfect and the potatoes out of this world. Great wine selection also. Over we feel you can’t go wrong with this restaurant.

Avli is by far my favourite place on the Danforth. It is still very authentic unlike other more commercialized greek restos there.
The food is simply delicious and the service has always been great. Ask for their specials of the day, and try their grilled bass with the dips… Such a lovely quiet gem in the middle of the «new and trendy» danforth.

Visit here often with family. Most of the food here is great with authentic flavours. I have had the meat platter, seafood platter, lamb shank, rabbit pie, pasta which were terriific. I would highly recommend the garlic shrimp which is delicious. Their bread/​flatbread is also very good along with the house made dips. The décor is very soothing and inviting, once they had a live band playing. The service is also very good, it is pretty expensive but so are all the restaurants in this area.

One of my happy places cause they accommodate my food allergies and cook with pure olive oil and free-​range meat. I have visited this place at least 50 times over the years. The stuffed eggplant is divine and I love the simple Horta Vrasta. Another family favourite is the lamb shank in tomato sauce. We ask for the orzo replaced by okra to make it gluten-​free. The chicken livers are the best I have ever tasted with lots of onion and mustard seed. They have a great dip platters. You can choice from a variety of traditional Greek dips. My favourite combo is skordalia, melitzanosalata and black olive tapenade. They always bring us lots sliced cucumber to replace the pita as they know we don’t eat bread.
The service is always warm, friendly and accommodating. They consider their repeat costumers apart of their extended family and are often seen giving out big hugs and thanks when people coming in for a visit.

Originally coming from the Mediterranean, I really like Avli’s food! Everything is recommended except the hummus. The lamb shank and rabbit are great dishes!

I think this is one of the best Greek options on the Danforth. All of the places that we used to go have gone down hill. We like the menu; lots of vegetarian and seafood options. They took good care of us, we were pleased.

I grew up near Greektown and I’ve tried almost every greek restaurant on the Danforth. Although I enjoy many of them, Avli is definitely one of my favourites. The owner is often there, and he takes pride in presenting very delicious food from his country.
I’ve sat on the patio and inside, and both times got prompt service. They have some affordable wine too, which is nice.
My favourite dishes I’ve had are:
1. The home made Bougatsa (greek custard dessert) is out of this world!!!
2. Spanakopita — I really like it here — it’s home made and not too sweet. Some people might not like how much dill is in it, but I quite enjoyed it.
3. Dips! They have all sorts of dips. The olive tapenade is my favourite thing to start with.
4. The CALAMARI!!! It isn’t deep fried, and it’s stuffed with tomatoes and garlic. SO. Good.

Avli Restaurant is still among the best on the Danforth and was one of Eddies and my favorite places but it has seen better days. My friend Chris use to work here and that’s what brought me here in the first place. When they get the food right, it is so good but it isn’t consistent. That being said, on a bad day it is still better than most on the Danforth and that’s why the 4 stars. I usually order the lamb shank served on a bed of orzo with sun-​dried tomatoes in red sauce. This can be mouth watering on a good day.

I love Avli! My boyfriend and I keep getting others hooked on it as well!
I am not Greek, but I have been to many Greek restaurants and my favourites are The Lamb Shank (not mini-​sized as in many other restaurants;very well priced;deliciously marinated and cooked;served with great sides), dips combo (you can chose 3 for a good price and can even skip the entrée afterwards due to the size) and desserts (bougatsa is my all time favourite;my boyfriend loves baklava –both for their great balance between sweet and crispy and little add-​ons in the background give them a uniquely difference from trying the same desserts in other places).Other desserts are very good too.
Other entrees I haven’t tried but I believe they are nice as well since this is not a big place to eat at and therefore there is extra effort and time taken to deliver satisfaction.
Definitely recommend it!

There were 3 of us, we went into Avli last night for dinner, all was tense. Just kidding. The place was slow so we had great service and the food was a little different and unique. Both my friends had the Lamb Fricase which was in a light creamy sauce served with artichokes. They both loved the lamb.
I went with the traditional Chicken kabob with potatoes and rice. Starting with a Greek salad. My friend had a broiled octopus which he squeezed lemon on and shared with us all. I have never enjoyed octopus like this, its usually rubbery and un digestible however this app was not, it was tasty and edible. Kinda looked like chicken.
Anyways the food was great, we took pictures and put them onto FB and tweeted for all to see.

Hey guys, I just vent last Saturday to visit the Avli on Danforth!! First this is tipical Greek ambience, great fresh and home made food.!! Desert for sure, we had a great some Greek specials made from chef of restaurants wife.!! They served really fresh and hot special some Greek desert, I don’t know the name, but we get 3 of the different, I just remember one of was baklava. However the Lamb Shank my choice) was made exactly how need to be served, nice and warm.!The price are not too high, completely acceptably.!!We love the Mediterranean food, and this restaurant will be in the future in my list.!! And the live music is I think on Friday too, but in Saturaday is for sure. Starts in 9:30 that I remember! Stay cool ;-)

I love this place what’s with the low reviews and low ratings? One of the few places I tried in Greektown, looking to try whole buncha others but will definitely be coming back here regardless. I would agree with calling it the best lambchop I had by far, but again, so many other places I haven’t been yet. We shall see.

Best moussaka on the Danforth

My review is based on their food and delivery service.
1) Delivery was 20mins late — I understand things happen, but it would have been nice to get a call letting me know it wouldn’t be on time.
2) The side salad I ordered came without any dressing, and consisted of bagged shredded lettuce, one slice of tomato, 1 slice of cucumber, 1 olive, and some feta cheese. I’ve had better side salads from fast food chain restaurants.
3) The chicken and mushroom pie was delivered in the tin it was cooked in. The top was burnt, and the over all taste was okay. Not horrible, not amazing, just okay.
4) The mussels. Yes, we ordered mussels. I was weary at first but I figured why not. They actually were good, better than just okay, but again nothing amazing.
Overall, I wont be ordering from Avli again.

I’m a sucker for a deal, so when I saw that Avli offered a $ 25 three course dinner, I invited a friend to check it out with me. Leaving the Chester station, you pretty much can’t miss it, which is very convenient when you’re directionally-​challenged like me. Walking in, it was nicely decorated and I saw my friend waiting at a table for me.
Our very sweet waiter brought us lots of delicious bread to nibble on while we waited for our orders. I had the sausage appetizer, which had more tomato sauce than I was expecting, but was delicious. I really enjoyed it. The lamb shank for my entrée was also well seasoned, and the meat was fall-​off-​the-​bone tender. I didn’t even need my knife! I couldn’t finish it all, and was unfortunately a little put off the next day when I saw how much oil had accumulated at the bottom of my take away box. The dessert I chose was ice cream with sour cherries, but I wasn’t impressed with the cherry sauce.
The server was a very sweet older Greek man, who felt the need to explain how we use the debit/​credit machine, which was amusing for us.
All in all, a pretty good meal at a good price, but the regular menu’s pricing is shocking. I would never pay the a la carte prices for what you get here. It’s good, but it’s not THAT good. I’d probably return for their lunch prix fixe, since I’ll live in the neighbourhood soon.

As good as Greek food gets in Canada :)
With my return from Greece last month, I was hankering for some delicious Greek grub. I had an amazing dining experience in Crete called Avli and so after reading the reviews on Unilocal,my choice was clear.
We feasted like ROYALTY here at Avli, enough to put us into a coma for 13 hours! For starters, we had the DOLMADES (my fav from, Greece) — which was one of the best DOLMADES I’ve ever had. We had this eggplant appetizer that wasn’t on the menu but they walked around with specials for $ 3 a plate and we grabbed one. We also had the traditional Greek Salad called the Village salad and it was fresh, was not highlight, but good still.
For mains, we had the MEAT MOUSSAKA and the GRILLED LAMB. It was sooooo delicious. Their Moussaka was sweet and had fresh big chunks of potato and bechemal in it, it was very traditional, just like in Greece. The lamb was very tender and done medium rare, just like I had asked for — it was delicious. The potatoes it was served with was divine. I ate sooo much, I was ready for a nap right after!
The whole meal was great, the service was awesome — fast and super friendly. very attentive and catered to exactly what our needs were. I would come back again in a heartbeat. They really captured the Greek-​feel homemade dining experience in the heart of the Danforth. I would go and try everything on the menu! A bit pricier, but worth the money for the quality of food!

I’ve been going to Avli for years and am convinced it is the best Greek restaurant on the Danforth. The food is uniformly terrific and Lambros, the chef/​owner, is a kind and generous host who welcomes his guests like family.
There are lots of highlights, but here are just a few:
1. The Dips. It’s worth making a trip to Avli just for the dips. Their taramasalata (a common greek dip made from fish roe) is light and creamy and by far the best I’ve ever tasted. Melisanosalata (eggplant, onion, mint, olive oil) is delicious and refreshing. Kopanisti is a fantastic dip made from feta cheese, chilis, and roasted pepper. Skordalia is a rich, creamy dip made from roast garlic and potato. Even their tapenade (served complimentary with bread when you order) is unusually good — not too salty and infused with orange zest.
2. The mezes. You can go to many places on the Danforth and get stingy portions of uninteresting mezes («little plates») but at Avli they are generous and perfectly cooked. Calamari (fried or, better yet, grilled and stuffed) are tender and never overcooked. Chicken livers, sausages, dolmates (vegetarian vine leaves), tomatoey mussels in white wine, octopus, spinach pie… they will all make you smile.
3. The vegetarian options. This is something that also separates Avli from the pack. You can be a vegetarian here and get food beyond «vegetarian skewer» or spinach pie (although the spinach pie is terrific — made with house-​made flaky pie crust, rather than the standard filo dough, and packed full of spinach and feta cheese). Their vegetarian moussaka is rich and filling. Their baked lima beans are surprisingly delicious and the baked eggplant with pine nuts is sweet and unusual.
4. The pies. You won’t find these in many places on the Danforth. All the pies at Avli are topped with a house-​made pie crust and loaded with savoury fillings in the clay dish underneath. Best? The rabbit (I don’t eat rabbit, but I’ve guiltily tasted the sauce. Wow, it was good.) The chicken, mushroom, and rosemary pie.
5. The lamb shank. Served on a bed of orzo and rich with sauce, this lamb shank is so tender, you will eat more of the big portion than you intended.
Most of all, the kitchen staff just care about the food. Some of the bigger restos on the Danforth churn out their food like assembly lines. At Avli, because the owner is also the chef, you get food made with love. And it shows.
Avli is not a place to go if you want souvlaki. While they serve it, you could probably get it cheaper elsewhere. But if you want authentic Greek food, come to Avli.
Vegetarian score: ⁷⁄₁₀. Good, solid choices for vegetarians, but it is, after all, still a Greek restaurant.

It’s hard to believe that the reviews below are of the same restaurant I came to love over the years visiting Toronto. Granted that I have not been to Avli since 2005 (personal circumstances have prevented me from coming to TO since then). However, it was wonderful then.
I particularly recommend the mezza (small plates of appetizers). The taste of everything I have ever tried there is heavenly, putting our Greektown in Detroit to shame.
As a vegetarian, I am very sensitive to being brought the wrong food. I never had this happen in my 5 or 6 visits to Avli.
I highly recommend that you try Avli and make up your own mind. Then, Unilocal about it to let us all know the score.