Basha Middle Eastern Grill

I was a huge fan of this place, and I’m writing this posthumous review to praise an excellent family run establishment that brought us «good food, quickly». They had quality food, made with care and delivered with a smile. Every once in a while, the food arrived with a pot of mint tea, gratis! I’m sad to have seen them shut it down.

Mediocre falafels. And small. Cheap (3.99…4.99 with a can of pop), but I’d rather pay a bit more and have a big, sloppy one.
Also, they don’t ask what you want in it. Not even hot sauce. Weird.

Great laffas (chicken is better than the beef one as it’s more moist). Best falafel’s I’ve ever had. Nice décor inside too

I’ve been tricked.
Chad promised that laffas would be full of fries and other goodies. The grilled chicken one I ordered was tasty, but more like a panini-​pressed shawarma. The chicken was a bit dry (but I always find grilled chicken dry. What’s my problem?).
Service was friendly and I sat comfortably, watching Middle Eastern music videos until the food was ready. I might try this place again next time I’m in the area.

Amazing food, love it! Can’t be better. They have amazing shawaramas, salads, falafels, I will be coming back again and again. My favorite is their falafel salad and eggplant sandwich. But chicken tastes amazing too. And everyone there is usually super friendly.

I go here now and then as it is the best schwarma place, in my opinion, near yonge and bloor. That being said there used to be a better place father south but it got replaced by a condo, go figure. Although this place is nothing special it is a good bet if you are craving a schwarma.

I usually avoid these Yonge Street hole-​in-​the-​walls, but this one was a great find. It was nicer inside than I expected it would be, and my chicken shawarma laffa was awesome.
A laffa is basically a big pita, made with a flatter and crispier bread. The bread is huge so it gets rolled over multiple times, and is stuffed with a bunch of ingredients, including french fries and garlic sauce. Good stuff, and well worth the price (just under $ 8).

Very nice,.we visit the place often… good price and clean operation. like the authenticity of the dishes… staff is very friendly. will suggest to any one wants to taste some good shawarama

Welcome to Yonge Street, the Shawarma capital of the GTA.
Basha is now my new favourite place to go for shawarmas in the neighborhood.
No, it’s not the same Basha found in Montréal.
Good. I like this one better.
I can’t say it’s because they have the best shawarma in the city, because I didn’t order a shawarma.
But I did have the grilled eggplant pita, and it was mighty tasty.
They have two sizes of sandwich, the pita is smaller, the laffa is larger.
The small was just the right portion for me. The sandwich was oily, dripping with sauce, and pretty salty. but also very enjoyable. It was flavour packed, which really surprised me. And the pita wasn’t too thick and bready.
The service was awesome!
Very friendly and chatty while I waited for my pita (grilled to order, so it’s a few minutes).
They told me their favourite thing on the menu is the lamb kebob.
I’m getting that next time. That or the vegetarian pita which is eggplant AND falafel! =)

I was looking over my debit card statement the other day, and I found that I’d eaten here 5 times in the last month!
I started coming here because I’m on this Paleolithic diet, and middle eastern generally offers me a lot more choice than most restaurants.
I first came here with Avitania B and Nicole H, who both ordered this thing called a LAFFA. As I was enjoying my salad topped with chicken (already awesome), I heard some strange noises coming from my friends.
«OMFFFFOOOOGGGG. HRRRRPPPPPPPP. JAYYSSSSUS CRISTO WHAT THE???»
Avitania was nice enough to let me try a bite. HEAVEN. I was instantly jealous. I have no idea what it is, but the sauce that’s in this thing is incredibly tasty and addictive. The Laffa has all kinds of stuff thrown in there, including french fries and pickles. Whatever is in there, it’s totally worth blowing my diet over. I’ll often come here after a long bike ride because I’VE EARNED IT!
Try this damn thing.

Incredibly tasty spot for a Middle Eastern snack in the Yonge/​Bloor area. So incredibly tasty you’ll be mumbling «ohmygoshwhatisgoingonTHISISSOGOOD» with each bite. Basha fries must be cut with crack cocaine, because you’re likely to inhale a serving in 4.3 seconds without a second thought. The falafel has a good flavour and texture — make sure to go for a Laffa option rather than a boring old pita — Middle Eastern burrito, YES PLEASE. My recommendation is the veggie option — with fire roasted tomatoes & eggplant as the main stars, and all the regular trimmings you’ll find in a falafel sandwich, it’s got it all. Mmmmm-​mmmm! If you’re into just your basic falafel sandwich, there’s always that option as well. If I recall correctly, there might even be a vegetarian platter or salad on offer also. Loads for vegheads here.
Food’s always made to order, with not too much wait. I’ve never seen Basha super busy, but I don’t think that’s a bad sign. Means less wait to get the tasty, tasty treats into my belly. Can’t complain about that, now! Washrooms are available, and there’s plenty of seating.
Get thee to Basha soon and cram a Laffa in your laff-​ing hole, friends!

I came here for lunch and was pleasantly surprised.
The place is clean, the service was good and the food was excellent! Best of all, it wasn’t too crowded or too noisy which made the experience perfect!
I’ll be coming back for sure! :)

Always get the leffe option — the taste is superior to any pita.
The rest suggests if you are in a hurry to call ahead, but looking at my iPhone, I’ve tried 6 times at different times of the day, and they never answer the phone, so don’t waste your time. Walk over and wait the 5 minutes for the best falafel you’re going to find on Yonge Street.

Have you ever taken a bite out of something and thought, «I could eat this for lunch every day for the rest of my life»? That’s totally how I feel about the Laffa wraps at Basha. They’re like burritos, but awesomer. The Laffa has your filling of choice (chicken shawarma, chicken breast kabob, falafel — all of which are moist and perfectly cooked), then filled with tomatoes, pickles, french fries and garlic sauce. The garlic sauce is my absolute favorite thing at Basha; my breath could kill a coven of vampires afterward, but the sauce is so delicious it’s worth missing a few kisses. ;)
If you’re not in the mood for a wrap, the plates (the protein is served with rice, fries, and salad instead of in a pita or Laffa bread) and salads are really good as well. The rice is really tender and buttery delicious. The salads are fresh and sans any wilty lettuce leaves. It’s an inexpensive joint that I can eat at with my paleo-​dieting partner (there aren’t too many that we can eat at together), and for that I am very very happy.

Their décor was modern. However their food was bland. There was no flavor at all to the chicken. Their portions for the price were reasonable though. Their shawarma was pretty big and tasted fine. Their platter which my wife bought didn’t fair so well. Not to mention, the skewers seemed oddly smaller than average for Chicken Tawook. Nonetheless — its good for the price and for being on Yonge Street — but overall this is nothing special and I wouldn’t travel down to downtown for this.

Yonge St has been bursting with new eateries in the last few months, and one of them is Basha.
One of my main selling points on picking Basha from the other restaurants in the area was that everything was made to order. Thus, food takes a few minutes, but the results are well worth it.
I ordered a chicken shawarma on pita, a regular snack of mine for lunch during work. My wife had the chicken skewer, which was the special advertised in the window. The shawarma was pleasant, although most of the sauce and veggies fell to the bottom. It was I’d say, average in size when compared to other shawarma places in Toronto.
Next, the chicken skewer. It came with rice, a small side of chopped veggies, and the chicken. The meat was incredibly tender and very well seasoned. Rice and veggies were both very fresh as well. Our only complaint with the meal was there was an incredible amount of salt on the dish. If you think you could find a safe haven with the veggies, think again; lots of salt.
As for the restaurant itself, it was very clean. Both the eating area and behind the counter were spotless. The gentlemen on the register was friendly and polite, even delivering the food to our table when it was ready.
Prices are not ‘cheap’, but you’re receiving an incredibly fresh plate that’s well worth the few extra bucks in my opinion. Hopefully the overly salty plate was just a one time event, and we’ll definitely have to try Basha again to find out!

I recently visited Basha on Yonge. The décor is rather sparse but the place is clean and staff friendly. I only tried the grilled eggplant laffa with misc. grilled veggies on my first visit — all very tasty — and the laffa wrap is much more interesting than the regular pita.
I’ve since returned to reorder the grilled eggplant and the falafel sandwich, along with the hummus and grilled veggie salads.
While the portions may be smaller than most middle eastern restaurants in the area, and the prices slightly higher, I think the food is excellent.
The wait time is longer than normal, but that’s because they make everything while you wait.
A good trick for subsequent visits if you want to take-​out is to call ahead and pickup or place your order, do some shopping in the area and pick up later.

Another new lunch option on the busy Yonge Street strip. I believe Basha just opened up last week.
First impressions were very good. This isn’t sketchy like your typical Toronto Middle Eastern/​Shawarma place. Décor is simply and functional, but it’s clean, has brand new interior (flooring, tables, counters, etc) with a matching colour scheme. Can’t expect much more for a «grab & go» type lunch spot.
Lunch specials from 11am-​2pm include shawarma (either chicken or beef) + pop for $ 4.99, or falafel + pop for $ 3.99
The sandwiches here were actually wrapped in «Laffa» (traditional Iraqi pita bread) instead of the regular pitas you get at most Middle Eastern takeout joints.
I tried the Shish Tawoo Laffa (chicken skewer). I was told it would take 5 mins as they make everything fresh. I was very impressed with the food freshness and presentation too, MUCH nicer than usual. My sandwich even had a few french fries inside… sooooo yum.
Along with shawarma and falafel sambos, they do plates too (served with rice, scalloped potatoes, fire grilled veggies and Basha salad). Most plates were $ 8.99
Even more impressive was the selection of ready made salads at the front. I’m not talking lettuce-​with-​two-​slices-​of-​tomato salad. No, they had REAL salads — Spinach Taboule, Arrugala Salad and a Roasted Veggie salad. Most were $ 2.99-$ 3.99.
They also make homemade hummus in a few different varieties. (Fire Roasted Red Pepper and Chilli Pepper Cilantro — sounds delish!)