Ghazale

Delicious! Super flavorful! Our new favorite middle eastern option in the area. Great levels of garlic and spiciness.

I ate here a couple times when the old lady was cooking and it was good as the food was fresh. Last couple times have been all downhill and now after my last visit Im just totally turned off due to food freshness and sanitary practices becoming an apparent issue.
Old rice, meat and fish sitting out un-​refridgerated and not under heat lamps. They obviously prepare large batches of menu items ahead of time and then just leave them out uncovered at room temperature all day and night. Everything looks old and unappetizing. Everything heated up in a microwave. I never see the old lady in there anymore.
Thats not all for questionable food safety practices as on my last visit I saw money being handled by staff with their plastic gloves on and the gloves were not changed before handling more food. I walked out without ordering. Not going back.

Avoid this place!
I went here with some friends because we live nearby and the smell of the food was great every time we’ve walked by. We finally went to this place and got some swarma, mix plate of food and baklava. The food wasn’t bad but we noticed ants on the baklavas still moving around. When we went back to the cashier to exchange it, we noticed a swarm of ants all over the dessert counter on all of their food. I can’t imagine the status of their sanitation and other foods after seeing this.
Food: 1/​5, my swarma wasn’t bad, moist chicken and tangy sauce but I had a bad taste subconsciously after seeing the ants.
Service: 1/​5, average service when ordering but they didn’t show any remorse when we came up to show them about the ants.
Ambience: 2/​5, old and dark but sometimes this isn’t too bad as some restaurants still serve great food but this with questionable food makes a bad mix.
Price: 1/​5, too expensive for swarma in Toronto. I could go to most places for $ 5 wraps but this place came up to $ 8. Not sure if this is worth it.

Just an UPDATE: They just got a Yellow Card on DineSafe on June 24.
Ghazale is a cornerstone of the late night food scene in the Church-​Wellesley Village. You can expect your standard Middle Eastern fare here in a quick-​service style. There is space to eat in or take out. This is part of a mini-​chain of 5 restaurants in Toronto. The original is in the Annex.
The FOOD here is generally fairly average with some notable standouts on either end:
~The lentil soup is totally awesome. Completely vegetarian, nicely peppery. This is my go-​to option when I don’t feel like cooking. It’s healthy, filling, and always warm. Super cheap too.
~The stuffed grape leafs are totally awful. I’ve tried them twice, and both times they were too oily to finish. I know they’re supposed to have some oil, but this looked like they were sponsored by BP. (Too soon?)
~The falafel is a bit sub-​par. I’m sure the falafel are delicious when freshly made. Unfortunately, at least in this location, they’ve been sitting around for some number of hours chilling before being microwaved. This treatment is pretty evident in the taste. I would pay an extra dollar if they would just fry them fresh for me.
~The shawarma options are in the middle. Generally tasty, but definitely not the homemade shawarma that the best middle eastern places do. This has been made in a factory and shipped.
The SERVICE is always friendly and fast. Overall, it’s very good VALUE. I never spend a lot of money here, and when I get the lentil soup, I’m totally satisfied. In short, stick to the lentil soup.
TIP: They are open until 3 AM, so take advantage of them for your post-​bar needs… it’s definitely tastier than the Pizza Pizza next door.