Roti Lady On the Dunn Ave

Proper roti, great shell, biggest selection I’ve seen in the city. Super cheap, meat is not dry like some of the other joints around PK.

Do not be fooled by the appearances of this tiny place, hidden on the streets of Queen and Dunn Avenue. This cute little place contains full of surprises. This is a MUST everytime I’m craving roti, especially the chicken and potato roti. Pricing ranges under 10 bucks which is amazing considering the portion that is given. On a nice sunny day, it seems to always be packed with people sitting on their picnic tables in the front of the shop. I would HIGHLY recommend this place to anyone who finds themself roaming Parkdale.

Hoo-​yuh. Good Good Good Roti. Spicy Roti. Filling. Flavorful. Piping hot. Huge serving for dirt cheap. A vegetarian roti will run you usually under 5 bucks, and the amount she serves you can last you 2 days at least. THESE ROTIS ARE HUGE. LIKE 2-​POUNDER BRO. The roti if effing amazing, so pillowey, rich in spices, a gorgeous tumeric yellow tone. And the filling kicks you in the gonads just enough. Lots of tropical fruit juices (as well as ‘peanut juice’ O_​_​_​_​o) to offset the HOT FIRE in your mouth. Unless you want to SPIT HOT FIRE. Then you’re set.
It’s got that hole in the wall charm, and it gets super hot in there when the sun shines through the windows. MAKES YA SWEAT.
One thing you do not usually get from Roti lady are smiles. She is stoic as fuck and usually focused on her little retro TV set to the left while crafting your roti. To be frank, she scared me just a little. HOWEVER, she isn’t mean, she freely gave me an extra plastic fork when I dropped mine, and gave me a plastic bag and sytrofoam box when I wanted to take my leftovers home. She MIGHT have cracked the tiniest little smirk when I was there.

The roti was recommended to me here so I stopped by for lunch. There is ample room to eat inside…3 tables seating 4 (5 even) and a long black bench. I was also pleased with the extensive list of West Indian drinks to accompany your fiery meal.
Her roti wrap was the best I’ve ever had and so fresh so ¹⁰⁄₁₀.
The filling was good, really good. The goat roti was $ 10.99 and my soursop nectar brought my lunch to $ 12 flat. Great value for the huge serving. I was stuffed until bedtime!
I say Roti Lady is worth going to… Is it the best mind blowing roti of all of Parkdale? Hmm… I can’t say!

I had the oxtail roti and was blown away! I’m used to having more bones than meat but this wasn’t the case here. Perfect seasoning, fresh roti, and a wonderful host! My friends had the beef, and mixed vegetable rotis and were both blown away as well. The plastic cutlery was a bit of a pain with the oxtail but everything is so delicious it didn’t matter.
This is also the first restaurant I’ve been in that had a picture of a different restaurant inside of it.

I have eaten roti all my life and really love it when it’s done well. That means no mystery meat, flavorful curry, and freshly made roti shells. A+ on all counts for the roti lady. She’s usually perched on her small chair watching a reality show on the 15 inch monitor she has. She likely won’t make small talk, or talk at all. After placing an order she tends to disappear for about 10 – 15 mins and returns with freshly made roti bread. In few words she asks what ingredients you’d like. Don’t be turned off by her nature. This lady makes a great roti. I highly recommend including squash in your roti. It’s a very flavorful inclusion. You’ll probably expect to be disappointed by the food, but believe me, you won’t be. A great and cheap meal whenever you’re hungry.

Great prices, great food.
I love the fact that veggie roti are priced fairly — not $ 1 less than meat options.
Eggplant roti is delicious, and the shells are the best in the city.
Not the nicest décor, and sometimes slow service, but dollar for dollar one of the best in the city.

Another excellent hole-​in-​the-​wall resto! If you’re looking for delicious Jamaican rotis at really good prices, look no further! This place is run by a Jamaican mother/​daughter team, who are super sweet. The place itself is nothing special, but the food is awesome for takeout! Lots of vegetarian options to choose from!

We all ordered the chicken roti and all agreed it was pretty good. Take out is your only option as its not very clean inside.

Admittedly, a holiday Monday after Caribana is probably not the best day to try a roti shop or any Caribbean joint for that matter. You might imagine that you’d end up with nothing but the leftovers from the weekend’s prep. «Glass half full» would tell you that the 3 extra days of marinating would do wonders and by goodness it did!
Roti Lady occupies a tiny space just off the main drag in Parkdale and has all the ambiance of countless similar shops in the Caribbean. You are transported immediately to warmer climes upon entry. A couple of small tables are scattered about inside. Outside are two picnic tables beside the jerk smoker.
Friendly, smiling Roti Lady takes your order and disappears behind the wall to reheat and reappears with my plump stew chicken roti (she happened to be sold out of the curry chicken, not surprisingly).
The wrapper was not dhal puri but instead, a roti prata. (a little doughier and no chick pea (dhal) filling). The ample filling of chicken, beans, potatoes and lotsa gravy with an extra dollop of homemade hot sauce all made for one delicious mess. Roti Lady peeked around outside to ask if I was enjoying it to which i replied «best roti in Parkdale!» — that is without exaggeration.
What Roti Lady may lack in trendy décor (Bacchus) or mass scale (Island Foods) like her competitors in the area, she sure makes up for in making food like your aunty makes at home — good home cooking, nice friendly lady, low low prices all makes for a satisfying stuffer of a meal.
I’ll definitely be back!

This place is a total hole-​in-​the-​wall but it’s DELICIOUS and cheap. They make the bread fresh for every customer, and it’s amazing (although you may wait 10 minutes or so for your order).
It’s pretty much only good for take-​out, though. In the nicer weather you can stop and eat at the couple of picnic tables they have outside, but there’s only one tiny table inside for the rest of the year — and it would probably leave a lot to be desired in terms of atmosphere.

I had been going to the Roti Lady since I was a kid living in Parkdale, but years later (in my mid 20’s) I moved back into the neighborhood to notice some disappointing changes as to how they do things.
The prices are phenomenal and you will not be able to see Island Foods or some other Carribean place beat them in this area as roti’s range from $ 3.50-$ 8.00 as many of her prices have changed recently.
She doesn’t use dhal puri roti but a thicker paratha one which may be at times a little chewy. There was a time she did everything fresh daily but now the fillings (chickpea, spinach, potato, beef, and lamb) are all in the fridge ready to be reheated day after day. I also routinely find twigs from the curry leaves stuck inside most of the fillings nowadays but I don’t mind as long as it’s clean. The decline in quality over the years haven’t phased me that much, and I still love the Roti Lady on Dunn.
Recommendations:
–Chickpea Roti
–Coconut Candy

Roti Lady gets points for having their food and food preparation visible to customers. There is also no complaining about the generosity of their servings — for $ 6 it looks like I have 2 – 4 meals of chicken roti. When I put the take-​out in my pannier it sagged with the weight of it. But alas, my search for the best roti at Queen and Lansdowne continues.
I stand by my check-​in claim that this is like getting roti that has been cooked by your aunty, but its the aunty who is a bit heavy-​handed with the grease and she doesn’t really listen when you’re talking to her. I ordered a boneless chicken roti that ended up being full of bones large and small, bulky and sharp. Admittedly, being forced to chew carefully to avoid getting my tongue shanked did allow me to appreciate the wonderful flavour of the chicken curry. The texture was a little mushy for my taste but the filling was far more tasty than Bacchus and the flavour was more subtle than that found at Chicken Plus. Roti Lady is using the authentic dahlpuri (?) recipe that gives you that thin roti shell with the yellow stuff underneath, but its hard to appreciate with all the oil that soaks through it from the filling. My paper bag was soaked through as well and that doesn’t exactly encourage the appetite. I tried to roll it in a paper towel when I got home, but that wasn’t really possible because the roti doesn’t hold together very well. I recommend eating it with a knife and fork … and maybe some Lipitor on the side.
This one will not get a second visit from me.

I love roti and I’ve had my share of Caribbean/​West Indian/​Indian roti. This place is fantastic and the staff are really sweet.
The prices are phenomenal– and no tax! Service is fast.
– The veg roti is half the price of the meat. sometimes a little smaller but you can’t beat the value and there’s lots of delicious variety (cabbage and chickpea, chickpea and potato, squash, spinach, eggplant, YEA!)
I recommend eating there on a nice day when you can sit at the picnic tables outside. Otherwise its a great little joint for takeout. home or to the park!
My fav’s:
Beef roti (lots of soft meaty chunks)
Eggplant roti (sweet, stewed eggplant!)
Cabbage and Chickpea roti (yummy, good texture)
Simple flavours, probably not great quality meat but its generous and tasty. Filling’s a little on the salty side, roti skin a little oily but what’s not to love about that when it comes to comfort food, value, and convenience? These glorious little rotis are simple and satisfying. It’s nice to get a couple of veggie rotis and meat roti and share them.
You can ask for extra hot sauce, which i recommend cos it adds a nice, tangy spice.
Hooray for Roti Lady!

LOVE LOVE LOVE this place!
The roti skins are dense and delicious. She (there really is a Roti lady) makes everything from scratch and by hand. It’s definitely an order-​to-​go kinda place, but delicious!
I typically get the mixed veggie (squash, spinach, potato, chickpeas). The chickpea and cabbage is great too! My meat eating friends recommend the lamb.
This place gets one star deducted because you never know which menu items are actually going to be available that day. All of the standard roti fillings usually are there, but the little side things like doubles/​festival/​etc are hit or miss.

Well, I am new to roti, but I know what i like. This was fantastic. The rotis are made fresh when you order them and then filled with your choice of filling.
We tried the curry beef and the curry chicken and they were both great. My preference was for the beef. It had big chunks of beef that were so tender they just fell apart. Lots of big chunks of potato and lots of other veggies. The curry was flavourful with a good amount of spice (not what I would consider «hot», but a very nice flavour).
The place is tiny. Smaller than your’e thinking. There are two picnic tables outside which make for some interesting people watching, or you can take you roti to go. There are a couple seats inside, but they’re mostly just useful as you wait for your food.
I will definitely be back to The Roti Lady!

Cheap? yes. Tasty? Well, it could be, if only the MSG wasn’t killing me.
Given the solid options in the immediate area, I’d rather spend a dollar or two more for food that isn’t going to give me a nauseous feeling and my taste buds a beating.
Sorry roti lady, you seem nice, but so are the other roti ladies and gentlemen in parkdale.

You really can’t argue with the prices here! Nope! Go ahead and try!
I ordered a small chicken curry Roti and for me that was enough. It was a tasty, filling curry lunch. I wanted to order more of their offerings like the plantains, the fried chicken and the coleslaw but I wasn’t that hungry.
When you order, the woman behind the counter disappearing for what may seem awhile but she’s making you a Roti then after some time she places the filling while standing in front of you offering you the option of mild or spicy.
When you walk into this place, a few thoughts I am sure will ring through your head. Like the one I had, “Holy Crap! This really is a hole in the wall joint.“ And, one of my personal faves, “ This place needs a reno. A little paint here, shelving here, toss that and wallah!!! “
Truthfully, you do not go here for a fancy sit down meal. Take it to go. there’s no place to go in there anyway. They have two chairs in there but I think it’s one of those seats to humour people. Seriously, if you sat there you would definitely cover up some major space.

Tiny hole-​in-​the-​wall take-​out place in the heart of the old, unhip Parkdale, around the corner from Dollarama. Looks like the kind of down-​home joint you’d find in Port of Spain or Kingston, a one-​woman shop run by a friendly lady who cooks the way she would for her family, and works seven days a week to put her kids through college.
And the food? Roti shells taste fresh and homemade, filling is nicely spiced, with just enough fire (more if you ask, I’m sure).
I’m looking forward to going back and trying other things on the menu.

O roti lady O roti lady your offerings are super cheap and tasty…
O roti lady O roti lady have I missed you previously by being hasty…
Located in the hive of Parkdale, you are a sight for sore eyes…
But that’s okay because you have terrific food and that’s no lie!
Anyways you get the drift. Roti lady is a dingy little number on Dunn but it makes up for its low-​maintenance storage room aesthetics with its soul-​warming west indian fare. Her dhalpuri roti shells are fresh, chewy and pliable and her curries have nice depth and spice. I’ve tried a couple things from here and they were equally satisfying and tummy warming. Her goat curry is gamey and superbulously tender, with a delicate heat. There are bits of bone in it though so careful while you’re mowing the whole thing down! The channa spinach roti is filled with layers of spinach, chunks of potato and bits of chickpea throughout in a gooey interior. Yep, this neighborhood joint makes Gandhi look like a Mcdonalds but it’s worth the trip if you’re in for some cheap and quick west indian cuisine run by a pleasant, hard workin’ gal.
Take out. Cash. Most dishes between $ 5 – 8.