The Host Fine Indian Cuisine

The only thing close to ‘fine dining’ at this restaurant is the over priced menu. The food does not have an authentic or unique taste, there is nothing special about the presentation or atmosphere. The place is old and almost dingy and the food was awful. I would not go back or recommend this place.

Very bad service, for fine dinning, website says closing on 11pm saturday and when we stepped in they made us sit for 15 mins and then waiter comes rushes us to order the food as he said the chef is leaving we said website says 11pm they said thats not my problem and when we asked for suggestions he said everything is good didn't give proper advice, we waited for the food for 30 mins and platter (mila zula) was cold and stale, Malai Kofta tasted awful as it had a very awful after taste, the naan

Exceptional food and ambience

I visited the Richmond hill location recently for the first time. Considering it was a Monday the restaurant was almost full , a little wait and I was seated by a gracious lady ( I think one of the owner's family).I liked their ambience (they have recently renovated) and efficient service. The food was just awesome. Butter chicken was delicious , lamb chops tender and the black dal complimented the whole meal. Nan was soft. Ask for seat in glass round room.

horrible

i would never go here again. me and my husband used to eat indian food almost once a week when we lived downtown and this by far is the worst experience we have ever had, for being voted as having the best butter chicken in the gta yah right it was so spicy and filled with anise. butter chicken is supposed to be mild something you could feed your baby or children this was so hot, my husbands medium lamb karbidah dish was also extremely hot. for two people who can handle the heat we sure couldnt handle this heat the table next to us were also complaining of the heat on there food. no waiter came around to ask us how are food was or bring us water something i have come to love about going to indian restaurants although not always super friendly is the attentiveness of the service. we had no water and my husband had to get up and bring us a jug and only then did a waiter come 2 minutes later after seeing us to bring us water well gee thanks. we waited at least 20 minutes after finishing for someone to bring us our bill at which point i was ready to just walk out without paying, which i used to serve and would never do but was extremely tempted to do. DO NOT EAT there!!!!!

What a DUMP! Dirtiest restaurant I have ever been to

This has to be the DIRTIEST restaurant that I have been in in recent memory. The upholstery, dirty. The walls, dirty. The cutlery, dirty. The floor--all I can say is keep your eyes UP. Even the buffet was, yes, dirty. The sneezeguard was so dirty and dusty that you could see that people had written words in it with their fingers. To be honest, I have had better buffet experiences in 2 star resorts. Had I not been with people who had already started taking food, I would have left. I can't even begin to think of how unsanitary the kitchen must be if that is how they keep the front of the house. The food that they had out was lacklustre and of mediocre quality. Many if not all of the desserts and fresh fruit trays were COMPLETELY empty, the rice was empty and the ice creams were so old and hard I gave up trying to get some out for my son. Some of the vegetable samosas looked fresh, while others in the same batch looked like they had been made yesterday. I had been told by a few people that this was THE BEST Indian food...I have to say that there is another indian restaurant across the street from this that is WAY better, and one on Unionville Main that is fantastic, but pricier. Bottom line: would NEVER eat at this restaurant again, and was embarrassed that I had brought family to it for lunch.

Near The Sheraton...

This place is located near the Sheraton hotel which was probably why they were very good in terms of decor and service to please those here for their stay. This is the first time I have been to an Indian restaurant where the food, decor and service all seemingly had been with no flaws. Overall it was a great experience to have been here.

Very Pleasant

This was my first visit to The Host, very good attentive service, good food, nice atmostsphere. I found they were a bit slow with the bill, but we were relaxing so who cares!

Great Indian food

Came here with friends, as it was highly recommended. The servers were prompt and friendly. The food was fresh and flavourful. And they have the BEST naan. The atmosphere was warm. We had satisfied bellies by the end of the night :)

Overcharged average food

Good: Good location, plenty of parking, plenty of sitting space. Good choice of dishes for buffet. Bad: I was there for lunch buffet, food was average and staff was kind of either unaware or reluctant to answer couple of questions. As one of my colleague wanted to know if food is Halal/Kosher, one said yes, other said don’t know, not a good sign.

I walked to this restaurant on a cold February night from Staybridges Suites on South Park Road (15 mins). This restaurant was highly recommended by the night desk clerk (who is Indian), so I thought it would be worth the walk. There was no one there to greet me when I got on and took off my coat. One I walked up the hall, there was a well-dressed host, to whom I mentioned the fact that I walked there and that they came highly recommended. They seemed to take notice of this because right away I was given the option to sit wherever I wanted. I opted to sit in the rotunda, which is the best-lit area of the entire restaurant. I was then greeted by friendly wait staff who recommended the butter chicken (rated best by the Toronto Star). I asked whether it came with rice and they said that would be extra, but that they could see if they could give me a little on the side on the house. (His manager apparently mentioned to him that I walked to the restaurant) I also ordered a club soda, and a spicy potato palaak roti. The food came quickly, but instead of the palaak, they gave me naan. When I clarified that I asked for palaak, they promptly apologized and within a short delay I had a most excellent palaak, along with a small side-dish of fluffy basmati, true to their word. The butter chicken was excellent - a fragrant sauce with the right amount of tomato and cream and spice balance generously coating the tender chicken breast chunks. I was almost completely stuffed, but had quite a bit left so I asked if they could pack it up, and they did so promptly and with a genuine smile. They asked if I wanted dessert and they had 3 kinds available, including rice pudding. When I asked how it was prepared, they provided detailed information, and it sounded delicious, so I order that along with their suggestion of trying their hot chai. Very quickly the rice pudding came and it was delicious!!! Soon after, the chai came and it hit the spot -especially on a cold winter's night. When I got the bill I discovered that I was not billed for any of the beverages or the rice pudding!! The server said he felt bad about the roti/naan mixup and felt that I took food very seriously (I admit, I do know my indian food). I would definitely recommend this place to anyone - Excellent food, opulent decor, warm, friendly and knowledgeable staff. This place seems very popular with the business crowd, as several South Asian Torontonian businessmen seemed to be playing host to their business partners/guests. The Host definitely went above and beyond!

I'VE HAD BETTER INDIAN FOOD. This restarant is...

I'VE HAD BETTER INDIAN FOOD. This restarant is very easy to find at a prime location. It was a nice experience but VERY PRICEY for the quality food we ordered. The wait staff is friendly, but could have been more attentive to our needs. MAY return.

The food here is halal. Very disappointing. The...

The food here is halal. Very disappointing. The reservation concierge promised food i not halal but when we got there little Pierre asked and voila it tuned out to be Halal. We were very disappointed they play with our emotional religious being.

Limited choice

Somewhere along the line The Host went from a great choice for abundant Indian food to a place where limited choice and limited taste caters to the Indian novice. Please bring the variety and the tasty food. What happened, guys?

The food wasn't bad, but also not as good as I...

The food wasn't bad, but also not as good as I expected. The service was kinda slow.

Brunch

I have always liked The Host. They were very busy, we had to wait in line for an hour but the hostess was very apologetic and understanding which was nice. I would say the buffet was good, some reviews mentioned the butter chicken was really good, i wasn't very impressed. It did not taste as creamy and the buttery aroma was lacking, it tasted rather like a chicken curry. Their Naan is superb and fresh. Chicken kebabs were delicious and the chaat was yummy too. It is very reasonably priced and I was happy to see that they used good quality white meat in their chicken dishes. The service is good, but the servers look like they could use some motivation. They looked tired and overworked.

The Host Refines The Art Of Indian Cuisine

The other day a friend of mine had told me about this restaurant. Admittedly I was nervous. My impressions of Indian food include food being overly spiced andextremly oily and generally have low quality meats and ingredients. However being convinced by friends I went along. We came in greeted by the manager. The decor was great, superb detailing. We couldn't finish counting but we saw atleast over a thousand hand bangles, traditional in India as my friend says. I do wish the wait staff had more of a personality as they seemed somewhat dull how ever the food came out rather quickly so it weighed out well and their knowledge of the food was deep so that is a plus. We got our appetizers and the Tandoori Chicken came out on this beautiful sizzler, definitely a thing to remember. By far one of the best chicken dishes i have ever had. Extreme attention to detail, our plate was clean. Having heard well of their butter chicken I was a bit of a skeptic. Expecting a low quality tomatoey sauce slathered with butter, how ever this was different. Had rich texture and was very succulent superb. I recommend this to anyone trying to get a new outlook on Indian food.

Not bad, but way over-priced

After hearing a lot about this restaurant and reading all of the reviews, I was eager to try it out but I have to say that I was rather disappointed. The restaurant was pretty busy but we didn't have to wait all that long for a table. The service wasn't awful but wasn't great either. The food was just ok. The appetizer platter (Mila Zula) was pretty good but didn't offer enough to share. The butter chicken is allegedly the best in the city according to the Toronto Star but it's really no different than similar dishes served at a number of other Indian restaurants in the city. The lamb biryani was also rather boring and nothing to write home about. On the other hand, the Murg Mirch Tikka was fantastic - boneless chicken marinated in green chili paste. Very tasty and something unique. The cheese kofta dish wasn't bad but wasn't my favourite either. The thing that really irked me however was their prices: $7.25 for a pint of beer is ridiculous in a strip club, but in an Indian restaurant it's downright gouging. Domestic beers were $5.75 and the Indian imports were $6.85. All of the main entrees were around $14.99 with some of the vegetarian dishes slightly cheaper and the seafood dishes slightly more expensive. And keep in mind that those prices did not include complimentary rice or nan. All in all, our bill came to $123 + tip for three people with a couple of drinks each. For that amount I'd expect to be completely blown away but sadly I was not.

Whenever there is a mention of Indian restaurant...

Whenever there is a mention of Indian restaurant the Host name pops up on the top. It is easy for some restaurants to appear amazing, but you really have to visit the place to decide its worth. I did that, and chose to eat at the Host to see if the experience was more than just a perception and it is! After reading their menu the thing that struck me first was the prices I was expecting small portions and Indian cuisine does not justify small servings. I thought the prices were slightly steep but you soon forget that during the mains. I was told the samosas were made on the premises and I believe it because they were excellent. The mirch chicken tikka, possibly the best I've had in 15 years. The lamb chops, lovely. I didn't like the guchi matar though. The curries were chicken tikka masala, requested hot, and a lamb roganjosh, along with rice and garlic naans. The server thought that we wouldn't fit it all in and came to our table recommending one garlic naan over two, very attentive! The chicken tikka masala was hot, just as I had asked. The naan was perfect, the rice too. The lamb, I would definitely have again. This restaurant truly is worth the money because the quality and flavour of the food, and the excellent attention to service make it a very enjoyable experience. I will be going back to slowly work my way through the menu. The owner has achieved the right formula!

Dinner buffet

Was there August 16th night for an engagement dinner for my brother-in-law. I must say I was disappointed overall...After hearing good review about The Host, I was hoping to enjoy an upscale Indian Dinner for a change instead of another so-so type dinner buffet that's so common in Toronto. The atmosphere of the restarant and the facilities was average...actually, the room our party was in was too dark. Now, the food: The goat curry was very tender and savory...it was far better than many I've had. The appetizers (samosas and pakoras) were very good too. But, the rest of the dinner items were disappointing...the veg curries (channa and mixed veg) were bland and lacked a definitive flavor. Overall, the dinner was once again, quite average and the entire dining experience was the same. Ditto is all I can say about "Indian" restaurants. I don't think I will ever get my hopes up too high again.

At Last I have found a restaurant

At Last I have found a restaurant that cares for their patron. The Host is a genuine departure from the run of the mill Indian . The food comes in generous portions and is cooked fresh. It is non-greasy, extremely tasty and, while it may be be a little pricier than some other places, I think its worth it.