Torontonians love their Jamaican patties. As a Middle Eastern woman, it was never something that Narcity’s Mira Nabulsi was curious about. But she heard they were delicious, so she finally caved and decided to give them a try. After polling the masses, Narcity rounded up the favourite go-to Jamaican patty spots in Toronto according to locals, and Mira chose the top three recommended places to try out.
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00:00 Did you see the meat coming out of that thing?
00:02 It's not what I expected in a patty.
00:04 Don't hate me.
00:06 It's perfectly shaped with little crinkles.
00:10 Mmm.
00:12 Hey Toronto, I'm Mira Nibulsi from New York City, Canada
00:15 and I've never tried a Jamaican patty in my life.
00:18 Yes, I'm super guilty, but because I'm a Torontonian now,
00:22 I had to go and try them.
00:24 So we asked you guys what your favourite spots were in the city
00:27 in an Instagram poll a few weeks ago.
00:30 And today I'm going to try three of them.
00:32 We're going to rate them according to three specific things.
00:35 Price, presentation, and of course, taste.
00:38 So come with me and enjoy the ride.
00:40 The first spot we're trying today is in Kensington Market
00:43 and the store is called Golden Patties.
00:46 This will be the first ever Jamaican patty that I've ever tried.
00:51 Wish me luck. Here we go.
00:55 Thank you.
00:57 Thank you.
00:59 Kensington Market doesn't really have many spots to sit at
01:02 unless you're sitting in a park or at a restaurant.
01:05 So I got to sit on the pavement and I got my first patty.
01:12 I got the most recommended one, which is the mild beef.
01:16 And it was $2.47 and then it came out hot
01:21 and it's golden colour as the name suggests.
01:24 I'm nervous, but let's try it out.
01:29 It's good. It's really good.
01:34 But it's not what I expected in a patty.
01:36 I thought it would be more like a samosa, like more crispy.
01:40 But it's softer and I can't really taste the beef.
01:43 So let's give it another bite.
01:46 The inside is super soft and there isn't much filling
01:51 which I thought I would expect more of.
01:53 So I'm not too upset about it. But yeah, it's pretty good.
01:57 I don't know how I feel about Jamaican patties yet.
02:00 Okay, we've only tried one so far.
02:02 I know Toronto loves them.
02:05 But for me, I wanted more crisp.
02:08 I wanted it more hot, maybe more filling.
02:12 I don't know. So let's get to our ratings of this place.
02:16 For price, yes, absolutely.
02:18 I think one of the best prices I've ever experienced in Toronto in general.
02:22 So I would have to give it a 9 out of 10.
02:25 For presentation, let's give it an average 5 out of 10.
02:28 Not sure really what I was expecting from Jamaican patty spots,
02:31 but maybe a napkin is my only advice.
02:35 And then lastly for the taste,
02:39 I'm going to give this place a solid 7 out of 10
02:41 because I don't want to give it too high on the scale of Jamaican patties
02:44 or too low because I've never had another one before.
02:47 So let's head over to the next one and see how I feel by the end of the day.
02:53 Don't hate me.
02:53 I'm just being a hater. I'm just being a hater.
02:56 I'm hating on every level, dog.
02:57 We're going to a place called Patty's Express
03:00 that actually used to be by Toronto Metropolitan University,
03:04 but they moved to the path on Richmond and Bay.
03:09 And yeah, I have no idea how to get into the path.
03:13 So it's been kind of a struggle, but I think it's through here.
03:16 I'm going down to the ground floor.
03:19 I think that's what he said. I just got really lost
03:21 because the path is one big world down here.
03:26 I've made it. I've made it. Okay, so you go down the Sheraton Hotel,
03:31 walk straight till you see like the green colors.
03:34 That's TD and then we're finally at Patty's Express.
03:41 Okay, so I'm just going to sit on my own here
03:55 in this really depressing food hall with my second patty of the day.
04:07 Here is the second patty.
04:08 It's perfectly shaped with little crinkles on the side.
04:13 It's super hot. Literally had to like throw it down
04:16 because it was so hot and the packaging is so cute.
04:19 They have their logo on there.
04:20 They have a QR code at the bottom, their phone number and their Instagram page.
04:26 But let's put this patty to the test and see how it actually tastes.
04:33 Mmm. Okay, one sec. Now that's a patty. In my opinion.
04:40 I don't really know what a patty is,
04:42 but if it were to be a patty it would be this.
04:43 Mainly because I'm not confused whether it's supposed to be crispy or soft.
04:48 It's just soft with just a bit of crisp on the outer edges of the patty,
04:53 but the meat is so dense and it's like onion-y and herby
05:00 and honestly it tastes really good.
05:04 So I'm starting to change my perception of patties
05:08 because that was so flavorful and full of juice that it was like crispy,
05:13 but soft and flavorful, which is fantastic.
05:16 So let's get to the gist of it. Price.
05:19 I would give this place a 8 out of 10.
05:23 For presentation, I would give it 7 out of 10. Again,
05:26 I would appreciate a napkin, but I like how cute the logo is on the packaging
05:31 and the QR code and the Instagram page.
05:34 It's super trendy. And then in terms of taste, I would give this place an 8.5.
05:39 That's pretty high. But honestly, did you see the meat coming out of that thing?
05:44 Oh, so good. I'm at the final location today
05:47 and it's actually on Queen Street West. It's called Alwyn's
05:50 and it was the most suggested on our poll.
05:53 So I'm excited to try this out.
05:55 It's one of the many branches here in Toronto.
05:59 My last patty. It's super hot.
06:07 So they actually get it from a place in Markham.
06:10 And it's brought here in downtown Toronto. And here we go. Let's try it out.
06:23 It's different. It's different, but it's good.
06:25 It's a bit more thick on the meat rather than juicy, which is nice.
06:30 It's like a layer of meat as you can see here.
06:33 It's a whole new meat delivery system.
06:36 Tastes a bit more peppery and it's less crispy.
06:39 So it's kind of more doughy, which I really like because I love dough.
06:43 And the flavours are so good. So overall for this place,
06:47 I will rate the taste at 8 rather than 8.5 like the other place.
06:54 But that's mainly because it was more on the peppery side rather than on the meaty side.
06:58 And the dough itself is doughy rather than crispy and doughy,
07:01 which I think a Jamaican patty is known for.
07:04 In terms of presentation, I would give this place a 5 out of 10.
07:08 It's just, you know, a simple white envelope with a patty inside.
07:12 And then in terms of cost, I would give this place a 8 as well.
07:18 It was $2.85 with tip for the patty, which is great.
07:24 But that is my overall review. Honestly, it was all a fantastic experience.
07:29 I know at the beginning I was a bit skeptical on what I was trying,
07:33 but it was really good and I'm not scared of Jamaican patties anymore.
07:36 I will go and enjoy them more and more often.
07:39 That's for sure. But I will have to say that my favourite spot today was Patty's Express.
07:45 Presentation was amazing. Taste was so good.
07:48 It was so juicy and so crispy at the same time.
07:51 I couldn't have asked for a better first experience.
07:54 I'm Mira Navolci for NeuroCity Canada.
07:56 [MUSIC PLAYING]