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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00:00Did you see the meat coming out of that thing?
00:02It's not what I expected in a patty.
00:04Don't hate me.
00:06It's perfectly shaped with little crinkles.
00:10Mmm.
00:12Hey, Toronto.
00:13I'm Miriam de Vilsey from New York City, Canada,
00:15and I've never tried a Jamaican patty in my life.
00:18Yes, I'm super guilty,
00:20but because I'm a Torontonian now,
00:22I had to go and try them.
00:25So we asked you guys what your favorite spots were in the city
00:27in an Instagram poll a few weeks ago,
00:30and today I'm going to try three of them.
00:32We're going to rate them according to three specific things.
00:35Price, presentation, and of course, taste.
00:38So come with me and enjoy the ride.
00:40The first spot we're trying today is in Kensington Market,
00:43and the store is called Golden Patties.
00:46This will be the first ever Jamaican patty that I've ever tried.
00:51Wish me luck. Here we go.
00:59Kensington Market doesn't really have many spots to sit at
01:02unless you're sitting in the park or at a restaurant.
01:05So I got to choose sitting on the pavement,
01:09and I got my first patty.
01:12I got the most recommended one, which is the mild beef,
01:16and it was $2.47, and then it came out hot,
01:21and it's golden color, as the name suggests.
01:25I'm nervous, but let's try it out.
01:31It's good. It's really good, but it's not what I expected in a patty.
01:36I thought it would be more like a samosa, like more crispy,
01:40but it's softer, and I can't really taste the beef.
01:44So let's give it another bite.
01:46The inside is super soft, and there isn't much filling,
01:51which I thought I would expect more of.
01:54So I'm not too upset about it, but yeah, it's pretty good.
01:57I don't know how I feel about Jamaican patties yet.
02:00Okay, we've only tried one so far.
02:02I know Toronto loves them, but for me, I wanted more crisp.
02:08I wanted it more hot, maybe more filling.
02:12I don't know. So let's get to our ratings of this place.
02:16For price, yes, absolutely.
02:18I think one of the best prices I've ever experienced in Toronto in general.
02:22So I would have to give it a 9 out of 10.
02:25For presentation, let's give it an average 5 out of 10.
02:28Not sure really what I was expecting from Jamaican patty spots,
02:31but maybe a napkin is my only advice.
02:35And then lastly for the taste.
02:39I'm going to give this place a solid 7 out of 10,
02:41because I don't want to give it too high on the scale of Jamaican patties
02:44or too low because I've never had another one before.
02:47So let's head over to the next one and see how I feel by the end of the day.
02:53Don't hate me.
02:53I'm just being a hater. I'm hating on every level.
02:56I'm hating on every level, dog.
02:57We're going to a place called Patty's Express
03:00that actually used to be by Toronto Metropolitan University,
03:04but they moved to the path on Richmond and Bay.
03:09And yeah, I have no idea how to get into the path.
03:13So it's been kind of a struggle, but I think it's through here.
03:16I'm going down to the ground floor. I think that's what he said.
03:20I just got really lost because the path is one big world down here.
03:26I've made it. I've made it.
03:27Okay, so you go down the Sheraton Hotel,
03:31walk straight till you see like the green colors. That's TD.
03:35And then we're finally at Patty's Express.
03:46Okay, so I'm just going to sit on my own here in this really depressing
03:57food hall with my second patty of the day.
04:01Here is the second patty.
04:08It's perfectly shaped with little wrinkles on the side.
04:13It's super hot. Literally had to like throw it down.
04:16Because it was so hot and the packaging is so cute.
04:19They have their logo on there. They have a QR code at the bottom,
04:22their phone number and their Instagram page.
04:26But let's put this patty to the test and see how it actually tastes.
04:34Mmm. Okay, one sec. Now that's a patty. In my opinion,
04:40I don't really know what a patty is, but if it were to be a patty,
04:43it would be this. Mainly because I'm not confused whether it's supposed to be crispy or soft.
04:48It's just soft with just a bit of crisp on the outer edges of the patty.
04:53But the meat is so dense and it's like onion-y and herby.
05:00And honestly, it tastes really good.
05:04So I'm starting to change my perception of Patty's
05:08because that was so flavorful and full of juice that it was like crispy,
05:13but soft and flavorful, which is fantastic.
05:16So let's get to the gist of it. Price. I would give this place a 8 out of 10 for presentation.
05:24I would give it 7 out of 10. Again,
05:26I would appreciate a napkin,
05:28but I like how cute the logo is on the packaging and the QR code and the Instagram page.
05:34It's super trendy. And then in terms of taste,
05:36I would give this place an 8.5. That's pretty high.
05:40But honestly, did you see the meat coming out of that thing?
05:44Oh, so good. I'm at the final location today and it's actually on Queen Street West.
05:49It's called Alwyn's and it was the most suggested on our poll.
05:53So I'm excited to try this out. It's one of the many branches here in Toronto.
05:58My last patty. It's super hot.
06:07So they actually get it from a place in Markham.
06:10And it's brought here in downtown Toronto. And here we go. Let's try it out.
06:23It's different. It's different, but it's good.
06:25It's a bit more thick on the meat rather than juicy, which is nice.
06:30It's like a layer of meat as you can see here.
06:33It's a whole new meat delivery system. Tastes a bit more peppery and it's less crispy.
06:39So it's kind of more doughy, which I really like.
06:42I love dough and the flavors are so good.
06:45So overall for this place, I will rate the taste at 8 rather than 8.5 like the other place,
06:54but that's mainly because it was more on the peppery side rather than on the meaty side.
06:58And the dough itself is doughy rather than crispy and doughy,
07:01which I think a Jamaican patty is known for.
07:04In terms of presentation, I would give this place a 5 out of 10.
07:08It's just, you know, a simple white envelope with a patty inside.
07:12And then in terms of cost, I would give this place a 8 as well.
07:18It was $2.85 with tip for the patty, which is great.
07:24But that is my overall review. Honestly, it was all a fantastic experience.
07:29I know at the beginning I was a bit skeptical on what I was trying,
07:33but it was really good and I'm not scared of Jamaican patties anymore.
07:36I will go and enjoy them more and more often.
07:39That's for sure. But I will have to say that my favorite spot today was Patties Express.
07:45Presentation was amazing. Taste was so good.
07:48It was so juicy and so crispy at the same time.
07:51I couldn't have asked for a better first experience.
07:54I'm Mira Novosi for University Canada.