Souk Tabule is related to the other Tabule restaurants around Toronto, but offers a very different format in dining. Souk means “market” in Arabic, and that’s the feel they are trying to give to us through their “fast-casual” restaurant experience.
Their Middle Eastern food is healthy and nutritious, allergy-friendly and can easily serve those who eat vegan, dairy-free and gluten-free. You can easily pick up or eat in with small groups or very large ones. I wish that they had more of a focus on using organic ingredients, but hopefully as more frequent and request it, they will take more of an interest in that. Our family ate a lot, but ate entirely plant-based, since that is the best way to avoid eating any animal products that I cannot trace back to where they came from and feel good about. I must say that we were all VERY satisfied, and very full too!
We ordered and ate “family-style” and basically ordered one (or a couple) of almost every plant-based and nut-free item on the menu including babaganouj, hummus, beet mutable (beets, tahini, lemon juice and garlic), fried and baked falafels (we had to try both!), Foule (warm fava bean dip, garlic, topped with tomato concasse and olive oil), arnabeet (flash-fried cauliflower, drizzled with tahini), lentil soup (red lentils, carrot and celery), tetas fattush (a great salad with romaine, tomato, cucumber, sumac in a lemon garlic dressing, topped with quinoa tabule), saj flatbreads, plus one flatbread with za’atar – a combination of dried thyme, oregano, sumac, sesame seeds, olive oil, folded in half and cut into strips, served on a wooden board). You will see below in my pictures that everything was devoured, and I mean everything. I would say that the flash-fried cauliflower smothered in tahini was our overwhelming favourite, and I would order everything again happily. The flatbreads were thin and slightly chewy, made to order and served warm on their signature saj oven, which is more of a hot dome that makes them slightly bubbly. My sister, parents used them for dipping and spreading, but my little brother, the creative and messy one, made a wrap of sorts, which included a LOT of the beets and tahini (his favourite dish) as well as falafel, some salad, hummus and babaganouj. Needless to say he enjoyed it, and his hands are still stained red.
This beautifully decorated space can be found in the new Canary District on Front Street, just east of the Distillery District at 494 Front Street East (My aunt has made a special request that I include the address for each restaurant, so I will try to do that in every post!). It is very bright, very clean, super comfortable and casual with a few long tables to accommodate large parties, or many smaller ones. I expect that in the nicer weather they might have a patio, or a LOT of takeaway orders to fill while people eat outside with a great view of the downtown Toronto skyline. With Tori’s Bakeshop opening soon a few doors away, I will certainly be frequenting Souk Tabule.
On their website they claim that they can satisfy picky eaters and adventurous eaters alike, and I definitely live up to that statement.
