Hungry Amoo, which means “Hungry Uncle” in Farsi, is the brainchild of chef and owner Houman Pourmarz who noticed a lack of Middle Eastern fine dining in downtown Toronto.
Born and raised in Iran, Pourmarz ran a small coffee shop for several years before moving to Canada in 2011. While studying hospitality at Ryerson University, he quickly realized that cooking was his passion and subsequently continued his studies at George Brown. After working in the kitchens at Jump and Cluny, he opened the doors to Hungry Amoo in the fall of 2016.
The restaurant is located on Ossington between Queen and Dundas and occupies a much larger space (seating capacity of 65) than you’d expect judging from the narrow storefront. While the décor leans towards the modern spectrum, I love that they’ve kept the charm of the old space with the exposed brick walls.
There’s a variety of seating options including two high-top communal tables at the front of the restaurant where you can soak in the sunlight, bar seating as well as seating in the dining room at the back of the space where you can get a nice view of the kitchen.
Mike and I dropped by for dinner which features Chef Pourmarz’s modern take on traditional Middle Eastern fare. Appetizers range from $10 for the ‘Gozleme’ (seasonal creation) to $16 for the Tamarind Beef and mains range from $20 for the whole roasted eggplant to $29 for the slow cooked lamb rump. The plates are great for sharing so bring some friends along!
We started off with the Falafel – hummus, charred tomato, pickled mango, pita ($14). The bite-sized falafel balls were well fried with a crispy exterior and a soft and fluffy interior.
They were served with generous dollops of creamy hummus and grilled pita which were the perfect accompaniments for these chickpea fritters.
The highlight of the meal was the Tamarind Beef – brisket, cashews, date sauce, cauliflower ($16). It consisted of tender, pulled brisket meat in a sweet date and tamarind sauce. I love sweet and savoury combinations so this dish was right up my alley. The brisket was topped with perfectly cooked cauliflower florets and cashews for crunch. A must-order!
For our mains, we shared the Seafood Manti – shrimp, crab, fennel, saffron ($27) which are a type of stuffed dumpling. Whenever I see manti on a menu, it’s often stuffed with meat so seeing a seafood version on the menu piqued my interest. Hungry Amoo’s version consisted of bite-sized dumplings filled with a tasty combination of shrimp and crab in an al dente wrapper.
The dumplings were served in a light tomato-based sauce and topped with a refreshing fennel slaw. We particularly liked the fact that it wasn’t a very heavy dish. It had a very nice lightness to it.
The other main we shared was the Kebob – ground lamb, couscous, jalapeno puree, tomato ($24) which comes with two long ground lamb kebabs and a side of Israeli couscous. We particularly enjoyed the accompanying Israeli couscous which is larger in size than typical couscous which gives it a wonderful chewy texture. We licked every bit of it up with that delicious green jalapeño puree.
Hungry Amoo is open for dinner Wednesday through Sunday and for brunch on weekends from 11am. For elevated Middle Eastern fare, Hungry Amoo is your spot!
*This was a complimentary meal. The opinions in the post, as always, are my own.*
It‘s quiet in here! Why not leave a response?