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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TravelTranscript
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.
00:05 It's perfectly shaped with little crinkles.
00:09 Mmm.
00:11 Hey Toronto, I'm Miriam De Vilsy for NeuroCity Canada
00:14 and I've never tried a Jamaican patty in my life.
00:18 Yes, I'm super guilty,
00:19 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.
00:29 And today I'm going to try three of them.
00:32 We're going to rate them according to three specific things.
00:34 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.
00:53 Thank you.
00:58 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.
01:09 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.
01:33 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.
01:56 I don't know how I feel about Jamaican patties yet.
01:59 OK, we've only tried one so far.
02:02 I know Toronto loves them.
02:04 But for me, I wanted more crisp.
02:08 I wanted it more hot, maybe more filling.
02:11 I don't know. So let's get to our ratings of this place.
02:15 For price, yes, absolutely.
02:17 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,
02:38 I'm going to give this place a solid 7 out of 10
02:40 because I don't want to give it too high on the scale of Jamaican patties
02:43 or too low because I've never had another one before.
02:47 So let's head over to the next one
02:49 and see how I feel by the end of the day.
02:52 Don't hate me.
02:53 I'm just being a hater.
02:54 I'm hating on every level.
02:55 I'm hating on every level, dog.
02:57 We're going to a place called Patty's Express
02:59 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.
03:12 So it's been kind of a struggle.
03:14 But I think it's through here.
03:15 I'm going down to the ground floor,
03:18 I think is what he said.
03:20 I just got really lost because the path is one big world down here.
03:25 I've made it. I've made it.
03:27 OK, so you go down the Sheraton Hotel,
03:31 walk straight till you see like the green colors.
03:34 That's TD.
03:35 And then we're finally at Patty's Express.
03:40 [MUSIC]
03:43 OK, so I'm just going to sit on my own here
03:55 in this really depressing food hall
03:58 with my second patty of the day.
04:00 [MUSIC]
04:03 Here is the second patty.
04:08 It's perfectly shaped with little crinkles on the side.
04:12 It's super hot.
04:14 Literally had to like throw it down because it was so hot.
04:17 And the packaging is so cute.
04:18 They have their logo on there.
04:20 They have a QR code at the bottom,
04:22 their phone number and their Instagram page.
04:25 But let's put this patty to the test
04:28 and see how it actually tastes.
04:30 [MUSIC]
04:33 Mm.
04:36 OK, one sec.
04:37 Now that's a patty.
04:39 In my opinion, I don't really know what a patty is.
04:41 But if it were to be a patty, it would be this.
04:43 Mainly because I'm not confused whether it's
04:46 supposed to be crispy or soft.
04:47 It's just soft with just a bit of crisp
04:50 on the outer edges of the patty.
04:52 But the meat is so dense.
04:55 And it's like oniony and herby.
04:59 And honestly, it tastes really good.
05:04 So I'm starting to change my perception of patties
05:07 because that was so flavorful and full of juice
05:11 that it was like crispy but soft and flavorful,
05:14 which is fantastic.
05:16 So let's get to the gist of it.
05:18 Price.
05:18 I would give this place a 8 out of 10.
05:23 For presentation, I would give it 7 out of 10.
05:25 Again, I would appreciate a napkin.
05:27 But I like how cute the logo is on the packaging and the QR
05:32 code and the Instagram page.
05:33 It's super trendy.
05:34 And then in terms of taste, I would give this place an 8.5.
05:38 That's pretty high.
05:40 But honestly, did you see the meat coming out of that thing?
05:43 Oh, so good.
05:45 I'm at the final location today.
05:47 And it's actually on Queen Street West.
05:48 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.
05:54 It's one of the many branches here in Toronto.
05:56 [MUSIC PLAYING]
06:00 My last patty.
06:06 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.
06:13 And here we go.
06:14 Let's try it out.
06:15 [MUSIC PLAYING]
06:18 It's different.
06:24 It's different, but it's good.
06:25 It's a bit more thick on the meat rather than juicy,
06:29 which is nice.
06:29 It's like a layer of meat, as you can see here.
06:32 It's a whole new meat delivery system.
06:36 Tastes a bit more peppery.
06:37 And it's less crispy.
06:39 So it's kind of more doughy, which I really like.
06:41 I love dough.
06:43 And the flavors are so good.
06:45 So overall for this place, I will rate the taste at 8,
06:51 rather than 8.5 like the other place.
06:53 But that's mainly because it was more on the peppery side
06:56 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
07:07 of 10.
07:08 It's just a simple white envelope with a patty inside.
07:12 And then in terms of cost, I would give this place a 8
07:17 as well.
07:18 It was $2.85 with tip for the patty, which is great.
07:23 But that is my overall review.
07:26 Honestly, it was all a fantastic experience.
07:29 I know at the beginning I was a bit skeptical on what
07:31 I was trying.
07:33 But it was really good.
07:34 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.
07:40 But I will have to say that my favorite spot today
07:43 was Patties Express.
07:45 Presentation was amazing.
07:46 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 New York City, Canada.
07:57 (electronic music)