2nd Review: Lena's Roti & Doubles - $-$$

Hey again! It's SpoonfulofReviews back with another review. So what kind of cuisine was chosen for Review #2? Yes you guessed it (and even if you didn't I'm still going to tell you) West Indian Cuisine. Let's get right into it:

Using a urbanspoon app on my phone I found a little spot called Lena's Roti & Doubles located at the major intersection of Albion Rd. And Islington Rd. In Etobicoke in a plaza surrounded by Indian grocers, ethnic clothing stores and an Indo-Caribbean Salon. The plaza LR&D is located in is rather narrow which makes parking a bit of a challenge, and because the plaza borders the adjacent 4 -lane Albion Road, it's a likely possibility that you might miss this restaurant altogether because you can't necessarily slow down and look for the establishment. Luckily I was able to locate LR&D though obscure and find a somewhat far parking spot within the plaza's vicinity. The establishment is rather small and can perhaps seat approximately 30-40 people comfortably, however when I went in, the establishment must have had more than 40 people as it was a packed house. Though it was over crowded I hoped that this was a testament to how great the food was.

I joined the lineup at the front of the restaurant to place my order and then managed to find a seat close to the entrance. While I waited for my order I took note of the surrounding atmosphere- apart from the noisy gathering of people waiting for their orders or already chowing down on their food, I noticed two televisions both depicting various West Indian songs, as well as the various menu options they had listed on the lit display boards above the front counter.

LR&D offer patrons traditional West Indian favourite dishes such as lamb, beef goat and chicken curry all wrapped in a small or medium sized roti. LR&D also allow you to choose your spice level so if you're a fan of spicy foods like myself or really not into spicy foods that much you can choose from mild, medium and hot levels of heat for your taste buds. I ended up ordering a small chicken roti (curried chicken securely wrapped in a small roti- a flaky pita bread). I also ordered a "doubles" (curried chick peas sandwiched in between 2 soft "barras" - or a soft, dough-like pastry made from flour and ground split peas). The lady at the counter called my order approximately 20 minutes after I had placed my order, to which I went up to the counter to retrieve my food and then take my seat again.

Taste- wise, everything was delicious. It was all warm and tasted fresh. The chicken roti had delicious authentic West Indian flavours all conveniently wrapped in a nice roti... Personally I tend to be a messy eater but the chicken wrapped in the roti is convenient even on the go, as I made a minimal mess eating this dish. The doubles was also very tasty... I chick peas were a little saucy which made the barras a bit soggy which I didn't enjoy but the overall taste was quite good and very flavourful. Though the food at Lena's was good I've had better so my opinion here may be somewhat skewed. There are no "actual" servers as you basically place your order, and then go up to retrieve your food once it has come out of the kitchen, however I did receive my food within 15 minutes of placing my order so the service was adequate.

I would recommend this establishment to anyone looking for great tasting West Indian cuisine, however I would find this place to be a bit problematic for larger groups of people given the limited parking spots available and the small size of the establishment. Though I did enjoy the food at LR&D I would like to also mention that part of the below rating will be somewhat biased as my favourite West Indian cuisine establishment is Alima's Roti & Pastry located on Kenview blvd. and Finch ave. I did not choose to review this establishment as it is a take-out only establishment. 

SpoonfulofReviews.blogspot.com - Overall Rating (out of 5 stars) for Lena's Roti & Doubles:

Service:    ¶¶¶  

Food:                     ¶¶¶ 1/2 

Experience:         ¶¶¶ 1/2