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| - I have been going there for at least 10 years although I haven't as of late, which is not as long as you may think since the place has been there since 1985
Pretty much the best thing about this locale is the patio, hence the three stars, otherwise it would get two.
During the Summer and Fall, a glass of wine and some writing on their covered patio always hit the spot for me. Markham is such a pretty little street during the warmer months.
I am really bad at judging good coffee (Sorry Anna) but some of my friends who are coffeeholics utterly swear the Pantry's coffee to be among the worst in Toronto. Now, they had plenty of years to get better at it, yet they haven't. All I am saying is, don't just go for the coffee.
Now, I used to be a big fan of their Squire sandwich, great, delicious, healthy and cheap. Not anymore. Since now at $4.50 you can't justify bread with just veggies when a chicken shawarma is more filling and cost a few cents less. Their other sandwiches are just alright.
Their Jambalaya is a stab into the hearts of Louisiana Creole chefs everywhere. Just thin & bland in taste.
The one dish that had me coming back over the years was their Tandoori Chicken Penne... it was quite delicious actually. Which when I started going was $7.95. Sadly over the years, I have seen the price creep up slowly to $11.95 while the portions got a tiny bit smaller & smaller and what is worse, the flavour got worse. Or to be exact, they re-heated the dish badly and for some reason it started coming out chewy more often than not. At $12, that is just not acceptable.
So like a car you buy and over the years you see it starting to show it's cracks and the paint chipping off, this place seems to be aging however the Buttler's Pantry is no Aunties & Uncles, so there is no Kitsch redeeming value to be mined. They are just getting old and stale.
Still the cute little patio... go for a glass of wine, just not the house white or the food. If you want a great meal, go elsewhere.
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