Summary: Even for a Caribbean take-out joint the curry beef roti is weak. But if you're near the Eaton's Centre and enjoy blaring reggae-music this is a passable option.
Ups: Decent price, location and portion. Curry beef roti has tasty curry sauce that progressively gets better as you progress to the bottom.
Downs: Stringy and dry beef. The potatoes and carrots content was high compared to the beef. Carrots in curry is inexcusable.
Full Review:
In my quest to find the perfect roti (West-Indian or East-Indian) my travels brought me to Ritz Caribbean Food on Yonge St. just outside of the Eaton Centre. As you enter the colourfully decorated venue you will immediately notice the blaring reggae music, the spartan environment and cafeteria style serving area. It doesn't exactly invoke thoughts of the Caribbean but it's serviceable. Behind the standard buffet-type glass partitions lies the bevy of curries, fried chickens and other island-type fare. A large sign above the servers displays a wide selection of their available meal options.
On ordering the beef roti, the bread itself is placed in a Styrofoam container while the beef is added on top first. Then they add the generic curry sauce with the potatoes and carrots in it. I don't know about you but to me carrots don't belong in curry as they tend to sweeten the taste and remove spiciness.
The first bite was disappointing as the dry beef on top doesn't have a lot of sauce on it. The good news is as the meal continues down to the saucy bottom the enjoyment increases to a decently nice curry taste and a hint of a spicy finish. Sit down and eat it in-store so the roti bread doesn't get a chance to become soggy.
At about $7 for roti it receives a 2.5 star rating at best in terms of value and taste. And so my search continues. Perhaps some of their other Caribbean dishes are good (my co-worker did not enjoy his jerk chicken dinner meal) but I don't feel the need for a return visit.