The tale of two SIDMRs. Yup- if they have the vrashan to give a little restaurant on Bloor West a five word name, then I'm going to do the proper thing and reduce them to an acronym. This is not about acrimony; I'm a professional.
The first SIDMR is the snack counter up front. It's just not that good. There are all foods that I normally enjoy - and let's not kid each other - I am not the type of man who shies away from a bulk snack deal. But still... no. After the first bite of a pakora I spontaneously Yelped out a mini review "Wow! They fried the cheap right into these puppies" Uh huh - they're so cheap because - wait for it - they're so cheaply made. My dining companion and I mused as to the primary ingredient - she said sawdust, I said recycled yellow pages (cuts down on the turmeric expense...)
SIDMR was firmly ensconced in the write off pile at this point. Until fate intervened and I was compelled to visit again at the best of a vegan friend (NOT my BVF) We were in the neighborhood, she was hungry, saw the word vegan and - poof - in we went.
The non-Industrial "restaurant-styled" restaurant in the back actually churns out some decent South Indian food! The Dosa veggie thali is worth a shot - with a major caveat. Their sambar is as generic as possible while still retaining a whiff of hope that the person who programmed the machine that spat it out ever flew over the Indian sub-continent. The curries that come with thali were actually all quite good. The tomato coconut chutney redeemed them a bit in the condiment. Since I was with a VF I did not consume any of the animal protein offerings; respect, yo!
The rating was a toughie for me; Do restaurants get better with age? Rarely. As the Blandsdowne market gets more competitive, my belief is that SIDMR will have to either up their game or up and go. So my 3 star rating represents my belief in market forces and/or Darwin.