Simba Grill

Mixed feelings on this one. My husband liked it far less than I did. I thought the food pretty tasty.
We are generally very forgiving when it comes to service, but the service here was a bit lacking. To give the owner credit, we came just at open along with a couple of other groups, and he didn’t have any help for half an hour. That said, we were the first group seated. One other group was seated soon afterwards and two other groups seated maybe 5 – 10 minutes later. We were the last group he took orders from even though we were ready to go within minutes of sitting down. We were the only group with kids. I don’t know if that was a factor or not.
Business owners would do better to serve the groups with small children first. Small children are whiny and impatient.
Prices are high, but the portion sizes are huge. One disappointment for me was that the food really was a take on Indian. Yes, it is African but the dishes are heavily Indian influenced. We were a little disappointed by that because we wanted to try something truly unique (for us). We did order the cassava fries to stave off the whiny kids. Those came out nice and fast and were really good. We also ordered the grilled chicken plate (for the kids), prawns in spinach curry, and the coconut curry fish. The first two dishes were excellent. Well prepared and delicious. The prawns in the spinach dish were huge and beautifully cooked. The rice is amazing too. It was made with saffron and cardamom so had a lot of flavor. The coconut curry was not very good at all. It wasn’t spicy and the flavors tasted oddly muddy (for lack of a better description). It was very rich without having any of the flavor we usually associate with a good curry.
Dinner took a long time here. Be prepared. I don’t recommend it if you have small children.

The best place for kababs, mishkaki and curries. Fresh food and always ask for specials they sometimes have pilau or biryani.

Food is tasty, but slightly overpriced in comparison to the portions they give out. Apparently the owner of this place doesn’t ‘go the extra’ mile to make their customers happy. Ordered boneless ribs, came with side of spicy fries and salad. Asked if they could instead forgo the spicy fries and in exchange provide much more salad, healthier choice. I mean salad can’t be that expensive right? Gotta be cheaper than potatoes? Well I think not, waiter says he’s unable to fulfill my request, little conversation later states that these days no one worries about their health. That made me laugh, think he hasn’t been paying attention to what’s been happening the last 15 years.

I recommend the fried mogo and the kebab. By no means a beautiful ambience– it’s a shabby looking restaurant with good food. It’s East African/​Indian cuisine and prices range from $ 4.50 for a plate of fried cassava (which is one of the best in the city) and $ 5.50 for a plate of kebabs which are also delicious. Food is fresh and made to order so give yourself some time.

Unethical owner is something I’ve heard from a number of people, although I didn’t experience it in my one visit. Way overpriced. Hideous décor that needs serious maintenance. It’s a hole in the ground without the benefits. The naan is grocery store stuff, not tandoor naan. Had the mixed grill special and it was dry, poor meat quality.
If this is the kind of food you want, I’ve enjoyed Fahim Kabab (Steeles and Middlefield).

I RECOMMEND: the beef samosas at Simba Grill– they are the kind I’ve grown up around, distinct in their own way. Very meaty and hearty.
There also lots of other treats and meals available. The website is great.
Someone mentioned Simba’s is overpriced and I agree.
Another Unilocaler commented that these are not traditionally African but rather Indian dishes. Couldn’t be more wrong. Nyama choma, Ugali and some of the other dishes are only typical of East African cuisine. Tanzanian food is heavily influenced by Indian flavours/​dishes because of the long standing presence of Indian Tanzanians so it’s ignorant to not see the beauty in this gastronomical blend.
So if you’re new to this– Don’t knock the labels, just open up and try it out.
If you’re not– It’s not quite a taste of home but it’s cheaper than a flight out, right?
EXTRA TIP: One thing is for sure, this place is shabby so order take out. The space is off-​putting. I’d give it a 4 star otherwise.

Food is over priced and takes about 30 mins minimum. The owner is incredibly unethical — he charges tax (obviously) and puts the cash right into his pocket (doesn’t even ring it up in the till and you’ll notice he has two cash registers …) he doesn’t tip his staff so don’t bother leaving him a tip, otherwise that’s 28% extra in his pocket.
Of course you want to tip the waitress, so tip her directly.

I hosted a young man from Tanzania, Africa. We were looking for a restaurant that represented his country and/​or food. This is the only restaurant that came up in a google search and it was local to my home and it did represent his country and food.
The google reviews were correct. Not much in terms of décor and it was over priced. As well this restaurant also serves East Indian food. So not a pure African restaurant.
On the upside: the owner was very pleasant, friendly, helpful and explained the foods to me very well. As this was my first time eating «African» food, I have to be honest; I did not find it overly flavourful.
On the downside: the owner kept suggesting I order the platters to experience a variety of items which I appreciated, but not the over inflated prices that were attached to them! I think he realizes he has the monopoly on this specific type of African restaurant and can charge whatever he wants because he has no competition. And the décor is lacking, the place felt cheap.
We had 2 appetizers (Mogo and a Somosa $ 4 each), Simba Grill Platter ($ 22), Ugali ($ 8.50), 2 drinks ($ 3 each). so with tax the total was $ 52 + tip = $ 60. A lot for two people in my humble opinion.

We went out for our monthly dinner date with friends and the 5 of us were not disappointed with this restaurant. We agree with previous reviewers that the place is small but welcoming, service was friendly and helpful.
Based on the server’s recommendations we ordered the Mogo (fried cassava thick cut fries) served with 4 different chutneys/​sauces and Daal Bhaji (lentil dumplings). The cassava was fresh and served hot, the sauces were interesting, one spicy, one tangy with tamarind, a coconut based one and a hot green chili sauce. The dumplings were a bit bland.
The mixed grill platter was inconsistent, the ribs and chicken wings were excellent, well flavoured, tender and moist. The chicken cubes on the other hand were dry and tasteless. On the other hand the African Thali mixed plate was a hit, the fish was fried perfectly, not greasy and served with a smooth spinach curry. The bean curry was a bit thin and lacked flavour.

Having been born in Tanzania and being of Indian heritage, I decided to get together with some other Indian friends from similar backgrounds to take a walk down nostalgia lane.
The good times stopped there.
This little restaurant owned by a man named Sultan, who seems to rely exclusively on people’s yearning for the good old days to over look the awful service (I had to get up 4 times from our table to help myself to drinks and cutlery) and the awful food.
The type of food has been described well by Deanna W. in an earlier review. On this visit, we found the food to be Mishkaki (Kebobs on skewers) to be dry and none too fresh.
We also ordered Ugali (a traditional East African staple) which has the consistency of mashed potatoes. The Ugali was nothing like I remember it and the red bean soup which is a traditional counterpart to the Ugali seemed to have been recently pulled out of the fridge and micro-​waved into life.
Similarly, the mogo (or cassava) was lacking in taste and crispness which it should have had.
None of the five of us enjoyed our meal and left as soon as was civilly possible to find another restaurant to fill our bellies and lift our disappointed spirits.

I’ve been here a few times and I have to say that for people who are trying East African food for the first time, it’s not bad. However for me, 98.52% of my family is from East Africa, not to mention that I’ve been there a couple times. and it’s just not the same.
I have to say that the short ribs that are self proclaimed the best ribs in the city, are definitely not, however they aren’t bad. The mishkaki (mish-​kah-​kee) is pretty good, and I personal love ugali (oo-​gah-​lee). Try the mango lassi as a companion to your meal, especially if its a spicy one.
Post meal, make sure to try the Tanzanian style ice cream and masala tea (aka spiced chai).
Overall I give 3 stars, but maybe that’s because I grew up with this food and my idea of authenticity and quality of East African food is extremely high. With that said, Simba Grill does a good job overall.

Quintessential hole in the wall restaurant run by an older couple. Seating capacity is perhaps 20. Food is Tanzanian (new to me) — a mix of African and Indian influences. I ordered a thali which included fried fish, spinach and bean curries, ugali (like polenta), and some sort of chutney. It was tasty and plenty to eat. That ugali is filling! Fellow diner Thilo had a daal curry with rice. It was ordinary and modestly portioned, but inexpensive. He also had a masala tea, which was excellent. From our small sample, you shouldn’t hesitate to order more expensive dishes, you get your money’s worth.

I came here on the recommendation of a few friends who had been and hey, when does one turn down the chance to try out african/​indian cusine? This restaurant was a bit of trek for me being a little out in east york but it was worth it to try something different.
Simba’s grill is based on tanzanian/​kenyan cooking which is a fusion of indian and traditional african grill cooking. There are curries and there are mixed grills that feature meat as the star. This place is bit of hole in the wall, not fancy at all but the service is friendly. Note that the meals can take awhile to prepare, usually 20 – 25 minutes tops so come with a patient mind as everything is prepared to order and the cooking is done by an elderly couple.
Now the food, the samosa’s are tasty here the meat samosa’s are nicely spiced and come in a lighter pastry than usual samosa’s sorta like filo pastry. The casava fries were extremely addictive, sweet cruncy sticks of starch. And the bbq ribs here were amazing for dry ribs. Crunchy, crisp and the sauce or rub on them tasted fantastic. They have an interesting selection of fruity african/​middle eastern soft drinks on hand as well to wash everything down. And there are daily specials for meat, curries and samosas-​everthing under $ 10.
A good place to try tanzanian/​kenyan cooking, only shame is that it’s quite far.