Ambiyan Indian Restaurant

The food and staff at Ambhiyan are just amazing whether it’s dine in or takeout. Always a pleasure dealing with you guys. Thank you

Pleasant and accommodating staff; sadly, food authenticity not on par with other area Indian restaurants in Markham, say, west of Unionville, along Hwy 7 at 404.

Is this my “go-to” Indian restaurant? Sadly not.

Taking a stroll in unionville, we got hungry and opted to try this place since it’s one of two restaurants in the area that I haven’t tried. I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t very busy and we got a table right away.

The host/server took us to our table of choice and so far so good till we asked about what he would recommend to us. He didn’t seem adept at answering these questions. In comes another older man, a server as well, and we tried to ask him for recommendations for ordering something we could eat with our baby.

The man seemed very short tempered and impatient at the impertinent questions we were asking and basically said there is nothing in the menu kid friendly except French fries and that everything is spicy. He seemed visibly unhappy at all the questions we were asking so I asked him to give us a minute to discuss.

A handful of times while waiting he came over to ask if we are ready or order yet, despite having a visual of our table and seeing that we were busy dealing with baby.

I honestly got the impression that he was annoyed at having to deal with us probably because of the baby. I ended up ordering a channa masala, vegetarian somosas (which were not spicy! So there goes the whole “everything is spicy” claim) and two orders of the naan. This guy just seemed so annoyed by us that when I ordered he asked me “what about rice. Don’t you want any rice? ” I told him no and he looked annoyed again. Maybe he thought we were too cheap ordering so little but given the lack of guidance from him, I ordered what I knew we could eat with baby. I wasn’t taking any chances.

The food was tasty but the portions were very small and the price tag for only those items that we ordered was $50 plus tips. I think the lack of service influenced my score because upscale service is what commands upscale pricing. Although the food was very tasty, the price appears disproportionately high due to the lack of service. Perhaps if I had had a more customer service minded server, someone who took pride in showcasing the cuisine of the place and cater to the client I would have felt the value for money. Sadly, I didn’t and that’s why I am giving them a low score.

The service was good and the servent was friendly and attentive. Had 3 courses menu, samosa, lamb biryani, and pistachio ice cream.
Samosa was delicious, but the meat in biryani was dry and tough.

Food was good, I had the butter chicken, lamb vindaloo and curry seafood. The lamb vindaloo was the best followed by the butter chicken. Waitress was friendly and helpful as well and the atmosphere was really relaxing as it's right on Unionville main street and we had outdoor dining. It is on the pricier side tho so keep that in mind.

The shared food tasted. I was there with a group of 7 friends. The price was manageable. Some food was to spiced to my taste but my friends like it!

Have had a few great meals at this restaurant. Friday and Saturday there is live music. Great saxophone this week. Nice weather, friends, family. Very enjoyable. I am particular about washrooms, and that could be improved.

Had a working lunch. Really great service. Food was delicious and came out quickly. Beer selection is great. Love the selection of naan and roti.

Really like the seafood curry here.

Biryani gave me and child stomach issues. Was not fresh.

Also never put hot food/drink into polystyrene foam containers

Got take out here yesterday and the menu has a lot of delicious options. Liam was pleasant and helped me decide which popular dishes to try. Order ready for pick up in 15 minutes. Butter chicken is definitely a must try. I would like to try the dine in experience to see the atmosphere and dine-in service. Would recommend!

This place is a complete joke. Waited over an hour for the main dishes only to be given excuses by the servers that the “kitchen is busy” whilst tables around us all received their food.

Zero accountability from both staff and management. Ended up walking out nearly two hours into the “dining experience” having just eaten a measly appetizer.

Nice place. Good ambience. Extremely disappointing GOAN FISH CURRY/RICE. Wonder which INDIAN RESTAURANT would do this SPICEY curry in SWEET tomato puree type of a gravy (sauce). Appalling.

Delicious food. We did not dine in but our take out was great, portions are perfect. Prices are average of Indian food pricing.

Staff especially server Ramesh was very rude while taking order and serving us, and at the end made a mistake by entering a wrong amount of $570 instead of $57.07and charged us …. And in place of accepting his mistake blamed us for being in rush and took a long time to refund us back …. Even one more employee seemed to be so racist, was looking at us in a weird way and whispering as if it was our mistake …Poor customer service …If you guys don’t know how to treat your customers, serving good food is not going to help…. Really bad experience

Usually I’m really picky when ever I choose Indian restaurants, but this place was pretty good with customer service and the food. We got the spicy chicken bites which was good and not too spicy. Naan bread, Saag chicken which I also recommend and the “lamb Biriyani” is a must try and was my fav out of all.

We then also ordered some butter panner which I found was a bit more towards the sweeter taste side, so I wasn’t much of a fan of that dish but it does well for people who don’t like spicy food.

Overall I would go back to this restaurant.

This has been our go to place for years now! Been there with family and friends from out of town, and for various celebrations.
However, recently had a very disappointing and unacceptable experience. Last sunday was a cold and dreary day, we decided to call and pick up food and have it at home with a movie.
Sadly the onion bhaji which we have enjoyed many times in past arrived as dry pieces of flat stuff, which were by no means the onion bhaji we have had in the past. It was like old frozen tired flat pieces of something reheated and packed. Also raita that came with biryaani smelled horrible and was clumpy and weird.
We called immediately. And the guy at the other end brushed it off casually saying "they must have given you the old raita"!
Said you can come pick up another one.and that's it, no apology, no remorse, nothing!
It was sadly a totally unacceptable and bizarre experience.very disappointed!
You've lost us for sure Ambiyan!

Great little Indian restaurant in the heart of Unionville.

Had the butterchicken with some rice and Naan. Think next time I'll up the spice level on the butter chicken as mild there is absolutely no heat! Great flavours and service!

Very small portions and the food was not tasty at all. I paid $28 for a Spicy Goan seafood curry but it only had 3 pieces of shrimps, 1 scallop and 1 tiny piece of fish. The ingredients tasted like they were freezer burnt. The basmati rice was cold and the meat of the chicken dish was barely warm. I’m sorry but it was a very unpleasant experience.

Visited the restaurant for the first time today. Food was good but service was super average. The waiter attended to us like we were an inconvenience and at the time of payment, literally chucked the receipts on our table with a thankless attitude. It’s better to order from such a place than to sit and dine.

Went here for the first time. Tuesday night was bit quite but service was fast. Had seafood biryani and the portion was too little and did not like it. Shrimp had no flavour. Naan and butter chicken was the best. Waiter was friendly and good service.

I ordered the butter paneer and there is really no flavour or evidence of spices used in this dish. The paneer does not look like it was cooked/seasoned before going into the sauce which is fine but the sauce lacks any real flavour at all, maybe a hint of sweetness? I also see no spices visibly in the sauce (a chili, a peppercorn?) I chose this restaurant based on its rating and am really disappointed: (

Got to finally celebrate missed birthdays. Great food and service. I loved the garlic naans and the saga lamb. Yum!
Looking forward to my next visit

Ambiyan Equals Ambiance!

I have been to this Indian-style restaurant several times over the years for a drink and a meal. On this visit I decided to bring the kids along as they hadn't had good Indian food in a long time and finally it seems like we were at the time getting a little break from Uber-Eats, dining at home and always getting take-out food. This restaurant is located on the middle of the Main Street Unionville strip and has been a staple of Main Street Unionville for years. Did you know Ambiyan also doubles as a pub? One side of the restaurant is dedicated to the pub and it has its own pub menu. Since this was a family visit we ate the food from the main restaurant.

We were seated just under the roof attached to Ambiyan and were under a see-through vinyl which allowed us to catch a good breeze and protected us from the elements. In the fall and winter, this section is heated. We were seated and our server came to greet us almost immediately.he took the time to explain the food to my kids and started them off with Mango Lassies and an order of Cheesy Naan. The kids ate the Naan so fast I wan't able to take a picture of it.

Our food for that night,

Cheese Naan - With mozzarella and cheddar cheese duo

- Gone in seconds

Chicken Kebab - Baked skewers of minced chicken seasoned with garlic and spices

- A little spice but okay for kids when they eat it with the yogurt

Lamb Kebab - Baked skewers of ground lamb meat seasoned with garlic and spices

- A little spicer then the Chicken but no problem, I selfishly ordered them for me.

Tandoori Prawns - Tiger Prawns Marinated in Tandoori Spices and slow baked.

- An abolute delight

Butter Chicken

- Classic, plaentiful and flavourful

Lamb Korma

- Came in a rich and creamy cashew sauce

Vegetable Biryani

- Made with spices and basmati rice, and packed with flavour

Sides

- Raita which is made with a natural yogurt with coriander, tomato and onion.

My only disappoitment was that they didn't offer Kingfisher, an Indian Beer which I can find at many Indian restaurants in the GTA. In all the food was amazing and the kids enjoyed as much as the adults did. Our server was great and very patient with kids and helped them enjoy their meal and also challenged them a little to try some of the more spicier dishes. Another great meal at one of Unionville's most popular restaurants. If you havent been there, I do recommend you give it a shot.

Very nice restaurant on Mainstreet Unionville - I recommend the butter chicken, spiced rice and garlic naan

A huge round of applause for all the staff working in the restaurant. Their customer representative was super delightful and humble. Moreover, all the food was fantastic and delicious with great Indian taste.

Beautiful place and absolutely delicious food. Try their mango chutney its just superb and the onion bhaji. Dinner done right at Ambiyan!

Great sit-down lunch post-pandemic, with wonderful service. People may not realize that in addition to the patio, there is spaced interior seating now as well

Food was fair. Honestly expected better given the prices they charge for these dishes.

What made me question this place was how the waiter automatically added an 18% gratuity / tip.

Couldn’t find anywhere where they say that.

I thought the customer should be deciding on this. In the end there wasn’t much service from the waiter.

Great Indian food right in the heart of old Unionville. The staff was very accommodating and made our experience an excellent one. Try the Biriyani it was the best!

Went to Ambiyan earier this month for our anniversary dinner and we definitely weren’t disappointed.

We would usually order take out (you know, covid and all that fun stuff) so this was our first time dining in. I must say the atmosphere was lovely, the restaurant felt very clean, the staff was very friendly and don’t even get me started about the food!

We started with a classic; the chicken samosas. The sauce was delicious as was the samosa. It’s a bit of a toss up where maybe there wasn’t enough chicken but it was also nice because the chicken wasn’t overpowering. I personally ordered the butter chicken whereas my significant other ordered the malai kofta and both were phenomenal. Of course we ordered rice and garlic naan to go with it and it was all amazing.

I guess I’ll wrap this up with my take on the price. I do think it was a little up there as I’ve been to other places around the same price point and have had a little bit nicer presentation and slightly better quality but it’s not as big of a difference to the point where it would hinder the review. Overall you get what you pay for and Ambiyan did not disappoint. I would definitely recommend giving them a shot.

Fantastic food, very flavourful and wonderfully spiced. We have been doing takeout and buying extra so we have leftovers.
Staff on the phone and in person are very helpful and positive. They are great at helping you decide if you are looking to try something new or different.
Lots of vegetarian (and gluten free) options so something for everyone. The garlic naan bread is addictive:)
Highly recommended for both sit-down and takeout!

A great little Indian restaurant.have eaten here loads of times and am a massive fan of Indian food. Have never been disappointed. Yes, it is a little bit directed to a Canadian palate and food is not really that spicy but they do a great job overall!

Four of us ate at the Ambiyan restaurant tonite. They have a deal which was posted on the Aileen Willowbrook site that one will get 15% off one main dish if you order 2 dishes Sunday -Thursday dine-in only until Oct. 13th We complied with all the criteria and yet we were refused the deal. Our waiter was told by management that the deal would only be honoured the next time we visited the restaurant.what kind of nonsense is this? Do not advertise a promotion and then renege on it. The food was quite good but due to this dishonest advertising, the restaurant is not looked upon favourably.

What a classy and impressive place! Food and service 10/10. I always order takeout from here (fries) and ask for them to be extra crispy.

Today I had a problem with my takeout order so I called them. Not only did they make an entirely new order for me (mind you they were also busy) but they were SO kind, professional and caring about the entire situation. I can’t explain how surprised and happy I am after my experience with them today! Employees are always so friendly, warm and inviting. Definitely recommend to anyone looking for a genuine and professional dining experience. Xx

Food was great and filling, but I was kind of expecting more of a spice. It was definitely toned down for the general public.

Ordered a takeout, the service was good, food was okay. But there was one worker that's against wearing a mask? So he walks around the restaurant and the kitchen without a mask on. That's not safe in my opinion probably will never go there again.

One of the worst service experiences I've ever had. I totally understand that things are difficult with the global pandemic, but this was ridiculous. We were a group of 6 which is a big party to serve but the restaurant wasn't overly busy. The food was good, but over priced in my opinion. When it came time to ask for the bill, we told him that we will all be paying separate. Since the bill was not printed I didn't think this would be an issue. He was very rude and told us that we should have mentioned it earlier and try to get us to pay in groups of 3. With the 18% already added to the bill it would have been pricey for the 2 people covering the bill. The waiter went to get our receipts and tossed them to each of us. I am not one to normally complain as I am in the industry myself, but this was honestly the worst service I've ever received. The other staff were absolutely amazing. I will never be returning to this establishment.

Tamarind sauce and samosas are BUSSIN. Defs would recommend that, wasn’t impressed with the biryani

Ambiyan offers a comfortable, slightly high end dining experience with a menu of basic traditional North Indian cuisine. The food was good, but could have been better - especially considering the price of the dishes. The portion sizes were fine and the presentation of the food was excellent, but the taste of the food wasn't as authentic as I was hoping. If you find yourself on Main Street Unionville, I still recommend Ambiyan especially when the patio is open.

We met with friends at this place for a meeting. This spot was recommended to us by a friend. Well, it was very successful. The staff were very polite and we had a great feeling. The food was just great. We had a great time and we will definitely return to this restaurant. We recommend this place to all.

Food and service were both perfect. Highly recommended items would be tandoori chicken tikka and chicken korma. Would love to visit again.

Had a 5: 00 reservation. The family and I really had a wonderful meal. They made many alterations for the kids and had plenty of free parking. Very clean and nice decor.

Delicious food! Will come back for more! I had the butter chicken, paneer tikka masala, vegetarian biryani and garlic naan

One of my favorite spots to grab some food.very good location, clean, and very good service. I highly recommend them!

We wanted to try a new restaurant and tried Ambiyan based on reviews. Ordered their weekday biryani combo. The price was about $2-3 higher than general prices. The aroma on the biryani was okay, but the rice used was no where looking like basmati. That spoiled entire biryani. It looked like your regular staple rice mixed with biryani masala. I would not recommend their biryani. The chicken samosa was very good.

I simply like their dishes. I always get awesome service there. The place is always clean and the workers are always helpful. I highly recommend this place.

I am gonna have to be honest here.
This was my first experience at a fine dining restaurant and i expected it to be expensive but i never saw such small portions in my life.
The appetizers were a beef samosa which was a just okay. I had better at cheaper price. Portions were very small.
The Main dish was palak paneer and rogan josh with naan which tasted great and i enjoyed the different approach to it. The rogan josh was delicious. The portions were small.
The dessert was milk kulfi which was sub par as well and i expected a lot better but it had less flavor of milk and more ice. Small portion as well.
I enjoyed the fine dining on the other hand.
The restaurant itself looked quite classy with classy people.
The decorum was great a little music playing.
The servers were all dressed fancy and took care of us and made sure everything was going good. I just expected more in the food with price that high. I have had the same customer service at cheap price with great food and this one feels definitely overrated.

This place has nice patio for summer days and always packed. I visited last weekend and was pleasantly surprised! The butter chicken was one of the best I have tried so far. My daughter loved veggitavle briyani. We will visit again in the summer.

I just had my birthday dinner at Ambiyan. It’s my all time favourite Indian food to get take out from, but we wanted to dine in the resteraunt tonight to make the birthday more special. The resteraunt was very cold and the lighting was not very bad and made it hard to read our menus. Our waiter not only told me there was no options for spicy vs.not spicy for my dish, but the dishes he did recommend he read out very quickly with an attitude so I couldn’t even tell which ones he was recommended. When we finished our first drinks he never offered us more - which we would have wanted so they lost money there. When he asked us if we wanted dessert we said no and he ran away and never returned, we had to figure out on our own that you pay for your bill at the front.

When we got to the front a nice young guy said they had something coming for me and we should go back to our seat. Our waiter brought us over a birthday dessert which was nice but very late since we had already put our jackets on. He sang happy birthday with little to no enthusiasm and it was awkward.

We won’t dine in again, we will still do take out as the food was amazing.

Incredible. Great location with a nice old school patio. I’ve been to this place so many times for lunches that at one point they asked us why we come here so often which was weird. If you tell them to make it extremely spicy they will add tons of chillies. Their naan is amazing and fresh but I wish they gave you more bigger pieces as sometimes there will be more left over gravy but you don’t have any naan left or there becomes tense discussion on who will get the last piece of naan. The tandoor naked chicken tikka pieces are massive and deliciously tender. The vindaloo chicken is amazing and spicy and includes this signature mini onion that adds a lot of flavour as well as looks beautiful. The dal Makhni great but a bit too watery for my liking.

We were actually disappointed with this place. The food isn't as authentic and good as I hoped it would be. We had the lamp Rogen josh which had so much black pepper in it that I couldn't eat it. I ended up just eating the rice alone. We unfortunately won't be back. It's too bad as the patio area here is nice.

Food was amazing! Three of us shared coconut curry tiger prawns, lamb biryani and chicken tikka masala with one order of rice and one order of garlic naan. We were very impressed with the meal and we had to pack up a little less than half.

Mediocre Indian food. Great location in Unionville, however the food falls short. Over priced and small portions. Weird ambiance.no music, dated, and servers are not friendly at all. Adrak is definitely a way better option! Meh.

2 of us did the sample of 4 mains and still had lots left over for lunch the next day. Yummy food, attentive service. Prices are typical of Unionville main street.

Very tasty food, good service. This is the second time we've come to this restaurant and we've had a pleasant time enjoying the food, atmosphere and service.

Food was just okay and for the price point, I expected much better. All the curries had a pretty good taste but the meat was typically overcooked. The beef vindaloo was almost inedible with how tough it was. We did the sampler platter between 2 people. No where on the menu did they tell you that the prawn curry would be an extra $8. Wasn't very happy with the sudden add-ons on the final bill.

I have ordered several times over the course of a year, and mostly have positive experiences from this restaurant.

My personal recommendations from this restaurant are the Butter Chicken, Lamb Vindaloo with a side of Garlic Naan. The Butter Chicken is creamy, the Lamb Vindaloo is spicy and he Garlic Naan pairs well with both.

The single negative experience that I have had with Ambiyan - and the reason for the 4-Star rating - is finding a single, long, black hair in my order. I found it in the sauce of my order of Lamb Vindaloo at the end of my meal. But accidents happen, and typically only have positive experiences with this restaurant.

Never going back. The manager didn't have etiquettes to speak to a customer. I was given a wrong dish for takeout and instead of taking responsibility he's sticking to his guns. Promising the same dish on my next visit to make up for the mistake. I add to my take order recently and he tells me that he, "wouldn't listen to anything i might have to say if I didn't like the dish this time around" or perhaps i should get something else.

This review is based on my SKIP THE DISHES order recently. I am very disappointed with my experience and I will not be ordering from Ambiyan again - I am really unimpressed with their serving sizes. See my pictures. I had my parents over for lunch so I thought it was a good idea to order some food from here. I ordered the kofta, pakoras, and naan. The kofta dish was ridiculous - I received A LOT of sauce and 2 pieces of kofta. We had to share this with 4 people. The pakora was also ridiculous - they gave 2 pieces and then cut them in half. I had to cook extra food to make sure we had enough for lunch. Overpriced and poor quality food and small portions. I called to resolve the issue - person who picked up just kept saying OK and then hung up on me. Will not be giving them any more business.

Only giving a star for the food, which was decent, but service was terrible. The servers were rude. When we got in, we had to wait because the staff was sitting at the bar clicking away on his phone. We weren't sure if he was a staff (there were only 2 servers at the time, maybe he was on break or something but the other one didn't even look at us). Then they gave me a cup with a lipstick stain on it (they did change it when I asked, but not one smile the entire time we were there) and only poured water for one person in the party (the one closest to him). When the table across from us left, he literally just brushed crumbs off of the table to clean it and sent crumbs flying everywhere and towards our table while we were still eating (there are literally crumbs everywhere, even found some on the seats when we got our table). The staff weren't very present either, we had to go look for them to get our bill. Not the type of service I would expect from a "high-end" restaurant serving $20 entrees.

Ambiyan is always a treat. Delicious food, friendly staff, beautiful location and the best samosas I've ever had. This place is our go-to for Indian food. We go to Ambiyan for both family and staff parties.

This place is more on the fancy and pricey side. I had the lunch combo that, with coffee, ended up being way over $30 (mind you, I upgraded my appetizer to the fish pakora as none of the basic apps really appealed to me). Worth every penny though. For my main, I got the coconut-based shrimp curry with naan and it was exquisite. Next time I visit my friend who lives in the are, we'll certainly eat there again.

Food is delicious but expect to have some stomach issues. Staff is very rude and seems to be getting worse.

Let's be honest here. The food, like others say isn't very authentic. The quality was pretty poor. The lamb $20 had pieces of both tender meats and some that were firmer -probably cooked and added in later. The butter chicken $19 sauce was flavourful but sadly, the chicken was dry. The fish pakora $12 was thin strips of unknown fish with sesame (really?) as part of its batter. The accompanying chutney was OK. The naan $4.25 for plain and $4.75 for garlic was extremely expensive as with the rest of the food. The service was sub par. Split tables, lack of water. Asked for the bill twice.

Overall: 1.5 - rounded down because they charged 18% service charge for a table of 4.
Food taste: 2
Service: 2
Price: 1

Bottom line: not worth the trip. Save your money and go somewhere cheaper and more authentic. The price they ask for the quality and taste doesn't make sense. Trust me. I've eaten many places.