Ya Man! describes itself as “delicious Homestyle Caribbean Cooking with a Healthy Touch!” And it’s all that and more! The former site of a ‘greasy spoon’ Ya Man is decorated in a relaxing, minimalist style with interesting B&W photographs on one wall. Service is friendly, efficient and informed. I follow a Gluten Free diet so wheat products are out, plus more. At Ya Man! , there is no wheat in sauces, no preservatives in sauces, no canned beans or peas, no MSG, no soya sauce and O trans fat. All meats are Halal. These healthy considerations aside, the food is scrumptious, fresh and filling. Take-out and catering is available.

We enjoyed our first meal so much, we returned for lunch the following day to sample the extensive menu further.

Tarboosh is open again after its post-fire reno. Hurrah!
Great place for a quick lunch in quirky dining rooms: wall murals, hanging beaded lamps. Does a brisk, efficient take-out and has a complete Middle Eastern menu with selections from soup to desserts.

Originally Basilique was a clean,independent pizza resto with Halal Middle Eastern items too.    Pizzas are no longer crisp thin crusts with relatively fat-free toppings.  Tonight’s veggie pizza was greasy and mediocre in flavour.  Place (floors and tables) needed a good cleaning and counter service was off-hand.  I wouldn’t return to Basilique….

Mrs. C’s seemed promising as a neighbourhood diner but it hasn’t lived up to its initial promise. The prices are reasonable but service is very slow and some individuals have a bad habit of chatting too long with regulars and neglecting order-taking. A resto isn’t the place for airing pet peeves to the captive diners. Noisy and very cold in the winter.

Food is okay but not worth the wait or the ‘aggro’.

This Korean restaurant, a former diner, has been cleverly renovated and has the best sush, maki and sashimi in town. Hoya also serves toothsome Korean dishes,e.g., bulgogee, Korean short ribs, Lunch specials are a good bet and food is available for take-out.

The couple who own and run Hoya are gracious and efficient. Miso soup and salad with a sweet but tasty dressing are part of your dinner selection. A hot cup of green tea while you are waiting for your take-out order, is the kind of touch that speaks of Asian hospitality.

Do try Hoya – it’s exterior hides its excellent cuisine. The handsome pull-down partitions on the windows and between some tables are imported from South Korea as are most of the furnishings. Hoya is obviously a labour of love from the tables and chairs to the sushi bar where the freshest of fish is used and the sushi rice is, for me, the right balance of blandness and sweetness.

Pagoda has been in Hamilton since forever. Probably the first place most Hamiltonians first tasted Chinese-Canadian food. (If they’re over 40…)

Work up an appetite by climbing the long staircase to the dining room. This resto isn’t accessible. Service is friendly and food is average Chinese-Canadian fare. The lunch specials are a good deal. and usually well-prepared and fresh although food quality can vary from visit to visit..

I usually enjoy their delivery food best – why, I don’t know as I do like the very ‘retro’ feeling of eating in the dining room but take-out food always tastes better. A conundrum.

I always order a falafel and a fruit drink although there are other items: lentil soup, lentils and rice, chicken shawarma, lamb kabobs, kofta (meatballs). Although the baklava is ordered from Toronto, it’s fresh and suitably honeyed.

There’s a hand drawn mural on one wall and recessed light sconces with hanging shades. Although the take-out is usually busy, service in the dining areas is friendly and prompt. Pleasant place for a work lunch or light lunch while shopping.

The bathrooms are spotless – a good indication of the level of hygiene maintained in the open kitchen.
An important point but hey, I still enjoy street food, too!!

A charming Korean family own and run Baramibunei. Photography and paintings deck the brick walls of the restaurant that are the work of husband and wife respectively. Comfortable seating with inset cooking unit in centre of table. Service was friendly and reasonably paced. Food was plentiful and very reasonable for its amount and quality. I enjoyed my meal here very much. I hope other diners patronize Baramibunei. It was a Saturday night and it was quite empty – a warning bell for any restauranteur. I think it’s downtown location is the problem although has parking both behind the building and in a public lot in Jarvis Square. Survival is tough in downtown Hamilton.

The food here varied from visit to visit. Cooks and waitstaff come and go so both food and service are inconsistent. The food served is bar grub and not very good bar grub. Never seem to get orders straight. I once ordered an individual pizza and was served a large pizza. There’s a BIG difference. Stopped going here. I usually went for breakfast on the weekends but never again.