Masala Bay, Waterloo, Canada
My friend has lived in Canada for two years and says he has yet to find a decent curry house (think he means one that serves food like curry houses in England). Well, now he’s found one.
I beg to differ with my friend; there are some decent curries to be had in Canada, but admittedly Masala Bay‘s food is good. On a ‘sharing, let’s all dip in’ table there has to be one tikka masala butter type thing doesn’t there? It’s a rule. Masala Bay offers three choices of everybody’s favourite dish which is unusual as I doubt if many of us could say what the difference is anyway. So it’s Murg Tikka Makhani (Butter Chicken), Murg Tikka Lababdor or Murg Tikka Masala (all $15.99 plus taxes) depending on what you prefer.
The butter chicken was thick and not as sloppily buttery as you find in some places thank goodness. To complement this butter there was a nice tang in the Murgh Achari ($15.99 plus taxes), a very large portion of Aloo ki Chat ($6.99 plus taxes), Reshmi Kebab ($7.99 plus taxes), a pricey mix pickle ($2.99 plus taxes) and Tandoori Rotis ($1.99 plus taxes each).
Down a side street just off the main drag between Waterloo and Kitchener, there’s a nice outside area (strictly for summer dining, it gets mighty cold here in winter) while inside the bright and breezy decor is fun.
No decent curries in Canada indeed.
Masala Bay, 3B Regina Street North, Waterloo, ON N2J 2J7, Canada. Open: Mon-Thur 11am-2pm and 5pm-10pm, Fri 11am-2pm and 5pm-10.30pm, Sat 11.30am-2pm and 5pm-10.30pm, Sun 5pm-9pm. Tel: +1 519 747 2763.
Masala Bay snapshot
Food ① ② ③ ④
Decor ① ② ③ ④
Value ① ② ③
Atmosphere (Thursday night) ① ② ③
Service and friendliness ① ② ③ ④
Royal Greenwich Curry Club 