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Indian
The Cottage Cheese
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The Cottage Cheese is not what you may think. It’s not, for example, a quaint British pub. It’s also not a hippie-style health food café doling out loaded bowls of sustenance. Instead, it’s a place where the aroma from a cavalcade of spices hits you the moment you step inside. A spot defined by finesse — of details, both big and small — The Cottage Cheese is an urban Indian restaurant in the heart of Kensington Market.
“I really love cottage cheese. Paneer. That’s my staple food,” says owner Pratik Parmar, when asked about his restaurant’s name. A vegetarian, Parmar relies on paneer for protein but is also, he exclaims, “a big fan. I love it!”
The name also, adds Parmar, is meant to strike a chord with cottage-obsessed Canadians. “People are so affectionate when they hear the word ‘cottage’,” he says, adding that over his few years in this country he’s come to recognize (if not quite make sense of) our collective reverence toward cottage life.
At The Cottage Cheese, sunlight streams through picture windows and warm wood floors cement the cottage look. Toasty and tranquil in winter, it’s a room one imagines sun-dappled and buzzing come warmer months. A place that seamlessly fits into its busy surroundings, it’s also a cozy spot to slip away from the bustling market outside.
Faced with a sizeable menu featuring dishes from across India, just don’t be surprised if your quick escape takes a leisurely turn. “The menu covers many regions,” says Parmar, adding that the team makes a wide variety of dishes, for vegetarians, meat-eaters, et al.
Despite relying on a wealth of Indian spices and Indian culinary techniques, food at The Cottage Cheese is not meant to be authentic. “We represent Indian food,” explains Parmar. “The authenticity is never there in Indian cuisine because it varies from one region to another.” Instead, he adds, the goal is to “represent Indian food” in dishes that are remarkably rich in flavour.
Scan the list while sipping on something from the bar, where a healthy number of zero-proof drinks are on offer alongside classic and modern cocktails. From a Coconut Chai Cooler to a Mango Passion Sparkle, Temperance drinks are all any teetotaler ever asked for.
In the team’s hands, an Espresso Martini — the city’s current cocktail crush — becomes a decadent choice, thanks to the addition of chocolate liquor and cream. Light and fruity, the Hibiscus Margarita marries tequila with house-made hibiscus syrup and orange liqueur for the perfect foil to the kitchen’s hottest recipes. With maple syrup in the mix, Not Too Old is a Canadian riff on a tried-and-true Old Fashioned.
While it's generally not the wisest idea to fill up on bread, you’d be forgiven for doing so at The Cottage Cheese. From fragile Papads of India, served with bright mango and mint chutney, to tandoor-baked naan, paratha and roti, the kitchen excels at carb-forward fare.
Still, considering that the team's skills extend far beyond baking, you'd be wise to broaden your horizons to some of the menu's other hits. A popular dish hailing from southern India, Chicken 65 is a feisty, fiery appetizer with a tangy, tomatoey backbone. If a dish could slap you to attention, this one would.
Marinated in yogurt and a medley of spices, tandoor-grilled Lamb Kebabs are suggestively smoky and delicately charred.
Bharwa Tandoori Prawns feature a filling of kobbari, or coconut, and are tender, sweet and big enough to share — or count as a generous meal for one.
Equally ravishing and riotously flavoured, mains comprise fish, vegetables, chicken or lamb transformed with pungent sauces, fresh herbs, and labour-intensive preparations. A perfect side or main, Smokey Baigan Bharta is a chef’s special curry that’s hearty and confidently spiced.
Dum-cooked, or baked under a bread dough lid that seals in steam and every lick of flavour, Vegetable Biryani is a dramatic dish that easily stands on its own. Bursting with add-ins and seasoned to a spice merchant’s tastes, the dish speaks to the kitchen’s dedication to tradition.
One of Parmar’s favourite options, natch, Saag Paneer is another meat-less main turning carnivores’ heads. Verdant and fresh (without a hint of that greyish, overcooked spinach hue), the dish is a salve to winter-weary palates and the only way one could imagine ever overdosing on veg.
Though you wouldn’t miss it here, thanks to a surfeit of temptations, it’s impossible to imagine an Indian restaurant in North American not including Butter Chicken on its menu. At The Cottage Cheese, the perennial favourite is creamy with a whisper of sweetness and fenugreek. Comforting, and velvety, you’re likely see it on nearly every table. Order it; you’ll love it. Just don’t ignore the rest of the ambitious menu.
You might say “no” to dessert, but if capacity allows, the Gulab Jamun is a fine place to end up. Far superior to Parmar’s description of “Indian Timbits,” these are ethereal and syrupy without hitting you over the head with their sugar content.
At The Cottage Cheese, swift service, fastidious attention to detail, and a kitchen pumping out a parade of stunners all add up to a restaurant with the feel of a neighbourhood gem. Discover it now before its under-the-radar rep takes a dramatic turn.
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