Mahari Restaurant Review

Come with me as we check out Mahari, an Afro fusion restaurant located in High Park. Mahari is a fusion of African, Caribbean, Creole, and Afro-Latina cuisine. We have the pleasure of witnessing a birthday serenade. I started with a side card which is made from cognac and tamarind juice. I thought the drink was tasty. It was a little too sweet for my liking because I'm a cognac on the rocks type of girl. For an appetizer, we ordered the salmon cala. This is a salmon and rice fritter and it comes with a green salad with mango chutney. The fritter was nice and light. It was seasoned really well. I would have preferred a little more salmon within a fritter. It was more rice filled than salmon. Overall, it was cooked really well and it had some really great seasonings. Also, I enjoyed the mango chutney. It was a really nice and sweet accompaniment to the fritter itself. The fritter wasn't heavy or dense and I really enjoyed it. For entrees, we ordered the grazing bayou which is a filet, salmon creole, and butternut squash. We also ordered the casuela de maricos which is basically a seafood stew. I ordered my filet medium. The filet came to the table already sliced and it didn't look medium at all. Steak came to the table very well done and as you can see by my face, I was not happy with it and the seasonings were not that delicious. I didn't taste any tamarind or any other seasoning that it promised. Now this is the butternut squash puree. It did not taste like butternut squash to me. It tastes like sweet potato and I am not a big fan of sweet potato. I cannot distinguish whether or not this was really butternut squash. On to the salmon creole. Now the salmon was cooked really really well but the menu said it was going to be in a traditional creole sauce and this was in a tomato sauce. It was definitely not a traditional creole sauce. Look at this steak. Tell me where this steak is medium. This steak is very well done and I was just not happy with it and considering the cost of this dish, I did bring my concern to the owner. I sent my dish back. The owner, even though he was nice, he came to the table and told me that the chef told him that my steak was definitely medium and I told him that not only do I cook but I do restaurant reviews all the time and the steak was very well done. He asked me if I wanted to try something different or give them a chance to remake it but at this point I'm like no I'm good. The food at Mahari did not deliver what the menu promised. I'm going to give this restaurant a 3 out of 10. Follow me for healthy recipes, food hacks, and more restaurant reviews.