TORONTO — A new upscale Middle Eastern restaurant is serving up modern versions of traditional dishes, in a cool sophisticated setting on Ossington Ave. in Toronto.
Hungry Amoo, which means “Hungry Uncle” in Farsi, first opened with a simpler menu of sharing plates and signature cocktails, but after being open for a few months and receiving feedback from the community, owner and chef Houman Pourmarz revamped the menu to offer more formal dining options that showcase his fine-dining culinary training while keeping a few of the popular sharing plates on the menu.
“Cooking is my career, eating is my hobby, so I appreciate the honest feedback from our guests and community to help us succeed”, says Pourmarz.
The menu includes the signature Koofte — a meatball, large enough to share — stuffed with a quail egg, placed on top of fried polenta with a prune purée and chopped tomato relish ($14); lamb kebob made with fresh local ground lamb combined with a mix of signature spices and paired with Israeli couscous, dehydrated mini tomatoes and a jalapeno and green-apple puree ($23).
Hungry Amoo’s interior features original exposed brick walls decorated with local artists’ work and seats up to 65 guests. There is casual seating up front and a more formal experience in the dining room by the open kitchen.
