Reviews

Ancila's has been featured on “Opening Soon” - The first restaurant in Mississauga to be featured on this show. It aired on FOOD TV & LIFE Network in the summer of 2006.

Mike Beggs
Jul 31, 2006

For a restaurant, building up a profile can take months, or maybe years.

But the new Meadowvale venue, Ancila's Indian Cuisine received a fortituous jump start, when it became the first Mississauga restaurant to be featured on the Rogers Food TV program "Opening Soon" (on June 13).

Bombay native Ancila Kamat serves up authentic Indian dishes in a "simple and warm" decor.

Her wide-ranging menu is anchored by specialties like Tandoori Chicken Wings, Butter Chicken, Fish Curry, Shrimp Masala, Chili Chicken, and Bhuna Mutton, prepared as mild or spicy as the customer requests.

"Normal restaurants have a set menu. (With us) it depends on the client," she says.

For Kamat, this 50-seat restaurant is a natural extension of her successful business selling Indian snacks, and providing catering and take-out daily meal services around the West End (from a separate commercial kitchen).

The charming, stay-at-home mother of two has three degrees from back in India (Law, Bachelor of Commerce, Associate Corporate Secretary). Seven years ago, she started selling the snacks so popular in her hometown, here.

Her first order was for just four snacks. But within the space of two years she was supplying Indian grocery stores across Mississauga with her tasty Batata Vata, Samosas, Pakoras, and Aloo Tikkis (two of which are on the restaurant menu).

"Everything is trial and error. And it has clicked," she says modestly.

They certainly impressed the producers of "Opening Soon" at a preliminary meeting.

This documentary follows them from the day they took possession of the property (previously a Pakistani restaurant), through an extensive reno, to Ancila's opening on April 25.

According to Kamat, the majority of her regulars are Canadians of all backgrounds -- not just those of Indian descent.

"It's different (here). We have so much variety," she says. "India is a very big place, we have so many territories there. You take one vegetable, if you go to the North the preparation is different than in the West. If you give me mincemeat, I could make five or six (types) of pie for you."

"If you're adventurous and want to try things, there a lot of variety we can give you (here)."

Ancila's Indian Cuisine is located at 6905 Millcreek Drive.

REVIEW: THE MISSISSAUGA NEWS
Moms make food do their talking
Fledgling restauranteurs featured on Opening Soon

Radhika Panjwani
Jun 10, 2006

A pinch of spice and all things nice makes Ancila's Indian Cuisine unique in Mississauga...

..Ancila's Indian Cuisine is the first Mississauga restaurant to be featured on the show...

..Before jumping head-first into the business venture, Kamat made samosas and Batata wadas (potato cushions) for 95 per cent of Indian grocery stores in Mississauga.

"All I had was this small frying pan in which I could deep-fry maybe four wadas," she said. "When I started to prepare the order, I discovered the potato kept crumbling...I was in tears. My husband and I were up the whole night as we made 400 wadas."