WHAT’S NEW IN DOSA DINING?

By SUVARNA SHASTRI

For over two decades, many of us have made the trip to the south-west corner of Albion and Islington in Etobicoke with just one thing on our minds:

Dosas!

And idli-vada-sambhar! Okay, so more than just one thing.

And a menu packed with delicious, spicy dishes from South India.

Madras Dosa Hut is still there at the same location after all these years at the heart of “that other Little India” in this corner of the Greater Toronto Area.

With one change, though.

The name on the board now reads Kubendra.

Kubendra is, of course, Kubendra Kumar who founded the resataurant “when there was a need for a good dosa place to go to”.

In the nineties, there were many eateries catering to the North Indian palate, but almost none to those who craved a dosa-sambhar fix.

Kubendra, who is now well-known in the desi community as Mr Dosa, says, “It was a market need that I felt I could fulfill.”

Madras Dosa Hut was a success story from Day One.

When the pandemic and the restrictions on eating out swept through the restaurant landscape in the GTA, Kubendra says he had some time to introspect.

“It seemed the right time to reinvent ourselves,” he says.

He wanted to communicate to the community that his commitment to stay open and serve them was unchanged and unwavering.

“Madras is now Chennai, but my customers will always have my commitment to good, authentic South Indian fare. So I decided to put my name on the signboard.”

So Madras Dosa Hut is now simply Kubendra.

His mantra for customer satisfaction is still what it was over 20 years ago:

“You should be able to taste authenticity. It’s in the spices. It’s the way each dish is prepared. There are myriad details to take care of.”