214 King Street west
416-599-KAMA

Kama (as in Kama Sutra), meaning the god of erotic love is the name of the last place I went to dine with Wendy the night of Evita. Located in the trendy and pricy Entertainment District (King west between University and Spadina) this place is kind of hidden as it is downstairs. Located right across from Roy Thomson Hall, we liked the fact that they served a dinner buffet because we were not prepared to pay over $20 each for our meal. Kama’s decor is very Mediterranean with a terra cotta colour and does not look very Indian but very designer-ish. With a minimalist shi-shi-poo-poo motif, this place is the epitome in high brow Indian cuisine.

Although located in the basement of a building, the dug out full length windows make the place very bright. The restaurant itself is very large as it looks as though it can sit over 100 people. Divided into three main dining areas separated by columns, we could not find the buffet table at first as it was hidden way in back of the restaurant. The dinner buffet was kind of pricy ($16.95) and there were many vegetarian options. As always, i enjoyed the deliciously spicy vegetable pekoras (although vegetarian, the takeout menu called them chicken pekora, quite a fatal error). In addition, i enjoyed the vegetable curry, Channa masala (chick pea curry), Aloo Chat (potato curry in a sweet and sour curry with vegetables and crunchy chippy things, Saag Paneer (spinach and cheese), garlic naan and mint naan. The garlic naan was incredible with a hint of garlic and not too strong. Wendy had the mint naan and she seemed to enjoy it.

For dessert Wendy had the doughnut balls with a lot of syrup or honey and she made the funniest face when she tasted the balls and they were not what she expected. I think she expected soft and full of honey, but instead they were dry with very little syrup. We both thoroughly enjoyed the luxurious rice pudding with pistachios. We really appreciated the taste and the bold flavours of nutmeg, ginger, and anise. YUMMA! The actual meal was so-so but the dessert rocked. I must admit that $16.95 is a nervy price to charge for dinner buffet but we were in the theatre district where naive tourists would pay anything. We were pleased that, unlike Little India, they kept on refreshing all of the food so everything was hot and fresh. Still, the food was very so-so…nothing to run home about. I would probably not go again, or at least, i would order from the separate dinner menu because most of the time those items are more fresh and are of higher quality. Accepts all cards. Open late. No reservations required. Takeout lunch and dinner buffet significantly cheaper. Separate lunch and dinner menu available.