Mayrik
Toronto, ON M4G 3B7
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Mayrik is an Armenian word โthat is the cutest, cheekiest way to suck up to your momโ. It is also the name of Bayviewโs new restaurant serving up Balkan and Caucasian cuisine with a focus on Armenian, Greek and Lebanese recipes. The restaurant is an homage to chef Seb Yacoubianโs mother, who passed away in a car accident.
Chef Seb Yacoubian (formerly of Mamakas) and Aram Gabrielian (formerly of Tabule) make up the restaurant leadership team. โRestaurants are like one brain with two arms,โ says Gabrielian referring to the importance of both back-of-house and front-of-house experience that the duo bring to their partnership.
โWeโre not here to shock the community, weโre here to bring some youthfulness โ to bring a bit of downtown to uptown,โ says Yacoubian.
When the duo first decided to leave behind their days of working for others and work for themselves, Leaside wasnโt the obvious choice. โMayrik is about families so why not attract families,โ referring to the neighbourhood makeup.
The menu naturally encourages family-style dining, โto eat the way I ate at home โ I want people to embrace the full culture,โ says Yacoubian.
Traditional Armenian cuisine features a lot of game and ancient grains and is a medley reflecting its history and geography both from being conquered by many European and Levantine empires and through places where Armenians have lived. โArmenian food is very open, itโs not spicy,โ says Yacoubian. Indeed the cuisine uses a lot of familiar ingredients such as thyme, oregano, lemon, olive oil, zaโatar and sumac which are common in Middle Eastern cuisines.
The menu is the result of tearing a few pages out of his motherโs recipe book tweaked to the chefโs liking, โhow I think it should be.โ Everything at Mayrik is made in-house because โour grandmothers never opened up things from cans.โ
For the duo Mayrik is โnot just another Middle Eastern, Mediterranean restaurant; we are an Eastern European restaurant,โ says Yacoubian.
The baba ghanoush, with dates and walnuts for added texture, is chunkier than what Torontoโs used to seeing. Sarma (which you may know as dolmades) is a dish that was never a favourite of Yacoubianโs, but his is a sort of deconstructed version, almost like stir-fried rice topped with garlic yogurt. โI like to think of it as our version of nachosโ with the grape leaves serving as the chips.
There is also a fish of the day which recently has included red snapper and sea bass.
The cocktail menu is the brainchild of mixologist Luis Martinez who has created unique Eastern European-inspired cocktails with spirits such as Metaxa and Arak infused with syrups of rose water, baklava, and mulberry.
You can even try the โGrey Goose of Arakโ โ a 375mL bottle of Chรขteau Ksara Ksarak, which makes it an easily shareable bottle. Armenians like to open it up with a bit of water which gives it a creamy appearance and texture, which is known back home as โLionโs Milk.โ Thereโs also Dayaa Arak which also comes in a 375mL bottle and is distilled locally in Niagara.
The wine list is also very Eastern European, featuring indigenous varietals such as xinomavro and assyrtiko though familiar varietals like vermentino and syrah are also on offer. Both are great ways to explore how terroir can yield some unique flavours.
And for dessert one has the difficult choice between a halva ice cream or baklava, but hopefully youโll save room for both.
โI really hope my mom is looking down on me with pride,โ says Yacoubian.
Published: Sep 14, 2017