It can be hard to spot Istar Restaurant at first being tucked away toward the back of the Westown Plaza in Etobicoke, but after 25 years it has emerged as a Somali culinary destination for the community.
“This place became a hub and a sense of place where all the newcomers and people that wanted to feel close at home will come here,” Mahamed Elmi, the restaurant’s owner, said during a tour.
“What brings people close together are the religion, and the food, and the language … that’s our motive to bring the newcomers to make them feel at home.”
While the restaurant has become a larger 24-hour operation serving up authentic Somali cuisine, it had more humble roots.
Istarlin Mahamed, Elmi’s mother, opened what was formerly Istar Coffee in 1999. Elmi said it was just coffee and doughnuts in the early days.
More than a decade after first opening the doors, Elmi took over the business as Istarlin moved back to Somalia. Since taking the lead, he has dramatically grown the number of savoury and sweet dishes. While many are authentically Somali, other dishes have Italian, Portuguese, Indian and North American influences.
“The food [is] not spicy in terms of heat, but it’s flavourful,” Elmi noted.
In addition to building out a more robust menu, he expanded the physical space to take over two nearby units to create a smaller banquet facility for community occasions and private events.
Running underneath the two spaces in the plaza is a large food prep and storage operation with a separate kitchen above to assist with serving dishes.
Elmi stressed he and his staff offer a casual dining experience even though they now have the capacity to serve hundreds of people at a time. However, he said that doesn’t mean sacrificing freshness. Elmi noted many items like malawah (similar to a crepe) and samosas are made from scratch daily.
“People wanted to have more food in terms where it feels more close to homemade from their own family back home and then that’s how we grew into a restaurant,” he said.
The neighbourhood surrounding Istar Restaurant has become a prominent area for Somali community members.
According to the City of Toronto’s neighbourhood profile on Kingsview Village-The Westway, 49 per cent of residents reported English as their mother tongue, 49 per cent reported a non-official language as their mother tongue and the remaining two per cent reported their mother tongue as French.
Of the 49 per cent of residents who said their mother tongue was a non-official language, the top language spoken was Somali. Italian and Spanish followed that. The top place of birth among immigrants in the neighbourhood is Somalia.
As the restaurant marked 25 years earlier in 2024, Elmi said he wanted to share a message with community members.
“I wanted to thank the community for coming out and supporting us and to make us what we are, and to have this opportunity,” he said.
“I hope … one day to see my kids and my grandkids … carry on the legacy.”
For more ‘Your Community’ stories, click here.
