Bavarian culture is alive and well in a Scarborough restaurant lovingly run by an Indo-Canadian.
There are, statistically speaking, lots of Canadians of German descent: some 3.1 million, according to Statistics Canada. That’s just over 10 per cent of the country’s population, and includes Justin Bieber and Feist. And although there are upwards of 200,000 actual Germans and German-Canadians in Toronto, the community is nearly invisible here (the closest vibrant hub is in Kitchener-Waterloo). Toronto has no Little Germany, just a few scattered shops and clubs—and the Scarborough restaurant Little Bavaria.
From the outside, Little Bavaria, which resides in a mid-century strip mall, doesn’t do much to stand out from its neighbours, which include a nail salon, an Indian grocery store and a halal butcher. But behind its nondescript door, oompah music blares and there’s hardly any room to move amid the dangling lamps, streamers and German paraphernalia hanging from the dark-wood ceiling and white plastered walls.
Bavaria, in the southeastern corner of Germany, is a hotbed of traditional culture (think lederhosen), famous for its passionate celebration of food, hospitality and the perfect beer. “A beer needs to have a proper crown of foam,” says chef/owner Johnny Kuldip Singh, slamming a stein of Erdinger down on the table so the head jumps. “It’s nothing without a crown.”
If his name didn’t give it away, 53-year-old Singh is a far cry from the typical blond-haired, blue-eyed German owner one would expect to find at Little Bavaria. Born in Punjab, India, he moved to Munich as a teenager to study, and lived there for over two decades, training as a chef in traditional Bavarian restaurants. When he moved to Toronto in 2001 with his family (his wife is from Vancouver), he settled in Scarborough (which housed communities from both halves of his identity) and ended up buying Little Bavaria, which had been opened in 1965 by native Bavarians.
Though German immigration to Canada dates back to the nation’s founding, and continued through much of the 20th century, the Scarborough community (which includes Austrians and Swiss) dwindled in recent decades. Children and grandchildren, having lost the language and traditions, moved on to other neighbourhoods and cities. Without customers to support them, most German businesses—such as butchers, bakers, social halls and restaurants—have closed down in recent years.
It’s fallen on Singh and his family to keep not just the restaurant alive, but the culture’s local presence. “We cook with ze love,” Singh says, in an accent that blends the hard consonants of German with a sub-continental musical lilt. “When the plates come back empty to the kitchen, I know people are happy.”
Bavarian cuisine is the perfect food for this time of year: hearty cuts of braised meat in rich sauces, plate-sized schnitzels fried golden brown, tangy rye bread and tall glasses of crisp beer. The banana soup, a take on a traditional potato-cream soup, lends just the slightest bit of tropical flavour to each bite, without drowning it in sweetness. Juicy white bratwurst—boiled, scored and seared till it flowers—hints of fennel and parsley, and comes with a tender, wine-braised, caraway-scented sauerkraut that’s unlike any I’ve ever had.
The rahmschnitzel is just one of 50 on the menu, ranging from traditional to interpretive (there are masala and Hawaiian variations), though this one consists of a soft, un-breaded veal cutlet in a creamy mushroom sauce, served alongside hand-rolled spätzle-dough dumplings, golden and slick with butter. To top it off is a delicate slice of apple strudel, the dough crisp, thin and pulled by hand, the filling warm, sweet and perfect with ice cream.
The crowd of mostly regulars at Little Bavaria now comes from all over the city. “I put a flag up on the wall for all the communities who come in here,” says Singh, pointing to UN-like clusters of flags from across the world. They come because they once lived in Germany, or have visited, or because they just love schnitzel. Singh keeps them coming back, handing out regular gifts (like beer steins during Oktoberfest) and throwing wild parties during the festivals, when he plays with an oompah band, dances around the maypole or dons a mask for Karneval (coming up in late February).
A proud German citizen, Singh takes great effort to preserve the authentic Bavarian atmosphere, right down to the traditional portrait of King Ludwig II (“If the King’s not in the house, it’s not a Bavarian restaurant”), which hangs over the carved wooden stammtisch table in the corner, reserved for regulars. For the occasional customer who scoffs at the idea of an Indian-born chef running this most German of restaurants, Singh happily points out that he’s actually more German than most German-Canadians.
3222 Eglinton Ave. E., 416-261-7016, littlebavaria.ca.
