Alima’s is a favourite destination for persons in the Greater Toronto Area, and way beyond, who appreciate authentic Caribbean Roti and Pastry. We are a take-out service, offering Roti Wraps, Parathas, Dhalpuris and an impressive array of Guyanese and Trinidadian Pastry and traditional loaf breads.
For busy moms and dads and young professionals, we carry a wide selection of frozen curries, meat and vegetarian, chokas, dhal etc, plus our famous Dhalpuris and Parathas conveniently packaged and frozen.
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“Never ever would I have imagined, as a young man in Guyana, that I’d be making my living today in the food business,” admits Gibraan Ali, former computer programmer and current co-owner of Alima’s Roti and Pastry. “In fact, we’ve been in business since 1990, and I still don’t know how to cook!” he adds with a laugh.
Luckily for Alima’s customers, Gibraan’s wife is a wizard in the kitchen, and everyone who works there shares her passion for baking from-scratch, all-natural Caribbean delicacies – in particular artisanal flatbreads like parathas and dhalpuri.
It’s no surprise that the business is named after Gibraan’s wife, Aleema, since she ran it single-handedly for several years before he joined. When an economic recession took its toll on his computer business in the mid ’90s, he decided to get involved at the bakery, which, recession or not, just kept chugging along. With Gibraan’s business acumen in the mix, Alima’s flourished even more.
Today, the Brampton-based bakery attracts customers from all around the GTA and beyond, and they’ve expanded from making just breads to offering about 35 different Caribbean products, including sweet pastries, take-out roti, fresh and frozen Caribbean curries, chokas, dahl and more.
HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE! I ordered roti with curry chicken and pointed to the sign that indicates 1lb container of chicken and the lady gave me a curry chicken wrap and said it was MY fault I didnt say I wanted it separate. Her only solution was for me to buy another two paratha roti (on top of the money I already spent) and scrap the curry chicken from the wrap into a container. HA!WOW! To think this place was a hidden gem...not with that joke of customer service.
After discovering that Drupati's/Roti Roti was closed, I decided to visit Alima's while reading online reviews.
Warning: This is a take-out only place. There are no tables/chairs to eat-in.
When I walked in, no one was at the counter. Had to wait a coupla minutes for someone to come to the counter. This seemed normal as no one was bothered by it.
Being that it was my first visit, I had some questions that the worker patiently answered, suggesting different options. She was very helpful.
Expecting to sitdown, I ended up eating by my car, on the grass. That didn't bother me much. Food was nicely packaged, neat not spilling all over the place.
Parantha roti wasn't hot, more chewy than flaky/soft. Curry itself was very flavourful and not too salty - as I find most places tend to be.
If in the area and want to do a pick-up, I think Alima's is a good option. (Place seemed quite busy with a revolving door of people coming in to pick up their orders that they phoned in!) Although I do prefer the taste of Drupati's/Bara's Hut.
