Ma Yve Grill in Pickering

Great food, I especially love the beignets!

It was a fantastic experience. My son was eager to try something new. . Food : 5/5

Friendly and the food tastes good. Ma Yvé is always smiling.

Nice place to get some nice african food. Make sure to call in advance for ur order. Otherwise, you will spend time waiting Food

The food so good!! I can t even describe it it s to good! The people there was so nice and it didn t take a long time for my food. I would totally recommend going there!

Vegetarian options: Epinards spinach Food

The owner here was so sweet and helpful - delicious home cooked food

Unique and wonderful restaurant! We are French. To consume without moderation!

Very friendly and tasty food.

Food was ok but definitely overpriced for what you get. You go to dine in and its empty but they tell you that youre meant to call ahead of time? Vegetarian options: Have good variety of vegetarian Dietary restrictions: Can do gluten free but need to check the ingredients with them individually as theyre unsure what gluten is. Not coeliac safe

Excellent food, fantastic service, made us feel at home!

Nice and lovely food. Friendly people. I will recommend over and over again

The food is amazing and Ma Yve is always very friendly and accommodating. If youre craving Congolese or Zambian style food this is the spot.

The lady was super nice and friendly! Food was excellent especially the beef stew. Only thing is it was slow to come out so Id recommend calling and ordering in advance.

Food is awesome. Nice people own this place. Very friendly.

May 27, 2023. I came from a funeral and im so hungry. Its around 2:30pm and i saw this restaurant while driving. Im hungry and excited to try African food for the first time. The owner is friendly, shes nice, even mentioned that Biyombo and Ibaka tried her food before. So im so confident and it increased my expectation. I ordered Kwanga and grilled goat. Kwanga is good but the grilled goat is so terrible, ITS A HARD AS RUBBER LITERALLY. I have no choice but to finish it coz i paid like almost $35 and i am so hungry. Definitely that meal is not worthy worth $35. Probably wont visit again.

Yes lives up to its name

Great food, really friendly owner!

Fantastic and worth the trip. Will be back for sure!

We saw this place but mostly closed. Finally, theyre now open for 6 days and longer hours. Food is delicious. Lots of African flavor and variety of cuisine. Some I never had it before. The seating area is small and basic. Service is fair but takes a long time to prepare meal since they dont do frozen. Compared to the amount, the price is high. Its okay for occasional meals but not regular.

Top Tier

Food is amazing. I ate it before I could take any photos. Been here a couple times for takeout every time food has been on point only issue I have is I can t go more often. Kid-friendliness: Food is amazing not any spice kids can eat also. A wonderful taste from the Congo. Also seems Serge Ibaka visit them.

great service

Was passing by the area on my way to cottage country and was really craving some African food. I have also been wanting to try more African peanut stews. I ordered beignets (similar to puff puffs) and a spinach peanut with this starchy item in banana leaf (I forget name). Both were delicious! I hope to try more. The lady who served me was so nice and explained how the stew is usually eaten with this starchy item. It was my first time trying Congolese food as the closest I had was Nigerian food. She really seemed to take pride in her food and great customer service. Its so nice to have diverse delicious food in the area. Thanks!

I wanted to treat my friend to traditional Congolese food; Ma Yve was accommodating with the order, she walked me through the best selling dishes. It was my first time trying this type of food and I got to say it is one of the best meals I have had. The Fumbwa was my favourite and something that stood out from the menu. Thank you so much for the love you put into your food!

This was my introduction to Congolese food and I was not disappointed. The owner was extremely friendly and very helpful with explanations of what went well together. The food was hearty and delicious as well. Would definitely recommend!

To start, I walked in and the place was completely empty & no menu. The owner/chef is very friendly. She said the menu is only available online. I ordered: soso na beignets (chicken and beignets), Ntaba (grilled goat) & side of kwanga (yam wrapped in banana leaves and steamed. Beignets were my favourite. Crunchy on the outside and sweet and soft on the inside. The goat was slightly tough but it had amazing flavour. The chicken was tender and juicy. Kwanga is savoury, soft and goes well with the meats. It was my first time eating authentic congolese food so ofcourse I ate with my hands to get the full experience.

I just had the beignets it was good but would og been amazing with a topping like either powered sugar or chocolate drizzle but i still loved it plain.

Super nice owner and my kids love the beignets !

Worth it! My first time trying Congolese food. Got the half chicken and beignets. The slightly tangy sauce from the tomato and peppers was a good mix with the charred smokiness on the grilled chicken. Definitely get beignets to end your meal if you come here. You will not regret it! Not too sweet - just the right amount of savoury with good crunch and soft filling. Very kind people who took the time to explain to me over the phone what to expect with my dish even though they were busy. They did warn me that it would take a bit of time too, so I was totally cool with it. Ordered from Skip the Dishes. Good value for the amount of food and kind people. I will be back for more!

Despite having to wait for quite a bit even though we called in to order, the food was amazing! Great portions, great flavour, and great customer service. 5/5!

Great food amazing flavors! I would definitely recommend this place to anyone craving great food.

Authentic and delicious

If you dont know Congolese cuisine, MA Yve is the perfect place to experience it. Merci beaucoup Mama. Ozali Elombe.

They have the best beignets here

My first time trying Congolese style food i was very impressed. You could tell there was an experienced person behind the scenes who has made the food many times before and perfected the way they make it. Recommend for anyone looking to experience something new and great food.

Great food and friendly staff.

First time having African food. Just ordered takeout and havent even tried the food yet, but the owner is so kind and pleasant that I had to give 5 stars just for that

Best Congolese food in Canada!

The people that run the restaurant are so sweet! This was my first time trying Congolese food and I will definitely be back. I got the fufu and the ngombe and it was great.

The fufu na fumbwa was delicious! The texture reminded me of kare kare and laing (filipino dishes) which surprised me. The owner was a wonderful person and eating her food made it hit close to home but with a different twist. Well done Ma Yve Grill! I definitely recommend this restaurant if youre hoping to try authentic African food :D Much love, Yvette <3

Amazing congolese food. Fufu, mendozi, fish, ...

WONDERFUL!!!!!!!

Had gone there all the way from Etobicoke, especially to order Fumbwa along with Kwanga and Fufu for breads. Trying Congolese food for the first time and it has become one of my favorite cuisines already! The owner was amazing and offered me West African styled doughnuts as a bonus to try (which also were warm and great btw)! All in all, great food, great service and it just felt like going to a friends and having them cook for you.

This is my favorite African cuisine restaurant. The food is to die for. The first time I bought food from this place my wife and I actually fought over the food. She eats slow and when something is that delicious u just want to finish it and ask where did it go cause u need more. The owner is just wonderful, u can look at her and see that she enjoys wat she does, u can taste the love with every savory bite, Im druling just talking about it. Its a must go restaurant for sure

Today was my 3rd time eating here and I must say its become one of my top three restaurants we go to on Friday nights. The tilapia I had today was exquisite! and I would also highly recommend the spinach or the meat with fufu! I work as a hairstylist and I honestly tell everyone how amazing this place is!

Dont know how anyone could give this place less than 5 stars. Tried it for the first time last night and I feel like I had a spiritual experience. It was amazing! First off the customer service was amazing I ordered a combo with a side of beignets and the owner was actually kind enough to suggest another combo that had everything I wanted and included beignets so I ended up saving money and getting more beignets then I would have. Second of all when I got to the restaurant she was so pleasent to speak with and you could tell she loves what she does. The food was so good I will 100% come here again the second we finished our food we were excited to try other items on the menu because not a single thing we got was mediocre.

I love Congolese Food

Just niaaami... I really enjoy the food of Ma Yve.... cest très bon

Absolutely WILD food. Chicken: fire. Rice: fire. Beignets? incredible. First time ever going to this place and blew me away let me tell ya. They even helped bring all my food out to the car

Really Good. Highly Recommend! Chicken, Rice, Plantains, Beignets...Really Good. Service was even better. They help bring the food to my car!

The food is delicious and large portion! Plantains are my favourite. Puff puff is not in my pic but yummy too!Ma Yve is very kind and patient to explain what I have ordered (Congolese cuisine is new to me ) Overall the food and service are exceptional. Will come back to try fufu and kwanga next time!

Great food, service and nice people overall. My go to for a reminder of African food taste! Highly recommend.

First time at Ma Yve Grill, food was amazing. The KWANGA FUMBWA NA NTABA was great! Owner was so kind and introduced us to the foods we ordered. Will be coming back.

Excellent service and food at Ma Yve Grill. As a foodie, Ive tasted some of the best cuisine from around the world and I can honestly say that Ma Yve Grill is on my top 5 list of favourite restaurants in Pickering. I thoroughly enjoyed the Soso na Beignets - translation in english; chicken and beignets. The grilled chicken was seasoned and cooked to perfection. Ask for the light sauce on your chicken I can see why Serge Ibaka loves Ma Yve Grill, he knows good food! Im looking forward to visiting again and tasting his favourite dish which is the Fumbwa Kwanga na Ntaba.

Lovely African cuisine

I cannot get this place out of my head! This has been one of the best meals I ve had in months. I ve been looking to try African cuisine and I am extremely glad I stumbled upon this little gem. The flavours are incredible and the value is well worth it. I ordered the Ntaba (goat) and Fumbwa (veggies in a peanut butter sauce) along with Fufu and Beignets and everything was delicious. The goat was cooked perfectly and the veggies had incredible flavour. The beignets were crispy and slightly sweet and the fufu was fun to eat and a great carrier for the stew. If you re ever in Pickering, do yourself a favour and try something new. You will not be disappointed in the slightest.

Love the food!

Great service and nice staff. The owner has high professionalism. Keep up the good work.

Yummy African food... This place is small, neat and tidy. Ma Yve is a super nice lady Great place.

We ordered a lot of food there, 2 items that i really recommend are chicken grill and biegnets (fried round bread)

5 star Pondu (Kassava Leaves stew), the makayabu ( Salted fish in sauce) had grip and was well cooked. The plantain was fried to perfection and the chicken was grilled well. Thank you for your service Ma Yve. It made our Oct 16 event so perfect and everyone carried the food away because it was too delicious. If you have to order or try anything here try the pondu, and the makayabu.

Very interesting and tasty quisine. Owner is a very nice lady who took the time to assist us and explain the dishes.

The sosa na beignets has some interesting flavours. One recommendation is to offer to debit or credit for payment instead of only cash or e-transfer

The best African food I ve had in Canada. So much flavour, fresh and hearty. A

Friendly staff. Good place for a family outing. Would recommend it for anyone who loves African food

First time trying Congolese food. I was not dissapointed. Will go back to try the other items!

Authentic

Excellent exactly what Ive been looking for

Just amazing! The pundu tastes exactly like the one in Africa. Brought back childhood memories. Great food , nice place and very friendly staff. Will visit again next week! Merci en tout cas pour une belle experience en famille.

My favourite place to get professionally done African/Congolese food in Toronto. Ma Yvé is an Amazing Chef.

This is one of the best Congolese food in Canada. What a wonderful experience!! Great food and great service! The staff is very welcoming and professional!!

How Hungry are you? Because the portions are huge

Highly recommended if youre in this area. Even if youre it its more than worth the drive

My fiancé and went to Ma Yve Grill for the first time tonight and we were welcomed as if we were invited in to a friends home. The staff were absolutely wonderful. Not only were we given a warm welcoming, the food was cooked with love. If you re looking for traditional Congolese/African food, you must try this restaurant. Or, if you simply like great food this is your place! It s home cooking at its finest and It really doesn t get any better than this. I gave a 5 star review but I d give 10 stars if I could. We will be back for sure. In the picture I posted you will see how amazing the food looks, however don t be fooled by the portion size of the chicken dish. We couldn t help but eat some before we took the picture :) Can t wait to try everything on the menu! Thank you for a great dining experience and keep up the good work.

Amazing customer service and big portions.

The food is excellent!

Joyful and personalized service. Authentic cuisine with exotic and fragrant flavors... Im going back!

My bf came home with beef, rice & pondu... It was amazing!!!!! My boyfriend is Congolese & his mom told him about this place.. we ate here for a week straight after the first time we had it!! SOO WORTH IT.

great food.

Excellent food and service...thanks again ma Yves you are the best !

Amazing lady and the food is incredible

Great Congolese food. Family meal is enough for 4 people. Whole chicken, mixed rice, sweet plantain and the beignetes are really great. Order ahead of time. Ma Yve is a really nice lady.

First time and very satisfied! Mama is very friendly and will know how to make the right choices for you. The mbisi ya mayi fish is tasty and the homemade fritters are delicious. But the star is the fumbwa with kwanga, so good! First time there and great experience, welcoming people, fish and home made puffs are excellent but the fumbwa+kwanga is a must order!

The only authentic food around town.

The food is very good, but very pricy for what You get.

The food and the service there are amazing!! Definitely recommended!!

Family meal take out was the bomb!!

First time trying Congolese food after Serge Ibakas recommendation. Ordered combo with chicken leg, fumbwa and kwanga on ubereats. Food came quick and was very good.

Grande cuisine love it so good

Amazing food. MA Yve is an amazing person.

Very good service

Amazing food, great staff..we had to wait a little, but they gave us extra their must have item for the extra waiting time. Definitely worth to check it out

Delicious food and a very lovely and kind owner! Thank you so much Ma Yve for your kindness and introducing us to the amazing food from Congo! Merci beaucoup!

First time trying Congolese food and the drive from Woodbridge was worth it! It took some time to receive the food but you can tell everything was prepared fresh. Tasty puff puffs, fufu, fumbwa and plantains! The owner was very accommodating and friendly. Even though it was close to closing time by the time we got our food, she opened up her bigger room for just hubby and I to sit and finish our meal. Will be back!

The owner of the place was very nice we had a very cool introduction to African food it was exquisite and we were able to learn more about the African food

Amazing experience! I felt back home again. Thank you! Asante! Melesi mingi!

I live kinda far but I like to make the trip down when I can. I hadnt been there in a while but the owner (I assume she is) still remembers me when I do show up. She always shows the food before she hands it to you to make sure youre happy with the order. The cassava leaves (pondu?) is an excellent dish and one of my favs. I put that stuff on some rice....mmmmmm I order the grilled chicken but Im even happy with some cassava leaves. My last order she gave me some bonus donuts too. This is an excellent place to get some good and unique food.

Great food at great prices. Specials were awesome. True African flavour.

I m afraid the food was just okay but my issue is with the service. I called and told her I had never ordered from them before. I told her repeatedly that I wanted food for 3 people and mentioned that I was about to drive into a dead zone. She described some of the dishes and assured me it was enough for 3. I ended up with enough food for 6 and a bill for almost $90. Most of the food was thrown out. She took advantage and instead of a regular customer she has one who will never be back.

Im giving 3 stars because the woman working, owner? was lovely, the fumbwa and kwanga were tasty and the beignets were delicious. the issue was the goat was EXTREMELY undercooked, stringy and very tough. each and every piece! the tiny amount of food was laughable, tons of fumbwa but small amount of goat and kwanga. plus , goat, cassava peanuts and spinach are not expensive items so completely unnecessary to charge $28 for this dish. perhaps? if it was a sit-down only restaurant, this is during covid, but not as takeout. Ive gotten more food at the keg for less. I wish I had gotten as much food as the other reviewer.

Really excellent food, great value, will be back on a regular basis

Great food, kind owner/ worker. Tastes amazing and very filling. First time trying coglenese cuisine and liked it a lot

The food is excellent. Fresh. The mikaté are the best !! MaYve is so welcoming . Everytime I go to T.dot. I must go eat there. Even during covid!

ordered from them on ubereats, they didnt send one of the mains and everything else was either greasy or flavourless.

A to lie bieeeeeeeeen. Makayabou, fumwa na kwanga kitoko boye ko. For the only Congolese restaurent near Toronto, its worth the trip !

Really great but Id call ahead to make sure theyre ready for you. We ordered alot of food and caught them off guard which kept us waiting for a while but the quality was amazing once we got to it.

Love this place. The Food is so tasty and the ladies are sweethearts. They will tell you themselves if you can to call ahead to place an order. This aint fast food its home cooking so you must respect the process. I have been back multiple times and will continue to do so.

Amazing service! Very friendly ladies preparing fresh food! They definitely do not skimp out on the quantity either. Highly recommend :)

Very impressed with the quality and flavor of their food, would definitely go back

An amazing service, very pleasant owner would definitely Come again.

Amazing! I tried for the first time (fish, fumbwa, plantains, mabumu, pondu, rice) and everything tasted so great!!! Lady there was so nice she explained everything and how to eat each item. Highly recommend!

Awesome experience I had having lunch there, Ma Yvé and her mum are to the care of every person entering their restaurant. They take their time preparing and serving the food with so much love it feels like home.

Good food! would recommend!

If you want that authentic African taste then visit this place. Food served is freshly cooked and warm. My experience here was great Will definetely be going back.

I wish I could give 6 stars!!! Seriously. BEST African food ever!!!! We live in mississauga but we drive all the way to Pickering to get some Ma Yve food. Literally everything is good, including the beignets. Super professional and clean. Its an open concept so basically you can see how theyre cooking ( which is a great thing because theres no questioning the cleanliness) The prices are affordable. For 20 bucks of veggies we got a huge portion that we ate for 4 days. I just wished they had a Toronto or mississauga location. Oh and theres a small party room as well in the back. She allowed us to visit it and its actually pretty nice.

Ma Yve is the nicest woman and the best cook for Congolese food in the GTA. Her restaurant is a bit far if you leave downtown but the road trip is worth it. Her puff puff , pondu and goat meat are out of this world. She takes the time and outs the effort to provide her customers with the best culinary options. I tried it once, I returned another time and I will return again!

You have to go there to believe it

This place is amazing. Being 8 months pregnant I had an intense craving for african food which I have tried a few times in the past. Their menu was a little different than the menu I was used to in the west (Ghanaian food) but their food presentation online looked so good I had to try. I called and oh my gosh the lady who answered the phone was so NICE, patient & very helpful. She stayed on the phone with me and talked me through the menu and got my order together for the time my husband would finish work to be able to drop by and grab it. When my husband came home his first statement was honey those people are so NICE there . Other than the tilapia & plantains I wasnt sure what I had ordered since I had never heard of it, the lady helped me picked and when the food came home, it made me a new customer.The food was AMAZING, the tilapia, spinach sauce and those things(forgot the name) wrapped in banana leaves with the hot pepper and plantains on the side was to die for. Thanks so much. Great business with THE BEST KIND OF STAFF and very delicious food.

Excellent food some of the best beignets I ever had.

Amazing Food. I go there every week end. Highly recommended.

Had an awesome night with friends, food was amazing very impressed, was able to try a bit of everything. A little more work required in terms of ambience and decor, it is a work in progress, but will continue to support. After all, its all about the food!

AWESOME AUTHENTIC FOOD FROM CONGO-SERGE IBAKAS SPOT-GREAT VENUE-AMAZING STAFF AND OWNER

Very pleasant people I liked it

Its yummy

Great

Delicious! Great service!

Best african restaurant ever

Good food

IBAKAAAAAAA

Thé absolute best fried plantain Ive ever tasted. Top it of of with the tastiest chicken

I couldnt believe there was a congolese restaurant in my own backyard, I had to try! The food was delicious, family style portions made it great for sharing. Yvette was warm and friendly... Looking forward to the expansion! The plantain was perfect, fumbwa and pondu are delish too. Dont get me started on the beignets ...yumyum!

Nothing compares

Food is good

So helpful with ordering! The chicken was sooooo good!!

Serge ibaka eats here enough said

Nice place!!!

Delicious food and great portion sizes!

even tho im an afghan i tried the food here with one of my friend and its blesssed

Food was great and the people are so friendly. Definitely coming here again

The food is tasty, the meats were excellent.

Everything about our experience here SHOULD have garnered a negative review. There was a huge congolese bridal shower happening that took up the entire seating area and my father and I were forced to sit in the take-out area at an unset table near the kids area of the shower. HOWEVER, the attentiveness and kindness of the owner combined with the obvious love and care that went into both teaching us about the food and connecting with us as first time customers far outweighed any of the previously mentioned circumstances. We left feeling full, educated, and we both agreed we would definitely return to try some more of the congolese dishes that were recommended to us. Special mention to the delicious peanut butter dish that we got on the owners recommendation. Tasted just as good the next day. Thank you!

Warm memories of Congolese love for delicious comfort foods

Service was slow and their was a bit of a language barrier but the food was amazing omg everything we had tasted great! puff puff balls and the fried goat was the best. I recomend going here everything taste just like home. I loved it thank you serge for the recomendation!

Been here a few times. Excellent people and food. Worth every penny.

The jerk chicken and beniet from this restaurant are incredible. Ive ordered from here a few times and the food is always fresh and the chicken is cooked perfectly! If you find yourself in the area be sure to stop in, you wont be disappointed.

Delicious...Owners are super friendly...Great prices..and yummy dishes!!