Dunia Restaurant & Bar--Previously Ishtar

The Toronto/​North York area has many Shisha places, after my experience today I can confidently say this is probably one of the best ones.
Location:
The restaurant itself is located right in North York and is in a plaza just off Finch Ave. Even though the plaza itself is off a main road, the plaza is fairly large and pretty hard to miss. It’s also pretty close to the highways therefore making it easy to access
The Restaurant:
Upon entering you are greeted with a pretty spacious entrance, there is no shortage of seating/​tables so if you visit during peak times you’ll be sure to find a table. I also appreciated the space between tables it enables you to sit comfortably and not bump shoulders with other parties. Another reviewer mentioned that they didn’t find the restaurant nice to look at. I didn’t find that to be the case at all, it actually boasts a nicely appointed interior.
The Shisha:
I ordered both the Mint Gum and Orange Mint flavour, I found them to be extremely good and well worth the price ($ 10). They pulled a lot of smoke pretty much right after I started and the flavour persisted throughout my Shisha session.
The Food:
I ordered the Kebab with Rice and was extremely happy with the quality and taste of the food. The Kebab was made to order; something I appreciated since many places just keep them ready and re-​heat them when someone orders it. Freshness aside, the flavour was phenomenal and unlike any other Kebab I’ve had. The portions are pretty big too, big enough that even I couldn’t finish the whole meal.
The Service:
The service was very good and both the waitresses working were very fast, attentive, and willing to answer any questions I had. Usually when you visit Ethnic restaurants service can be lacklustre but that definitely isn’t the case here.
Summary:
I would definitely recommend this place without a doubt if you’re looking for a new hang out spot. They are open late which is great for a Friday or Saturday night!

The food is really good. The kubba was decent, but I’m not a big fan of kubba. We got a mix platter with kabob, chicken, lamb, and beef liver tikka, and some Iraqi shawarma. The whole platter which feeds 4 easily was 45 $ so pricing was good. The lamb tikka was very tender and extremely tasty. Only reason this isn’t a 4 or 5 star is because the restaurant isn’t very nice to look at. I went with my parents, my father being Iraqi, and according to him it has a very authentic Iraqi feel like any bar from back home, and the food was authentic too. The feel might bring feelings of home and feel familiar to some but in my opinion the restaurant could use a major uplift. However if you’re looking for some good food I definitely recommend it.

This place is now called Dunia Restaurant and Bar. They had apparently operated for a long time under the name Ishtar. You might find old listings from a previous location on Weston Rd.
This five star rating comes with important context. This is not about location (which is in a harsh area of town) or atmosphere (which is pretty basic). It is all about delivering the authentic taste of food that we left behind decades ago. My son wanted to eat an Iraqi dish, and after some asking around, we ended up here, We were not disappointed at all.
Warm smiles and welcomes with greetings from a world we had long forgotten. Laban Arbil Shineenah (Yogurt drink) that came pretty close to the original. Besides having the usual suspects of Shawarma (Gus), Tikka (Kebab) and Kabab (Kufta) with the usual salads, they had Quzi ala Timman (Leg of lamb on rice) and Tishreeb (a leg of lamb on clay-​oven bread soaked in tomato soup.) Served with the usuals of onions, pickles and wonderful cardamon tea.
It was a part of heaven. All my son has been talking about for the past two days is how wonderful the food was. The place had a lot of Nargeelah’s (Water pipes), dominoes and playing cards stacked by the bar (yes it is licensed and serves alcohol) which makes me believe that the place works more a social gathering place for people. They tell me they are open till the early hours of the morning (at least on weekends).
If you want to have some authentic Iraqi food in a an old-​country common environment, you will not be disappointed.