a1 Sweets & Restaurant

Some work took us to Oakville last weekend and on our way back to Mississauga we came upon this restaurant: a1 Sweets. Having never said no to an opportunity to eat good food, Karthik and I decided to check the place out. a1 Sweets is located at 2345 Trafalgar Road, Oakville (www.a1sweets.com); it’s like any other restaurant from the outside. The ambience is like the typical Desi restaurant we see here, with Yash Raj Songs playing on the TV, but the customers aren't. Being a Desi restaurant in Oakville, I assumed not many people would know the place...but was I wrong! As you entered you can see a variety of faces seated and enjoying their samosa or thali. This isn't just a restaurants for Desis... because I think Karthik and I were the only Desi customers they had at that particular time!
The menu is not too elaborate, but the food is good. I liked the aloo parathas, while Karthik loved the Malai Kofta. Make sure you try out the freshly made selection of sweets here...kalakand was amazing! Having met Vikas and Ritu Saini, who own this restaurant, we came to know that it’s been merely 7 months since they opened this restaurant in Oakville. This is the second branch of the a1 Sweets chain. The original one is located in Scarborough and has been serving Desi food in that location for the past 10 years and is now run by Vikas's elder brother Vishal. Before a1 Sweets this Desi duo helped their father run Albion Sweets before moving to their Scarborough location.
Talking to Vikas I realised how dedicated he is in taking our Desi restaurants to the next level. This 27 years old’s passion is visible when he talks of all the things he has included in his restaurant, like the ability to deliver orders from any part of the world to people in the GTA. His catering services are available for parties from 20 people to 2000 people, and let’s not forget the on-site catering and his moblie tandoor that he as planned to offer.
What I like best about this place is that it has vegan food as well; also worth mentioning is that most of their food is made without garlic so people like my mother-in-law who are limited to dishes without garlic can most definitely enjoy having a meal here. The restaurant also serves Jain-style food.
If you are a vegan, or if you like garlic-free food, have a sweet tooth, or just love and appreciate good food, then a1 Sweets on Oakville is the place to visit!
-by Diksha Pal Narayan