At Restaurant Alep, the Syrian-Armenian restaurant on Jean Talon St. E., offers specialties such as the shish taouk, the popular marinated chicken dish, and to make muhammara, a condiment prepared from red bell peppers, chilis, walnuts, garlic, lemon juice, pine nuts and crumbled wheat crackers. This dip is popular with Alep's sandwich of Armenian sausages.
Overall, reviews describe Alep as a flavorful mix of Syrian, Lebanese and Armenian cuisines with fresh ingredients, a friendly service mindset, and a lively yet comfortable atmosphere; the menu offers a wide array of mezze and main dishes, with many diners praising hummus, fattoush, grilled meats, and the option to share a tasting experience, plus a strong wine and local beer list. Some comments mention small appetizer portions and occasionally plain presentation, and a few readers note pacing or a busier space that can feel rushed or noisy. Yet the majority highlight good value for money, attentive service, and dishes that feel thoughtfully prepared and authentic, with several calls to return for more tasting adventures. Overall Alep comes across as a dependable, shareable dining destination where standout flavors meet a few caveats about portion sizes, ambiance, and pacing.
Long review coming up . It was my first time at this restaurant & I was truly impressed. the service is friendly & professional. The restaurant (we were on the dining room side not casual side) is really nice & cozy. Perfect for date night . We reviewed the menu & opted to go with the staff selection, we are vegetarians. It turns out the suggestions were all great & tasty . the selection comes to about 50 $ per pers. + drinks + dessert . In the end, the bill is showing the individual price of the dishes that were selected for you & it does comes to about 50 $ / pers, the difference you don't pick your food & you trust the staff choices according to what you tell them in terms of preferences it's not a'selection' as such & we were offered the same food as the tables around us that had opted for the same option. I've discovered really delicious flavor combinations & selections. a few misses, the spicy fries were ok but nothing special & they got cold fast . Be aware they go heavy on the spices in every dish . Sumac & lemon are very powerful & we had a hard time finishing the last dishes our tongues were burning. The wine selection & the sommelier were good . 15 $ for 1 glass is a bit high but it was for a special night . The desserts are fabulous, I had the knaffe & my wife had the creme caramel, both excellent. A few opportunities for improvement: the music in the background was not on par with the restaurant vibe . They do go heavy handed on the dressing with some dishes . We were offered to take home whatever we could not finish but we thought they would pack the leftover for us instead of bringing boxes & bags at the table for us to do everything ourselves. All in all it was a very pleasant dining experience, perfect for a special occasion. We will come back for another special occasion but we will probably make our own choices next time . Note: finding parking on the streets around can by challenging, make sure to read the street signs & restrictions.
Bon restaurant avec un excellent service. Par contre, je vous suggère de ne pas choisir le menu dégustation, le prix varie de 40$ à 60$, vous ne saurez pas combien vous allez payer & les portions sont petites & sans dessert. Contre: le pain vient dans un sac plastique & froid À essayer: la salade fattouche & le filet mignon.
Feb 18, 2024
on Google
🍽️
Know where to eat in Montreal before everyone else.
Get the first look at the hottest openings, secret menus, and RestoMontreal.ca's weekly top picks. Join 50,000+ foodies.
Pros : Nice atmosfere, attentive staff, light music in the background, cozy & it is possible to have a conversation Cons : tasting menu - very expensive.small portions where the price can go up to 60 cad without the dessert. Not worth it
Summary: high prices, tapas portions, taste isn't that great! I ordered fattoush, humus & a chicken tawook skewer. All of the portions were so small (like kids portions, serious talk) but their prices weren't. They call this tapas (small portions). As for the taste, the humus wasn't bad but was sour, chicken was fresh but I didn't like its marination, fattoush was okay. I paid $40 & I wasn't even full. I won't repeat this visit for sure.
Food was ok but not generous at all bc the portions were more for kids. The breads were cold & came is a bag. Omg,it took almost 45 min for the meals to come in very small portion,it was salty & water was poored once. We went to Afghan grillade afterwords!
Dec 30, 2023
on Google
🍽️
Know where to eat in Montreal before everyone else.
Get the first look at the hottest openings, secret menus, and RestoMontreal.ca's weekly top picks. Join 50,000+ foodies.
J'ai beaucoup aimé ma première expérience au Restaurant Alep. La nourriture était excellente, le vin était délicieux & l'ambiance était calme & ce n'était pas trop bruyant. Le sommelier sur place nous a recommandé un vin blanc extraordinaire & le serveur nous a fait plusieurs recommandations sur notre choix de nourriture. Je recommande grandement.
Amazing food, seriously. Everything we ordered was excellent. The staff are wonderfully kind, knowledgeable, & helpful, & the atmosphere is surprisingly quiet & intimate. Having an on-site sommelier is a treat, he was able to suggest wine pairings to the food as we ate. 10/10 experience.
Overall we had a great experience. I would revisit. 1. I expected the portions to be slightly larger. 2. Music could be improved. Since it's a Syrian restaurant, I expected to hear Maqams instead of «house of the rising sun»
