Come and join us for an enchanted Syrian evening located Montreal’s chic and gastronomic heart of Outremont, on Van Horne Avenue. At Restaurant Damas, a uniquely comfortable microcosm will greet you with warm colours, velours, carved wood, and multicoloured lights.
Damas earns widespread praise for its refined Syrian and Middle Eastern cuisine, with a wide mezze spread, standout lamb dishes, octopus, and a balanced mix of bold and subtle flavors that many describe as deeply satisfying. The presentations are often praised as beautiful, ingredients high quality, and the open kitchen and warm ambiance add to a special night out. Service is repeatedly lauded as professional, attentive, and knowledgeable, with staff guiding guests through the menu and wine or cocktails, though a few experiences mention slow pacing during busy times or inconsistent timing. The tasting menu and wine pairing are a highlight for many, offering generous portions and a cohesive culinary journey, while others feel the price point is high for the portions or that some dishes do not justify the cost. Brunch is also highlighted as a good value and a way to sample the kitchen, while some reviews note that the atmosphere can be loud or the room crowded. Overall, Damas is regarded as a top Montreal dining destination for rich flavors, elegant service, and a memorable, if premium, dining experience.
We visited Damas last week with our family. The food was exceptional - some favourites were the lamb with hummus, the fattoush salad, lamb dumplings, fried cheese dumplings - but everything was fabulous. The decor is beautiful & we received excellent service from Yannick. We will definitely return.
This is one of my all time favourite restaurants. It's expensive yes but it's 10000% worth it, the shish borek (lamb dumplings), & honestly any lamb dish SLAPSSSSS. Also the octopus is amazing. I'm literally salivating thinking about this food. Also the service has never disappointed ! Highly recommend
EDIT: The owner reached out to me after I posted this, & was very apologetic & just wanted me to come back & give Damas another chance. I'm increasing the service rating as this was entirely surprising & made me feel that the ownership genuinely cares about the guest experience. I really wish I could rate Damas in line with the quality of its cuisine-if I could, it would easily earn five stars. However, high prices come with high expectations, many of which were unmet during our visit. A particularly notable issue was our water glasses being refilled only once over a two-hour tasting menu. My partner & I had eagerly anticipated this visit for months, considering Damas the highlight of our trip. Unfortunately, after our initial order was taken, our waiter seemed to vanish, & my partner's attempts to flag down another staff member were necessary just to get another drink. This incident exemplifies the overall lack of attentiveness we experienced. Despite these service shortcomings, the food at Damas is truly exceptional & stands out markedly from its competitors. The lamb in particular was the best bit of meat, I have ever had. For those who don't mind a struggle for basic customer service, Damas could still be a fair choice. For future patrons, I might recommend visiting during less busy times or for occasions where the pace of service isn't of consequence.
had: baba beet mutabbal mouhamara yalanji shish borek friki bamia moujaddara shish taouk first of all- yes very expensive plate prices but unlike most in this range these are big boy & girl portions. so its not SO bad. mezze were some of the best ive had. truly elite stuff. sauteed lamb mains were interest. chicken taouk, while fresh & all, was really boring & kind of a damper in otherwise good meal. so i guess order the interesting stuff. nice place.
Atmosphere is super charged & very welcoming. Food is superb. Especially the hummus & lamb, fatouche salad, the prawns. These all sound basic, but the best version of each dish furreal! Professional, smiling service.
We had the standard tasting menu. The best imo are the seafood dishes -seabass & fish cake. They had nice texture & good natural flavors. If I had to go back, I would solely order the seafood. The rest of the menu, while loaded with variety, wasn't very memorable. For example, the yogurt marinated chicken lacked punch & the lamb, while good, can be found at tons of restaurants. I also don't find the sauces complement the main elements. That being said, it was still fun to try out the sheer variety of quality offerings. I just won't be considering the tasting menu ever again.
Delicious food with larger portions then most high end restaurants. The meat platter is a good selection of things. Drinks are delicious. Quince sorbet texture was a bit weird. But the pistachio ice cream & everything else was excellent. Highly recommend the vine leaves & lamb. They were also nice enough to modify menu items to be gluten friendly when possible.
Excellent food. Expensive for what it is but service compensates it all. Ambiance is made by the people or other clients talk, so you feel the warm ambiance
Dec 3, 2023
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Place extraordinaire pour l'ambiance, le décor & la qualité de la nourriture. Vaut le détour! Avons été à la première tablée de 18:00. Avons eu suffisamment de temps pour manger, boire & discuter. Avons quittés à 20:45 avant la deuxième tablée sans avoir été poussés de quitter.
Stellar service from start to finish. Thank you George. Atmosphere & design is very authentic & appealing. Prices are inflated however when you're in your'prime' I suppose you milk it for all it's worth. Lentil soup, pistachio kebbe, & braised lamb dish among others. Oh a very unique appetizer; PASTIRMA, (Cured beef filet mignon, aged sheep milk cheese, & quail egg). Very good. I'm being generous with 4 stars. $24 for a glass of Armenian white wine? Not worth it. I will have to return to this establishment. This time with a guest, unlike the one who was with me on this eve, that will be appreciative & kind. This lady was not a'lady' at all & has left a bitter taste from my experience. I shall'redeem' myself. Cheers.
We've decided to celebrate my sister's birthday at Damas. Such a great experience, the food is delicious & the service was excellent! We've had the fattouche, hummus, kebe, Hummus shawarma, lamb meet & many more. Great selection of wine! The desserts were delicious too. Good job!
The decor is stunning, with oriental music on low volume, just perfect.
The food is delicious, we tried a few cold & hot mezze, as well as the grilled kebabs. Everything was beautifully presented, & very tasty. Portions are adequate, we went with a small fatoush salad, mouhammara, mutabbal, shish borek, Alep kebabs & a dessert. We could barely finish & could have ordered a bit less for 2.
My only issue is the price, I do think this is way overpriced. This is very good traditional Syrian food, very well executed (better than most other levantine restaurants), but it's still simple food. While I understand some of the high prices on racks of lamb & noble pieces of meat, most of the menu doesn't warrant these prices. 18$ labneh? Really
Oct 19, 2023
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This place offers incredible customer service that's truly unbelievable. The food is exceptional, the ambiance is top-notch, & I can't praise it enough. Montreal's customer service is already great, but this place takes it to another level. There are so many good things I could say about it
This was my 4th trip to the restaurant, a last minute decision when the wait time for our first choice Haricana was 30 minutes. I was rather surprised that there was room at Damas on a Thursday night.
On the phone I was asked if bar seating was fine, unfortunately my guest had other plans. We got a table in a n area I had never seen before right beyond the bathrooms. Apparently used for groups we learnt later..
The seating area in any other restaurant would have been great, yet it if felt we far from the action & tucked away not to be seen. The room was also quieter which in a sense also diminished the experience found in the main dining area.
My guest I learnt was not a fan of lamb which is probably an item on half the items on the menu. I've often repeated what a waiter mentioned "chicken! you can make chicken at home" so we were left with less options.
I ordered the eggplant salad which to my amazement well appreciated by my guest who after having ordered it also said eggplant was yucchy. This dish however has always been delish. Good ingredients make this dish pop.
We flowed with shrimp which is a generous portion of large shrimp. My guest was impressed with the quantity size & flavour of these crustaceans. She even enjoyed the garnish that surrounded the dish. To my taste the shrimps were too soft not even bite to them, but then again shrimp have never been my favourite. The last dish was a lamb suggestion from the waiter...he went on a limb I guess. It was actually good as the lamb was braised in a tomato based sauce, yet there was a lack of flavour considering the ingredients.
The wine was how can I say this nicely, not worth the price. The restaurant should include some more moderately priced wines with a little more punch.
All in all we had a great evening but I am still looking for that wow factor I experienced my first 2 visits to Damas.
Third time I dined at Damas. On this evening I was with a coworker from out of town & traveled the 20 kilometers to introduce him to this establishment, that is how impressed I was the other 2 times.
The room was described as impressive by my guest who has a background in design. It was also comfortable as the evening was brutally humid & windy.
The staff as usual was attentive, but seemed to be in a hurry to get our order. Possibly just a feeling on my part.
As for the food I must say I was not as impressed. Firstly the freshly baked pita arrived at our table overcooked so hardened very quickly. My guest ordered the humus , which he believed would only be the dip, but our dish also included the lamb which as neither tender nor warm when it arrived. The main was actually quite good although at that point the wine & late evening may have been a factor also.
Don't get me wrong, this is a fine place to dine , on this particular night it simply was less so.
Super bon!!!! On a tous bien manger mais pour alléger la facture, on a décidé de partager les plats. On a donc pris 4 entrées & 3 plats pincipaux. Les saveurs étaient au rendez-vous, comme toujours & on a aussi mangé copieusement. Très bon deal car autrement, on ne s'en sort pas en deça de 60$ si on prend individuellement une entrée & 1 plat principal. Ambiance géniale: il faut dire qu'on a eu la table ronde au coin du resto & on avait la vue sur la rue & son croisement. On se sentait comme des rois & on arrivait facilement à se détacher du bruit ambiant à l'intérieur du resto. Le service était courtois & sans trop d'attente entre les plats. Bref, qu'est-ce que vous attendez pour y aller?!
Quelle extraordinaire découverte. Les noms des plats que nous avons pris m'échappent mais tout était absolument délicieux. Le mezze froid était une purée de betteraves, le mezze chaud une salade de pieuvre grillée & le plat principal, une spécialité syrienne composée d'agneau, aubergine & yogourt .Le dessert, une glace farcie de morceaux de baklava tout simplement divine.
Je rêve d'y retourner & de reprendre les mêmes plats tellement ils m'ont enchantée. Les service est efficace , les serveurs sont gentils, l'ambiance chaleureuse, vraiment une excellente soirée.
