Jan 8, 20194 min read

Resto Review: Restaurant Damas

Updated: Aug 11, 2019

Syrian delights in the heart of Montreal.

As you probably know, I have a few complicated allergies. When dining out, this can be particularly tricky. When gluten free, we are often alright with dairy, and when we are dairy free/vegan, we are often on board with eating bread - but combine the two and it can sometimes feel like playing mindfield when navigating a menu.

I had heard about Damas a while ago, and it has been one of the places that I was just DYING to cross of my list.

We booked about a week in advance for dinner on January 2 (a pretty busy time of year), for a party of 7. On the phone, the woman asked if anyone in our party had any allergies (big LOL). My mom stated that yes, her daughter (me) was intolerant to gluten and allergic to dairy. The woman proceeded to notify my mother that if I was really allergic to gluten (air borne), that the restaurant might not be suitable, as they cook fresh bread on the premisses. This was not a problem at all - but the fact that they were thoughtful enough to bring this up was a huge plus in my books.

The restaurant itself is absolutely gorgeous - I have never been to Syria but our server informed us that the inside is modeled after Syrian palaces. He was also extremely knowledgable about the menu and super accommodating to my allergies. He proceeded to explain every single item on the menu, and included which ones might be a problem for me.

Their menu consists of hot and cold mezzes, Syrian grilled dishes and Syrian specialties. There is also a five-course $65 tasting menu that was pretty tempting, but consisted mainly of lamb dishes. As none of us eat lamb, we skipped this option, but nonetheless, ordered up a feast and dove right in.

SUPER accommodating when it comes to allergies

The first plates to arrive were the Fattouch Salad (a highly recommended dish), Traditional Hummus, and Mouhammara, followed by the Falafel and the Qredes. The waiter arrived with fresh-out-of-the-oven and still warm pita, which was the perfect base for piling on this mix of velvety hummus (hummus rating 10/10). The Mouhammara contained pieces of bread crumbs, so I only had a tiny bit - but well worth it. The Fattouch salad on the other hand, had too much dressing on it in my opinion, and I had to pick out the pieces of pita - but everyone seemed to enjoy it. The Falafels apparently were amazing - a crunchy outside and a lovely soft inside. The Qredes is a wonderfully plated dish of wild jumbo shrimp from Argentina, that are grilled with Zaatar, citrus, herbs, capers and tahini. The shrimp were AMAZING, especially with an extra squeeze of lemon; they had just the right amount of heat and the spices were really fragrant - my only complaint would be that I wished there was more of them.

Next came the Syrian grilled dishes and Syrian specialties. This included the Shish Taouk de Damas, which was a Damascus style marinated chicken breast, sumac fries (so good), and homemade ketchup. Unfortunately, the chicken was marinated in yogurt (sigh), and therefore I couldn't eat any of it - but according to everyone else, it was pretty good. I was able to eat the Shish Kabab, which was a Beef tenderloin skewer with Aleppo pepper and tartar sauce. The beef was nice and soft (I like mine rare), but did have a little more fat on it than I would have liked. The final dish was the Samké Harra; a Mediterranean Sea Bass, stuffed with walnuts, tahini and plated on a bed of caramelized onion sauce. This dish - let me just take a second... WOW - that's all I can say. This was another super popular dish, and I'm so glad we decided to order it. The fish is cooked beautifully, and the sauce is to DIE for; it's so rich and creamy but light at the same time; I honestly don't know how there is no dairy in it. We ate this dish so fast and were practically fighting one another to get more of it. I don't think I've ever had bass before, and I'm not a lover of white fish at all. However, this blew me away. Highly highly recommend trying this dish.

We are not fans of dessert (I know what you're thinking). But I can tell you that they ALL contained dairy - so if you're vegan or have allergies like me, this is not a good place for dessert. They do also offer tea and Turkish coffee after your meal.

I'm going to finish this off by saying how great it is to eat upscale ethnic food, in a place that has an interior as beautiful and rich as its food. The blend of aromas and the wonderful taste of the delicious food will make the experience worthwhile. I would highly recommend going in a large group so that you can order a large variety of dishes and get to taste a little of everything. This was a great experience, and judging by the number of people trying to steal a spot here, I know that I’m not alone.