Basha – Marché Jean Talon

Falafels should be freshly deep-​fried at the time of your order.
Yesterday evening I purchased falafel sandwiches and some sides for my family at Restaurant Basha by the Jean-​Talon market for dinner and I was so disappointed when I saw the guy put cold balls of falafel into our pitas. What??? The whole point of going to a restaurant to have a falafel as opposed to making them at home is that I am paying a premium to have the restaurant deep-​fry the falafel balls for me at the time of my order. If I wanted cold falafel balls, well then I could have made them myself at home. *sigh* I held out hope that even though the falafels were cold that perhaps they might still taste good but my concerns were spot on as soon as I bit into my sandwich. Honestly, I did not even finish it; something that has never happened before when eating a falafel sandwich. When my husband heard my complaints about how incredibly disappointed I was with our falafel sandwiches he responed with, «I have never had hot falafels in a pita before. Do they taste better?» Taste better?! They are night and day!!! This is tantamount to eating cold french fries. Since I am not from Canada, I wondered out-​loud «are all falafel sandwiches served with cold falafel balls everywhere in Montréal? Dear god, what a terrible tragedy!» Sadly, after reading several reviews regarding restaurants serving falafel sandwiches in Montréal, it appears that is the case. Since my craving for a proper falafel sandwich was not satisfied by Basha, we will need to find a restaurant in Montréal that actually fries the falafel balls. I need for my husband to know the hot, crispy and spicy goodness of a proper falafel pita sandwich.

Eat here! This place looks like nothing special from the outside, and is essentially a cafeteria-​style joint with several pre-​set options on a lit board above the counter, but the food is awesome!
We decided to eat here after circling the Jean-​Talon market and figuring that Lebanese is always good, even if it’s just simple dips or mezza.
My husband had the combo plate with chicken and beef shawarma, potatoes, rice, salad, hummus and garlic sauce for $ 10.99. Holy deliciousness! The garlic sauce alone was so awesome we could have just eaten that with pita and been super happy (and probably gained several pounds…). The portion was large — almost too much for my husband to eat, and that’s saying a lot since he is usually the last one standing at big meals and is often referred to as having two stomaches. Meat was also juicy with crispy pieces and well seasoned, and the salad was a fresh mix of lettuce and spinach, with tomato, onion and pickled veggies. Really great balance. And great value.
I had the vegetarian combo plate with 3 cold salads. There were maybe 10 options to choose from, and I picked lentils and rice; fatoush; and a tourlou-​like mix of eggplant, peppers and chick peas in a savory tomato sauce. Eaten with pita, the flavors and textures were totally satisfying. Loved it.
Our only regret is that we didn’t have enough time during our weekend in Montréal to go back — but we definitely will next time we are in town. Do yourself a favor and go there now, and often! So fresh, healthy and delicious!

Great middle eastern food and the quality is spot on. I had the chicken and Shawerma combo plate. The beef and chicken are both lean and tender. Potatoes and rice very well cooked.

i was in the mood for some poutine, shawarma poutine to be exact and instead of going to a more safer choice, decided to head down to the market for some franchised lebanese. truth be told, should have not.
mind you, the food was tasty enough but nothing to rave about. first, its located just outside marché jean-​talon making access easy. secondo, its big enough with plenty of tables. thirdly, its clean, not rundown like the usual lebanese fast food joints.
now, that poutine. instead of regular fries, i went with the option of garlic potatoes which added more flavor to the dish. if you like garlic and i mean, really like garlic, this is a good choice. the shawarma was salty and almost melt in your mouth with some fatty slices here and there. the curds were fresh and squeaky. the gravy though, at best it was warmish. each components on their own were decently good. together, they didn’t sing at all because of the gravy. no melting cheese, no warmth, no comfort food feeling.
and the service was fucking slow! the place wasn’t busy at all, barely any patrons which is pretty much the case every time yet, it managed to be incredibly slow.
i wanted to love that shawarma poutine but in the end, it was disappointing

Nourriture pourrie. Tomates aucunement fraiches. Worst lebanese food i’ve ever tasted in my life.
Chicken was fatty. Half of my wife’s chicken plate was fat. I’ve called the owner explaining the situation. All he said was… Oh sorry.
Really not a great experience.
Do not eat there!!!
Gross

Great Hummus! If you’re at the Jean Talon market, make sure you stop by for some great vegetarian food. The place was clean and prices are reasonable. I’m from NYC and was in town for a couple of days. It was the best hummus I had in Montréal. And free wifi as well, which was greatly needed since I was out of my network. I regret I didn’t try the roasted potatoes or rice and lentils… they looked really good.

Cheap price but large value, the potatoes taste amazing!
Location is great, near street and besides the Jean Talon Market.

Good value; decent food for a cheap eatery.

Amazing Middle-​Eastern food. Fresh vegetarian dishes too. I will definitely come back.