Restaurant Alep

Girlfriend and I had an amazing time for Valentine’s Day! They had a special tasting menu with ⁷⁄₈ courses, paired with 6 wines. It was fantastic — really a tour of excellent cooking by the chefs and pairings by sommelier. We shared one set and it was good for us. We added the spicy filet mignon — so spicy but extremely well balanced.

Wow. It’s been a few days since our meal, but I am still raving about the food. The dishes we shared were phenomenal, from the mezze entres, which included labneh, hummus and mouhamara, to the two spectacular mains: slow cooked lamb and braised fish. Probably the tastiest fish I have ever had. For those wondering, Alep is very similar to its sister restaurant Petit Alep, but with larger portions and a more ups late environment. Great for a date night!

The folks at Alep hosted our Staff Holiday party last night and it was 100% wonderful! Our waiter was very funny, it was a beautiful space, but most importantly– the food was out of this world. Definitely going back in the new year.

I go to the Petit Alep all the time. It is the same food but bigger dishes. The food is amazing. One of the best, if not the best Syrian in the city! Holy smokes try the fish or the lamb. I’m in a food coma — I want to eat more because it is so delicious but the servings are too big to finish. Fab lunch for tomorrow.

Very good restaurant. Since it was the first time we went there, we opted for the tasting menu. Everything was good but some appetizers had too much cumin for my taste. I just wouldn’t order those again.
The salads were so fresh and tasty. Shrimp were big and delicious. The star of the evening truly were the meats. The lamb and filet mignon were outstanding, even if you are not a meat eater. The chicken was out of this world… Never had such a tender juicy tasty chicken ever! And the oiled pita on top and bottom of the brochettes… Just so yummy.
The portions are a little small for a tasting menu. You only get about 2 bites of each thing. However, the prices are very reasonable for what you get.
Service was good. A little forgetful at times, but very friendly.

Wahou !!!
Super !!!
Vraiment une magnifique découverte grâce à des amis.
Le cadre est sympa. Le service est impeccable et super pro au niveau des conseils, j’en parlerais plus loin !
Nous avons commencé avec une assiette végétarienne à 4 qui reprend différentes entrées que l’on goûte avec des pitas. Tout était succulent, très bien assaisonné et on a pu partager tout cela dans la bonne humeur.
Ensuite au niveau des plats 2 personnes voulaient prendre le même plat et le serveur nous a avertis que cela était copieux et ce fut une très bonne remarque de sa part car après avoir pris le plat à partager pour 2 il n’a pas été finis ;-)
Pour les 2 autres personnes chacune a pris un plat perso et ce fut trop car les portions sont gargantuesque et pourtant j’ai bon appétit.
Mon plat est un filet mignon relevé, la viande exquise et assaisonnée à merveille. Chose rare mais j’ai adoré le riz en accompagnement qui était cuit parfaitement et super bon. L’autre plat était super aussi.
Il y a du vin au verre et pas mal de référence en bouteille. Les prix sont dans la norme.
Nous n’avons pas testé les desserts car bien trop mangé avant ^^
Au niveau de l’addition le rapport qualité-​quantité-​prix est juste trop bien, on en a eu pour notre argent sans se ruiner.
Vraiment super content de cette découverte, il faudra maintenant tester Le petit alep :)
Je vous le recommande à 113%

There are two areas adjacent to each other, but with separate entrances. The one on the right is the dining area, and to the left is the bar. We had dinner in the restaurant, and we loved the ambiance and the décor, and the food was good, nothing special though

C’est une expérience très différente…ce n’etait pas mauvaix mais différent…quand même cher près de 350 $ pour deux. Par contre le service est impeccable ils savent de quoi ils parlent et sont très à l’affut. Je n’y retournerai pas à chaque Week-​end mais il faut vivre cet expérience assurément.

On a adoré. Nous avons pris une sélection de mazzas végétariens et avons été ravis de notre expérience. Une explosion de saveurs et excellent service.

I’ve eaten here many times. The fattoush is wonderful, as is the special alep tea, kibbeh nayie, and kebab osmally.
The staff is super helpful and friendly.
I give it ⁴⁄₅ because my favorite Syrian place is actually damas on parc ave.

One of the best restaurants I’ve ever been to. I had the Fattoush, Kebbe naye, Shish Kebab, Shish Taouk and everything was mind blasting. It’s really the best Arab restaurant.

Firstly, there are two Alep restos. This one is for the more traditional, «old school» fine dining for families and the one next door is for the more modern, younger, trendier crowd.
When I walked in, I couldn’t help but notice how really nice this place looked. The entrance is in the middle of the restoraunt with a long corridor that splits the dining area in two sections with tall walls that protect patrons from the flow of air, a particular issue that can happen during the long winter months. We were well received and guided to our reserved table. All in all a great start.
Since we were dining for two, our selection was limited to :
Falafel (leguminous doughnut with spices served on finely chopped lettuce topped with tahiné) — I’m a huge falafel fan however this version of the falafel fell short to my expectations. It was clearly a variation of the falafel I know and love but sadly this version didn’t agree with taste palette.
Fattouche (romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers, grilled pita, garlic) — The fattouche was good… but not great. I feel the spices for this version of the fattouche were somewhat different to what we know and love.
Vine leaves (stuff with rice and meat) — Probably the best the star of the evening. We’ve probably eaten vine leaves at countless restos and have always been disappointed. Most places have the cold variety of this meal however Alep has the warm version of it and it’s quite exceptional. My wife was very happy about this plate and said «Almost as good as mom!» This is high praise.
The Sampler (Aleppo kabab, Chiche Kabab and Chiche Taouck) — Out of the three, the chiche taouck was probably the weakest of the meats, yet, it was still quite tender and flavorful. The Aleppo kabab was out of this world good!!! My mouth drools right now just thinking about it. We also ordered a side of fries and they were perfect. Well cooked, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. It complimented the Sampler plate well. Am I making you hungry?
Atayef (fried pancake stuffed with either walnuts or ricotta cheese, orange blossom syrup) — We opted for the ricotta and we loved it. It was thinner than usual, with a slightly more syrupy taste but it came out tasting great!
Arabic coffee with cardamom — We’ve never tasted cardamom and most likely won’t again. Cardamom has been long known to me being something either folks love or hate it as it has a very potent flavor to it that is very spicy, quite bitter and citrousy. As we tend to love our Arabic coffee, it kind of ruined the experience.
The service was exceptional. Our waitress Tania was friendly and accommodating. We never waited very long for our food or water refills. Once she knew this was our first visit and the fact we wanted the bill earlier than expected (because of babysitter), she was even more accommodating. Kudos to the staff of being as awesome as they were. Even my less than 24 hours reservation was worked by Sabrina who was able to come through thankfully for us.
We generally liked our experience with Restaurant Alep with a cuisine that was either a hit or miss for us. It’s perfectly normal. This was our first experience with Syrian cuisine and while we have eaten at many different Lebanese and Armenian restos, the spices always somewhat differ, the method of how certain things are done are slightly different and the end result can be incredibly different from what you’d expect with food you’ve eaten previously elsewhere.
The price tag can be pretty expensive but then again, you’re practically fine dining around the Jean-​Talon market area. It’s nothing unreasonable but I’d suggest going with at least 4 people, order bigger plates and have a more economic experience with folks splitting the bill.
Finally, if you plan to come here to dine, make sure to reserve well in advance as this resto can be busy on weekend.

Ce restaurant fait parti de ma vie: j’y vais depuis que je suis toute jeune, et le service est toujours de grande qualité. Et la nourriture? Wow! Trop bon. Je conseille de prendre plusieurs plats en dégustation, car absolument tout état délicieux.

I had the pleasure of dining at Alep a couple of weeks ago with a small group of people. We were there for my girlfriend’s birthday and by all accounts, it was a wonderful and very satisfying evening. Everything from the service to the food to the price was top notch.
I can’t recommend Alep highly enough. We will definitely be back sometime soon!

All I can say is WOW! My mom is an incredible Lebanese cook so I’m pretty fussy when it comes to middle eastern food. My friend mentioned this place as he had heard good things about it. We made a reservation and headed on over on a Friday night.
Décor is really nice, service is great, and the food is amazing. We had the fattouch salad, felafel, and mixed grill platter. My friend hates tomatoes, yet he loved the salad. The steak, chicken and kabob all had nice spices on them to add to the great taste. Everything was perfectly cooked and seasoned. I haven’t been there in a while but would definitely go back.

Absolutely incredible! One of the most elegant and intriguing meals one can have in Montréal! From the moment you enter you are warmly greeted and ushered into a refined restaurant serving modern and contemporary takes on Syrian food. This is certainly a gem among many great places in the city!
I would highly recommend a tasting menu and advice from their sommelier who will guide you through various Syrian wines and liquors.
Do not miss dinner here whilst in Montréal!

Great place with dishes that will blow your mind with the variety and depth of spices used. We ordered the tasting menu which I would highly recommend and the lamb had a combination of spices I have never tasted before.
If you are staying closer to downtown it is worth the trip out and is very easy via Metro.

Excellent authentic Syrian food. We spent about 24 hours in Montréal and Alep was our favorite experience. The Moussakaa, an eggplant dish, was beyond delicious, as was the kebab kach kach — both were «last meal”-quality dishes. The garlic labneh and braised lamb were also outstanding. The service was excellent and the ambience is modern with a tasteful nod to Syria. If we lived in Montréal this would be a regular go-​to date night restaurant.

Amazing food and service to match! Alep takes reservations; Alep Petit, next door, is more casual, but does not — and reservations are highly recommended, both fill up fast. And for good reason. We went with their fixed menu, which started with spreads and salads and then moved into kabobs and a lamb stew of sorts. The spreads were creamy, with a very nice baba ganoush and a creative tomato/​chevre combination. The main course was not only amazingly spiced, but perfectly executed. The kabobs were tender and caramelized on the outside but medium rare in the middle, and the lamb was all but addictive.
On top of that, the service was attentive, with a fantastic sommelier.

Ma copine m’a fait découvrir cette endroit tout récemment. Au début, j’avais l’impression de n’être pas trop à ma place, de belle table, et tout le tra-​la-​la, les serveurs me paraissaient un peu fendant. Lorsque par contre est venu le temps de jaser avec eux pour leur indiquer qu’on savait pas trop quoi prendre, etc. Le serveur était pas mal sympathique et ma perception a été changé immédiatement. On nous a suggérer le standard pour les nouveaux faut croire, à lire les critiques, plats de dégustation végétariens en semi-​entrée et assiettes de dégustation de viandes comme plat principal.
Le serveur nous avait conseiller de garder les purée de pois chiche et autre purée du genre pour mixé avec la viande, ce qui m’a fait beaucoup souffrir, car, moi et ma copine on s’est retenu pour né pas trop en manger afin de les garder, c’était délicieux.
On s’est prix un bonne bouteille de vin recommandé, je né suis pas très connaissant dans les vins mais j’ai bien aimé la suggestion et ma blonde aussi.
Lorsque les viandes sont arrivé, et que j’ai goûté au filet mignon, au boeuf et au poulet, j’ai interdit l’accès à l’assiette à ma copine, qu’elle s’en commande une! lol, bon, comme pas mal de mes plans ça a échoué et j’ai dû me contraindre à partager.
Au déssert, le vendeur nous a eu, deux!, qu’on a acheté pour ma blonde seulement. Une crème glacé au chocolat noir je crois, et une crêpe, c’était vraiment bon, j’ai été piger dans son assiette, un peu pour me venger pour le partage de l’assiette des viandes mais aussi pour la crème glacée.

J’ai visité pour la toute première fois le restaurant Alep le jour de leur ré-​ouverture après les vacances. J”ai pu bénéficier d’un service hors pair, d’un serveur charismatique et plein d’énergie, de courtoisie théâtrale mais non surfaite, et d’un repas succulent et varié en saveurs à tout le moins exquises.
M’y connaissant à peine en cuisine Syrienne, je né pourrais commenter sur la justesse des plats dits typiques offerts. Mon ami et moi avions envie des assiettes de dégustation végétarienne et carnivore, histoire de goûter le plus de saveurs possibles pour notre premier essai. Une véritable explosion de textures et délices. Chaque élément de nos assiettes dégustatives nous a enchanté par la supériorité des concoctions à première vue populaires mais ô combien perfectionnées chez Alep! Le vin suggéré pour accompagner nos plats de dégustation était à point, enveloppant et non envahissant autant pour l’assiette végétarienne que celle des viandes (braisées à point et tendres comme l’amour), bref un parfait complément corsé et équilibré.
Et comme mentionné, nous sommes tombés sous le charme de notre jeune et adorable serveur Québécois, absolument parfait dans son rôle, amoureux de la cuisine du Moyen-​Orient et qui semblait passionné de son métier comme pas un.

With what is happening in Syria these days, everyone owes it to themselves to try out this amazing restaurant to understand the flavours and diversity of that ancient country.
Alep and it’s sister restaurant Petit Alep, next door, offer amazing food at great prices and really gives an excellent overview of the diverse tastes and flavours of Syria and Syriac culture.
Every last dish here hit it out of the ball park. The lamb nearly melted in your mouth, the grilled shrimp was seasoned to perfection, the salads and rices, all of it flavorful.
Little known secret: Alep has one of the the best wine lists in Montréal and easily rivals many of the finer wine bars and chichi French restos of Montréal. They privately import wines from obscure and off-​the-​beaten track wineries from all over the world. The wine list here practically comes in it’s own booklet and choosing your wines will be a harder task than ordering your food, with it’s many, many selections.
Service is very friendly, the ambience is a study in understated and relaxed casualness, this is great place to come to for dinner either with a special someone or a group of friends.

This is a really good Syrian restaurant! But I need to make something very clear. There are two sides to this place, Alep & Petit Alep. Alep is for your Syrian grandfather, Petit Alep is more modern, trendy. But… You can, and should ask for the Alep menu which is larger and more complete. I usually order the tasting menu and it’s always great. You get to try about 10 different things in a few services.
They also have a fantastic wine list with a huge collection of private imports. Also, plenty of bio wine which is nice to try. Same taste, less sulfites, less hangover;)