The Room
Damas opened on Avenue Van Horne in 2010 and has spent the past decade and a half running the most ambitious Lebanese kitchen in Canada. The room is small and confident — 65 seats, dressed in soft tile and warm wood, with an open kitchen that runs the charcoal-grilled-meat programme that defines the menu. Fuad Tannous is usually in the kitchen; service is small-team and Levantine-warm.
The Food
The menu runs the Lebanese mezze repertoire at the highest register — hummus with lamb confit, muhammara, tabbouleh, fattouche, kibbeh nayyeh — alongside a charcoal-grilled meat programme (lamb chops, beef shawarma, chicken taouk) that anchors the mains. The family-style mezze at $95 is the order to make on a first visit.
Wine programme is Lebanese-French with serious depth in Bekaa Valley reds and small-producer Loire whites.
Best Occasion Fit
Birthday: Damas handles birthdays with the warmth a Lebanese family-style room should — a long table, mezze for the group, a candle on the dessert.
Team Dinner: Damas for a team dinner is the Montreal alternative to the corporate-French rooms. Family-style is the format, generous is the register.