Anyone who has been looking for a restaurant on the Notre
Dame strip in St-Henri over the last couple of months may have noticed a new
place called Sumac, west of Atwater near Rose-de-Lima. The place is already packed every night, and
the first time I dropped by I was told the wait would be 30 minutes… so we
decided to try Sumac again last week, and this time we were seated quickly.
This Middle Eastern restaurant is the creation of Raquel
Zagury (formerly at Prohibition) and David Bloom (Tuck Shop) who may already be
familiar to foodies in the area.
If it’s your first time there, someone may have to tell you
a little bit about their concept. Like
Villa Madina down the block, you walk in and order at the counter. The menu is posted on the wall to your right
as you’re standing at the register, which makes it difficult to see if you're
waiting in line. You may not even know
you are supposed to order from the counter until you get right up to it because
unlike Madina, people don’t walk away from the counter with any food, nor do
they pay at the counter.
I ordered a chicken shawarma ($9) and a side of fries ($4),
and my friend had the sabich platter ($13)
Once you place your order, you are given a number and
invited to sit wherever you can find space in their dining room. It’s a nice space with minimal décor and a beautiful
brick wall on one side. The in crowd definitely
likes this place, there are lots of good looking people, people on dates,
groups of friends and even families enjoy the fare and the ambiance. There are a few tables and then there is a
large counter right in the middle where diners sit with other groups of people. We
sat there and were treated to a steady diet of rock and roll blasting on the
house speakers. I happen to be a big rock guy, so I enjoyed this, though it
made chatting during dinner a bit of a challenge.
In about 3 minutes our appetizer hit the table, baba ghanouj
with a single pita sliced in 4 ($8). The
presentation was amazing, as it was with all the plates I saw being brought out
while I was there. Also, it was a huge helping, and my friend asked for more
pita so we could finish it I wasn't surprised.
I was a little surprised they dinged us another $2 for the second pita
bread though. While I wasn't thrilled about that, the baba ghanouj is so good,
I guess the people running this place know customers will pay extra to have a
delivery device for all that eggplanty goodness.
After we demolished that, the main course hit the
table. The Sabich platter had some
terrific fried eggplant and a poached egg on top, more pita, awesome marinated
carrots that had great texture and flavour.
Only downside: the hummus was very dense and dry, difficult to spread it
on pita.
My chicken shawarma was also beautifully presented, and I
was offered some kind of Middle Eastern salsa verde for my fries which was nice
and spicy. Only problem: getting my
mouth around this huge sandwich!
Sumac is a trendy spot with good food. I live in the area and I could tell most of
the people in there travelled from another neighborhood to try the food. Which is a good sign. It’s a place to drop in for a quick bite and
be seen, but not the type of restaurant where would spend more than 30 minutes…
it’s pretty much in and out (assuming you don't have to wait!). It’s perfect if you're on your way to a show
at the nearby Corona Theatre for example and want to stop for a bite. The concept is cool once you understand it. It’s designed for a certain demographic. Sumac may be better suited for neighbouring
Griffintown or Westmount, as they are the only place in St-Henri charging $4 for fries.
Service 3.5/5
Food 4/5
Ambiance 4/5
Value 2/5
