Syrian evolution

Jean-Talon Market area stalwart Alep updates its digs but sticks to the same menu

When I first moved to the Jean-Talon area and discovered Alep, I became hooked on its Syrian-Armenian fare—so hooked that I overdid it. After trying literally everything on the menu several times (there and at its more informal sister restaurant Petit Alep), I eventually reached a point of saturation. I hadn’t been back in a while.

My return to Alep was prompted by the striking renovations it underwent earlier this year. Gone are the kitschy fake-stone walls invoking some kind of medieval Levantine fortress. The new decor is decid­edly modern—clean lines, sparsely adorned white surfaces, halogen lighting. There are only a few small, tasteful accents referencing Syria, a candelabrum here, a few black and white photos there. The space seems larger and breezier. It’s less cozy than before but not cold. It did, however, seem a lot louder than I remembered it. Still, I liked the new setup, as did my dinner companion, my sister Basia.

I was hoping that Alep had also taken the occasion renovate its dinner menu. Alas, as we flipped through the reformatted carte, we could see nothing but old, familiar items. At least the wine list has evolved. Many interesting private imports are on offer, including a few natural/biodynamic wines.

Our meal started with three mezzes, as appetizers are known in the Levant. One was a shinklish, a salad of minced tomato, onion, and a sharp, feta-like white cheese that is mashed with various herbs ($5). It was light, zesty and refreshingly herbal, a pleasure as always. Another mezze was kibbé sajie, a grilled bulgur and ground meat patty ($11). We both found it nicely seasoned and flavourful but a bit dry. Luckily, we had a lemon wedge at our disposal. It came with the shinklish, which didn’t need any lemon; it should have been included with the kibbé. Our third mezze was mouhamara, a perennial favourite ($7). Alep’s version of this classic Levantine spread—made of walnuts, breadcrumbs, hot pepper, garlic, olive oil and pomegranate molasses—is probably the best I’ve had. It was as good as ever: deep-crimson red, smooth and thick, and emitting an enchanting pomegranate perfume.

The main course options are the same as before: a selection of kebabs, some braised meats, a few fish and seafood dishes. There are no vegetarian mains, but there are so many meat-free, hot and cold mezzes that no flesh disdainer should be bored.

Basia ordered the cacik kabab—cubes of grilled filet mignon doused in a mint-flavoured yogurt sauce ($23). The meat itself was grilled to a perfect medium rare and wonderfully tender, as a filet mignon should be. The yogurt sauce was a bit too thin and bland for my taste, and Basia ended up leaving most of it on the plate.

I chose the dégustation épicée ($28), a combination platter with three different skewered meats, including a spicy kofta (ground beef), shish taouk (chicken) and teribialy (filet mignon). The kofta, which was doused in a sweet and spicy tomato sauce, was a bit dry and bland. The shish taouk was moist and had had a nice garlicky flavour. The teribialy was essentially the same as Basia’s filet mignon—cooked bang on, super tender and beefy. The accompanying salad and rice pilaf were, as always, a bland afterthought.

In retrospect, it was a mistake to order the mains; we should have stuck to the mezze, many of which were always and probably still are excellent. Somehow I thought I had to get mains for the sake of the review…Foolish.

For dessert, we had an atayef, a fried crepe with walnut stuffing, and a mamounie, a semolina cake. I hadn’t had the atayef before; it was very good. The crepe was fluffy and delicate, the walnut filling was rich and only slightly sweet. The mamounie was also up to snuff, rich, moist, just slightly sweet, and exuding a pleasant, measured orange blossom aroma.

For those who have never tried and are curious about Levantine food, Alep is unquestionably a good bet—along with Damas (5210 Parc), probably the best in town. For those already familiar with Alep, the food is the same as it’s always been—still very good, but still very much the same. ■

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