Critic Jean-Philippe Tastet Feels at Home at Omma

Mile End Montreal's Omma, open since 2011, gets a first look from Jean-Philippe Tastet this week. The Korean spot from chef-owner Mi Kyum Kim nabs a solid endorsement from the Le Devoir critic, who surmises that Omma is "much more than a restaurant." Tastet immediately feels at home inside the cozy corner restaurant on Bernard, and, a self-professed non-coréanophile, swan dives into kimchi and co.

Omma's kitchen produces winners like ginger-soy-rice-wine chicken wings, mandus (think pierogi, or ravioli), octopus bibimbap, and donkkaseu (panko-coated pork cutlet). A red curry chicken special "est intéressante, mais on peut ne pas écrire un paragraphe complet sur ce plat." Desserts may not be the restaurant's forte but Tastet departs a convert, and resolves to return. "On sort de chez Omma avec le sentiment de plénitude associé aux bonnes soirées. On se dit qu’on reviendra. J’y suis déjà retourné et c’était encore meilleur la deuxième fois."