Superb Syrian Destination Damas Plans Epic New Downtown Project

The owner of renowned Outremont Syrian restaurant Damas is planning a major new project for downtown Montreal.

According to La Presse, Damas chef-owner Fuad Alnirabie and his team will open a 20,000 square foot venue with room for nearly 300 people in the Montreal Forum on Atwater.

It won’t be Damas 2.0, though: Alnirabie is reportedly drawing inspiration from the multi-purpose format of New York City’s Eataly, rolling a number of options into one large space.

A market-like space with a café and take-out counter and gourmet retail options will take up much of the space as a part-retail, part casual eating option. Then a large restaurant, split into two rooms with a bar in between (which also has seating).

It’s likely that the decor will be rather lush and exotic — 16-foot fountains are just one detail La Presse highlights.

It’s slated to open in December, so precise details on what the restaurant will be serving are far away, but new dishes that differ from Damas on Van Horne will be offered, and brunch is a possibility — new territory for the restaurant.

Alnirabie hasn’t opened any new projects since Damas reopened in 2015 (after a fire knocked it out of its original Parc Avenue location), but this isn’t the only thing he has in the works: a small grocery-café is also apparently in the works for Outremont, right near Damas.

• Un projet de 20 000 pi² pour Damas [La Presse]
• All Damas coverage [EMTL]