Beloved Syrian Restaurant Damas Will Open an Outremont Epicerie-Comptoir This Year

The owner of Syrian fine dining restaurant Damas is planning to open a casual counter-service restaurant in Outremont sometime in 2020.

Owner Fuad Alnirabie confirmed to Eater that it will open on Van Horne Avenue, in close proximity to Damas; he describes it as “a very high-end, casual version of Damas.”

Alnirabie says he expects it to open in the mornings to serve coffee and breakfast sandwiches, before shifting to Syrian staples that draw on elements of the menu at Damas — a shish taouk sandwich, or roasted lamb sandwich with muhammara (a red pepper paste). A fried chicken sandwich should also make its way into the offerings.

There will also be salads and an array of other hot and cold options. Plus, it’ll have an épicerie section selling dozens of dry products, either made locally or specially imported from the Middle East.

It’ll be a take-out friendly option, and obviously much more casual than Damas — Alnirabie is anticipating that it’ll have some seating (around 25 to 30 seats), and delivery will also be offered.

Some may recall that Damas had already been planning to expand, with a large new restaurant in the Montreal Forum on Atwater Avenue (also incorporating a grocery section and take-out counter). That project is still in the works, but with 20,000 square feet of restaurant to put into place, the logistics are complicated, and its opening is relatively far off.

Now, the Outremont project (which had been hinted at before, although only vaguely) is set to go ahead far sooner than the Damas at the Forum — it should take shape in the coming months.

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