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Ayla

4.1 (18 reviews)
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Grilled cauliflower
Sanaz N.

When To Ayla for the first time. I reserved online and the only has seating available at counter. At the time I didn't know what that meant. But once we hot there I realized we were seating right at the counter where the chef and sous-chefs were working and we could see and hear everything, which was honestly one of the most amazing experiences I have had at a restaurant. Our waiter Ali, was really great, as soon as he found out it was our first time he explained everything and made a few suggestions which was appreciated. The whole night he was very attentive, a genuinely nice guy. Now let's get to the important part FOOD. This place is a mix of everything middle easter, Syrian, Lebanese, Persian, Israeli. I ordered the lamb shank which was served on a bed of delicious lentil. My husband had lamb ragu past. For appetizers we ordered a season salad, muhammara, bread, and grilled cauliflower. Honestly everything was good. I do not have one bad thing to say. The lamb was tender and delightful, the ragû was perfectly made, the salad was fresh and aromatic, the cauliflower was perfectly grilled. Seating at the counter you saw all the amazing dishes and you saw all the care and energy they placed on sending out an amazing plate. I do have to say prices are a but high. We were two and paid about 215$ although we had two glasses of wine. A great place for a romantic date.

If I could give this restaurant 100 stars I would. Reynald is THE MAN!!! I visited with my team a little over 20 of us and he didn't miss a beat. Everything that came out was good. I tried to smuggle the roasted eggplant back into the states and couldn't . Anyway if you want EXCELLENT food, drinks, and service go ahead and book a reservation at Ayla. Should rename it to THE AYLA not to be confused with other

Sinful Julep (yellow ) and Bon Voyage ( orange )
Jasmine M.

This restaurant was recommended to me by a friend and also another friend had said it was really good so we had decided to give it a shot . The review is separated in 2 : first part food, second part service. It is on Richmond street, across from Le Richmond, a cute little hole in the wall. Attire is smart casual and there was even a patio in the back if you wanted to sit outdoors. Between each sitting table there were tables with tea sets for displays ( which were gorgeous and reminded me of my grandmothers set back home). The waitress was super nice to explain the concept and recommend items and drinks. She also mentioned the plates were small for sharing , like mezze. We had gotten a few and I'll break it down below : 1) Ekmek and Muhammara: "Turkish flat bread and roasted red pepper spread with walnut and pomegranate. For the name, they should have specified it at Pide Ekmek because when you say flat bread , it is normally referred to Pita. Regardless it was delicious and warm and the Muhammara was a great choice to go with it. 2) Yellowtail Ceviche, Watermelon, Sheep Feta, Herbs : this plate , actually any plate with fish, watermelon and feta is the traditional Mediterranean summer go to dish. It was a little splash of flavour when combined. I feel if I they had added mint shreds to it, it would have been perfect as well. Also, our table ( a party of 3), were taken a bit aback by the amount of tuna to the rest of the plate in contrast to the plate. Normally when you make a ceviche, the seafood used is the main star , but in this particular case, it was more the feta and the herbs. 3) Seared Calamari, Charred vegetables , Herb salad : our table had decided that this was the 2nd best dish so far that we had. The calamari melted in our mouths especially when mixed with the two condiments. We would really recommend this dish to try. 4) Dry Aged Lamb Tortellini, Chickpeas, Yogurt Sauce: This one was my least favourite dish, but the other two loved it. In general the best part was the Lamb itself. It was succulent, and the flavour was amazing, no words. The sauce though, I found it to be too heavy and sweet to go with Lamb. What would have been a better choice ( in my opinion) is a more light olive oil with herb sauce to elevate even more the flavour palate of the lamb. 5) For drinks , I took the Sinful Julep and my friends took the Mademoiselle and the Bon Voyage. I really liked mine since it was subtle and summery. Food recommendations from would get to maybe pass : Ekmek and Muhammara, Seared Calamari, Dry Aged Lamb Tortellini and Yellowfin Ceviche. Service : the whole staff was really nice and welcoming but there we're two major red flags for us. First one , while we were having our appetizer , 2 of us had finished so we had gotten our plates changed while the other one was still eating. She had put the food down on the plate for maybe two seconds and the bus boy came from behind ( not from the side ) and tried to take her plate away and she had to mention it twice that she is still working on her plate . Second one : we had just gotten the ceviche and it was still in the middle of the table and we were just catching up and talking so naturally we hadn't gotten the food yet. Our waitress passed us by 2 times and then asked us if she should serve us since we didn't touch it. We were taken aback because we were in full conversation ( which is fine to be interrupted in), but the way it was said was kind of rude and as if she was rushing us to eat our food. Due to that, as soon as we were done eating. I asked for the bill and we went elsewhere for drinks and desserts. Overall, the restaurant has a nice ambiance, well lighted and the food should be tried , but would I go back? Most likely not since it's one of those places you go once to try and get the experience.

House hummus and both kinds of fresh baked bread
Tyler R.

Stopped by Ayla on a recommendation from a friend for our first night in Montreal. The theme of the restauraunt is sustainable, no-waste Epicurean cuisine; taking inspiration from Moroccan, Turkish, and other MENA countries. The menu was fairly short, which I took as a good sign that everything would be delicious. They recommend sharing, since the dishes are served without any sides. There are lots of vegetarian options to choose from, as well as seafood. We ordered some dips and bread to start, along with a ceviche with watermelon and chilies to start. The hummus was incredible. So rich and nutty, I could've just eaten the whole portion with a spoon if we didn't have more food coming. The ceviche was a great pairing with that since it was so light and refreshing. The watermelon added a hint of sweetness to balance out the acidity and spice from the chilies. There was a bit of a mix up with some of the dishes at the start of our meal, and they brought three or four that we didn't order, but it was sorted out fairly quickly. I'm willing to chock it up to them being fairly busy that night. Next up was the smoked eggplant. I'm not normally a fan of eggplant but it was highly recommended8 by our server. It came with four different sauces on the plate which IMO were the stars of the dish. One was made from the charred skin of the eggplant, another from green chili and parsley, a taking, and finally a mango salsa. Finally, we ordered two lamb dishes: the kebab and the skewer. The meat on the skewer was perfectly cooked and so tender. It came with an eggplant based sauce that was alright, but I tried it with the yogurt dip we had instead and it paired really well. Our other meat dish was much richer. The kebab is covered in some sort of dark stone fruit sauce that also packed a spicy punch. They were PACKED, so definitely be sure to make a reservation. It's worth the trip if you're in town and looking for some good eats.

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4 years ago

Pricey but great food and drinks. If you want Mediterranean cuisine this spot is quick and the service is kind.

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Boustan

Boustan

(480 reviews)

$

Ville-Marie

Delicious spot for a quick casual bite. Love that they toasted the outside for an extra…read moreLayer of texture. The potato's with the garlic sauce are out of this world! My only qualm while dining in is that ventilation is not great. It gets quite Smokey inside so my eyes started to itch and water. The food is worth it!

Great late night drunchies spot on Rue Crescent! They're open until 4AM, so you can pop in for a…read morelate night snack or to grab something as a hangover meal (future you will thank you). Upon entering the restaurant, I'm instantly reminded of the late nights waiting at a halal cart in nyc after a night out. This restaurant itself is not the cleanest and rather chaotic on weekend nights. Theres usually a long line to order, but it moves rather quickly and efficiently. The staff members aren't the friendliest, but they get the job done LOL. You'll find a bunch of hungry and probably drunk people sitting at the cafeteria styled seats at night. The food is the main selling point here though. I've gotten the mixed platter and shawarma platter; both with generous servings of protein all doused in a flavorful sauce. Ordered the poutine recently and was also impressed how much they loaded the protein. It was a little on the saltier side and wished they had more cheese curds, but still pretty enjoyable. The fries were also more like small potato wedges. I've recommended this place countless times for almost any point of the day, but they especially hit the spot after a long night.

Modavie - Escargot, Montreal style topped with baked cheese!

Modavie

(1.1k reviews)

$$$

Ville-Marie

There's a lot of great food and great music in Montreal…read more Modavie has both. Upon our hotel's concierge recommendation, we went to listen to some jazz and have some good food at Modavie, and were blown out of the water. We didn't think we needed reservations for a Monday night but we got there and it was packed. They made space for us at the bar and we ordered. The band was amazing and we were told there's a larger room upstairs with a different band. Now for the food: spectacular all around. We ordered poutine with lamb, the chicken and the salmon. I expected it to be good because everything in Montreal up to now had been great, and for a first time poutine taster, I was a bit apprehensive but OMG was it insane good! The fries were cooked to perfection, the sauce was like no gravy I've ever tasted before and the lamb melted in your mouth faster than the cheese curds. For my first time, it feels like all downhill from there. How can we top it?! With delicious salmon and chicken dancing on the palate. All that while listening to the most angelic sounds coming from the vocalist of the band made our experience the very best of Montreal. Modavie is now on my must-do list. I will definite be back.

Love the interior and ambiance but the service was a bit lacking, forgetting to place some of the…read morethings we ordered and feeling like we received very slow attention. I enjoyed all the dishes but the steak for the steak frites was overcooked and not really a quality piece of meat. Everything else was good, in particular the appetizers. We got the foie gras and garlic snails which were delicious. I recommend the side of truffle mayo to eat with your fries!

Mezzmiz

Mezzmiz

(5 reviews)

Ville-Marie

Was walking down crescent street and noticed this new place. Bright clean and welcoming…read more This is a new fresh,clean Mediterranean restaurant. The owner and his staff of welcoming and friendly and are there to explain the menu and even gave us some sample to try. First dish was the hummus. It reminded me when I was back touring the Middle East. The hummus was so fresh and you can taste the ingredients with a hint of lemon juice. It was so good we order another one. Second dish Muhuhammara This is a dish with garlic, pepper, walnuts and outlive oil. This was a hit. I could not believe how good it tasted and how fresh it tatsted Third Roasted cauliflower This is one of my favorite things to eat and they did it perfectly. Roasted and seasoned just the way I like it. They put a touch of tahini on top. I would of gotten more but they sold out. 4th dish Grilled chicken in lemon Usually the chicken is dry. Not here it was supper moist and the Lemmon sauce was right on point. Not to overpowering. It blended well with all the spicies. This is a must try if you like Mediterranean food. not only is the food amazing the staff go out of the way to make you feel welcome

Had the best lunch here! The person behind the counter explained the menu to us and we shared five…read moredishes. Soooooo good. The tiger shrimp and couscous was to die for. Super fresh hummus and this red pepper walnut dip which was to die for. I was so full at the end. The only dish I didn't love was the tabbouleh.

Ayla - mediterranean - Updated May 2026

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