Tried this restaurant based on friends' recommendations and saw that it was highly rated on Yelp. Good pita bread. Why they put it in plastic bags on the table is a mystery and not especially classy. Very little explanation that everything is served family style. If I wanted family style dining, I would have stayed home and cooked. We had a pricey vegetarian appetizer plate where most of the foods tasted too vinegary or garlicky. The eggplant salad tasted more of onion than eggplant. The fish was pretty good but by the time it finally came, I wasn't hungry anymore. The rice had no flavour and the fries, although nicely crisp also were tasteless. The taste I had of my partner's chocolate cake was good but cold in the middle as if it wasn't fully defrosted. The service was friendly yet not attentive. We had to ask for soda twice before it came. The constant reel of what I think was Lebanese music videos projected on the wall were a visually loud distraction from the overall lack of ambiance. The happy birthday music they play was fun, but we're not coming back. read more

All the food we had was delicious! The shis kabob is absolutely amazing! Highly recommend read more

Daou is family operated and has been serving home style lebanese food for over 30 years. Its important to look past the outdated decor and the mediocre service because their food is traditional and delicious! The bigger your group, the more dishes you can share! We usually start with fattouche, tabbouleh, vegetarian vine leaves, hummos, muhammara (red pepper dip) and kibbe naye (raw beef), which is an acquired taste. I grown to enjoy it though by wrapping it in pita bread and topping it with raw onion, mint and some olive oil. For mains we usually order the chicken, filet mignon and the shrimp with a side of fries. Each dish is excellent. I'm not a huge fan of lebanese desserts but my family really enjoys their rice pouding and lebanese crepe. I really like their pistachio ice cream, which is made by Azrak, a local lebanese pastry shop. read more

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Filet Mignion & Kibbeh balls were the absolute best 10/10 and worth traveling for. I couldn't decide which I liked better because they were both really special and perfect on their own. Very juicy and tender ^_^ I really liked their Lebanese coffee too. Normally I hate all arabic coffee because they usually go heavy on the perfume and acid, but this was very nicely balanced and easy to drink. I didn't feel like I needed to add anything to it. I could have easily drank many mini cups of it. I was impressed that the dessert fruit platter was very fresh, because I'm not use to that from restaurants in general. So it felt really nice that they did not give us any old fruits and I could enjoy it as if it was freshly purchased from the grocery store that day. The variety was also very nice and refreshing to eat after such a huge banquet. Everyone else really enjoyed everything (as well as seeing eachother there). I do have a little criticism on the rest of the food though. All very pleasing textures but tasted bland: Muhamara - red pepper dip Babaganouj - eggplant dip Fetouch - Salad with toasted flat bread pieces Habra Nayeh - Fresh (lamb or beef?) tartare cured with onions (I think) What I mean by bland is if I add a little salt then I just taste the salt, I just couldn't sense the other seasonings, maybe I'm just used to really heavy flavors because I do notice that a lot of things I find bland, other quebecois find they tastes great for them. Cheese rolls had a really nice and enjoyable crispy texture to them, but their stuffing inside was way too salty for me... YET it worked really well when I broke them up and ate them with the rest of the items that were too bland, which I preferred to do instead of adding salt. Arabic bread was plentiful and fresh/soft. Cut for us so it was easy to take and not feel pressure to overdo it. I (and just 1 other person) did not favor the yabra rolls (vine leaf rolls stuffed with rice and minced meat). They were all very fancy looking because they were all uniformed, but it was too soft for our liking. Chicken could had been juicier for my picky liking, but the rest enjoyed it very much. French fries were nothing special to me, but the rest liked them a lot. It's always "nice" to play Tetris with your 500 different plates of food on your table ;) Restaurant sign looks run-down outside but at least the place seems clean inside (didn't check bathroom). Outdoor seating area looked very nice and trendy, indoors looked grandma-ish but at least it was very well air-conditioned and comfortable. Luckily we went when they weren't crowded. Good parking easy to find restaurant. Looking at their menu after and there's many items I's like to try, like their yogourt/cucumber/mint thing which I've had as a drink before so would like to see how they do theirs. read more

Deep within the bleak and depressing hinterland of Marcel-Laurin boulevard lies this understated mecca to Lebanese food. The food is prepared simply yet perfectly with a well honed confidence. They don't just serve chicken. They serve amongst the BEST chicken you will ever have. The filet mignon shish kebab (get it medium rare) is good enough to make you cry. The same with the kefta. Their food makes you feel like you've been ripped off by every other Lebanese restaurant in town. I don't know how I am supposed to ever go back to Basha, Amir, or even the mighty Boustan after eating at Daou. The fattouch salad and hummus with pine nuts to start were both excellent. The falafel salad however, is in a league of its own. The falafel balls are served hot with a crispy exterior and soft and moist interior. Topped with tahini, tabouleh, tomatoes, turnips, and peppers, this dish transports you to a place far away (ever farther than Ville St. Laurent!) This falafel obliterates all others in the city. Again, Daou has managed to ruin every other falafel I might have elsewhere in the future. I look around the restaurant and see families from all backgrounds; Indian, African, Lebanese, Italian, Jewish. People who have all undertaken a pilgrimage to get their fix. Every time a slice of birthday cake is served, the restaurant starts blasting this cheesy happy birthday-like song on the speakers causing everybody to start singing and clapping. It's one of those unique old school experiences that reminds me of Chi-Chi's happy birthday song in the 80s. Paired with a standard but excellent chocolate layer cake, there are few better ways to spend a rainy Sunday night. Prices are just slightly elevated but considering the quality of food, they are entirely justified. Daou is still priced well below a trendy place like Damas which wildly overcharges for what is essentially humble food. Service was a little slow, but they get a pass on a holiday weekend in Quebec. Scratch that. With food like this, they could hypothetically curse at me and keep me waiting for hours like an animal. It wouldn't diminish my admiration for their works of art on a plate. read more

I have mixed feelings about my visit to Daou. If I could, I would give it 3.5*. The restaurant itself is blah and old looking from the inside & outside. The service was good but on the slow side. Because Daou was so hyped up to me, I think I was more disappointed than I would have been if I stumbled on this place randomly. We ordered many plates to share so that we could try a larger portion of the menu. The fattoush was bland and definitely not what I expect from fattoush, while the hummus with pine nuts didn't have any olive oil on it which I've never seen Lebanese hummus served that way. The cheese cigars were delicious but TINY in size. The stuffed vine leaves with meat were rolled really tightly and were actually yummy so these 2 appetizers were my faves. We also got the falafel zehlawa, which is essentially 4 falafel balls topped with tomatoes, turnips, hot peppers and tahini sauce. It was good but again nothing mind blowing. The grilled meats plate with chicken, kafta and filet mignon pieces was yummy but not worth the price. The best part was dessert, I loved the katayef stuffed with cream and pistachios covered in rose water syrup. I wouldn't go back because it's far from me and I wayyyy prefer Garage Beirut downtown for authentic Lebanese food. read more

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AmaInf as usual. The food is plenty full, reasonable prices and warm service . Been going for years and will continue to do so.

Visually this restaurant looks unimpressive from the outside. The parking lot looks run down and dirty, it's located right beside a roach motel and the exterior facade of the restaurant gives possible clients driving by absolutely no idea what type of cuisine they offer which is a damn shame because this place has probably offers close to the best Lebanese food in the city. 5 STARS. Really? Why? Firstly, this place turned me into a falafel freak. The falafel in this place is the absolute best, BAR NONE! They are always fresh, fried 'just right' and come with the best tahini/lemon sauce ever. I've had their falafel in a pita as well as a side dish with vegetables and it's always been the highlight of my meal. I've brought friends from other origins (French, Italian, Greek) and they have always been amazed by the quality falafel. My mouth waters craving their falafel at the THOUGHT OF IT. The fattoush salad is exceptional as well. Normally, I'm not a huge fattoush salad lover, my wife is and I've tried it here and it's perfect. I can't help but eat more and more of this salad every visit while I barely touch it elsewhere. The hummus is also particularly good as well. With the free fresh pita they provide this makes a great appetizer. It's tasty and tangy and goes down smooth. Be careful to not fill yourself up with this! Other things I've tried : The cheese rolls as well as the vine leaves are very average in comparison. We rarely order these. Next few visits we'll try other stuff. One thing folks will order is from their meat selection. Restaurant Daou has a variety of selection of meats such as kebab, chicken and filet mignon which are very expensive due to their low value. While they are tasty and well done but the portions are ridiculously small compared to the price you pay. For example their huge meat variety plate is priced around $25 and it only has 1 kebab, 4 pieces of filet mignon and a chicken breast with some side fries. This meal is good but is it worth $25? I think not. Make sure to shop for your items wisely. We're particularly fond of the Lebanese coffee as well as the Lebanese crepe stuffed with ricotta. They are very good but may not be for everyone. The service has never failed me. They are quick and eager to help. Thoughtful and helpful and you'll never find yourself running after them. The price. Let's just say, if you're going here for a full meal and you order the overrated meats, expect to pay close to $100 for 2 people. If you shop well and try a variety of appetizers, the delicious falafel and dessert selections, you can pay far less, somewhere around $60 or so for 2 people. I spoke of the decor on the outside but on the inside it is clean and warmly decorated. You'll have no problem feeling comfortable while having your meal. I've seen this place busy but never full, which is a shame because the quality is definitely there. The power is in your OWN HANDS! I recommend this place to anyone! Will visit again. read more

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Pretty damn good place. Tonight was the second time I've eaten there in the last two weeks. It was packed to the brim with noisy people having a good time, and the food I was served was very good. When I sat down, they put some pita in front of me, and some beet-marinated turnip and olives. Nice touch, and kept me going until I was served. Service was a bit slow, but the place is very big and every single table was taken excepted the one I got. That ought to tell you something. (Next time I'll come on a different night. Saturday prime time will be packed. It's popular, it seems. Deservedly so.) read more

Daou - Saturday night, it was very busy. Why? Because it's very good. - Lebanese Near Me - Saint-Laurent, Quebec

This place is truly authentic Lebanese fare and according to the friends I just dined with; it smells like Lebanon and tastes like Lebanon haha The steak tartare "kafta nayé" is out of this world. It was apparent by the fresh flavours that the tabouli salad was prepared only a few minutes after we ordered it. My Lebanese friend states that you can judge a great Lebanese restaurant by its tabouli and this one is as authentic as they make with fresh Italian parsley and abundance of herbs, tomatoes and lemon (many places cload it with wheat bulgur and not the right amount of parsley; that method is not Lebanese but more Egyptian or other countries calling it taboule; might as well call it a couscous salad, Daou has the real thing) The grilled meats were wow factor; especially the sheesh kabob which has some of the leanest sirloin cubes I have had in a restaurant for a while. We finished off with dessert; lebanese crepe filled with ricotta style cheese and rose water drizzle; mmmmgood the Lebanese espresso coffee was perfect to end the meal. Bring your appetite and Come in your gym sweat pants or prepare to unbuckle your belt as you will need it! Too bad grandma wasn't around to read the lines left at the bottom of the coffee cup; next time. read more

I've been here twice and both times have just been meh. Lebanese restaurant with a variety of options however the food is just average. Being of Middle Eastern descent, I've had phenomenal Lebanese food in my life, and this is no where near phenomenal (or even good really). I wouldn't really come here unless I had to - there are lots of other great places in the city for you to check out! read more

Best traditional Lebanese restaurant in Montreal. Family owned and operated since inception. Classic atmosphere...no really they've kept the place in more or less original form since day 1 at their location on Marcel Laurin blvd. The menu also has not changed much either but I wouldn't want them to! Go for the chicken, filet mignon, eggplant salad, baba ghanouj, kibbe, and the kefta. Can't go wrong! read more

Been here many times and the food is excellent. Very authentic and really good. But visually it is horrible. Very run down and was left in the 1970's and never updated. The parking lots has tons of potholes and the place looks dumpy. Time to renovate !!!!! read more

I haven't been to Restaurant Daou in ages. So we all gathered and brought the whole family there. We had the Fattouch salad, falafel zehlaweh, vegetarian vine leaves, baba Ghanoug (eggplant puree) & hummus. All the entrées were delicious but la pièce de resistance was a dish called Syadieh with rice cooked in home made fish broth perfumed with different spices, nuts, tilapia fish and onion confit. You don't go to this restaurant for its decor but for the delicious authentic Lebanese food. Great staff, the owners are very friendly. The price is a bit high but worth it for the quality offered. There is a slight chance that you meet the René Angelil or Dion family eating there. An overall great experience. As a expatriot I truly know what I am talking about read more

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Authentic Lebanese food never tasted any better. The service is great and the food is even greater. Whether you're dining with your spouse or with a large group, the outcome is always great. I definitely recommend Daou for your Lebanese fix! read more

I am so confused by the high ratings here... perhaps I came on an off day? Maybe it's because I'm Middle Eastern and have certain standards when it comes to my region's fare? All I know is that the lunch I just had could be summed up with a giant "meh"/turn-y hand gesture. We ordered two dishes. The first was the day's special, which consisted of a plate of rice mixed with minced meat and topped with chicken and pine nuts. The rice mixture was fine but the chicken was soooo dry and totally tasteless. It came with a side salad that was adequately dressed but pretty sad-looking all around. Our second dish was the kafta plate (minced meat formed into pipe-shaped burgers) with fries (it was between that or more rice). The kafta was sort of flavourful but again, very very dry. The fries were fine but I would have honestly preferred a salad to go with it (they wouldn't allow for substitutions). On the whole, the level of food we got simply could not justify the prices listed on the menu. I have no doubt that a lot of love goes into this place, but at $20 a plate for something I swear is done better by (insert name of fast-food Lebanese restaurant), I just can't justify coming here. I'm really not trying to be mean or dismissive, just honest. It's not as if the ambiance or service validates that sort of premium either. Lunch did end on a somewhat positive note thankfully with dessert and coffee. Our kadaif was to die for and our coffee came with the perfect consistency for fortune telling! read more

Very disappointing. Chicken sandwich was very dry and the chicken had many pieces of rubbery fat. Not worth it.

I came here wit my colleagues. It's definitely more of family restaurant. I am by no means an expert on Lebanese food but I liked it. The service was fast at first but then it did take awhile for the grilled meats to come.   I tried the Lebanese beer, Almaza, for the first time. It was good... very light. We started with the fattouche which is basically a lettuce salad with grilled pita. It was good but nothing too impressive. We also ordered the taboulé but I didn't try it because I'm not a fan of that much parsley on a plate. The regular hummus and hummus hachoui were very good. It was my first time having the latter. I liked the mix of hummus with minced meat. Also I don't usually like babaghanouj but this one was very good! I had at least three servings of it! Next we had the habra nayeh which is basically raw minced meat. It was a bit bland on its own but it came with onion and mint on the side. I thought it was weird that they chopped an onion in half n just gave it to us like that to eat. I figured they would have cut it up in little pieces and put it on top of the meat. I mixed the raw meat with hummus , babaghanouj and olive oil and it made it better. I didn't eat the yabrak siameh (cold vegetarian vine leaves) because there was already so much food on the table and I've tried the Greek one before and didn't really like it all that much. I did try the warm one with meat inside. It was OK. Besides the babaghanouj, my favorite thing was the falafel with Tahini sauce. However, my Syrian colleague didn't like it for the same reasons that I did like it....it was very grainy. Apparently it's not supposed to be like that and I've had falafel at sumac and panthere vert so I knew it wasn't supposed to be like that but I really liked the taste and the texture. The one I had at sumac was very hard and I didn't enjoy it but this was the opposite. Lastly we had the grilled meats. I wasn't impressed with the chicken. It was hard and not juicy. The shish kebab was good thought and the kefta kebab was OK. Our sides consisted of rice, fries, and pita bread so there was something for everyone. read more

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This review is based purely on the food I ordered from Daou Restaurant on Marcel Laurin. Simply put, the food was outstanding. The grape leaves were so tender they were almost buttery and perfectly seasoned with the right "tightness" (Middle easterners understand what I am talking about!). The kibbe neyah was the perfect balance of fresh raw minced beef, onion, spices and cracked wheat. It was almost silky...the best I have had in a long time. The kibbe b'sanieh, cooked flat in a tray, was fantastic, again perfectly balanced with a filling of ground beef onion and pine nuts that was addictive. An excellent meal from start to finish. read more

A go-to place for great lebanese food. I go there very often and i never had a bad surprise. The chiken and kebba are very good and the service is great! Recommend to anybody who likes lebanese food without a doubt! read more

This place is outstanding. I had the hors d'oeuvre viande and everything was very tasty. The dolmades (they call them 'vines') were tight and fresh-tasting -- if I was ordering a main they'd make an excellent appetizer. The kebba was delicately spiced, and the falafel was spectacular. I had a nice chat with the owner on exiting -- she and two sisters emigrated from Lebanon in '75. They bring a really authentic and pleasant dining experience to the area. read more

Very few good Lebanese restaurants with such good quality. I see the prices are fair enough yet some ppl can find them a little bit expensive specially for the appetisers but only one is enough. Had the grill plate which taste so good. i advice to try the arak drink too and finish your meal with atayef, will definitely go back. read more

From the outside Daou looks a bit run down. Not so once you enter. The food is fresh. The service is professional. Don't miss the grilled meat. read more

I'm a falafel freak and Daou has one of the best falafel in pita in the city. The falafel balls are always fresh and the whole thing has a great tahini/lemon flavor. It's a big sandwich and I usually order it to go as a whole meal. I'm a vegetarian (they also have fab fatoush and taboule salad) but I when I've brought meat lovers there they are happy. I've been going there for a good 15 years. Be warned that it is a bit noisy if you eat there and there are lots of people - but the food is fab. read more

Food and service are great...a lots of flavors in your mouth. You go there for the food and not for the decoration, it may need to be renovated a little bit but I guess it's the charm of the place. A bit expensive though but I will go back again... read more

I was planning to order from Daou for my family dinner party, and I decided to sample the food. I ordered a plate of mixed grilled meat with fries and falafel, they were both terrible...the red meat pieces and Kafta were raw inside, I came home and had to cook everything myself. The fries have seen better days, they were limp greasy and basically inedible, on top of that I found a white hair nestled inside, I threw them out. The falafel were a complete disaster, I have eaten falafel more times than I can count and those were the worst I ever had, they lacked taste and texture, I honestly did not taste the distinctive falafel taste of spices and crunchiness . I was very disappointed with this restaurant and felt cheated as I know they know what real Lebanese food should be like. The only positive thing out of this experience is that I tried the food before using them for my event. Sorry Daou but you lost me as a potential customer! read more

Daou - Awful greasy fries - Lebanese Near Me - Saint-Laurent, Quebec

Not good enough as I expected, but the grilled mutton is tender and delicious. Service is so so. Price is a little higher than other kabab restaurants. read more

I've been to quite a few Lebanese restaurants in different parts of the world and this is one of the best. The food, service, and atmosphere is excellent. I'm definitely returning. read more

I respect the fact that they have been existing for 20 years but they need to pick it up a notch. In fact they need a complete makeover. They consider themselves a great restaurant but they should act like one in all aspects. Here are just a few examples examples : Offering "Mouton Cadet" and kind on their wine list is very "passé". I had 2 large lemon chicken breasts served only with a huge mountain of fried rice in a very small plate, not good! Presentation and elegance all around is not their strength. The rice was falling off the sides! C'mon! My wife had the small "fish du jour" with fries ($29 + tax), was surprised because the price was not on the menu. And to drink, I had a soft drink served in a can!... also, the waiter tried to convince that their olives (given at table) were good when they much too sour. He did nothing. This place was almost empty (3 couples) in this large bland fully illuminated restaurant on a Thursday night. By the way, It's the only restaurant where they serve bread in a plastic bag! To end it all, the waiter did not bring me the bill, told me to go to the cashier counter in order to pay. They also charged for a salad I did not order but they corrected it. Much too pricey to appreciate. Probably good for Groups that like very average and expensive food. Certainly not good for romantic ambiance. I will not go back. Feb 2015. read more