HENI — Restaurant in Montreal

I walked into HENI, wanting to break my fast during Ramadan and craving something comforting that my mother would’ve made (reading “fatteh du moment” on the menu was what made me confirm my reservation).

We were immediately greeted by one of the owners Rami, who made the experience at the restaurant feel as though we were dining at a friends home. The service was warm, and as he explained the concept behind the menu it was very obvious that this was a curated labour of love for him and the team behind HENI.

The menu takes you on an explorative journey to the SWANA region: bringing culinary traditions from my own home growing up, like mouneh (a historical practice in our mothers and grandmothers kitchens: a seasons bounty in a jar, preserved or dried foods)—to life in Montreal. On the menu you will catch glimpses all the way from Iran (the khoresh-e-fesenjan) to Morocco and Tunisia (the tajine al samak).

As a Syrian I chose to err on the side of familiarity for my first time there, and we ordered the seyadeye, the shish taouk and the shish barak, dishes I’ve eaten my whole life. What we got was honestly so impressive: these dishes were recreated perfectly using local québécois produce in a way that can only be described as symbiotic.

If you’re arab and reading this; I know we are an extremely skeptical community when it comes to anyone trying to reshape our dishes (and we have a right to be—what the hell is the chocolate hummus stuff in grocery stores anyway?)—BUT: this dining experience is a must. I felt it perfectly described my history and melded it with my experience as a person living in Quebec.

The shish taouk made with celeriac was such a surprise, spiced exactly right, with fresh take on our typical side salads using black garlic and pear for an extra oomf. The shish barak tasted like my mums and that’s saying something—with the addition of black trumpet mushrooms that added a next level creaminess and textural contrast to what we’re normally used to. The seyadiye rice was cooked the traditional way, but with scallops instead of the usual fish, my only complaint here was that I could’ve eaten 5x the serving cause it was delicious.

So: order 5-6 dishes (we also did the mouneh and the canard) but you can easily do more if you’re a large group. Chat with your servers about the customs that gave birth to the menu. But overall come here to dine and experience something that pays an homage to both your old roots, and the new ones you’re trying to...

TLDR: You better go now before this restaurant pops-off the chart and becomes permanently full, I will be going again for sure.

This food is doing a more “soigné” and "modern" take on some middle-eastern influenced food. You can tell that there has been a lot of work done in order to create something unique that still brings homage to the original without sacrificing any of the flavor or looks.

My “Coup-de-coeur” of this trip (for the February menu) were definitely the rillette de volaille , the cromesquis de courge, the brochette de bison and the parfait glacé. Without spoiling each item too much, I would highly recommend these for their nice presentation, textures, tastes, and price-range.

The staff is fantastic and takes great care in explaining the origin of the dishes, the ingredients and their twist on it. They are also very agile at suggesting interesting wine pairing with each plate, which should be noted - are mostly all from Lebanon. (Super interesting drinks that are not available at the SAQ). My favorite moment was a feedback exchange on some dishes and the attention to our comments on what we would want to improve on a new item: the staff was super receptive and immediately made us test a potential improvement. That alone really displays a level of great pride in their work and should reassure you with the fact that they’re trying to improve and maximize your experience.

All in all, a great value for its price and certainly a fantastic moment. The restaurant still looks to solidify its roots in the Montreal restaurant scene but if they continue with the quality displayed during my trip, they could easily become a long-term establishment.

I already booked another reservation for later in the week.

PS: they have great music, feel free to discuss Ethiopian...

Beautiful setting, but underwhelming experience overall.

I had high hopes for this restaurant — the place is absolutely beautiful, with a lovely patio and friendly service. We ordered five à la carte items and the first two were truly excellent: the mosaïque of aubergines was delicious and the kibbeh nayeh was incredibly flavorful — a great start that really set expectations.

Unfortunately, the main dishes fell short. We shared the spicy fish and the kebab of the season. The “spicy” fish was simply a small salmon filet with a plain tahini sauce — not spicy at all and, at $32, it felt overpriced, especially in a place known for its elevated cuisine. The choice of fish and lack of depth in the dish was disappointing.

The kebab was the biggest letdown. What was served appeared to be two skewers with small pieces that looked and tasted like mushrooms. The new waitress first told us it was mushroom, then returned after checking with her colleague to say it was meat — but after trying it, it was clearly mushroom. We pointed this out again, but aside from a quick apology, there was no real acknowledgment or gesture to correct the issue. It was a frustrating moment, especially given the miscommunication and the price point.

We ended with the atayef, but again, it was disappointing — overly fried, oily, and stuffed with halloumi, which didn’t balance well.

On a positive note, the wine list was interesting, and we did enjoy the glasses we had. I really wanted to love this place, and I’m all for supporting new restaurants — but unfortunately, the experience left us underwhelmed, especially for a first visit and at this...