Zyara — Restaurant in Montreal

My family and I had heard about Zyara for about a year or so now since we're Lebanese and this restaurant offers a variety of Lebanese food, maybe one of the first full mezza restaurants on the South Shore of Montréal. For some reason, we never thought of trying it until my mom won a gift-certificate of the place and that's when we decided to go at the beginning of January 2019.

Being that this restaurant is in Quartier Dix30, I wasn't expecting it to be less than great. It's in a very calm setting, placed on the second floor in the Square and easy to access from the indoor parking. The decor of this place is stunning, beautiful colours, textures and designs with pink being the main theme. The bathroom was incredibly clean as well as beautiful, continuing the theme for the oriental decor. The music is mostly Lebanese, perfectly fitting with the theme of the restaurant. The staff members are very helpful, very welcoming and as soon as my family and I arrived we got directed to a nice table, with very comfortable seating. They explained the different options they had on the menu and which one would be more fit for us.

As for the food, we decided to settle for the "Grand Festin Libanais" for 42$/person. It included 6 cold and 6 hot mezza plates, grilled meat of all kinds and desert. For four people, this is MORE than enough. The food is DELICIOUS. Tabbouleh and fattoush were fresh and it was easy to tell it was made on the spot, not a long time ago. The vine leaves were absolutely delicious, as well as the falafel, hummus and baba ghannouj. The cheese rolls were also out of this world, felt very fresh. The meat, which arrived later on, was very well cooked and perfectly seasoned. Finally, the deserts reminded me of Lebanon and the ones I buy over there; nammoura, baklava, etc.

As for drinks, they have a very large selection of Lebanese (Kefraya, Ksara) and other wines, as well as your typical cocktails, scotchs, and other.

I would definitely recommend this restaurant if you're looking for a delicious Lebanese experience. I believe this is the best Lebanese restaurant I've tried in Montreal in a...

Honestly my main criticisms are all management related. The food was good, but there was a list of things that bothered me.

We were a large group of 45. The reservation was made in advance, they knew how big a group we were. This was over lunch on a weekday, so the rest of the restaurant was quite empty. Pita bread was constantly being asked for and not being brought. They could have kept it on a constant rotation. All plates were not created equal, it seemed like they ran low on Batata so they just gave everyone french fries. The lunch menu came with dessert and coffee/tea and several people had to ask about the coffee and tea. We were being billed before we got our coffee or tea. Even then, not everyone was asked, and most people had to get up and ask for coffee. Some were still forgotten. When it came time to pay, we were 45 people and ONE debit machine with one waitress. Several upper management people around, talking, none of them picked up a machine to help out.

We got there at 11:30 and left at 3 pm. Paying took, easily, 45 minutes.

Overall the wait staff did what they could, but we were constantly looking for a waiter/waitress, we should have had 3-4 and instead we had 1 who was scrambling.

I was really not impressed by management, who seemingly couldn't be bothered to help their staff out. Managers should lead...

Customer beware. Let's start by saying the food was delicious. The service was exceptional and the atmosphere warm and inviting. But...be careful when you are introduced to the tasting menu. When we entered and looked at the menu, the waiter suggested the tasting menu. We looked at the price, $42 and $48, but there were multiple mini dishes. Sounded good. We looked at the choices and decided to give them a try. After all, $42 for 2 is not overly expensive. The cold plate and the hot plates were both delicious and the portion size was plentiful. It was enough for 3 people. It also included a small dessert. However, here is where it went wrong. When we got the check, it wasn't $42 but $98, tax in. It was $42 per person. Unless, you have a magnifying glass and 20/20 vision, that little lightly colored pp cannot be seen. I was shocked and furious that the waiter never mentioned that it was per-person. We would have never ordered from the tasting menu for lunch. If you are going for dinner, it's not that bad, but really, that nuts for lunch. A lunch tasting menu would be more affordable and recommended for all those working in the area. Maybe if they had that they...