ACZoom  ·  Archive-2016

Food Rating: Value Rating:

191 Jean-Talon Street East in Montreal - walk West towards St-Laurent from the Jean-Talon metro station. Phone: +1-514-270-9361.
Open Tue-Sat for lunch and dinner.

2013: Le Petit Alep Official Website is now online with details and the whole menu.

Great food and excellent ambiance in the converted garage that houses this cafe.

Syrian/Armenian food.
Filet-mignon with a special spicy sauce - Chiche Kebab Terbialy. Absolutely the best, this is always a safe choice.
Pureed eggplant, tahini, garlic, lemon - Métabal.
Chicken in tahini - Poulet Trator.
Grilled Pita sandwich - Pitas grillés poulet. Chicken, mayo, garlic, with a nice kick - hint of spicy red-pepper?

For pictures, including a picture of the menu, visit the travel gallery Le Petit Alep in the Montreal album section.

The terbialy sauce is a nice, medium-to-hot spicy sauce,
and it makes the difference, best on the beef kababs (medium-rare), but also available with shrimp.

And then there are the weekday daily lunch specials with great soups -- just remember to get there during lunch Tuesday through Friday.
Kebbe Labanie (Kibbe Lebanese) - large meatballs in yogurt, garlic, mint sauce.
As they describe it: "boulettes de bœuf, blé concassé, noix, souce yogourt, ail, menthe".
Filet de sole Amandine
Soupe Harira - tomatoes, beef, fennel, cardamom - nice spicy soup.

Their fries, if you choose to order french fries, are amazing too - nice crunch on the outside, and soft on the inside. It is served with mayo which I presume is how they eat this in Montreal but ketchup is available too, just have to ask for it.

Ayran is my drink of choice, buttermilk with salt - "yogourt, eau, sel". I am not a coffee drinker, most everyone here seems to order the espresso coffee variants, so that is probably very good too.
Wine and liquor is available - wine can be ordered by the glass, half-bottle, or full bottle.

Prices in the cafe are a bargain - $6-$14 dishes, and perfect size servings for one person.

Water is served on arrival - can't say enough good things about that! So many restaurants are asking us to pay for water now, it is great when you are are greeted with a filled glass of water. They have a twist to this - they will keep a fancy water bottle filled with water on your table. So, no need to keep asking for water when dining on the terbialy-flavored dishes.

For dessert, try the Atayef - petite crépe farce aux noix ou à la crème.

After eating, ask for the check, and the regulars usually then take the check to the bar, to pay it. Like a French cafe, the assumption is that diners can hang out as long as they want, but for those in a hurry, remember, you have to take action to move things along.

This is the one of my regular places for dining, there have been times I've been to Montreal and eaten only at two places - Schwartz's and at Le Petit Alep!

Le Petit Alep is the younger, hipper sibling to the dinner-only Alep Restaurant right next door. Alep has a much larger menu, and the tables get the white table-cloth treatment. It has larger servings, big enough to share, and prices are $15-$25 for the main dishes. Feel free to ask for the dining area menu even if you are in the cafe, you can read the english translations, as well as find something else you may prefer - the main dining menu is 15 pages long, all items can be ordered in the cafe.

Le Petit Alep is open from 11AM to 11PM and the Alep Restaurant is open from 5PM to 10PM. Both are open Tuesday through Saturday, and closed every Sunday and Monday. They may also be closed twice a year for a two week or so stretch, so for your first visit, be sure to call before you go.

Great food and excellent ambiance.

[2007] Alep and Le Petit Alep are run by the Frangié family - the women of the family now run this place. The main Alep Restaurant was opened in 1976 by the elder Mr Frangié who ran it for long time with his wife. They opened up Le Petit Alep in 1995. His wife Jacqueline and their two daughters Chahla and Tania now keep the place running. Jacqueline and Chahla take care of the kitchen and create the excellent food, while Tania manages the tables in the dining areas.

[2008] The place has expanded, the interior is double the size, still gets full at lunch hour too. The new space has an entire wall used for displaying the wines available.

[Updated: 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013]