Montreal Eats: Dinner at Rumi

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We went to Montreal for the Formula 1 race, and on Friday Tomiko, Ryan, and I met an old high school friend for dinner. She suggested Rumi, a restaurant specializing in Middle Eastern, North African, and Central Asian cuisine. Since all of us had gone to school in Saudi Arabia, we were all excited to try out this restaurant in the Plateau neighbourhood of Montreal.

The decor was a mix of North African, Middle Eastern, Turkish, and Persian pieces, dishes, lamps, and textiles. It actually looked a lot like our parents’ house!

When I arrived, most of the tables were empty but reserved. Sure enough, shortly after everyone else arrived the place was packed. No surprise, since the food was amazing and the service was friendly and helpful.

Ryan ordered a cherry juice to drink, while Tomiko ordered a hibiscus tea with orange blossom water and mint.

Tomiko and I shared a platter of three cold mezes served with naan. We chose the refreshing and tangy hodja made of roasted eggplant, tomato, roasted red peppers, and herbs; salty and creamy cevisli made with sheep’s feta, walnuts, crème fraiche, and smoked paprika ; and buttery sweet sunna made of butternut squash, tahini, and maple syrup. These were amazing and colourful with all different but complementary flavours. I kind of wished I hadn’t eaten so much for lunch at the Formula One Paddock Club!

Tomiko also ordred pastilla, small phyllo pastry triangles filled with a cinnamon-flavoured chicken, almond, and coriander mixture. Now she says she needs to try making this at home!

Ryan ordered the Suleyman, the slow-cooked chicken stew flavoured with the chef’s current inspiration. In this instance, the chicken was stewed with prunes and dried apricots in a Moroccan-style tagine served with saffron basmati rice.

Our Montreal friend ordered the Husam, a khoresh (Persian stew) of lamb shoulder stewed with advieh, a Persian spice blend. It was served with saffron basmati rice and topped with dried rose petals. It looked and smelled delicious but I was too shy to ask for a taste of the rice and sauce.

All of us shared dessert; the above is a milk pudding flavoured with cardamom and pistachios and topped with dried rose petals. We also had a cherry and pistachio tart that was sweet, tangy, and crunchy but sadly not that photogenic.

My high school friend ordered a small pot of cardamom-flavoured Persian tea that was served in an ornate metal teapot. That tiny little thing poured out over four glasses of tea, enough for me to have a taste. We love cardamom and this tea was such a great way to end a memorable meal.

 

The food was so gorgeous and delicious that it really inspired me to keep experimenting with all the Persian recipes and flavour combinations I read about. The atmosphere was quite cosy and relaxed, and the servers did not rush us through our meal and were able to split our bill at the end. I really need to make my way up to the Persian neighbourhood in northern Toronto to buy bagfuls of pistachios, barberries, and rosepetals.

 

Visit Rumi:

5198 Rue Hutchison, Outremont, QC H2V 4A9
(514) 490-1999