Montréal, Outremont
514.490.1999
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On Labour Day, my boyfriend A finally was free to go out. (A was working 3 weeks in Montréal and had been keeping quite busy.) He had a list of restaurant recommendations from a friend who also studied at McGill. One of them was near my sister's and her husband's condo (where A was staying) in nearby Outremont, just on the other side of Mount Royal.
Rumi is a quaint restaurant serving a mixture of North African and Middle Eastern food. I loved the décor, especially the Moroccon lanterns (I didn't get to buy any when I visited). The restaurant was first quiet but became very busy very quickly.
A and I each started with a small bowl of dal rumi ($3.50) made of red lentils, ginger and coconut milk. There are not many dal's I've met that I've disliked. I love the combination of lentils and seasoning and this soup was no exception. A great start to warm me up on a rainy day!
Dal Rumi.
At my suggestion, A and I shared 3 mezes (for $17) with naan bread ($2). We picked the hodja (roasted eggplant and peppers), hamdi (roasted peppers marinated in cider vinegar) and wali (sheep's milk feta). All three mezes were tasty. I love the roasted pepper salad - very Mediterranean. The eggplant dip was flavoured with tomatoes. The tangy and salty sheep's milk feta tasted great also. I loved going in between all three mezes, topping each on a piece of naan bread.
Three mezes (clockwise, from left):hodja (roasted eggplant and peppers), wali (sheep's milk feta) and hamdi (roasted peppers marinated in cider vinegar).
Finally, A and I shared the vegetarian platter majdub ($17). The vegetable medley included interesting vegetables like patty squash and celery root (that I had to translate from French and wasn't feeling 100% confident with those two terms, but I was right!). The tomato-ey sauce spiced with cinnamon was a perfect accompaniment to the rice topped with raisins.
Rumi is the perfect place for a date or a nice dinner. The food was very good, maybe slightly overpriced for the portions.
