Kaza Maza

I really didnt like the food, especially considering the price, but it’s a question of flavor and personal preference. I’ve never had these flavors before, and it didnt help that the entrees I chose (Mouhamarra, mousaqaa, stuffed vines…) were all cold, which i was told is how they’re served.
The olives they brought as sides were really bitter, and the Kefta my friends ate were so so. They put cold salad on hot kefta, so everything ended up being kind of cold.
Maybe it’s enjoyable to eat cold cooked vegetables in Syrian heat but in Canadian winterish weather… Not my cup of tea. And the flavors, I just really did not enjoy them. Again, personal preference, but no one at my table took a liking to it. So warning, not for everyone.
I still recommend it for date night or a group dinner. I like the mood lighting, and service is diligent. It’s worth trying once, you might like it!

Amazing Syrian /​Lebanese food. …everything was so delicious and portions were generous. The Kafta in cherry sauce was out of this world… highly recommended restaurant.

Delicious food! The only place in Montréal that ive been to that serves ‘fattet makdoos’ (which is eggplant fette. Reminded me of hamadiyeh souk breakfast restaurants back home in Damascus! Atmosphere is awesome and cozy. A great place for a date. The owner is very friendly, and everything i have eaten there is outstanding.

Vraiment tres bien. On y est allé 2 fois déjà et j’y retournerai bientôt. C’est une version du Damas moins chère et un peu moins raffinée évidement mais le rapport qualité pris est exceptionnel! Essayez les rouleaux de fromages, kaftas, humus avec viandes. La salade avec pommes grenades est bonne mais ce n’est pas mon plat préféré. Ils ont une petite terrasse dehors l’été et le vin est abordable. Une belle petite adresse à connaître.

I was so happy to find a Lebanese restaurant in Montréal and this was place was pretty good and the staff was nice.
This is hands down the best fattoush I have ever had, the salad by far upstaged everything else that I ate. Everything else I ordered was good to okay.

Belle adresse à retenir. L’agneau était succulent et très savoureux, tout en nuances. J’ai adoré la purée de betteraves disponibles dans les mezzés. Si vous aimez la découverte des arômes, des ingrédients, des épices, vous serez au bon endroit. J’ai beaucoup apprécié l’ambiance décontractée. Le vin libanais qui accompagnait nos plats était dans le ton; excellente recommandation de notre serveur. En définitive, une table à retenir surtout pour les saisons fraîches/​froides où la nourriture apporte chaleur et réconfort.

If you think of Lebanese as shawarma and kebab, go to this place and go often. Love it.

I thought the service was great. Our waiter was extremely friendly and helpful. I thought the appetizers were pretty plain, with the exception of the keftas (which look like quesadillas). Otherwise, we got the baba, fattoush and filet mignon slices, which were not super flavorful. If the place weren’t so expensive, it wouldn’t be so bad. Oh yea, we did get one entrée, the octopus. Again, it was solid but not exceptional. Probably will not go back.

Came here with family while visiting Montréal. Ambience is very nice and raised expectations. Waited for an hour for our order to brought out (party of 6); 1 persons dish brought out 20mins prior to anyone elses; once everyone elses food was brought I was told my Salmon was forgotten and would talk another 10mins; server offered any appetizer free of charge.
Food was very simple and basic; grilled chicken dish was dry and burned, veggie entrie was okay; minus the lamb was still charged same amount.
No one was thrilled about the food; Kefta Kebabs are good.
I would not recommend this place as their are many other great Mediterranean options in Montréal which are alot better.

wow wow wow … Kazza Maza is definitely the gold standard when it comes to Arabic, middle eastern, Lebanese and Syrian food in Canada. Amazing amazing flavours, service and ambience.

Montréal, you are so lucky to have this restaurant. Great sit down Lebanese/​Syrian restaurants that go beyond shawarma are hard to find.
Everything I had was fantastic. And believe me, I sampled a large portion of the menu.
Fattoush — beyond words. This is an incredibly flavorful dish that will leave you wondering how a salad upstaged the rest of your meal. Not to be missed.
Baba Ganoush — Smokey eggplant dip topped with sweet and sour pomegranate seeds. So many great flavor a married together.
Mouhamara — red pepper, walnuts, breadcrumbs ground together into a delicious dip
Moussa’qa — eggplant and peppers stewed together in a tomato sauce and served cold topped with lebnah– a thick sour cream that is hard to stop eating
Fried Kibbeh — crispy fried bulgur wrapped around ground meat and nuts
Kefta in pomegranate tahini sauce — served over rice, the sauce is to die for
Service was friendly and attentive as well. The atmosphere is non pretentious but still a nicer restaurant, perfect for a date or meeting up with a group of friends (lots of dishes meant to be shared with a group). By 9 pm on a Saturday it was full save for one or two tables plus people waiting.
Seriously, if you are curious about middle eastern food, Kaza Maza will make you a fan.

Great atmosphere and good food. And best of all, they have their own private parking lot behind the restaurant, and even though it’s tiny, it’s a life savor in such a busy area, especially on weekends

My enjoyment of Middle Eastern cuisine is a very recent occurrence. Part of that was never being exposed to it younger outside of bad shawarma at fast food joints. Hard to enjoy something when you’ve only known the bad stuff. My discovery of Sumac a few months ago peaked my interest in this cuisine and I’m now more inclined to try some stuff I perhaps wasn’t previously. This came into play a few weeks ago when a friend of my girlfriend’s invited us to a restaurant for what she called the best eggplant dish ever. The catch was she wouldn’t tell us where we were going! The day of, she told us to meet her at Parc and Mont-​Royal. Because I couldn’t resisted guessing, I thought about possible restaurants nearby where an eggplant dish would be likely. My reasoning led me to Kaza Maza which is exactly where she brought us. I clearly have a little too much knowledge of Montréal restaurants at the moment!
Kaza Maza is located on Parc Avenue in a non-​descript brickhouse. The space is sparse but nice — very much in keeping with the neighborhood and the building itself. Brick walls, white crown moldings, old wood floors, an old fireplace, minimal artwork and some nice chandeliers. There is also a bar which is nice but because of the layout of the space, it is not really intregrated with the dining room.
The menu is a variety of Middle Eastern dishes — most of which I had no clue about prior to entering the restaurant. As a starter, we went with a trio of spreads to go with some pitas. First was the mutabbal betteraves — roasted beet purée with tahini, yogourt, lemon and garlic. The vibrant pink colour of this dish is a clear indicator of just how much beet there is. I am not a beet fan generally speaking but I loved the flavour of this purée. Not overbearing in the least. The inclusion of the yogourt provided a nice smooth consistency.
The second spread was the mouhammara — ground walnuts with bread crumbs, pomegranate molasses and spices. A grainier consistency than the previously one and a much different flavour profile as well. Much more nutty and spiced with that hint of sweetness from the pomegranate molasses. Very enjoyable.
Our last starter was the one I already knew prior to this meal — Labneh. A thick yogourt, this was a rich, creamy and slightly sour spread that provided a perfect constrast to the other two.
Once we finished off the spreads, our mains arrived. First we had the arrayes kefta — Grilled pita stuffed with spiced minced lamb served with hummus and pomegranate molasses. To me, this dish was a slight miss. Compared to what we had so far, this felt fad and lacked strong flavour which is a surprise given the use of spiced lamb.
The grilled octopus with lentils was a much bigger success. The octopus was grilled perfectly… I simply wish there had been more! If that is my only complaint, you know the dish works well.
The final main was the catalyst for the whole evening — The fattet makdous — layers of fried eggplant, crispy pita bread, yogourt tahini sauce, garlic tomato sauce, pine nuts and almonds. Yeah… this is an excellent eggplant dish. The use of crispy pitas seems weird when you read it in the description but it works beautifully to add some crunch to the mix. The sweetness of the tomato sauce, the creaminess of the tahini sauce, the nuttyness of the almonds and pine nuts — all of it works well with the fried eggplant and makes this a very satifying dish. Is it the best eggplant dish in Montréal? Not willing to go that far but it’s top of the list for now!
For dessert, we had classic baklavas as well as. The baklavas, thankfully not drenched in honey, were just sweet enough without getting on my nerves — an issue I’ve always run into with baklavas. We also had what I believe to have been halawets — our waitress told us but I honestly forgot the name. Pretty good as well — once again, not too sweet and a nice creamy texture.
Kaza Maza was a great meal and a wonderful introduction for me to new Middle Eastern dishes. In cases like this, it is always great when I can order a meal of almost entirely unknown dishes and have a great night. I know that Middle Eastern cuisine isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but I highly recommend you give Kaza Maza a try and yeah… don’t forget the eggplant dish.
Cheers!

Cadre agréable du restaurant aménagé dans un ancien rez-​de-​chaussée d’une maison particulière. La cuisine est bonne avec un bon choix de mezze.
Accueil d’une grande gentillesse et service simple et discret

Great small dishes, served beautifully and very tasty. The carpaccio, hummus and fattoush salad were my favorites. The waiter could’ve been a little more knowledgable about wines and the dishes he served. Not too too pricy.

Fantastic food, fantastic service.
A friend of mine (from out of town) and I arrived right when they opened on a Saturday and pretty much had the place to ourselves. This meant that the staff was able to chat more and suggest and recommend different foods to us — which was great! We ended up trying things we would have originally overlooked!
The hummus with lamb was fantastic as was the lamb shank — but I’m fairly sure everything on the menu would have been fantastic as well!
I’m definitely planning on returning.

Great food made with fresh ingredients at a very good price. The restaurant itself is very charming as long as the service. Will certainly go back.

Delicious, Fresh, Nice atmosphere. Two of us split four appetizers and were full. The wait staff was friendly and sweet. The salad – mentioned in other reviews – was tasty, as was a beet purée dish we had. Yum!

This is a wonderful place. Most options contain beef or shrimp which originally made me a little skeptical, because id say i am definitely one of those people who like sharing different dishes with the people I’m with, but all dishes can be served as a vegetarian option. Our waiter was extremely helpful and described the food extremely well and helped us make a decision based of of my little knowledge to middle eastern cuisine. But honestly, i could’ve chosen anything off of that menu and have it be delicious. Definitely try the home made hummus and babagounoush which is out of this world. This place is a charming spot for a date or even a large party, for the space is well laid out and extremely quaint. Definitely worth a visit down du Parc. Oh yeah and cant beat the pita bread and olives tat compliment any dish you try!

I love this place. The crew and mood is not Lebanese.
In a way you miss out because Lebanese tend to have this hospitable joyful nature in them, and they serve food with passion rather than a sense of duty.
And in a way that’s good and keeps the vibe more international-​friendly and at decent volume– because the place is small for loud Lebanese laughing crowd :)
Basically, it’s the place to have great Lebanese food but not the total Lebanese experience, which worked very well for me and my friends.
Everyone was mega impressed by the food. We had the Masaya wine, and enjoyed the taste of the Lebanese grapes.

Kaza Maza was easily the culinary highlight of my trip to Montréal. The spicy aroma of Mediterranean food hit us the moment we walked into this living room-​turned-​restaurant establishment.
We decided to do this meal tapas-​style and shared everything we ordered. We started with a Lebanese Reserve red wine that was full of flavor and was an excellent combo with the food. As an appetizer, we had the kibbe, which was a generous portion and cooked to perfection. We moved on to an order of hummus and an order of baba ganoush. I loved the hummus and my girlfriend loved the baba ganoush. For our main, we got the fattet makdous, which was an eggplant dish with lamb crispy pita. It was indescribable and equally amazing.
We probably got a bit too much food but it was so good I can’t say I regret it at all. I wish this place were in NYC so I could eat there regularly.

A friend and I came here today, as we were craving Syrian food. Damas (a few blocks away) is another Syrian place that he had been to before but it is only open for dinner so we decided to try something new.
Food — the menu has quite a good selection of appetizers and entrees. We decided to start with a fattoush (Mediterranean salad with toasted pita chips) and a kibbe nayyeh which is essentially a Lebanese/​Syrian version of beef tartare. The portions were both quite large considering we got the smaller versions of both appetizers. The salad was delicious (probably the peak of our meal) and the kibbe was alright. It lacked depth and complexity of flavor — probably needed to sit a bit longer with spices. For the mains, I am a big fan of kefta (lamb) and tart/​sweet fruit sauces so I got the one that was cooked in a sour cherry sauce. There was also a pomegranate tahini sauce. It was very good. The meat was tender and it was paired perfectly with the side of rice that accompanied it. The flavours could have been a bit more complex and it felt like nutmeg overpowered the meat a bit, but overall it was very good. My friend got the braised lamb shank with friki (wheat) and while the meat was well cooked and tender, it was completely devoid of flavour. It had no seasoning or herbs and even the yogurt dipping sauce that came with it didn’t help much. For being what seemed to be a special of the restaurant, it was quite disappointing.
Service/​Ambiance — We came in on a Sunday early afternoon and the restaurant was pretty much empty — there was only a family having lunch so we were seated quite promptly. The service was below average to average. Basically it seemed like he just really didn’t care. He did answer our questions about the menu but that was the extent of our interaction. No one came by to check how things were tasting and it was a bit slow at the end to pay. The restaurant is pretty bare bones. It’s a pleasant atmosphere but nothing extraordinary. It is a good casual place to grab food. It is a decent size so probably good for groups.
Overall, we were left full and relatively satisfied with our meals. From what I have heard, Damas would have been a much better option, albeit at a higher price point. I don’t think I would come back here but it was not an unpleasant experience. It is just that for what we paid, we could have had something much better elsewhere, considering the extensive choice of food from this area in Montréal.

Salade fattouche et baba ganoush à se rouler par terre!
Rouleaux au fromage miam!
Ambiance chaleureuse.

Ate another fantastic meal here.
We are here last year & this year. Both amazing meals.
This time we had a nice assortment of lamb dishes, a glass of wine, a salad, and a lentil dish. We are for three & it was fantastic.
Service is bi-​lingual — as are the new menus.
Go when they have live music if you can. Otherwise, just go and enjoy! It gets busier later in the evening.
I would get a reservation after 7p.

Savoureux! Les plats sont excellents, service charmant et attentionné qui nous fait oublier le niveau sonnore un peu élevé lorsque la salle est pleine.

Le lieu est superbe: c’est dans une maison de ville, au rez-​de-​chaussée. On a vraiment l’impression d’aller manger chez quelqu’un !
Nous y étions un Jeudi soir avec une amie. Au menu, une dégustation de 3 entrées (baba, moussaka et une crème à la betterave) et une kefta aux fruits… un délice !! Les entrées sont généreuses (nous avons même pu en remporter) et le kefta… un délice !! Le vin libanais servi au verre accompagnait très bien ce repas !
Nous devrons y retourner: il nous manqué des plats à découvrir !!

Lamb shank with friki and kefta with tahini (sesame paste) and pomegranate. Without trying them out, how would you guys know what it taste like?! We would just like to describe them simply: lamb was fork-​tender and friki had good amount of spices which gave great flavors; and kefta had toasted pistachios & walnuts in the meatball with its shockingly delicious rich sauce. Fell in love with Syrian cuisine already.
The service was very good. We loved the waitress who talked like a good friend taking care of/​sharing many things in life. One thing though, the restaurant got very busy after 9 pm and there was only one waitress, it was a bit too long to wait for the check. But anything was fine. We were truly pleased with the food and service by the time we were about to leave.
Anyone out there who hasn’t tried Syrian food! Please take a visit to Kaza Maza!

Ce restaurant, qui propose une cuisine d’inspiration syrienne, est spécialisé dans les mézés, qui sont en quelques sortes les tapas des moyen-​orientaux. En entrée, j’ai donc pris du Baba Ghannouj, que j’ai tartiné sur du pain pita. Le tout était savoureux, mais né valait peut-​être pas les sept dollars que ce mézzé coûtait. Ensuite, en plat principal, j’ai commandé un plat à base d’agneau, pour me faire répondre qu’il n’y avait plus d’agneau, ce qui est pour le moins étrange pour un restaurant syrien. J’ai finalement choisi un sprême de poulet à l’ail en plat principal et j’ai l’ai apprécié. Aussi, le service était assuré par le propriétaire lui-​même ce soir-​là, alors que nous étions les seuls clients dans ce restaurant. Sans doute la situation était-​elle dû à un concours de circonstance malheureux, mais le service était très lent. Bref, si vous souhaitez découvrir la cuisine syrienne, allez-​y. Cependant, si vous souhaitez simplement ous offrir une bonne table, je crois que vous en aurez davantage pour votre argent en allant ailleurs.