My final stop for this year’s MTL a Table event was to BarBounya, a restaurant I have had on my list for a while now. After having read so many great articles and reviews about it and its sister restaurant Su in Verdun, I figured if I was ever going to give turkish food a shot, Chef Fisun Ercan and her team were probably the place to really do it.
Compared to the more formal Su, BarBounya described itself as a Turkish tapas bar. The look of the room fits with that description. Most of the seating is along bars that go around the space. There are a few communal style tables as well. The style is a mixture of old and new where the old elements of a townhouse on the Plateau are blended with some more modern touches of lighting and decor. Your eyes naturally fixate on the beautiful bar along the side wall with the high cabinets behind it – housing the wine – as well as the open window into the kitchen where you can see the kitchen staff work their magic.
BarBounya did their MTL à Table menu a little different in that we were served all the items in the tapas style of the restaurant – the dishes simply portioned according to the size of your dinner party. I was not aware of that going in but frankly, everything on the menu sounded good so at least it eliminated any debating amongst the four of us in what we were going to order.
First service brought forth three items. First was kale tempura served with a spicy tomato sauce and some yogourt. I never thought I would enjoy a dish whose primary ingredient was kale but here we are. The tempura actually stuck to the leaves and created a crunchy exterior. The kale itself didn’t wilt and kept some tenderness within the tempura coating. The spicy tomato sauce and the creamy cool yogourt provided some nice contrasting dipping sauces to use in conjunction.
Next was a salad of beets and chickpeas served with black garlic yogourt. Another big hit at the table – the freshness of the beets was a nice pairing with the crisp chickpeas and the subtle hit of garlic within the creamy yogourt. Another dish where the main ingredient is not an usual favourite of mine but it certainly gave me a further appreciation of beets.
Final dish of the first course was grilled octopus carpaccio. Outside of the contradiction between grilled octopus and carpaccio – yes I know people use carpaccio to refer to any preparation of meat thinly cut but to me, carpaccio means raw – this dish was delicious. The octopus was beautifully tender and fresh and a nice mixture of oil and greens to enhance its natural flavour.
The second course provided another three dishes to enjoy. The surprise hit was the barley salad with butternut squash, sun-dried tomatoes and nuts. A very hearty salad with the sweetness of the squash and the tomatoes working well with the earthy barley.
The grilled lamb Köfte with tomato salsa was exactly as I would expect – spiced lamb meatballs grilled beautifully. The tomato salsa provided a little freshness to the festivities.
The final dish was pulled pork served over an eggplant puree. The pulled pork was flavourful and tender but truthfully the star was that puree. Wonderfully smooth and creamy – the natural flavour of the eggplant came through so well without being overwhelming to the pork served over top of it. First thing my girlfriend said afterwards was that she wanted to try making it after we had it – the impact was that strong.
To finish things off nicely for dessert, we got some chocolate baklava and almond pudding. The baklavas were not overly sweet thankfully with a nice touch of chocolate mixed in. The pudding was creamy and smooth. The addition of the pistachio and pomegranate crumble over the top added some nice extra flavours. A pleasant sweet touch to end a wonderful meal.
BarBounya was a awesome experience from beginning to end. Every dish was enjoyed and devoured by myself and the rest of the group. Such a great usage of fresh ingredients all across the entire meal. Add to that some nice glasses of wine, a nice atmosphere indoors and nicely attentive service – props to our waitress for checking with my pregnant friend about the lamb – and you have a restaurant that definitely come back to much sooner than it took me to visit in the first place… and I suppose its sister Su is now higher up on my to-visit list now.
Cheers!
BarBounya
234 Laurier Ouest
514 439 8858
Ramblings from the Complex Mind of a 30 Something 