Mike CohenMtlRestoRap

 In 1987 Howard Szalavetz and his late father Dave purchased a property at the corner of Decarie and Vezina which housed an auto mechanics garage and a car wash. Over the years, Howard tried to add a culinary mix to the building, first with a coffee shop and then a REAL Bagel franchise. Neither succeeded,

Now, with a growing empire of some 100 buildings under his company’s wing it is safe to say that the food component on Decarie was hardly top of mind. Then last spring the telephone rang. Brothers-in-law Meir Azerad and Ynon Cohen wanted to open a polished sit-down kosher restaurant there. Howard had to think long and hard, trying to figure out how a business model like that could succeed in what was essentially the waiting room for people as their cars were being washed. Meir and Ynon were convincing and he agreed to a lease. The duo proceeded to create a model from scratch, dubbing it Nöam Restaurant in the memory of a family member who had passed away a number of years ago, and undertaking significant renovations.

Interestingly, a wood oven remained from the REAL Bagel experiment. Meir and Ynon were able to repurpose it to make pizza at up to 1000 degrees Fahrenheit in two minutes. The place opened last summer. I must admit I only found out about it recently while chatting with Howard, who encouraged me to come by. I did and what I found was one of the trendiest new spots in Montreal. Yes, this is a kosher restaurant. But the menu here is for everyone, regardless of whether you are kosher or even Jewish.

One of the Nöam Restaurant's popular pasta dishes.

One of the Noam popular pasta dishes.

The place is open every night except Friday, as well as Sunday for brunch. There are only 60 seats and reservations are strongly recommended. You can do so via Open Table, where Nöam Restaurant has already been listed on their top 100 list in Canada. The night I went, there people were still coming in the door after 9 pm.

Since the garage and car wash are closed during most restaurant hours, there are some 30 parking spots available and plenty more on Decarie and side streets. Meir and Ynon are already in discussions with Howard to add a party room at the upstairs level of the building.

The menu here has many options: soups, salads, appetizers, pasta, pizza, fish, decadent desserts and  a full liquor and wine menu as well as smoothies and milkshakes. If it is your birthday be prepared to be serenaded as loud Israeli music plays and the servers bring over a yummy dessert with sparklers in it.

Howard was my dining partner and we had an opportunity to share many items on the menu.

Ynon brought a number of dishes over to the table, enabling me to sample the cuisine and pack up the remainder to share with my office colleagues the following day.

The caprese features tomatoes and fresh mozzarella with balsamic reduction and pesto. Noam’s special is called that for a reason, a crispy fried zucchini pyramid served with homemade  tzatziki sauce. The mozzarella sticks were coated with mozzarella in a herb and parmesan breadcrumb mix, served with their marinara sauce. Then there was the arancini, three risotto balls with mushroom, mozzarella, breadcrumb coated and served with alfredo funghi sauce.

Ynon was particularly proud to showcase the Beet Carpaccio, made from roasted beets with feta cheese, balsamic reduction and topped with a glazed nut mix and the fried olives.

For the main course I went for the pan-seared tuna steak, beautifully cooked with side orders of potatoes and risotto. Howard ordered one of their amazing  pasta dishes and a Napoletano pizza, piping hot out of their special oven.

For dessert we shared their homemade chocolate lava cake, which came with some vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.

“We are working very hard the both of us to make something different in the city and a big, big vibe,” said Meir. “That is really what we are focusing on.”

Nöam Restaurant is open Monday to Thursday from 5 pm to 11:30 pm, Saturday from 9:30 pm to 2 pm and Sunday for brunch from noon to 3 pm and then 5 pm to 11 pm.It is  located at 6647 Blvd. Décarie. You can call 514-564-6626 or log on to www.noamrestaurant.com for the menu and delivery options.