Lovely Little Café on Laurier

1499 Avenue Laurier E, Montréal, QC H2J 1H8 

Byblos Le Petit Café is warm, bright, and packed on a Sunday morning. Being of Iraqi descent, Middle Eastern hospitality is not unfamiliar to me. I grew up eating my grandmother’s Middle Eastern specialties at large dinner parties and have a great fondness for this cuisine. So I ventured out to Laurier East in search of this familiar warmth on a cold Sunday morning.

Byblos is a Persian café serving traditional Persian brunch and I was excited to learn about their culture in the best way I know how, through my palette. Their menu also does an amazing job of explaining the meaning behind certain food traditions, so I suggest taking the time to read it through.

We sat right by the window on a sunny day and debated on what to order for quite a while. Our waitress, an elderly woman (whom I believe to be the owner) came to take our order and somehow knew exactly what we wanted. “So you are having the feta omelette, with a pot of Iranian black tea? What kind of jam do you want.” Me: “Um. That is exactly what we’re having, but we will also try a date omelette and the nectarine and lime jam please!” Well that was easy.

For those of you who are a bit skeptical, the date omelette was delicious. Both omelettes are to be eaten with pita bread or Iranian sweet bread and they happen to compliment each other perfectly. The feta omelette is creamy and whipped and makes the perfect spread for the pita. The homemade jam was fragrant and not too sweet and went perfectly with the traditional Iranian bread.

Byblos Le Petit Café is the type of place you want to spend your Sunday chatting away over a pot of tea, or Arabic coffee and delving into a new culture by sampling their food. I will definitely be back to this lovely café on Laurier!

Mind, Taste, Lifestyle.