Avesta

Avesta Restaurant Review:

Find a window on Rue Ste. Catherine West where women demonstrate how to make lavash, traditional Anatolian bread, and you’ll have discovered Avesta. This simple restaurant offers stools adorned with Turkish tapestries and a colorful collection of Turkish carpets on the walls. Appetizers outshine mains, the most memorable being muhammara, a thick, rich serving of pomegranate paste with fresh walnuts and pine nuts. Then try a mint-flavored, hearty bowl of red-lentil soup and, if you dare, a small glass of ayran, a very salty milk and yogurt drink. The main course, tava kavurma, consists of chili --- hot and salty --- made with sautéed beef studded with onions and egg bits. It is served with a substantial bulgur rice pilaf. The lavash --- essentially a thinner version of naan --- is a tasty treat useful for scooping the oily hummus and yogurt, and just chewy enough to keep you digging into the basket for more. Wrap things up with a more-than-bite-size portion of baklava, not overly syrupy, but sweet enough to chase away the thought of ayran.