GUMBO (HAITIAN) ★★★★★

3155 Rue Fleury E, Montréal-Nord, QC H1H 2R2

514-303-2606

The place itself is very small but it had plenty of places to sit. It was sort of cafeteria style when It came to the side dishes, what I mean by this is while you were ordering the dishes you were able to see the different types of rice or salad and therefore you could easily make your decisions that way. According to Statistics Canada, almost 90% of all Haitians living in Canada live primarily in Quebec, another 8% living in Ontario and to 1% living in British Columbia and Alberta. And according to Canadianvisa.com, there was a huge surge in Haitian and immigration to Canada after the 2010 earthquake and although many Haitian people came to Canada under such terrible circumstances they were able to enrich our culture and diversify Montreal as a whole, therefore, I really appreciate everything that they bring with them. ​

MENU

Gumbos menu was very simple and easy to understand, it was all on a board in the back of the cash. It started with Griot which is a traditional Haitian pork dish from the research I've done. There were plenty of different meat options bujt if you didn't want to have meats you could get a vegetarian option. The side dishes were the last of the menu, there were many different options that you could get on the side that didn't come with your meal such as chicken wings and plantains. Every meal besides the boulettes de creole came with a choice of one of three different rice options, 2 banana plantains and your choice of salad.

MEAL ONE FRIED CHICKEN

The first meal we had that day was the fried chicken. The seasoning for it was really simple and it was cooked very well, this means that the skin was crunchy without being like a batter. The meat was very tender and juicy. I really did enjoy the chicken and I felt that it was different from a lot of the meals I've been having. It was nice to have a meal that was relying mostly on the way the meat was cooked rather than so many spices. It was also a very nice piece of chicken this means very big a lot of meat on the bones as well and it wasn't just the chicken breast.

We were offered two choices of rice and we decided to get the rice and beans for both our meals. It had lots of flavors and was seasoned very well it wasn't like steamed rice in Asian cuisine or basmati rice in Indian cuisine. There was a lot of rice on the plate. The rice itself was soft and the beans gave the nice texture to go with the meal and the rice went very well when paired with the meat and the sauce.

The plantains were in the shape of a pancake had a crunchy outside. It didn't have too much flavor and the inside of it was very soft. Because It didn't have too much seasoning on it it really did go well with the rest of the meal and all the other flavors especially the sauce

For the chicken dish, I decided to get the pasta salad instead of the house salad. It was very creamy and cold and kind of had the same texture and a slight mac & cheese taste. It had enough a lot of nice vegetables especially carrots which added a lot more texture to the dish and instead of just having the pasta, you had the creaminess of the sauce, the bite of the vegetables and the softness of the pasta. I would definitely have it again.

MEAL TWO FISH

I am definitely not a seafood lover but I was able to eat and enjoy the fish that I got. The texture was very soft and pulled apart easily. It wasn't too spongy which is one of the things I usually don't enjoy about seafood. It kind of have the same texture as chicken and it had a nice flavor that wasn't too fishy and it melted in your mouth.

OVERALL

Overall I really enjoyed this restaurant and will definitely be returning to try more of the dishes they have to offer. Gumbo filled my cravings perfectly, and I would recommend to anyone to go out and try this restaurant!