By Mike Cohen
My family and I have been enjoying the fine cuisine of Lezvos West Restaurant on Decarie Blvd. near Monkland for many years. In fact this summer we were hoping to experience Lezvos North in St. Sauveur. But with the COVID-19 pandemic, restaurants continue to adjust to the new normal and that means trying to succeed with the take-out and delivery options.
John Drymousis and his wife Carmela Tamarazzo have been able to count on a loyal clientele since they opened their first restaurant on Mount Royal Street in 1999. So even though the pandemic forced them to close their dining rooms, the business remains very strong given the circumstances.
For the past few months, they have been serving their loyal clients at both locations via take-out and delivery (Uber Eats). With restaurants permitted to open to diners with smaller capacities and strict safety standards in place, Lesvos is back in operation seven days a week in NDG and up north.
Take-out and delivery still remains the preference of some clients.
John is out and about during the day at the different markets buying the products necessary. Most of their regular suppliers, except for the one who provided such amazing mushrooms, continue to furnish their needs. John then joins another chef in the kitchen, with both wearing masks and gloves. The ever so friendly Hasbeeb greets customers at the door and provides curbside pickup service. You merely need to pull up in front and call. Hasbeeb will be out in a flash.
Carmela has the restaurant phone number forwarded to her personal line starting in the morning and she takes reservations and pickup orders, rewriting the latter neatly by hand and forwarding them to the team. She urges people to call in by 4:15 pm so she can assure pickup or delivery at the desired time.
My mother-in-law and father-in-law are Lezvos West regulars. They have held family celebrations there before and they were actually unaware of their take-out and delivery option. So when I made the order I did so for two households. The request was for a 5:45 pm pickup and everything was fresh and ready at the precise time my car pulled up. Hasbeeb had three bags properly labeled. I dropped one-off for my in-laws and then headed home to unpack our selections.
We ordered two green salads, with feta on the side to start. Nicely chopped and featuring their own home dressing, it was as good as in the dining room. Then came the fried Lezvos, crispy zucchini with some tzatziki sauce as well as eggplant salad dip. My wife and daughter opted for the lamb chops, cooked a perfect medium while I jumped at the chance to order the Mediterranean Sea Bass. As a side dish, we had some yellow rice. Everything was packed well and transferred beautifully to our plates. My in-laws shared the fried Lezvos, sea bass and rice. They were thrilled to be at their own dining room condo, with some of their favorite Lezvos items.
Carmela’s brother Donato runs the St. Sauveur operation. Besides their regular clientele up north, all of the seasonal and weekend cottagers are keeping them busier than expected. “We had to add staff,” says John.
Take-out and delivery also makes available some of the mouthwatering hot and cold appetizers such as kopanesti, dolmadakia, spanakopita, taramosalata, flaming saganaki, octopus, calamari and more. The cold appetizer plate contains a number of these delicacies.
Other fish selections include grilled salmon, grilled swordfish and grilled Chilean seabass.
Lezvos West is located at 4235 Decarie Blvd in Montreal. You can call 514-484-0400. Lezvos North is located at 429 Rue Principale in Saint Sauveur. The phone number is 450-227-4170. For more details log on to http://www.lezvos.com.