Restaurant Lordia: Laval’s Only Good Resto

I’m never too keen to hit up a middle-eastern sit-down restaurant, even though I’m considered a middle-easterner and think like one. Usually, these places are ghetto, badly run-down and the food never tastes good. When I was invited to hit up Lordia for a birthday party, I was a bit hesitant at first, but I decided to try it out anyway as I am working for an editorial website after all…

The birthday invitation said the party starts at 9:30 PM and ends at 3:00 AM. With a little bit of math and experience, I concluded I should hit the place up at 10:30 PM. Reason why I delayed by an hour was because I know middle-easterners like me always tend to be late. I was right again this time, as only half of the invitees arrived when I got there. Secondly, the appetizers (not to mention the main dishes) are always served late… always. There’s no point of going early to these types of places because you’ll go crazy while you starve. I recommend you curb your appetite with a little snack before you go to Lordia. You’ll thank me later.

Within twenty minutes of sitting down, the cold and hot mezzes were served (my timing was perfect) and they looked pretty good. There was the usual tabbouleh, hummus, basterma, soujouk, falafel, balila and stuff you would have no clue what they are judging by their names. I can assure you they all taste great, especially this one little dish that had an orange-ish cream with escargots floating in it. Escargots! At this point of my night, I was very pleased with the way things were going.

One thing people don’t know about these types of restaurants is that the main dishes are always served very, very late… I’m talking twelve o’clock here, sometimes as late as 1 AM. It’s best you feast on the mezzes as much as you can, because you might starve to death till the meat arrives.

One thing I highly recommend is the shisha [arguile] while you wait for your food to arrive. The tobacco tends to suppress your appetite just a bit and allows you to socialize with your gathering over a bottle of wine, relaxing you and all the while keeping your mind off the food. You will, of course, have access to the mezzes while you smoke and drink. When the meat and chicken dish finally arrived, everyone on my table attacked it at the same time. Both the meat and chicken were well cooked (via charcoal) and had plenty of flavour. The wait was definitely worthwhile.

I’d like to mention one thing in particular that really set the mood for Lordia. There is this one guy with a crazy-awesome moustache and red hat who walks around, making sure everything is up to par on your table and to your liking. He’s also the guy who brings you the shisha and makes sure your charcoal on the bowl is lit at all times. If he catches you touching the charcoal, he tells you to keep your hands off it and that it’s his job. I was told that he is the owner of Lordia, but I cannot verify this right now. Awesome service is all I got to say.

Pros

• Amazing shisha/arguile, one of the best smokes I’ve had
• Nice decor and atmosphere, very clean
• Professional & friendly staff members and waiters
• There is a belly dancer. Belly dancer.

Cons

• Washrooms a bit too small, no ventilation, steamy…
• Music a bit too loud sometimes, cuts through conversations
• Main dishes served a bit too late