La Rose Des Sables

“Tunisia is a country with a rich culinary heritage, full of unique flavours and aromas,” says Elyes Chaabani, the restaurateur behind La Rose des Sables. A beacon of Tunisian cuisine in Montreal since 2009, the restaurant offers diners an authentic and refined experience, complete with the requisite couscous and traditional lamb or chicken stews called tajines. Elyes and his team round out the menu with a variety of must-try salads, stews and grilled meats, as well as the brick, a puff pastry stuffed with tuna. For Elyes, Tunisian cuisine is “the definition of comfort food.”

“We’re also the first Tunisian restaurant in Canada to serve the traditional lamb gargoulette,” Elyes says proudly. “It’s a unique, generous dish, which we prepare with Quebec lamb and traditional Tunisian spices that are cooked at low heat in a terracotta jar for long hours. The meat becomes so tender that it literally melts in your mouth,” he explains. “Tunisians nickname this exceptional dish the ‘dish of Saharan lords,’ and I brought the jug back by myself from the Saharan desert.”