Choukran

“In semolina we trust” sets the tone for the latest restaurant from chef Abdel Alaoui (who trained under Rostang and Gagnaire), the happy owner of Yemma in East Paris and a familiar face on TV, who’s transported Moroccan cuisine to the Saint-Georges neighborhood this time around. Where absolutely everything comes from the motherland, from the omnipresent zellige tiles (the counter, the tables, the banquettes) skillfully arranged by Studio Belem, to the very last jar of olives. We kicked things off with some kemia (small apéro plates), indulging in a cucumber, tomato and orange blossom salad, mechouia, beetroot hummus or cumin-spiced lentil falafel; before opting for a couscous (chicken, merguez, “royal”… or even as a vegetarian version, with gluten-free couscous and vegetable broth); shakshouka or baked lemon chicken. Unless you’d rather opt for a copious “bledwich” sandwich filled with shredded beef, preserved lemon and olives on a fluffy Moroccan brioche… And to finish the meal on a sweet note, gazelle horn cookies (chocolate, hazelnut or lemon) or an improbable “tiramisouk” made with orange blossom water… Yallah! // Albert Gredinbar

FEELING THIRSTY? : Mint tea, obviously (€2.50 a cup), Fève coffee (€2.90 for an espresso) or jasminade combining jasmine tea, lemon, mint and orange blossom water (€4.50). 
PRICE: : Set menus €15.50 to €19.50 (weekday lunch), sandwiches €11.50 to €13 (lunch and dinner), kemia €5.50 to €7.50, mains €14-21, desserts €2.90 to €6.50.