…we have to talk !

First off I must say that I was particularly happy the evening I visited this restaurant as I was there with my mate Christian. Just so you understand, in my world a ‘mate’ is like what wine is to France – essential! So you might think that my judgement would have been altered by this happy fact…but nay! In fact it wasn’t my first visit to the restaurant ‘La Cour des Lions’ so I knew what to expect…smart thinking!

So, we were seated on the first floor of the hotel Marrakech “E s Saadi”, an institution in the red city. Es Saadi is a magnificent hotel, with a well-known casino and three restaurants, of which ‘La Cour des Lions’ is one. I would even say the highest one!

The building has extremely high ceilings. The decoration is very much in the Moroccan style, covered in stucco, but in light colours, mostly white, which gives it a restful and calm atmosphere. An impressive bay window opens on to a magnificent view of the hotel gardens and of Marrakech. The restaurant’s dining room is organised in strict lines, in-between the tables as well as on them. The servers are strategically positioned, waiting, and ready to start the performance from Sebastien ‘the magician’ Bontour who is perfecting his art in the kitchen…

At the start of the performance, I opt for the creative cuisine option on the menu while Christian goes for the more traditional Moroccan cuisine option. But it only appears more traditional on the menu, as we soon realise that the good old tasty and familial Moroccan cuisine that you can try in every riad Marrakech can, after waving a magic wand, be the height of refinement.

The creative menu is astounding: each plate, entree or main dish resembles a little garden square in three dimensions where all your ingredients are planted, along with petals, vegetables, all joined together by emulsions, sauces…. With everything making a surprising mix of flavours; colourful, spring-like, and undeniably harmonious. Frankly, scallops and strawberries, you’ve got to be daring to try that! And yet it was indeed a real dish and not an illusion! Everything is in the inspiration, the creation. Well, maybe all those sprigs of green on your little garden square are also able to be smoked, who knows…

Having completely emptied our ‘gardens’ of all that was in them, the magic continued with an amazing dessert plate based entirely on mint. No doubt about it, the Chef has green fingers! But tell me Monsieur Bontour, there is something that I’m wondering, you weren’t a gardener or landscaper in a previous life by any chance? I mean, before becoming a chef/magician…
In any case, it was a great gastronomic moment which really puts this place up there amongst the best restaurant Marrakech: thank you so much Sebastien “the magician” Bontour!
Emmanuel

Restaurant “La Cour des Lions”:

Hotel Es SAADI
Rue Ibrahim El Mazini
40000 Marrakech
Phone: +212 5 24 33 74 00 -06 63 58 15 99
Fax : +212 5 24 44 76 44
Email : info@essaadi.com
Web : www.essaadi.com

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You know what? No? Well, I’m going to tell you:

I was knocked on my behind!

Firstly, you need to know that the Pepe Nero restaurant is situated in the Al Moussika Riad, an extraordinary riad Marrakech, a palace, a marvel, one of the most beautiful I’ve ever visited…yes, nothing less than that! (Hey, you can trust me, I’ve visited more than a few…)

We entered through the first patio, which serves as the reception. I felt good there, a harmonious room where a colonial atmosphere mixed well with a stylised Moroccan decor, green, warm, colourful, extraordinary…ah, I already said that…oh well, too bad…you can’t have too much of a good thing!

We were very courteously welcomed and taken through to the dining room… which was enchanting! I promise I’ll stop with the superlatives, even if I’m burning up the typewriting to write them…

We had hardly sat down when we were pampered by a team that started the ballet by serving us a glass of Prosecco, compliments of the house, accompanied by canapés in the style of gaspacho…yum…here’s somewhere that knows how to host!

The menu is divided in two parts: the first offers a Moroccan-style cuisine based essentially on a small tasting menu, and the second part focuses on Italian cuisine. There, the choice is impressive with 5 or 6 dishes for each category, going from 90 dirhams for starters to 120-150 dirhams for main courses. Desserts were 90 dirhams.

I won’t list out the whole menu for you but to sum up, excellence was the theme all throughout the meal: excellent presentation, a knock-you-down veal carpaccio with tuna sauce, a truly exquisite herb-encrusted shoulder of lamb (mechoui style => slow cooked) etc… For dessert, one recommendation: throw yourself on the “Quasi tutto Arancio”, it’s to die for!

On to the Colonel Test ( Colonel is a popular French dessert of Vodka and lime/citrus sorbet ): not on the menu, which is normal. But, then, the Chef, not wanting to be undone by the nuisance customer (me, as it happens…) surprised me: in just a few minutes he brought out a beverage made with homemade sorbet, transforming my Vodka cocktail into pure deliciousness…thank you…thank you…thank you!

Accompanying everything, a very simple but effective wine list, with principally Moroccan references as well as some ‘grape juice’ produced by the noble Italian vines…

What was already a remarkable dining experience but uniquely people who are staying in the guest house Marrakech Riad Al Moussika, has now been transformed since March 2011 in to a high temple of gastronomy, under the direction of its Chef Khalid Robazza Essafa, making Pepe Nero an unmissable restaurant Marrakech.

May the wind be in your sails Khalid, those at the Riad Eden are already converted and thank you for such a fantastic gastronomic moment.

Emmanuel

Restaurant PEPE NERO

17, Derb Cherkaoui – Douar Graoua
40000 – Medina – Marrakech
Phone : 00212 (0) 524 389067
Fax : 00212 (0) 524 377653
e-mail : contact@pepenero-marrakech.com
website : www.pepenero-marrakech.com
Lunch from 12:00 to 14:30
Dinner from 19:30 to 23:00
Closed Mondays

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I don’t know about you, but Helene and I, we like to eat…and to drink! (Sometimes even in moderation, well, if we’ve been invited out).  Apparently it’s not very politically correct to say it these days, well, too bad! Of course, you can drink a good bottle without getting to the point of falling under the table…

So it’s from this state of affairs that we’ve decided to share with you our views and above all how we felt, after a cracking night out, generally begun in a good restaurant Marrakech.

The aim isn’t to massacre those who sell great food and the pleasure of dining (which I love madly…) but simply to highlight those that, according to us, sincerely deserve to be recommended.
Now you’re going to say to me ‘well, what criteria are they going to base their reviews on?’
Here we go:

- The welcome from the hosts and the atmosphere on arriving

- The menu

- The quality of the food (don’t worry, we’re not complicated in our tastes…)

- The presentation on the plate

- The service

- The bill

- The Colonel (I’ll explain later…)
Don’t worry…we like the good life and since we have 2 or 3 brain cells (per person evidently) on permanent alert, we think we can judge whether a situation is ongoing, our whether we’re experiencing an occasional blunder…Whatever the restaurant, we will systematically visit 3 times before we decide to avoid a restaurant.

But as I mentioned earlier, we’re not interested in ripping apart any restaurant, so if there’s no review, it’s because we were disappointed or we simply haven’t visited it!

The suspense…

So, the ‘Colonel’s test’. You see, after a good meal, I like to start the digestion process with a special ice cream/spirits mix that really helps everything go down. It’s why I often order this famous cocktail for dessert, and if it’s not on the menu…I order it all the same… I agree, it’s a little what you could call ‘w…r’ (I’ll let your imagination fill in the rest…)

The Colonel is very easy to make and, beyond its easy base, it’s the ability to adapt it that I like to see and the capacity for the establishment to satisfy its customer with something that is really not very complicated…

All your comments on the different restaurant marrakech are welcome, so please don’t hesitate to send me your opinions on each one, as your views will certainly be very helpful to readers looking for good restaurants or good private dining establishments in Marrakech….

Thank you all and “bon appétit” !

Emmanuel

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I think it was the size of it that knocked me over… no, not the bill, the tasting platter!

Helene ordered the aforementioned platter…the visual effect alone was worth visiting the restaurant, it was very original. This well-sized dish (I’m talking about the platter, not Helene, I have to explain everything around here!), carried lots of different things to nibble (sushi, spring rolls, Thai tuna salad, garlic, ginger, little Satay sticks, ravioli…) and at first sight the sheer quantity made an impression, just as much as the flavour of everything.

As for me, I stuck to the traditional end of Thai cuisine. A shrimp carpaccio, fresh, a little spicy, a little basic, but well presented and agreeable to the taste buds. And with a duck curry as well, I was feeling good.  Our friends (yes, we have 2 or 3), regulars at the restaurant and the reason for us being at the Thai Bistro, also stuck with the sure fire hits of Thai cuisine…chicken salad, pad thai…everyone finished their meals, leaving us feeling good overall.

Well, that’s right isn’t it Bruno?

“Well, I don’t know if it’s the Porto I had as an aperitif or my week fighting with Morocco Telecom, but I found that a little insipid… But actually it was really fine.”

The menu itself, a little full, presented the different dishes in a newspaper-type layout, which was very original. Our waiters were available but not intrusive, smiling and flexible, not always easy to find in a Marrakech restaurant. The environment was agreeable, let’s say restful and peaceful, and the terrace we ate on was spacious and very green…a bit like Bruno who was still chewing over his problems with Morocco Telecom.

The Colonel test: not on the menu, but after an explanation, was served with a smile and in the end was rather well presented – a first!

And finally, the bill was a truly pleasant surprise:

4 starters and mains + aperitif + 2 bottles of wine (Bruno’s fault) + 2 Colonels (again Bruno’s fault) = 1398 Dirhams… Waiter – the same again!

Hurry to take advantage of this great value, it may not last!

Emmanuel.

PS: Bruno has since resolved his problems with Morocco Telecom…

Bistro Thaï

8, rue Oued El Makhazine, Gueliz
40000 – Marrakech – Maroc
Téléphone : +212 5 24 45 73 11

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Take the same ingredients and start over!

Yes, Didier Beckaert and Steeve Verbeek, the duo who ran the former Marrakech restaurant La Villa, are back in business!

Welcomed by Steeve himself as soon as we set foot in the restaurant, our first contact with the restaurant was convivial and even friendly! Brilliant, definitely got the appetite going!

The atmosphere was very agreeable, and we were seated on an enclosed terrace, open to the sky. The blackboards on the wall offered a small but perfectly formed French menu, as we realised as we savoured the first mouthfuls – and devoured the following ones!

After a little aperitif, Helene attacked her poached egg and seafood starter and the poor thing resisted no more than 2 minutes (may it rest in peace…).  As for me, I stuffed my face with the ‘man-size’ homemade pâté starter and despite its enormous size I wasn’t going to share it with anyone, not one bit! I did manage to eat the whole thing. It was delicious, nothing complicated, simple, clear flavours – so good!

Next when the Duck Duo arrived in front of Helene I thought to myself ‘idiot! I should have ordered that!’ Nevertheless, as I jealously drooled over my wife’s meal, my own choice, the beef Tournedos Rossini, arrived and it was Helene’s turn to be jealous. Before you ask, of course we gave each other some of our dishes, what do think we’re like?!

Well, we licked our plates clean; everything was simple, straightforward – and so delicious!

The Colonel’s Test = passed!

Being familiar with many restaurant Marrakech I can confirm that this one certainly offers the best quality/price relationship in the place… it’s going to hurt those restaurants that aren’t as good. Well, too bad, all the better for me!

Two meals, entree-main-dessert, aperitif, bottle of wine = 700 Dirhams

Keep it up guys, don’t change a thing!

Emmanuel

Restaurant – Brasserie : Open for lunch and dinner / Closed on Sunday & monday

Le Studio

87, avenue Moulay Rachid
40000 – Marrakech
Téléphone : +33 5 24 43 37 00
Email : lestudiomarrakech@live.fr

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Let’s not get carried away: we’re talking about a Thai restaurant…in Marrakech!

Here’s how it went:
Screened by two gorillas (an unknown species as they are not found among the fauna of the Thai jungles…), we entered in to one of the rooms of the restaurant. While a little dark, there was a good impression of warmth and conviviality, agreeable music playing, at a good level…
We were accompanied by a hostess who seated us and started us reading the menu. Reading the menu is very interesting, a little lengthy as it’s very full…and of course it’s quite dark…so the aperitif was very welcome, even if it didn’t have an amuse-bouche with it (more’s the pity!)….

…so we attacked the entrees, already on the table.

The presentation was clean, appetising and the flavours were good. What we ate was good and in a fair quantity. The rhythm of the meal is rather fluid and well managed , given the constant comings and goings of diners (that’s success for you), which don’t create any bother. The food is always in the right tone and in the right time, which perfectly covers over a few little cracks in the service, not very noticeable (well, yes, but me, I’m particularly fussy, doncha know!)

The appearance of the plates was overall satisfying, from what we could see in the gloom!

On to the Colonel’s Test ( the Colonel is a type of dessert made of sorbet and spirits, very well known in Francophone countries ) a lapse in taste, as it wasn’t on the menu…certainly it’s not a Thai speciality, but well, the ability to improvise is always a plus…especially as Asian cuisine in general isn’t very well stocked in desserts. So I didn’t get my Colonel…sniff sniff…

The Marrakech restaurant ‘Mai Thai’ left us with a good impression overall, in a very beautiful villa, a good standard of cooking, well managed and with an agreeable atmosphere. Count on around 500 Dirhams per person, drinks included.
I will return with pleasure.

Emmanuel

Mai Thai Restaurant

( Open for lunch/dinner from tuesday til sunday )
Villa la Saumuroise
Angle Paris Street – Echouhada Avenue
40000 Marrakech – MOROCCO
Phone : +212 5 24 45 73 01
Fax : +212 5 24 45 72 94
Email : maithaiinfo@yahoo.fr

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