Pepe Nero Restaurant: Tutto bene!
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
