France has a long history of intimate ties with the Middle East and this is reflected in an eclectic, eating out scene in Paris for those wanting to discover the region's tastes. To begin with, tourists are surprised to learn that in most food polls, the favourite dish of French people is not boeuf bourguignon or steak frites, but North African couscous, popularised by the scores of friendly restaurants you find all over the city that were opened by Moroccans, Tunisians and Algerians, immigrants from former French colonies in the Maghreb. Here you can also feast on tagines and rich oriental patisseries, accompanied by a steaming glass of mint tea. Lebanon also has a special place in French history, with a large expatriate population living in Paris, who find solace in everything from comfort street food locales selling takeaway falafel and manakish to exotic fine dining restaurants serving exquisite mezze and grilled meats. More recent arrivals of Syrian and Kurdish refugees have created a vibrant new food scene, while there is a humble, but delicious fast-food kebab joint on just about every Parisian street corner. Here are some of the best places serving Middle Eastern food in Paris.
Dar Mima
The stunning architecture of Jean Nouvel has made the Institute du Monde Arabe a Parisian landmark and likewise the signature rooftop restaurant, with its panoramic terrace overlooking the Seine and Notre-Dame, is a showcase for the finest cuisine from the Arab world. Recently reopened by celebrity actor and comic, Jamel Debbouze, as a homage to the cuisine of his Moroccan mother, Fatima, this has rapidly become a Parisian hotspot to eat, dance and be seen. The decor is opulent oriental, musicians serenade guests with French chansons while the DJ plays Arabic clubbing hits as the night wears on. The menu features dishes that are perfect for sharing, from tasty Middle Eastern mezze like cheese briouats, tzatziki or fattoush, to modern takes on traditional couscous and tagines.
Les Délices d'Oriént
The smart 15th arrondissement is home to many Middle Eastern Paris residents, and everyone’s favourite meeting place is the Aladdin’s Cave delicatessen run by Roméo et Claire El Hawly. Les Délices is much, much more than a simple delicatessen épicerie. Apart from the freshest fruit and vegetables, bakery and halal butcher shop, there are pistachios, olives, honey and dates, aromatic spices, luscious sweetmeats and pastries, and a cornucopia of freshly-made mezze; hummus, tabbouleh, halloumi, chenklich, mouttabal and dozens more. What's more, there is now a dedicated restaurant space where you can choose your dishes, including tasty grilled meats and veggies with piping-hot bread straight from a wood-fired oven, and enjoy a delicious lunch rather than taking away.
Liza
This Parisian institution created by Liza Asseily is a homage to the cuisine and culture of her native Lebanon and, above all, Beirut, where she has another signature restaurant. Located near the fashionable Place des Victoires, the decor here is cool and funky, and the cuisine an innovative mix of traditional Lebanese recipes with surprising creative twists. Dishes here are made for sharing, be it the mezzes of tabouleh, baba ganoush, labneh, falafel and hummus or mains like delicious arnabit mekleh, fried cauliflower with a sesame puree or kharouf meché, slow-cooked lamb shank. For a genuine slice of the City of Light’s glamorous Middle East diaspora, be sure to reserve for Liza’s generous Sunday brunch, the favourite place for Lebanese families to meet, eat and gossip, while her street food bakery next door, L de Liza, specialises in grilled pita sandwiches, filled with beef or lamb shawarma or healthy veggies.
Tea Salon, the Grand Mosque
The Grande Mosquée de Paris is a haven of peace hidden away in the Latin Quarter beside the Jardin des Plantes, completed in 1926 in elegant Moorish style inspired by El Qaraouyyîn Mosque in Fez. Not only a place of prayer, there are luxuriant gardens and a discrete hammam reserved for women, but also a restaurant and salon de thé that have become a popular rendezvous for local Parisians. The sumptuous salon de thé is the perfect spot to while away the afternoon on comfy armchairs and cushions scattered around cosy salons decorated with intricate zellij mosaics. Perfect to enjoy a fragrant mint tea as you choose from the irresistible section of sweet, sticky “pâtisseries orientales” such as cornes de gazelles, baklava, makroud, ghorba amande and m’hancha.
Biyo Dürüm
Parisians have recently discovered another fast-food world beyond McDonald’s that can be fresh and healthy, and the flavour-of-the day right now is for traditional Kurdish rolled dürüm sandwiches. Serdar Kaya opened his tiny canteen barely a year ago, located just by the Marché d’Aligre, a brilliant neighbourhood food market near Bastille. Hungry diners look through the street window where his wife, Sedef, is busy hand-rolling wafer-thin flatbreads, while succulent skewers of veal, lamb, chicken, minced kefte are spit-roasted on charcoal. The freshly-baked flatbread is spread with fresh lettuce, red onions, tomato, roquette and parsley, then comes the grilled meat, all rolled together and – Biyo Dürüm, which roughly translates in Kurdish as "your wrap is ready".
Ground Control La Residence
Everyone is shocked the first time they enter the under-the-radar Ground Control, an immense community-inspired project that spreads over the vast railway warehouses behind Gare de Lyon. Curious visitors discover food trucks, art exhibitions and fair-trade boutiques, festivals and concerts, with a huge covered hangar devoted to global cuisine. This is where the voluntary organisation Refugee Food organise La Residence, a unique kitchen restaurant that aims to give refugees in Paris the chance to both present their ethnic cuisine and learn a profession. Syrian chef Haitham Karajay is responsible for training the kitchen brigade of La Residence and explains that their ever-changing sustainable menu may feature Middle Eastern dishes like muhammara or badenjan, but also attiéké salad from Ivory Coast, Nigerian vegetarian accras or exotic Tibetan and Afghani dishes, all created by his rainbow team of refugee trainee cooks.
Mama Nissa
This Algerian eatery is hidden down a quiet side street of the bustling Les Halles neighbourhood. Hanane Tancrede-Abdelli decided it was time that Parisians discovered there was more to Maghreb cuisine than the numerous Moroccan and Tunisian restaurants around town, so opened this cool, friendly diner to introduce food lovers to Algerian recipes handed down by her mother, Anissa, who she named the restaurant after. The ingredients are fresh and seasonal featuring artisan merguez and kefta, Algerian-style mezze known as kémias, like coca savoury pastries, vegetarian harira soup, and calentica, a chickpea and cumin flan, followed by a delicious dry Kabyle couscous using barley, with none of the usual vegetable broth. After a meal, diners are often tempted to take away the splendid cookbook, Goûts d’Algérie that Hanane has recently published with her mama.
Le Daily Syrien Veggie
The Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis is one of the most lively streets for eclectic eating in all of Paris, a multi-ethnic melting pot with a little India, Turkish, Greek and Kurdish restaurants, pizzerias and Mexican cantinas. It was the obvious location for Syrian restaurateur Ahmed Al Batin to launch his Daily Syrien eateries 10 years ago, beginning with a falafel take-out, then a “grillade” serving juicy beef and chicken marinated shawarma, before opening everyone’s favourite today, Le Daily Syrien Veggie, offering irresistible Levantine vegetarian and vegan mezze in a converted halal butcher shop. The fava bean foul and za’atar galettes are to-die-for, while the special veggie plate includes big helpings of crunchy pickled turnips, chickpea salad, smoky caviar d’aubergine.
Freres des Batignolles
The chic, residential Batignolles quarter is one of the city’s hidden foodie secrets, from the gourmet Michelin-recommended Anona to funky diners lining Rue des Dames. But the real star of the show is this simple hole-in-the-wall eatery, opened 33 years ago by Turkish immigrant, Ibrahim Kaya, today run by his two friendly sons, Ozlan and Erlan. They serve quite simply the best kebab in Paris, prepared each morning with succulent veal halal, marinated for 24 hours in the secret sauce of Ibrahim’s wife, Ayten, served with fresh artisan-baked bread and delicious frites. The queue often stretches for a hundred metres even though this is take-away only, but the verdant Square des Batignolles is a two-minute walk away, perfect for a picnic.