Moroccan cuisine has always been very dear to my palate. When I was younger, my mom would occasionally cook a delicious couscous for dinner and it quickly became one of my favourite dishes. Dare I compare it to Marcel Proust’s madeleine?

The other day I came to realise it had been a while since I last went to a Moroccan restaurant. How could that even be? Whatever the reason, it needed to be fixed urgently. Luckily, Nicolas agreed with me on that, so we booked a table at Babdar.

I was already won over by another Moroccan restaurant, the famous La Kasbah, so it was kind of a big thing for me to try another one. Very risky.

Babdar definitely plays a different card. If you ever go to La Kasbah, you will be enchanted by a thousand lanterns hanging from the ceiling and the subdued lightening. Here, the decoration is much more modern while keeping the arabic spirit. Quite refreshing. 


So, the setting passed the test, but what about the food? In order to be able to somehow judge it, I thought I would stick to my classics ^^ As in: chicken pastilla and a regular couscous.

Nico went for the Moroccan assortment of starters. He looked happy with it (which is a good thing because he was super hungry). My pastilla were delightful, just the right amount of sweet & savoury. 

Couscous knows how to conceal its game. When your plate arrives, you always feel like it’s gonna be easy to clear it up. But then, after having eaten half of it, you realise how filling it can actually be. Don’t be fooled! Slowly but surely, the couscous grains add up in your belly.

I really loved it though, especially the blend of orange raisins & candied onions. Yummy. The only detail I would point out is that the semolina could have been a bit thinner. 

When stepping outside, the snow gave us what I would call a thermal shock: a huge change from the warm candlelit atmosphere we were enjoying inside. Yup, winter is here!

Sara.