Tajine Wa Tanjia

9 rue Baghdad Cuisines: Arabic

About

Since they opened their restaurant in 2004, the Jabbour family have managed to find that perfect combination of reasonably priced authentic cuisine, served in a warm, intimate atmosphere. The extensive menu reads like a Moroccan cookbook, and offers just about every national dish possible. The house specialties are their tanjias and tagines -- try their succulent beef and camel tanjia, or M'rouzia (lamb with raisins and almonds in honey), Mechmach (beef with apricots), or Mokj m'charmel (shrimp in herbs) tagines. If you're around on Friday, definitely try their couscous with onions and raisins. Vegetarians are well catered for, and there's a kids menu including old-fashioned fish and chips. The list of traditional desserts includes a highly recommended saffron cheesecake. Rita, the delightful multilingual (she speaks six languages) owner/manager and her mother Valentina are on hand each night, while architect brother Karim (who designed the restaurant) manages the lunchtime session. I love the interior of this restaurant, with low lighting subtly highlighting the tabout walls, which are adorned with Moroccan lanterns and mirrors. The wrought-iron tables and comfortable chairs are well spaced for intimate dining, or can be brought together for larger groups; dinner is accompanied by a live oud (lute) player.

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