Figuig, the excellent Moroccan restaurant where tradition, modernity and a good atmosphere meet

From mechoui and tajine to briouates and pastillas, Moroccan gastronomy is one of gourmets' guilty pleasures. Couscous was even voted France's favorite dish in 2022 according to a CSA survey, and is regularly among the top choices in this annual poll. Particularly comforting in winter, Moroccan cuisine is nonetheless seductive all year round, and everyone has their own favorite address to enjoy it in Paris, while benefiting from the sense of hospitality for which Morocco is renowned.

Just a stone's throw from theArc de Triomphe is a favorite restaurant where all nationalities come together to enjoy this renowned gastronomy. Located on Rue de Brey, Figuig awaits you for a sunny, gourmet getaway in a friendly, festive atmosphere.

The setting is elegant and modern, yet warm and inviting. Dark green tones echo a verdant oasis, while overhead, handcrafted golden lanterns remind us of sunny weather and the charm of the souks. An intimate alcove completes this immersion while offering a prime spot for large groups. If good humor is always the order of the day, on weekends the Figuig restaurant becomes even more atmospheric, with live music and oriental dancers inviting in around 8.30pm. Depending on the evening, the festive atmosphere can even get diners dancing around the tables!

Here, Fouzia El Figuagi, along with her husband Abdel and his team, invite us to rediscover a piece of Morocco in Paris, featuring well-known dishes mixed with lesser-known specialties. In the dining room, the waiters are attentive to every need, while behind the stoves, a league of cooks led by Najette Rahbi are busy preparing authentic dishes with a love of sharing.

To begin this tasting experience, you'll have to go through the starting point of any Moroccan meal: the assortment of kemias, the Maghrebian aperitif, where the traditional Moroccan salad, a julienne of seasoned tomatoes, cucumbers and onions, shares the limelight with the Méchouia and its melt-in-the-mouth marinated peppers, as well as a very unctuous Zaalouk, a variant of eggplant caviar enhanced with tomatoes. These refreshing small plates are accompanied by homemade batbout bread.

There's also the famous briouates, in this case with meat confit, which will delight fans of sweet and savoury dishes, and which were a real hit with us! For a French twist, there's a variation on the cigar with a goat's cheese and mint puff pastry. The Figuig restaurant also offers us the pleasant surprise of showcasing a lesser-known Moroccan local product: khlii, a meat confit in fat, which we find here in a lentil salad.

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Overall, Figuig's menu offers generous, comforting recipes, festive dishes such as pastilla, and popular specialties such as stuffed sardines, or harira soup, a staple of ftour during Ramadan. Drinks include alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails, such as the floral mocktail that goes perfectly with kemias, and Figuig, a sweet creation made with champagne and kiwi fruit. Fermented milk is also featured on the softs menu, for those who want to keep with tradition.

The main course features the star ambassador of Moroccan gastronomy: couscous! The signature version is, of course, Figuig couscous, served with an assortment of meats: lamb kebabs, merguez and beef kefta. A gravy boat is placed next to the semolina, generously covered with vegetables, so that you can stir in the broth to suit your taste, and for lovers of spicy flavours, an excellent harissa accompanies it all!

We've also fallen for the lamb tagine with prunes, which should delight lovers of sweet and savoury dishes. The meat, simmered and candied, whose silky flesh falls away without resistance under the bite of our fork, whets our appetite despite the generosity of the starter. Toasted almonds add a crunchy, roasted note, while the medfoun (a sweet variant of couscous with a pyramid of semolina topped with cinnamon) served as an accompaniment completes our taste buds' delight in this sinful indulgence.

Even when we'd had our fill, we couldn't miss dessert, when Abdel took his turn to serve us mint tea, taking care to raise the teapot high to bring the froth, while letting us enjoy this spectacular service we never tire of. We love the assortment of fresh oriental pastries, including the gourmet gazelle horns from Maison Gazelle, as well as the excellent pastilla with almond milk, a refined dessert that should delight those with less sweet tooths who still want to end this culinary journey on a note of sweetness.

As you can see, at Figuig, Morocco is within navigo's reach. And in addition to offering a gastronomy faithful to ancestral know-how, the restaurant is quite in line with the prices charged at similar addresses in Paris, thus offering good value for money. Expect to leave with a doggy-bag, however: Morocco's generosity is no legend.