When we were staying in Paris, our hotel was in Le Quai Voltaire in the 6e arrondissement of Paris, a rather pleasant part of the city just across the river from the Louvre. It’s also got rather a large assortment of attraction for the food-minded traveler, such as a noticeably higher concentration of chocolate shops, boulangeries, and even a nice rum bar (La Rhumerie). For actual restuarants, however, most of the choices are basically bistros. But my brother was aware of one particularly good Moroccan place, so after enjoying a few Belgian beers at nearby La Gueze, we headed over to Le Mechoui du Prince for some Moroccan fare.
The first thing that’s notable upon walking into Le Mechoui du Prince is that it’s got quite the decor, with plenty of curtains, mirrors, padded chairs, and elaborate place settings. After a pleasant greeting, we got promptly seated, and had a chance to pore over the menu, which was loaded with traditional Moroccan dishes, including tajines, couscous, kebabs, merguez, and kefta. But most of us already had a good idea of what we wanted, so we got our orders in.
I opted for the “Tagine of Fez”, which was chicken tagine with grapes, onions, cinnamon, and orange flower water. I usually find Moroccan dishes made with grapes/raisins to be more than a little sweet, but here it was pleasant, especially in combination with the cinnamon and orange flower water, making for a pleasingly soft and tender chicken stew.
Carol, meanwhile, went for the “Tagine of Ouarzazate”, a lamb tajine presented with preserved lemons and olives, and here the nicely preserved lemons were the star of the dish, combining nicely with a flavorful lamb.
Rounding it out was an order of roasted chicken with couscous, and the chicken was nicely crisp and roasted to perfection, served up on a very flavorful bed of couscous. After a long and damp day, the pleasant, warm tajines and couscouse of Le Mechoui du Prince were a welcome change of pace, served up in a beautiful restaurant by friendly staff (who even indulged us with English menus). Especially if I’m staying in the 6e arrondissement again, I’d love to explore more of their menu.
