La Goulette – Kremlin Bicêtre (94270) en

It is a very good place for Tunisian food in Paris. Indeed, after some couscous, it is often hard to venture on this rich kitchen. It is not that easy to just go for it without having solid knowledge about Tunisian cuisine, so I am very grateful to the person who recommended it to me.

It is just a few metres from the metro station Porte de Choisy. When we went there it was a sunny day and there were several tables outside. It is very busy inside because besides the clients there is also quite large number of staff.

A lot of waiters work there. While I was eating outside, I heard that three people from another table were wondering whether the restaurant crew had changed because they said that the service was much better than before. Later, another client to my right noticed that the organisation had improved.

That’s why I spoke about it to the young man who served us and who was particularly elegant. He explained me that the concept of the place didn’t really fit this restaurant, they needed some time to get used to it. Now it is their 4th year and it seems to be ok. To be checked on a long-term objective.

I appreciated a lot our waiter’s availability, his didacticism, his kindness: he offered to bring us a taster of a typical dish but very particular- mloukhiya, so that we could decide if we wanted to take it as a main course or not. This waiter seemed to be not as friendly with others as he was with us.

We started with a nice Tunisian salad for two.

Here is our mloukhiya that is usually made with a beef or lamb ragout. This one is with lamb, with a sauce based on jute mallow (in short it is spinach) or red jute. The dish takes a day of cooking because the leaves should be cooked for a long time, “until the olive oil goes back up” explained the waiter.

It is usually served on the Muslim New Year’s day, which corresponds to the birth of the prophet. It is also recommended in the case of intestinal disturbances because it has therapeutic virtues, it is like a compress.
Surprisingly, it was tasty and much better than it looked. However I would not order it as my main course.

We also took Tunisian beverages: a lemon and a cider drink, “it is Tunisian coca cola” the waiter told me.

For the main course we fell for couscous although I wanted to take something else.
It was great, seeds of semolina were high quility, the lamb meat was perfectly cooked. Very good. Note that there was not too much sauce, interesting.

Next to us there was a lady who had taken a kaftaji- a hot vegetables and eggs with French fries. Usually it is a side dish for meat or fish.

A little bit of cream to finish.

A mint tea and the bill. The price altogether? 27 euro for 2 persons, it is like in Le Kremlin Bicêtre.

It is surely a good idea for those who want to taste traditional Tunisian food. Just be careful because it is not really a restaurant in the classical sense of the word, the service can be a bit messy but it is still a serious place which goes in the right direction, here is the proof: everybody enjoys the food, it is often full and IT IS BETTER TO RESERVE A TABLE. Word of mouth has done its duty.

I rise in applause for this type of projects. It would have been located in the centre of Paris, there would have been a little story with Tunisian neo-sandwich for 12 euro in the middle of Montorgueil and I would have eaten fill. At least the customers are mixed there, the recipes are authentic and so are the prices!