Dar El Ghalia

Lumen was out and about on the town last night. Photographer Tom Fakler came along too, to sample the cuisine (and take photos) at Dar El Ghalia in R'cif.

And a very pleasant evening it was too. Although they were the only guests (August being such a quiet month in Fez), the View from Fez team were made to feel very welcome by the attentive staff and could choose between dining on the terrace or in the salon. It was a very hot evening, so the air-conditioning in the salon appealed and it was very comfortable.

Settling in with a couple of bottles of water, Lumen and Tom perused the menu and chose a bottle of Halana Merlot at Dh150. There are three menus to choose from, ranging from Dh400 to Dh550 (though it's Dh50 less for guesthouse residents). These menus provide seven imaginative salads, followed by a tagine including the house speciality of 'm'hammer', lamb shank cooked with tomatoes and peppers, various chicken tagines and couscous. There's also a fish dish, which is unusual for a guesthouse restaurant. Dessert can be pastilla au lait or fresh fruit, honeyed baghrir or mhancha.

The best thing about this menu is that you can order a la carte, which is good news if you're all tagined-out. There is a wide variety of salads to choose from at Dh40 each; grills such as merguez at Dh110; couscous at Dh140; the wonderful Marrakech dish tride at Dh160; pigeon pastilla at Dh160 and even mechoui at Dh230, but these last need to be ordered in advance. There are various chicken dishes, couscous of course, and the fresh fish of the day.

The View from Fez chose just three salads of serrouda (beans cooked in a spiced tomato sauce), macerated aubergine and courgettes poached with cinnamon. These were served with delicious individual fresh loaves of bread. The harira just had to be sampled, and it turned out to be quite the best ever. Tom then tucked into the lamb m'hammer, which he said was beautifully cooked with plenty of meat, and perfectly spiced. Lumen tried the lamb cutlets served with aubergine caviar - these were tender and cooked to perfection. Dessert was a shared plate of tiny crepes with a fig conserve studded with plump almonds.
The bill for two (without tea or coffee) came to Dh758 including the wine. A 10% tip is automatically added to the bill.

Dar El Ghalia's restaurant is definitely to be recommended - imaginative Moroccan food, delicately yet decisively spiced, and with a good choice on the menu.



Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news