Harissa
A quiet exhibition
of dishes and rituals
Whole Bream in Chermoula
A whole sea bream arrives baked inside a crust of fresh chermoula — coriander, flat-leaf parsley, cumin, and lemon zest pressed into the skin before it meets the heat. The flesh lifts clean from the bone. We source the fish daily from the harbor market. The chermoula recipe belongs to a grandmother in Sfax who taught it without measurements.
Serves two. Ask for extra bread.
Lamb Tagine, Seven Hours
The shoulder goes into the tagine before the restaurant opens. By the time the first guest sits down, the meat has been braising for four hours. By the time it reaches your table, it has been seven. Preserved lemon, olives, and ras el hanout. The clay pot is cracked open at the table. We ask that you wait a moment before lifting the lid — the steam is part of the dish.
Seasonal availability. Not always on the menu.
Hand-rolled Couscous
Our couscous is not from a box. Semolina and water, worked by hand each morning, rolled to the size of a pinhead, steamed twice over the broth it will be served with. The process takes three hours. The result is a grain that absorbs the lamb and vegetable broth without collapsing — each pellet distinct, light, and carrying the full depth of what cooked below it.
Fridays only, limited portions.
Makroud, Rose-water Syrup
Semolina dough pressed around a filling of date paste and orange zest, fried until the outside crackles, then submerged in rose-water syrup while still hot. Makroud is from Kairouan — a city that takes its pastry as seriously as its architecture. A hand spoons the syrup. You eat them warm. We serve four to a plate with unsweetened mint tea.
Dessert. Also available to take home.
Some things happen
every single day.
The restaurant has a rhythm. Bread before ordering. Harissa on every table. The lights dimmed exactly thirty minutes after service starts.
Msemen arrives before you order. It always does.
Harissa ground in-house. Never from a tube.
Set before the doors open. Always.
Tuesday through Sunday. The kitchen closes when the last table is ready to leave.
Heard at the table
"We came for our anniversary and stayed three hours without noticing. The lamb tagine arrived at the table in the pot — steam, the smell of preserved lemon, and then silence. That's the only way to describe it."
Margaux Delacroix
Anniversary dinner, October
Reserve
your table.
We hold reservations for fifteen minutes. If you're running late, call us — we'd rather wait for you than seat someone else. Tables of eight or more, please call directly.