La Mosque De Paris

By the south-west corner of the Jardin Des Plantes, stands La Grande Mosque De Paris. Aside from being a religious site, we also recently discovered it had a restaurant, a hammam and a bustling café in the courtyard.

The arched entrance invites you into a lively patio shrouded by fig and cedar trees. Mosiac windows and beautifully detailed stonework line the inner walls, and for a moment you are transported a million miles away from typical Paris.

There are a couple of dozen small tables filled with an ethnic diversity of patrons: Old Muslim men, young international students, and middle class French families. Some are snacking on small pastries and sipping mint tea, while others are just puffing casually on a Shisa, taking refuge from the hot summer afternoon in the cool of the stony courtyard.

Above the lively chatter and laughter, small birds chirp away as they dart between tables and trees, boldly nibbling at crumbs left the tables and the floor. A long procession of eager tourists and locals queue up the stairs towards a small counter selling various delightful desserts and sweet pastries.

To the left is a hammam which we didn’t get to try but will be sure to stop into on our next visit.

We work our way past the sweet counter and towards the back of the building where there is a traditional restaurant. Wooden arches with low relief carvings give a Byzantine feel, and there a dozen or so low copper tables lined by brown patterned sofas. As we have come at around 4pm, the restaurant is no longer open but they are able to knock up a lamb couscous for us.

Our waiter brings us two small glasses and expertly tips mint tea from shoulder height. The mint tea (or Etzai as it is known in Algeria) is warm, sweet and has a creamy texture. The service is a little slow and we’re left drooling while watching diners around us tuck into steamy plates of couscous.

Presentation is not really a priority with this dish: a large plate of couscous, a metal pot of tomatoey sauce with large chunks of aubergine and two crudely cut slabs of lamb. Nonetheless, it tastes great. The sauce has a good strong blend of cumin and coriander, the couscous is fluffy and the meat is tender, with enough fat on it to keep it moist and with a pungent meatiness which lamb should have. I personally would have wanted a bit more kick to the sauce but as we’ve often found in Paris, the French don’t handle their spicy food too well and most hot food tends to be toned down for local palates.

For dessert, we tried a variety of small cakes and pastries bought from the counter. There was a chewy Turkish delight, some almond biscuit which was a bit too hard and dry for my liking and an excellent pistachio nougat cake.

A wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Next time I think we’ll sit in the courtyard though and try the shisha for size.

www.la-mosquee.com
39 rue Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire
75005 Paris

Couscous 13.00 EUR
Tagine 15.50 EUR
Mint tea 2.50 EUR