Egyptian Restaurant Elbi Follows Its Own Beat on the Streets of Paris

Paris Syndrome? Not us. We're not going to bum ourselves out like that guy from Season 2 of 'Finding Ola' just because the City of Love didn't live up to the promises of 'Emily in Paris'. It's not about some dreamlike vision of outdoor cafes, with chairs laid out upon sidewalks and wisps of cigarette smoke wafting through the air - after all, we can already get all that right here in Cairo (albeit with maybe a bit more smoke than we'd like). Non, non, non. We at SceneEats know exactly what we're looking for in Paris - a culture that believes itself to be the arbiter of fine cuisine, and for good reason. It is there where you look out for the cutting edge of the culinary arts, for haughty gastronomical commentary and the chefs who dare endure the scathing critique that comes with it. So imagine our surprise when we found something altogether familiar.At Rue de Paradis, a newly opened bistrot called Elbi is serving up hawawshi with pickled vegetables, pigeon and taamiya. Normally, such a menu would conjure up images of threaded beads and coins, accompanied by the sounds of flutes and tabla. If you step inside, you'll instead find an urban, minimalist refuge from the noise of the 10th district. For a moment, the monochrome surroundings might make you forget what city you're in. As you take your seat and examine the menu, you might find yourself indulging in the distinctive waft of spices and seasoning coming out of the kitchen. It's exactly the kind of scent that would scratch that part of your brain that commands memory, right next to the bit that helps identify smells, triggering flashbacks to warm childhood dinners at Teta's house (just like that scene at the end of 'Ratatouille').

It won't be until your plate is placed in front of you that you'd snap back to reality - that in actuality you're being served by a Michelin-starred chef who knows just how to trim the edges. To recontextualise. To take a traditional meal that's typically made in a big glass tray for grubbing hands at a dinner table, and craft a dish that precisely embodies everything you love about it, fitting neatly into a Parisian menu without forgetting where it came from.Elbi is the second restaurant by Chef Omar Dhiab. "When I opened my first restaurant, several clients asked me why I was not focusing more on my roots," Dhiab tells SceneEats, referencing his eponymous Restaurant Omar Dhiab, which earned a Michelin star and perfectly reflected his training in prestigious Parisian establishments like Sensing, ETC and Pavillon Ledoyen alongside Christian Le Squer. Think art deco and a menu that revels in modern gastronomy. Amidst dishes like veal sweetbread croq and zucchini with cuttlefish and Sicilian pistachio pesto, there were hints of his heritage found in the glass of karkadé that gets served as a welcome drink, tantalising patrons for more. "I replied that it was simply not my will at the moment. Over the years, the desire for a second address came to me, a place where I would offer another facet of my cuisine. More accessible, relaxed and personal, where I could truly share my Egyptian and Tunisian heritage."

Dhiab's father was a chef himself, working in the brasseries of Paris. As a child, Dhiab would wait for his father to return late in the evening so that he could sample from the lunch box that he had taken from work. On weekends, Dhiab and his brother would join their father in the workplace and revel in the atmosphere of the bistro. "At home, my father would cook a lot of Egyptian cuisine," Dhiab recalls. "I have many memories of sitting at home on Sunday, when he would cook my favourite dish, chicken with corète," referencing the French name for the molokhia plant. Family gatherings at his aunt's home were also a source of inspiration, especially when it came to her spiced and coriander chicken meatballs with couscous.

Going from the wood-and-marble counter of his eponymous restaurant to the metallic sheen of Elbi was more about subverting expectations than anything else. "The philosophy was to make a completely different place from what we might know or have already seen in Paris," Dhiab says. There's no orientalism here, flaunting the cultural markers of Egypt or Tunisia like a souvenir shop, nor for that matter is there any grand display of occidentalism to remind tourists that they are, in fact, dining in Paris, and zut alors they better not forget it. The food speaks for itself, in its own language - which is, perhaps, a greater affirmation for its entry into the city's culinary scene than anything else."There is nowhere else where you can eat better than in Paris. The level is very high and the cultural diversity is really good. You can basically eat any type of cuisine depending on your mood," Dhiab explains. "Egyptian cuisine is completely unknown in France, however. Tunisian cuisine is a bit more popular, since there are already some good Tunisian restaurants in Paris. So that's why I wanted to emphasise on my Egyptian roots - there is a lot to discover!"

As for the chef's recommendations? "I would say the chicken molokhia, the hawawshi, the scotch egg taameya, and the rice and vermicelli."When it comes to that spirit of discovery, the people of Paris have answered that call to adventure with surprising enthusiasm. "The feedback has been very positive," Dhiab smiles. "The customers are surprised by all the different flavours and textures that this cuisine has to offer, and how the dishes are cooked and prepared." For a nation like France which has restaurants dedicated to its national cuisine all over Cairo, this moment of cultural exchange is perhaps long overdue, a rendezvous that has long been in the waiting - not just with the opening of a restaurant like Elbi, but with the very idea that Egyptian cuisine can be in demand, and hold its own on the international arena. After all, it's just as the gourmands say: if you can eat it in Paris, you can eat it anywhere.