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Moroccan
Rayah
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Stepping into Rayah is like entering a whole new world. The Cabbagetown restaurant’s owner, Wafa El Rhazi, drew inspiration from her French-Moroccan roots, sourcing authentic furnishings from markets, vintage shops and more, hoping to bring the warmth, hospitality, and vibrancy she experienced in her youth to the city she now calls home.
“We have different spaces in the restaurant, and it’s kind of like you can choose your own adventure,” she says. “Whatever experience you’re looking for, it’s here. You can grab a coffee and croissant at the counter and sit in the coffee corner, or you can come for brunch with your friend in the middle of the week and sit in the back area, or you can have a dinner date here on the back patio in the summer time.”
Whatever the experience, there’s no shortage of colour - be it from the authentically sourced French subway signs, the row of Moroccan slippers that greet guests on the way to the back patio, the reconstructed scene of a Moroccan street, or the bold tile and mural work that meets hanging greenery in the front area. The space has always been a restaurant, El Rhazi says, and part of what drew her to it was the fact that it is always drenched in sunlight, and it felt like it could bring her vision to life. It feels, she says, like home.
“I grew up with tajine and with couscous, but also with French pastries. It was part of my identity,” she says. “So when I found a place and I was thinking about the concept, I was like I’m not 100% Moroccan, not 100% French. I’m a blend of the two. So my place should reflect that.
“It’s not a fusion in the sense that we changed authentic family recipes. We kept the authentic Moroccan family recipes. It’s just that we’re marrying some iconic Moroccan food with some iconic French plates as well.”
“Chemia is the equivalent of tapas,” El Rhazi says. “So ours comes with three small tajines with three small bites. One is carrots with dill, mint and orange blossom, one is roasted peppers and tomatoes, and one is roasted eggplant with garlic and spices.” It served with three semolina crepes that have multiple holes, intended to hold each spread.
“Maakouda is kind of a potato cake, deep fried and seasoned with nutmeg and herbs,” says El Rhazi. “Normally, maakouda doesn’t come with cheese, but I’m French as well, so I put some cheese inside it, so it’s crispy on the outside and the cheese melts when you open it. It comes with an aioli sauce for dipping.”
Briwat are similar to samosas or spanakopita. They’re bite-sized filo pastries jam-packed with tasty ingredients, and Rayah serves a beef one, a chicken one, and a vegetarian one all on the same plate.
“The Royal Couscous come with three meats, and it’s a pure invention created by the French who left North Africa after the colonization. They got to France and everyone had their own couscous recipe. One with a meatball, one with chicken, one with merguez sausages,” El Rhazi says. “So they blended the three, and it’s now the most popular dish among French people in France.” It’s made with a tomato broth and veggies.
Rayah’s chicken pastilla is a pastry decorated with thinly sliced almonds, orange blossoms, and slow-cooked onions. It’s sweet and savoury, and intended to be shared.
“The famous lamb tajine dish is sweet and savoury, but I married it with potato gratin Dauphinoise, which is typically French, but the potato and the lamb go perfectly together,” El Rhazi says. “We don’t change the recipes, we just combine them in one dish.” The lamb is slow cooked with prunes and apricots to add a sweetness.
“Merguez is a typical Moroccan sausage, and it’s served with mashed potatoes and the meat juice,” she says. “It’s a typical bistro dish in Paris, you have the famous saucisse puree. I just turned the saucisse into merguez to make it Moroccan.”
It was important to El Rhazi to have Orangina on her menu because it originates in France. It pays homage to her childhood and to her roots.
A staple in Moroccan culture is mint tea, and El Rhazi wanted to pay homage to that tradition by serving it in delicate teapots and in a way that felt authentic to Morocco, a testament to her love and care for the cuisine that serves as a throughline to her roots.
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