Cantine Mouton Noir

Cantine Mouton Noir sits on Rue Mohammed el Beqal in Gueliz, a small, white-tiled dining room with vaulted ceilings and an open kitchen that puts the cooking on full display. The space holds about 30 seats, and there is no reservations policy: you walk in, and if there is room, you sit. R&B classics fill the gaps between conversation, and the mood is closer to a neighbourhood canteen than a formal restaurant, which is exactly the intention. The kitchen is built on a North American comfort food sensibility sharpened with Moroccan ingredients: burgers built with technique, house-matured beef, grain bowls, and grilled plates where the seasoning borrows from both sides of the Atlantic. All beef is matured on site, and cuts can be bought directly from the restaurant. There is no alcohol, but the homemade ginger beer and hibiscus iced tea hold their own. On weekends, the brunch menu draws a loyal crowd and is worth planning around. An adjoining épicerie and a catering arm round out an operation that punches well above its modest footprint. Cantine Mouton Noir is one of those Gueliz addresses that locals return to weekly and visitors stumble on once, then regret not finding sooner.