Numero 7 Restaurant in Fez: A Nouveau/Traditional Moroccan Palette - Remodelista
A delicious blend of local ingredients and a clean, contemporary palette is the ideology behind a new Moroccan restaurant in Fez, in terms of both the menu and the decor. The menu, developed by Bruno, combines fresh, locally sourced ingredients prepared in a “clean, pan-Mediterranean, Moroccan way.” Likewise, the interiors–designed to be both an homage Morocco’s multicultural heritage as well as a respite from the cacophony of the medieval medina outside–express a mix of traditional Moroccan elements and contemporary, minimal style. All photos by Steven Rothfeld, unless otherwise noted. Elements like the large photo by Japanese artist Keiichi Tahara (seen here looking from the atrium into a more private dining nook) seem to pay homage to Morocco’s more classical past. Chef Bruno Ussel and his American partner, Stephen di Renza, a former fashion director for New York’s Bergdorf Goodman Paris buying office, sit in their new establishment. The balconies of the duo’s adjacent guest house, Riad no.9, look down on an intimate grouping of tables. Morocco’s amalgamation of many cultures is expressed in this dining area, in which Arabic mosaics and contemporary European furniture frame a photo from Italian artist Maí¯mouna Guerresi’s “The Giants” series. Traditional Morocco materials and motifs are expressed in a clean, contemporary way at Numéro 7. In the courtyard, a more modern, marble accent wall still echoes the rest of the traditional black and white interior. The serene and soaring walls of the medina’s courtyard provide a calm oasis from the hustle and bustle outside.