No matter what the season is, no matter how difficult the year has been or what a sad situation has developed with food choices in the country, the master-guru-restaurateur Mr. Novikov confidently and diligently continues to plan new gastronomic projects, scattering them across various corners of the city. His next brainchild is a Moroccan restaurant in Moscow adaptation called Nofar, who settled on the territory of the Badaevsky brewery, a fire victim, not far from his other establishment, “Syrovarny”. In addition to the stated Moroccan orientation, unusual for Moscow, Nofar There is another interesting feature, namely the second parent - the famous Italian in Russia, William Lamberti. These smiths of delicious trends are performing together for the first time, and therefore their work deserves special attention and interest.

My acquaintance with the fruits of their joint activity began with a walk through the construction site, through barriers, ropes and chains, through dust and dirt, past painted glasses on the wall and a nondescript homemade blue and white sign. Then there was an unprepossessing door and a small, crumpled foyer-entrance hall, behind which were hidden two dining rooms and several half-open, half-glazed kitchens. The first room is a stationary, insulated veranda, decorated in a dacha-loft style with red bricks, iron inserts, large windows overlooking the parking lot, a counter with dried fruits, a bar counter, a stove, a meat display and live palm trees. The second hall looked more spacious and richer. It was white, large, with cone-shaped structures hanging from the ceiling, a kitchen area, painted sofas and North African designs.

Menu in Nofar, despite the statements of restaurant representatives, it is difficult to call it exclusively Moroccan. Rather, it is a kind of generalized, short guide to the gastronomic world of Morocco, compiled specifically for the capital's public and well seasoned with the tastes of the Middle East. One list sheet looks voluminous. There are many sections, but the number of positions in them is limited. The biggest one is the cold meze appetizers, everything else is commendably restrained.

The food left a positive impression, but there were some downsides. In the “Assorted Baked Chili Peppers” from the cold appetizers section, for some reason they left all the seeds, which, at the first bite, began to hit the receptors with their pungency, threatening to nullify any adequate perception of subsequent dishes. If you decide to leave the seeds, then it would be worth warning about this, otherwise the whole meal begins to drown in obsessive and stupid wit. “Kubania beef tartare” stumbled over the additional ingredients, especially the tomatoes, which took the reins into their own hands, and the raw minced meat was seated on the back bench, where it sat the entire lunch, bored and sad. But the “Homemade Bread” was varied, fresh, soft and with a golden brown crust. The “Grilled Romaine Lettuce Leaves” turned out crispy, not at all soggy, bouncy, with cheese shavings and coarse sea salt, which went very well with the bright, rich lemon-mustard sauce. “Jerusalem artichoke soup with chips” had a velvety texture, round, mild flavor and moderate tenderness. There was no riot of spices in it, but they most likely were not expected. “Tajine – Stewed Lamb” - by far the best dish in the order, it arrived, as the name suggested, in a clay tagine vessel. The meat is tender, the spices are just right. The sauce, potatoes, chickpeas and peas played their roles perfectly, creating the necessary and desired harmony of taste. Couscous fulfilled its duties as a side dish with a bang. It was fragrant, crumbly, without a hint of dryness or blandness. The “veal shish kebab” was a success in both appearance and taste. The meat is juicy, appetizing, soft, causing a smile and total satisfaction. “Green peas with butter, onion and garlic” also did not disappoint - a high-quality, light and at the same time interesting side dish that can be safely ordered as a separate dish. The “homemade tomato sauce” that was served with the barbecue was flirty, in some ways even flirtatious and therefore interesting. But “Baked Chicken with Honey and Paprika” from the oven, alas, turned out to be too bland and dry, although there are no complaints about softness. He would need a different, fresher and less oily sauce, and he would have what he needed, but not above a three.

Among the desserts, “Chocolate mousse” was a success (it was really chocolatey, dense, but not too thick) and “Malabi with rose syrup” - the taste was delicate, almost airy and not at all cloying.

Everything about the service was extremely clear and informative. The young man worked correctly: he told what was needed, where it was needed, he helped, when needed, he cleaned, brought, changed, arranged. By the way, the staff Nofar- the complete opposite of the employees of Mr. Novikov’s other project, “Cool,” where the waiters are more like lost ducklings by an unfamiliar pond.

The result is this:

A bright, interesting establishment dedicated to the tastes of the Middle East, North Africa and Morocco. The quality of the products is beyond doubt. Freshness and ease in food give us hope for a delicious future. The service helps, not hinders. The main disadvantage is the location, it does not offer convenience.

Posted by Mikhail Kostin (@mkostin_ru) Jun 2, 2017 at 1:35 PDT

Today in Moscow, only in our restaurant you can try real Moroccan cuisine, which is rightfully considered one of the best in the world. And although it is little known in Russia, Moroccan cuisine is very popular in Europe, America and, of course, the Middle East and Africa. What is the reason for such popularity? The answer is obvious to anyone who tries authentic Moroccan dishes for the first time. The extraordinary taste of the seemingly simple and familiar products from which these dishes are prepared amazes, delights and is remembered for a long time!

At its core, Moroccan cuisine is home cooking. The secret of the unforgettable taste of Moroccan dishes is not in exotic ingredients, but in a special method of preparation and skillful handling of spices. It is a common belief that true Moroccan cuisine can only be tasted in Morocco. Of course, this is true in many respects - only a Moroccan can cook truly Moroccan.

Our consultant chef Abdelaziz El Janati, a Moroccan originally from the city of Fes, agrees with this. He is very proud of his work and every time our guests convey words of gratitude and admiration, he sincerely rejoices with us: for his work, the work of our chefs, for our restaurant, Morocco and his hometown of Fes. Fez cuisine, by the way, is considered by Moroccans to be the best in Morocco, and chefs from Fez are considered the best chefs. And many of our Moroccan guests are convinced of the same thing.

In our restaurant you can try all the best and most famous Moroccan dishes: magnificent couscous - the decoration of any festive table, very popular, both in Morocco and among our guests, briuata, extraordinary bstella, delicious mechoui prepared according to the recipe, which is almost 300 years old, traditional harira soup and, of course, many tagines - the most famous dishes of Moroccan cuisine. And this is not counting the variety of Moroccan salads, which in Morocco are usually served several pieces in small quantities, amazing Moroccan sweets and, of course, real Moroccan tea.

In addition to the unforgettable taste, Moroccan dishes also stand out for their undeniable health benefits. This is facilitated by the abundance of plant products used in Moroccan cuisine and, again, the way they are prepared. We use halal to prepare meat dishes in our restaurants. Halal meat, in addition to spiritual benefits, brings much more health benefits than regular meat.

The rich bar of our restaurant is ready to offer guests a huge number of drinks and cocktails, including many very original and memorable ones. And after the meal, our guests can relax and have a calm conversation over a hookah, since our choice of drinks is not inferior in variety and originality.

We pay special attention to the quality of food and drinks. Along with strict adherence to the traditions of Moroccan cuisine, quality is the most important element of the culture of our restaurant. We will never allow ourselves to pursue unnecessary profit at the expense of quality, and this approach is reflected daily in the grateful reviews of our guests.

The friendly and welcoming atmosphere of our restaurant is fully consistent with the traditions of oriental hospitality. Cozy rooms, a calm atmosphere, unobtrusive ethnic music, friendly waiters - all this gives our guests the opportunity to fully enjoy the masterpieces of Moroccan cuisine or just have a pleasant time with friends and loved ones. Our guests often make business meetings in our restaurant.

In the evenings and on weekends, it is better to reserve a table in advance.

Today in Moscow, only in our restaurants you can try real Moroccan cuisine, which is rightfully considered one of the best in the world. And although it is little known in Russia, Moroccan cuisine is very popular in Europe, America and, of course, the Middle East and Africa. What is the reason for such popularity? The answer is obvious to anyone who tries authentic Moroccan dishes for the first time. The extraordinary taste of the seemingly simple and familiar products from which these dishes are prepared amazes, delights and is remembered for a long time!

At its core, Moroccan cuisine is home cooking. The secret of the unforgettable taste of Moroccan dishes is not in exotic ingredients, but in a special method of preparation and skillful handling of spices. It is a common belief that true Moroccan cuisine can only be tasted in Morocco. Of course, this is true in many respects - only a Moroccan can cook truly Moroccan.

Our consultant chef Abdelaziz El Janati, a Moroccan originally from the city of Fes, agrees with this. He is very proud of his work and every time our guests convey words of gratitude and admiration, he sincerely rejoices with us: for his work, the work of our chefs, for our restaurant, Morocco and his hometown of Fes. Fez cuisine, by the way, is considered by Moroccans to be the best in Morocco, and chefs from Fez are considered the best chefs. And many of our Moroccan guests are convinced of the same thing.

In our restaurant you can try all the best and most famous Moroccan dishes: magnificent couscous - the decoration of any festive table, very popular, both in Morocco and among our guests, briuata, extraordinary bstella, delicious mechoui prepared according to the recipe, which is almost 300 years old, traditional harira soup and, of course, many tagines - the most famous dishes of Moroccan cuisine. And this is not counting the variety of Moroccan salads, which in Morocco are usually served several pieces in small quantities, amazing Moroccan sweets and, of course, real Moroccan tea.

In addition to the unforgettable taste, Moroccan dishes also stand out for their undeniable health benefits. This is facilitated by the abundance of plant products used in Moroccan cuisine and, again, the way they are prepared. We use halal to prepare meat dishes in our restaurants. Halal meat, in addition to spiritual benefits, brings much more health benefits than regular meat.
The rich bar of our restaurant is ready to offer guests a huge number of drinks and cocktails, including many very original and memorable ones. And after the meal, our guests can relax and have a calm conversation over a hookah, since our choice of drinks is not inferior in variety and originality.

We pay special attention to the quality of food and drinks. Along with strict adherence to the traditions of Moroccan cuisine, quality is the most important element of the culture of our restaurant. We will never allow ourselves to pursue unnecessary profit at the expense of quality, and this approach is reflected daily in the grateful reviews of our guests.

The friendly and welcoming atmosphere of our restaurant is fully consistent with the traditions of oriental hospitality. Cozy rooms, a calm atmosphere, unobtrusive ethnic music, friendly waiters - all this gives our guests the opportunity to fully enjoy the masterpieces of Moroccan cuisine or just have a pleasant time with friends and loved ones. Our guests often make business meetings in our restaurant.

The Maghreb day was hot, the sunset was red,
A long shadow sliding on the sand.
Bright colors and fabrics from Fez collapse
It died down, along with the day, in the distance.
The fading ray, so thin and small,
I drew it, freezing, in anguish,
The gentle lily has a simple name - Nofar -
Fine script on a dark hand. (zveruska)

Making your way past the numerous shops of Marrakech selling spices, carpets, fabrics and sweets, turning into the intricacies of cool narrow streets and seeing an inconspicuous blue door, you know that behind the whitewashed simple walls a miracle awaits you - a riad, a luxurious house, illuminated by the sun's rays, but giving you coolness , with a covered gallery with arches, wrought iron railings and a tiled courtyard with a small fountain, palm trees, orange trees and flowers, a real oasis in the dusty eastern city.

A place that calls for leisurely relaxation - sofas, silk-embroidered pillows, colorful carpets, embossing, narrow-necked elegant copper jugs, painted plates filled with mountains of sweets and a cup of mint tea, refreshing and aromatic. And all this is like a foretaste of the coming feast. Spicy, saturated with the smells of incredible spices, warm, multi-colored, colorful, abundant cuisine of the Maghreb is amazing, it appeared at the crossroads of cultures, peoples and civilizations, it does not tolerate fuss and it is difficult not to love it.

The Maghreb corner in Moscow is new Moroccan restaurant Nofar, which opened on the territory of the former Badaevsky brewery Arkady Novikov And William Lamberti. The cuisine is declared as Moroccan, replete with seafood and fish, meat and poultry, a variety of grains, aromatic herbs and spices, legumes, olives, a variety of herbs, vegetables and fruits.

True, a clear Levantine accent can still be heard, and it is no coincidence. The chief consultant is a Moroccan living in Israel named Nofar, who developed the menu together with William and another Israeli, Noam Cohen, who now runs the kitchen. It is to her that the restaurant owes its name (“nofar” translated as “lotus”). The restaurant uses local products, but the spices themselves are brought from Morocco, and the spiciness of the dishes is adapted to the Moscow public. Lamberti says, “We have Moroccans cooking, but our dishes are lighter than traditional ones - they have less spices, for example, and there are Mediterranean notes. The food turned out to be very homely, but that’s what we set for ourselves, because Moroccan cuisine is, in principle, homemade.” That is why the menu is full of traditional, rich, warm, spicy dishes that are so good to share at a hospitable, rich table with friends and family.

The interior of Nofar was created by St. Petersburg designer Evgenia Uzhegova, who tried to recreate the atmosphere of a Moroccan riad, a home for a large family, hospitable and cozy. There are three zones here - a “house” with soft sofas, pillows, a wood-burning stove, a “courtyard” with whitewashed walls, huge jugs, bags of spices, colorful tagines, an open kitchen and a “gallery” filled with flowers and greenery from which you can watch the courtyard located below, sitting with a cup of coffee or hookah.

The idea of ​​using existing architectural elements from the former industrial building of the Badaevsky brewery turned out to be very interesting - the cone-shaped containers for beer wort turned out to be surprisingly similar to inverted tagine lids, which adds to the mood.
The menu includes a lot of meze from baked vegetables, chickpeas, tzatziki and other delicacies necessary to start a meal (300 rubles each). They are accompanied by a bread basket with different types of bread freshly baked on site. Hummus served with mushrooms (350 rub.), with liver (400 rub.) with seafood (550 rub.). Wood-roasted vegetables are wonderful, but for those who don't like smoke, they have too much of a "smoky" flavor. The eggplant with tahini and pomegranate (550 rubles) is very good, and the babaganoush with pine nuts (300 rubles) definitely needs to be stirred before eating, because it is sprinkled with crystals of Svan salt on top and may seem salty. Salads, hot appetizers, soups are standard items on the menu, but they contain a lot of interesting things. Crispy “cigars” made from the finest dough with chicken liver with spicy tomato and tahini sauces (550 rubles), salad with smoked salmon, red onion and mint, which greatly decorates and refreshes the dish (700 rubles), fish soup with hake, “ Ouzo” and star anise (550 rubles), but there is no expected harira.
In the first room of the restaurant there is a wood-burning oven and a refrigerator with different types of meat and poultry. Sitting at the table, you can watch how a lamb shoulder is roasted over the fire or how hot peppers splash on the grill with acrid drops of juice.

Shish kebab, smoked meat, and grilled dishes are varied and tempting. But what is a Moroccan restaurant without tagines? With chicken, rabbit, seafood, hake, lamb - for every taste. The one that most impressed us was with lamb and Jerusalem artichoke (1,100 rubles), moderately spicy, rich, the nutty note of Jerusalem artichoke in it does not compete with the most tender, well-seasoned meat, but complements it. Excellent rabbit with dried fruits, expected but very tasty chicken in Ras el Hanout spices.
Mint tea, coffee, sweets - to complete a rich and leisurely meal. It’s worth taking some sweets with you so that you can taste the subtle and unsweetening sweetness of baklava, the tenderness of basbousa, cookies with tahini, halva, and hazelnuts at home.

Vladimir Kolganov is responsible for the cocktail menu. Among his mixes are “Casablanca with love” with pomegranate rum, hibiscus and sparkling, “Eucalyptus sour” with rum infused with eucalyptus and “Whiskey sour apricots” with dried apricot bourbon, “Old East”, “Moroccan Grog”. Their bright flavors match the spicy, rich mezes and tagines.

"Anansische"(600 rub.)

Menu excerpts:

Hummus with mushrooms and onions(350 rub.)
Babaganush – baked eggplant with pine nuts(300 rub.)
Arabic vegetable salad(300 rub.)

Eggplant with tahini and pomegranate(550 rub.)

Salad with artichoke, green peas, fennel, cucumber and almonds(550 rub.)
Grilled romaine lettuce with lemon mustard dressing(450 rub.)

Salad with smoked salmon, red onion and mint(700 rub.)

“Kubeniya” beef tartare with bulgur and chili(600 rub.)

Beef carpaccio with chili, celery and parmesan(550 rub.)

“Cigars” with chicken liver, and spicy tomato and tahini sauces(550 rub.)

Seafood tagine (crab, shrimp, squid) with fennel, celery, zucchini and vegetable sauce(1500 rub.)

They say that after the Trojan War, Odysseus, having gotten lost in his wanderings, landed his ship on the shores of the Maghreb, to the country of lotophages - lotus lovers. The food from the locals was so good that none of the sailors wanted to sail away.

“... having met them with friendly affection, they gave them a lotus to taste:
but as soon as everyone tasted the sweet honey lotus,
instantly forgot everything and, having lost the desire to return,
suddenly I wanted to stay away from the lotus eaters so that I could pick delicious lotus.”(Homer. Odyssey).

Look at the name of the restaurant - its logo also has a lotus symbol. This is clearly not without reason; one is drawn to return here.
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Moroccan restaurant "Nofar"
Kutuzovsky prospect, 12, building 3