Al Farid - Morrocan resto - Exeter

Our first taster selection

Exeter was by far the best outing I have had with my work. For now 4 years I have been organising small events for up to 150 people.

This means staying overnight in hotels, eating in restaurants and checking out a venue/ separated or part of the hotel we are staying in.

See previous post about the hotel we stayed in in Exeter… We had dinner at Al Farid a Moroccan restaurant tucked away behind a tree on Cathedral’s Yard in Exeter…

As mentioned on my previous post, it was too much of beautiful day not to explore Exeter while we were there. It seemed such a pity to stay in the hotel, have dinner and shuffle back to our individual room. As I arrived in Exeter few hours before the rest of the team, as usual I have a quick tour of the town we are visiting … mini tourism and spot restaurants or interesting things I might want to check out or photograph after my event.


Entrance of the restaurant

On this occasion I had spotted 3 restaurants side by side on the Cathedral’s Yard… including a pub, a tavern and a French style restaurant. I had not spotted the Moroccan tucked away. Besides, my dear colleagues have a very English palate and are hard to convince at times… as we were considering where to go for dine dine between my choices, one of us strayed and found the Moroccan restaurant. From the outside? Not very appealing.



the staircase

As we pushed the little flat like door to check the inside, we were still wondering if the place was a restaurant. The first thing we saw was a staircase going up. To the left there was a door which looked like it lead to a living room… weird. So, until we were welcomed by a very authentic looking waitress we were still wondering if it was a restaurant and if it was upstairs or to our left. The rooms and staircase were very dimly lit and it all look like what I would call mess on a normal day. But having dabbled with Persian tapestry and textiles in the past, I stared to recognise the handmade pieces. The floor seating, the hand crafted tiny tables, the embroidered pieces hanged on the walls, the authentic Moroccan jewelleries… once my eyes got accustomed to the decoration is all actually looked like a middle eastern gallery… Sort of.

Tea is serve - That is the table

As our derrieres finally got accustomed to the type of seating on offer, we started considering the menu… the names of the dishes were not familiar, but their descriptions seems to. But, we are questioning what the Moroccan twist was to them. The good thing was, all the dishes looked cheap enough to make allowances for mistakes… We went mad on the list and ended up ordering 3 rounds of food as dishes came in such tiny portions… All was very tasty… for a European palate, but something lacked… The Middle Eastern spices like cardamom, anise and others were lacking.

Being from and African background and having grown up in France where most cultures easily mix and everyone tastes what every on cooks, my only disappointment was in the spicing of the food. The decoration, ambience and the staff was authentic. It did feel as if we had stepped into Marrakesh for the duration of a dinner.

Taps in the ladies

I of course had to check out the ladies and the atmosphere there again was totally authentic… slightly dark, with a rough concrete painted walls… even the way that the tap came out of the wall reminded me of Africa… If I was to mark this place on authenticity and the deco, it will be faultless. Then again since the owners are Moroccans, they just decorated as they would do back home right?

As for the food, I suppose being based in Exeter, they had to compromise and go easy on the spices… we do not want those Western and Westernised migrants having a runny nose and eyes at every bite now do we?

I would definitely recommend this place to anyone who is looking to step in a little corner of Africa deco wise… If you are looking for your head blown away by the taste and spices, it might be a bit more challenging…

Do go check it out and make your own mind! Don’t forget to post a comment! More info on Al Farid here.

My phone was completely discharged on this occasion and I had to rely on my colleagues to take some good ones... well, they did their best. They were distracted by the food, which they really really enjoyed.

See you soon. The Reviewer


My coffee is served... and my dead phone, the best in the world