Friday Night, Jewish Shabbat specialties every day of the week

Every week, Shabbat is celebrated in Jewish families. It's an opportunity to get together every Friday evening with parents, brothers and sisters, aunts and cousins around feasts prepared with love. There are as many Jewish cuisines as there are Jewish families, whether Sephardic orAshkenazi, from Morocco or Poland. 

To experience this generous tradition firsthand, if you're a non-Jew or don't have a religious family, there's no mystery: you'll have to go to a restaurant to savor these dishes that have been passed down from generation to generation. FewIsraeli restaurants in Paris highlighted authentic Shabbat recipes, but that was before Vendredi Soir opened. 

Opposite the Gare de l'Est train station, the Vendredi Soir restaurant offers Jewish cuisine that is "homemade and made like at home," generous and authentic. At the helm areKeren Afriat and Jérémie Bankhaiter, who are also behind the Levantine restaurant and the MaMi Deli bakery. With mosaic floors, a carved solid wood bar, little Art Deco touches here and there, including a large mirror decorated with foliage, a spiral staircase, and natural brick walls, Vendredi Soir is incredibly welcoming.

The menu features iconic Moroccan, Tunisian, and Ashkenazi Jewish dishesfor Shabbat, as well as various dishes that symbolize weekend family gatherings, such as kémias, small plates to share: artichokes with candied lemon (€5), chopped chicken liver (€9), carrots with orange, meatballs with tomato and cumin sauce, fennel with lemon, egg and tuna brick pastry, hummus, and even giant pastillas with chicken, dried fruit, and spices (€12), a true sweet and savory Moroccan recipe. 

The homemade hallots breads (€7 for two) sourced directly from MaMi Deli are already shaping up to be a menu staple. Delivered to the restaurant every morning, they are perfectly brioche-like and are happily dipped in tahini, olive oil, and harissa. 

Couscous, of course, also features prominently on the Vendredi Soir menu, invegetarian or meat versions—chicken, merguez sausage,beef—Moroccan style with dried fruit orTunisian style with the famous meatballs (€23). All are served with semolina generously soaked in a vegetarian broth made with carrots, onions, squash, zucchini, turnips, and cabbage. 

In the purest Judeo-Moroccan tradition, the dafina (€28) will delight those who visit on the weekend, as it is only served from Friday evening onwards. Simmered for 24 hours, it is made with rice, wheat, chickpeas, beef, potatoes, and eggs. Tunisians will be delighted to find pkaila on the menu, a stew of fried spinach simmered for a long time with fresh herbs, white beans, and beef.

Unless you prefer a schnitzel, a thin Ashkenazi breaded chicken cutlet (€16) served with Tunisian "pasta with sauce"? We did tell you that the menu was different from the usual Jewish restaurants in Paris! 

• To be read
• Israeli restaurants in Paris, our top addresses for Jewish cuisine
• Nour, a small counter serving Israeli street food and grilled arayes
• Brooch, Israeli stall, shawarma and falafel in the Passage des Panoramas

What is certain is that we wash it all down with a glass of wine (kosher, like the entire menu), ahomemade latte(€8) with almond milk, date honey and orange blossom water (to die for), and of courseMoroccan tea(€7 for two) with fresh mint and pine nuts! 

This test was conducted as part of a professional invitation. If your experience differs from ours, please let us know.