Maison Ambre, Moroccan canteen and tea room with home-made pastries, brunch and Ftour menu

Maison Ambre is the name of this canteen, tea room and pastry shop in the 15th arrondissement, just a stone's throw from Gare Montparnasse. Bowls to compose, tagine and pastries of the day await you.

Looking for a Moroccan canteen where you can enjoy a quick lunch, a tagine or a couscous prepared in the traditional way? Head for Maison Ambre, a small restaurant and tearoom with seating for around 30, a stone's throw from the Pasteur, Ségur and Duroc metro stations.

Nasreddine Kamal, or Nacer to his friends, and his wife Hasnaa El Gadari are at the head of the house. They wanted to open a restaurant where they could eat like they were at home in Morocco. Aware that not everyone could eat couscous or tagine for lunch every day, they came up with a varied street food formula that could be summed up in a bowl.

The Moroccan bowl formula, priced at €11.90, consists of a choice of semolina, lentils, pasta or seasonal salad mix, plus 3 vegetables such as eggplant caviar, stewed peppers with tomato, marinated carrots or caramelized pumpkin with cinnamon. Add to this a choice of protein from the 5 options: chicken tagine, beef kebab, lamb kebab, kefta or falafel for vegetarians. Then choose from olive oil sauce, tomato bell pepper sauce, citrus ginger sauce or coconut pineapple sauce. And finally a topping of olive tapenade, crispy onions or harissa. The bowls are generous and well-spiced, and we love the taste of the different vegetables that make up our creation of the day.

You can also opt for the Moroccan sandwich at €8.90. On a soft bread base, you add your choice of 2 vegetables, a protein, a sauce and a topping. And don't forget the crispy chicken pastillas and cheese cigar keftas.

As for the dish of the day (€14.90), on our visit we were treated to the lamb tagine with prunes, a real treat. It can be served with Moroccan bread or semolina, as you prefer. For €18.90, you can add bread, a drink and a dessert.

Desserts include orange blossom panna cota topped with homemade amlou, or cheesecake topped with amlou and crushed almonds - a real treat, with just the right amount of sugar. If you're not familiar with amlou, it's a Moroccan spread similar to praline. Here, it's made with crushed almonds, argan oil and honey.

In the morning, at weekends or in the afternoon, you can take time out to enjoy our breakfast or snack formulas. Expect to pay €6.50 for a hot drink with 3 pastries, or €4 for an expresso-crêpe.

When it comes to pastries, the choice is limited to guarantee quality homemade pastries. We love the softness of the gazelle horns, the chebakias made with real honey or the sellou bites with almond, sesame and honey that crumble in the mouth. Count €2 for a pastry or €16 for a 250g tin.

During Ramadan, the range expands and other pastries are added for the festivities. You can order your pastries in advance, for collection in the store or for delivery.

Maison Ambre also offers a weekend brunch at €34.50 on reservation.

Brunch menu:

DRINKS

Hot beverage of your choice
Freshly squeezed orange juice

CRÊPES

Assortment of 3 crêpes and galettes
Moroccan crêpe msemen
Thousand-hole crêpe baghrir
Fine semolina galette harcha

(Honey / Amlou / Olive oil / Cheese spread)

SALES

Assortment of 3 Moroccan salads and 2 Cigars minced meat
Tagine dumplings Kefta with eggs

Pastilla chicken with almonds

DESSERTS

Pannacotta with orange blossom and Amlou or
2 Moroccan pastries of your choice

Finally, Maison Ambre also offers its Ftour or Iftar during Ramadan. The menu costs €34.50 and must be booked in advance by calling 01 45 32 52 83.

Ftour menu
€34.50

Drinks

Orange blossom milk
Squeezed orange juice
Mint tea

Sweets

Date majhoul
Chebbakia
Bouchée de Sellou
Briwat with almonds

Soup

Harira & boiled egg

Pancakes served with honey & cheese

Plain Msemen

Duo of baghrir

Savoury

Mini pastilla with chicken & almonds
Cigare Kefta cheese
Batbout of the day