Ayadi Gourmet, Fatteh's committed Syrian street-food counter in Paris

We're taking you to the 5th arrondissement, in the heart of the Latin Quarter and a stone's throw from Notre-Dame de Paris, to discover Ayadi Gourmet. This restaurant, or rather street-food counter in a healthier version, invites you to discover Fatteh, a typical Syrian dish. It's the first restaurant, not only in Paris but in the whole world, to offer this specialty which, although unknown to most people, garners very good reviews on Google.

So, what is fatteh, you may ask? Fatteh is a traditional dish from Damascus, very popular in Syria, the vegetarian version often served for breakfast, brunch or at the end of Ramadan. The most common Syrian version is prepared with cooked chickpeas, without chickpea puree as in hummus. The dish consists of crusty bread, chickpeas, yoghurt and a few toppings. Simple to prepare, it reveals all its richness when the ingredients are assembled: a mix of crunchy and melt-in-the-mouth textures, to be eaten immediately to retain the bread's crunchiness. It's a tasty vegetarian option that's out of the ordinary!

For the record, Ghena Al Barazi, founder of Ayadi Gourmet, was traveling to Paris for an event with her daughter in 2014. As she had to go to the event and only had 30 minutes to eat, she regretted not being able to find a fast, non-junk food alternative. The idea sprang to mind to offer a more "gourmet", healthier, homemade alternative for lunch/dinner on the go.

With her passion for cooking and the fact that her friends and family were already raving about her excellent fatteh, she naturally turned to this speciality, which has the advantage of being able to be prepared in advance and assembled on demand at the last minute.

Dishes made with fresh, homemade ingredients

At Ayadi Gourmet, you'll find Fatteh in a variety of forms to suit your tastes and convictions. A warm and comforting dish of toasted or fried pita chips, topped with a yoghurt sauce mixed with sesame cream (tahini), and generously garnished with fried almonds and pine nuts.

Available in several versions, it can be enjoyed withlamb braised in vinegar and onion (Fatteh Ruba), eggplant stuffed with minced meat in a tomato sauce (Fatteh Magdousse), spicy oriental chicken with rice (Fatteh Jaj), or the famous vegetarian option with chickpeas, pomegranate, parsley and dried fruit (Fatteh Hommos "Tissiyeh"). There's also a deconstructed shawarma version with marinated beef (Fatteh Shawarma).

The menu also includes vegan starters such as Hara' Isbao with lentils, homemade pasta and coriander, Lib el Koussa with zucchini heart, or Foul Ma'la with broad beans and coriander, as well as a tasty lemon chickpea snack, Balilah. A rich and varied range of Levantine flavors, between tradition and generosity. For dessert, let yourself be tempted by Mamouniyeh, a surprising semolina-based pudding concealing a traditional Syrian cheese. It's topped with crunchy almonds and cinnamon.

• To be read
• This week's best deals in Paris and Île-de-France, March 30 to April 5, 2026

We accompany it all with good drinks, all homemade too. For our part, we chose a fresh mint lemonade and a wall juice.

All dishes are prepared with fresh, high-quality ingredients, from hand-squeezed lemons and eggplant hearts to meticulously prepared free-range chicken and refined spices. Two sizes are available, with prices ranging from €13 to €20. The prices of the larger version may seem a little steep, but quality raw materials come at a price when you're moving away from industrial or mass-produced chicken. We tested the small version, which was more than sufficient, and very tasty.

The restaurant, or rather the counter, is decorated exclusively with Syrian handicrafts. There are a few seats inside, and a small terrace to relax on in fine weather. You can, of course, take your meal to go, or order from delivery platforms such as Déliveroo or Uber Eats.

Menu - A la carte

An action of solidarity

At Ayadi Gourmet, cooking isn't just about gourmet delights: it's also about solidarity. Ghena Al Barazi, who has always worked with associations helping disadvantaged people, wanted to create a concept that would not ask people to give donations, but rather to participate in a system of circular mutual aid.

His ambition would be to create a dozen Ayadi Gourmet counters catering to people in a hurry, looking to eat better, so as to be able to open an eleventh address, which would offer identical meals at a ridiculously low cost (between 50 centimes and €1.50) to people in difficult or homeless situations.

The project is part of a drive to combat social exclusion, by putting people at the center. Each meal becomes a moment of sharing, a way of recreating social ties around a table. For the time being, one week a month, the restaurant distributes tickets to its customers, enabling them to offer a meal once a month to an underprivileged person. These tickets, which are also distributed to the local homeless, enable us to offer quality meals on a one-off basis. The cost, which ranges from 50 centimes to 1.50€, is intended to make them think about the fact that they should keep money to eat well and not to drink alcohol.

In short, here's a restaurant that allows you to discover an excellent specialty that makes a change from the everyday and that works discreetly for a solidarity economy.

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