If asked to recommend any good restaurants in Bangkok that serve tasteful Moroccan cuisines, can you come up with any?……… Time’s up! Sounds more like looking for a needle in a haystack, doesn’t it? Well, actually there’s a great one that exists here! Drop by at Soi Langsuan and watchfully search for a lovely two storey house in a quiet alley and there you go! Crepes & Co is right there to welcome you to the world of Moroccan dishes, furnished with a wide selection of fresh French crepes, ready to work up your appetite!
Crepe & Co was founded in Sukhumvit Soi 12 in 1996 with Phillipe Bruttin’s wish to bring the perfect French crepe to Bangkok. Unfortunately, he died before seeing his business grow, and his younger brother, Serge, stepped in to build on the success. Having spent their holidays in Morocco when still young, they also added Moroccan dishes to the menu to echo their beautiful childhood memories. After the lease of the original location expired in July 2012, the restaurant moved to Soi Langsuan. It is hidden in a quiet corner which is a great escape from bustling Bangkok.
The main dining room is set on the ground floor but if you prefer to sit in the fresh air, then step outside to the additional terrace in a tropical garden provided. In the back corner of Crepes & Co lies a bistro-style open kitchen, making you feel at home. Want to enjoy your meal in a more privately romantic space? The restaurant also offers the dining area upstairs in study room seating which is the perfect choice for those who want to take their significant others to celebrate their sweet moments.
While waiting for our appetite wake up, let’s get to know more about what Moroccan cuisine is actually like. It is typically a mix of Mediterranean, Arabic, Andalusian and Berber cuisine. Morocco itself produces a large range of Mediterranean and tropical fruits and vegetables and even some tropical ones, with several common meats including beef, goat, mutton and lamb, camel, chicken and seafood. Moroccan dishes have their own unique flavorings of lemon pickle, cold-pressed and unrefined olive oil, and dried fruits, giving them such distinguished and mouth-watering taste!
A Moroccan lunch mostly starts with a series of hot and cold salads followed by a tagine or Dwaz, with bread served and eaten with every meal. Once you’ve worked up an appetite, lamb or chicken and couscous topped with meat and vegetables are placed in front of you. A cup of sweet and fresh mint tea is usually served at the end to perfectly round off your meal.
Let’s start with light appetizers first. I would recommend Cheese Rolls, deep-fried rolls filled with ham and Gruyère cheese, exclusively served for cheese lovers and Moroccan Briouattes, triangles with beef, rice and cinnamon. These two dishes are the most popular starters ordered at Crepes & Co.
Next, what about a bowl of fresh salad before starting your main dish? Let’s look at these two choices. One is the authentic Moroccan Salad. A big bowl is filled with marinated bell peppers and eggplant, couscous, black olives, tomato, onions, and extra virgin olive oil. The taste itself is very unique, unlike other salad dishes I tried before. The second one gives you a completely different feel. It is the Swiss Salad, loaded with Gruyère cheese, apples and some nuts. For those who love eating apples, you will be addicted to this choice! Apple bites are a bit juicy and Gruyère cheese surprisingly go so well with them.
Here at Crepes & Co, they serve dishes which are not easily found in Bangkok so the place is really worth going to. One of the dishes I would highly recommend is the most popular version Tagine Zitoun (Moroccan for olive), a slow-cooked stew of chicken and black olives preserved in lemon and saffron served with semolina couscous and Harissa sauce, a spicy Moroccan dip made with Piri-Piri chili peppers, tomatoes and paprika. The cinnamon pinch is added to highlight the cooked onion sweetness.
The mixture between the zest and pepper tastes blend flawlessly in your mouth, forming such a heavenly blooming and playful Moroccan flavor! If you come here with children, no worries! The restaurant also offers a special set for kids, served in super cute plates!
Along with the refined Moroccan dishes, crepes lovers’ will fall in love with a variety of premium French crepes loaded with your dearest fillings and toppings. Let’s go for the Crepe Seafood Provencal, the perfect combination of prawn and squid pan fried in a tomato sauce with bittersweet wine drops. Once they are well-cooked, the rich sauce is poured in the soft yellow French crepe. The thin wafer is then doubled over the sauce, making it look like a jumbo taco. The taste of the crepe itself is soft, and is a bit crispy from the outside. When eaten together with high quality seasoned ingredients, this choice will become tastier than you’ve ever imagined!
Our meal wouldn’t be perfect without something sweet at the end. Crepe & Co serve different sweet crepes ranging from basic Nutella Banana crepes which comes with a big ice-cream scoop of your choice and creamy whipped cream on top, to Crepe Cream Cheese – filled with homemade cream cheese, strawberry ice cream and a sweet & sour hot mixed berry sauce.
For those who want to try the crepe menu, visit Crepes & Co’s mini branch at Central World on 7th floor. Only crepe dishes are served here.
If you still don’t have any plans for dinner tonight, then don’t hesitate you put this restaurant on your list! Experience the real taste of Moroccan cuisines, and enjoy special fresh French crepes exclusively served only here at Crepe & Co!
Crepes & Co. Bangkok
Address: L7, Central World,99/9 ถนน พระราม 1,Khwaeng Pathum Wan, Pathum Wan,Bangkok 10330
Opening hours: Mo – Su 10.00am – 22.00pm
Click here to order online
Writing is not a one way communication. I always keep this quote in my mind whenever I start to write, and that’s the reason why I’m so much in love with the world of writing. I’m Patsaya Pongpanich, a 22 year-old recent graduate from the Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University.
