Cafe Tanja is Moroccan and Algerian cafe on Crown Street in Surry Hills. Their signature dish is a lamb tagine served with their fresh house made matlouh bread but the menu is full of deliciousness from delicate and crisp Brik pastry to couscous topped with vegetables, tchouktchouka with eggs and sandwiches on house made bread. Take a look at what else is on the menu and what is a must order!
Tanja is the Arabic name for Tangier, the city in Morocco that holds a special place in Sanah Djebli's heart. Sanah and her husband Nadim El-Zein run Cafe Tanja along with her mother Mama Linda. "But everyone calls me Tanya, I may as well change my name to that!" laughs Sanah.
The impetus for the cafe was the tragic death of Sanah's brother 3 years ago. "We wanted to open a restaurant for my parents to have something to care about after the tragedy. My mom especially, she is an amazing cook and we wanted to spend more time together as a family because life is just so brittle. My husband Nadim (who is Australian Lebanese) discovered our food and our culture and absolutely loved it (he also put on 15kg/33lbs). That’s why Mom comes and goes between Morocco, Algeria, France (where she lives) and her kitchen at Cafe Tanja." Food is an important part of Moroccan culture, "We expect freshly baked breads and homemade dishes, and our moms are the ones who made this a standard in our North African culture," says Sanah.
The cafe is outfitted with traditional Moroccan pieces, all brought over by Mama Linda in her luggage. They opened 6 months ago in June 2024, each area of the restaurant opening once Mama Linda was able to bring pieces from Morocco to furnish them. They started with the front room and tables outside and then the upstairs and then the balcony area once each lot of pieces arrived from Morocco. It doesn't hurt that Sanah's husband Nadim is also a carpenter (as well as the chef) so the outfitting is detailed and beautiful. The plates are also custom made for them by a local potter.
Valentina, Peter, Mr NQN and I take a seat at a table outside and Sanah brings Moroccan mint tea or Hatay from the silver pot. She pours it at a great height-the higher the pour, the greater the skill of the pourer but this also helps to aerate the sweet tea. The tea is made from gunpowder green tea with fresh mint and sugar.
The menu is all about Moroccan flavours with everything from a Moroccan breakfast that includes orange juice and mint tea for $28 to sandwiches made with their home made msemen bread filled with chicken, lamb or vegetables.
Mr NQN has the Zaazaa to drink, an incredible drink that is almost a meal in itself. Sanah explains that zaazaa is often had when you get back home after a day at the beach and you want something healthy to stave off your appetite until dinner at 10pm. It is also eaten to break the fast during ramadan. It's a large glass tankard with a layer of honey at the bottom topped with avocado, milk and a bit of banana with slices of strawberry and banana on top as well as nuts for crunch. These are all basically Mr NQN's favourite foods in the world and he is in heaven. It is a gorgeous sweet smoothie and I can see why it is so popular. ZaaZaa takes its name from the Darija (Moroccan Arabic) word "تيزعزع" (TeYZaazaa), meaning to shake things up.
We take Sanah's recommendations and share some dishes. The Tunisian tchouktchouka is rich and comes out furiously bubbling away on a ceramic dish with two runny centered eggs in the centre. The fluffy matlouh bread is especially good paired with this, its spongy texture best dunked in the rich sauce bursting with flavour.
"When you search for tajine recipes in Australia, you end up with an infinite amount of recipes which are not what we eat in North Africa. Most of the time, they pair tajines with couscous but we traditionally eat with fresh bread. North Africans eat with what the land gives them, if you’re living in the mountains you would eat meat tajines, if you’re on the coast, it’s all about seafood," explains Sanah. Ordering the lamb tagine is a given as it is their signature dish. The lamb is soft and served in large, thick pieces paired with toasted almonds and soft prunes with soft, fluffy matlouh bread triangles.
Sanah explains that the prawn tajine is a traditional recipe that is also called “pil pil”. The prawn tagine is full of large, succulent prawns that are perfectly cooked. The sauce for this is more a tomato based one with a nice level of spice to this and this is a more savoury tagine as the lamb one has prunes in it.
You can get couscous topped with vegetables which is vegan or you can also have it topped with chicken and lamb. We go with the vegan version which has large pieces of carrot, zucchini and pumpkin on top as well as a small bowl of delicious vegetable soup to go with the couscous. A special mention to the harissa that is divine. Also worth trying are the fefla or roasted and slow cooked capsicum and tomatoes and the Chermoula carrots.
Brick pastry is a special paper thin pastry that requires a lot of skill to make. They use brik pastry from Morocco to get that incredibly crispy crunch to it. We order the tuna, potato and egg brick which is the traditional filing but there's also a version with cheese, potato and egg. I could happily eat an entire one of these feather light and crisp pastries to myself.
I admire the decor so Sanah shows me upstairs and to the newly opened balcony beautifully decorated with rugs and cushions. We decide to have our dessert up here. A couple of things are sold out (the Arab snail pastry and pistachio ice cream sandwich sadly) but there is the Arab Blondie, a large slice of light almond cake that is spongey and fresh with the flavour of orange blossom and a hint of white chocolate.
"Chebakiya (also called Griwouch in Algeria) is a classic sweet that North African moms make for special occasions. I can remember aunties coming to our house and they would just occupy the whole kitchen making sweets like in a little factory. One will make the dough, the other one will cut and shape the chabakiya like little flowers, then fry them, dip them in honey while they’re hot. The only task kids could help with was sprinkling the sesame at the end" says Sanah. The pastry is rolled to resemble a rose and deep fried, dipped in honey and sprinkled with sesame seeds. It's so crisp and delicious especially with the honey and toasted sesame seeds on it. It's perfect for the Moroccan mint tea and we enjoy sipping on it while the rain falls outside.
So tell me Dear Reader, have you tried much Moroccan or Algerian food? Do you have a favourite Moroccan or Algerian dish?
This meal was independently paid for.
Cafe Tanja, Surry Hills
638 Crown St, Surry Hills NSW 2010
Phone: 0411 524 844
Wednesday & Thursday 8 am–3 pm
Friday & Saturday 8 am–3 pm, 6–9 pm
Sunday 8 am–3 pm
Closed Monday and Tuesday
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