Balagan, A Joyful Bazar

Balagan, A Joyful Bazar

When you step into Balagan, located on the ground floor of the Hôtel Renaissance Paris Vendôme, the greyness of Paris seems to be no more than a distant memory. Snatches of phrases, aromas, colours and textures explode in our heads and make us dizzy. A joyful bazar, literally. In yiddish, we didn’t make it up! A name like that takes some thought. In order to give their latest creation its very individual feel, the Expérimental Group boys jetted off to Israel with their interior designer, Dorothée Meilichzon. it was there, beside superstar chefs Assaf Granit and Uri Navon – partners in this joyful project – that they scoured the markets, conferences and tables generously filled with delicious offerings. A well of inspiration where losing oneself is a pleasure. And an engine too. Back in the French capital, Balagan‘s brigade begins tearing down the frontiers. Iranian spices, Iraqi plants, Lebanese mixes, Palestinian breads, Syrian dishes – all come together on our table in the most disorganised of ballets. Hands alternate, clear up, carry away and serve wicked morsels from exotic places. In our mouths, a festival. Discoveries. We’re not in Ma’hané Yehuda, the teeming market hall in Jerusalem, we’re comfortably settled on a bench, overlooking the dining room with its many Parisian references.

Balagan, 9 rue d’Alger – 75001 Paris. Telephone: 01 40 20 72 14. Temporarily closed.

Balagan, A Joyful Bazar
Balagan, A Joyful Bazar
Balagan, A Joyful Bazar
Balagan, A Joyful Bazar
Balagan, A Joyful Bazar
Cuisine Israélienne Balagan Restaurant Expérimental Group Paris

Romée, Pierre-Charles, Olivier, could you introduce yourselves, please?

Romée, Pierre-Charles & Olivier

We are three childhood friends (we’ve known each for 25 years!) who, ten years ago, decided to open the first cocktail bar “not within a hotel” in Paris. Ten years on, we operate several establishments from Paris to London via New York and Ibiza.

Where did you get the idea to found the Expérimental Group? What kind of places did you want to create through this plan?

Romée

We wanted to create proper cocktail bars inspired by what was going on in New York at the time. Quality spirits (giving customers a choice was practically unheard of at the time), rigorous measuring, smartly dressed staff, plus an eclectic atmosphere with DJS, etc. Our philosophy of hospitality built up from there. The idea behind it is to put our customers at the centre of the offering and not to think twice about shaking them up a bit by surprising them. The Expérimental Group is based on three basic pillars: the design, the offering itself (what you drink, what you eat, the way you are welcomed) and the music. Each of these elements must be surprising.

The flavours of Jerusalem have never been so popular. How is Le Balagan different?

Olivier

We are probably the first restaurant with a full offering of Israeli-inspired cuisine with restaurateurs from Jerusalem itself (Assaf Granit and Uri Navon). This style of cuisine tends to be relegated to street food, in little places with a takeaway offering. The sort of thing you eat on a Sunday while you’re watching the TV or on the day after a party. We wanted to take it to the next level and offer it in stylish surroundings, in a proper restaurant, because this cuisine is breathtakingly rich. However, Balagan offers more than “simple” Israeli food, in a manner of speaking, it offers a cuisine of the Levant. Iranian spices, Iraki plants, Lebanese mixes, Palestinian breads, Syrian dishes, not forgetting nods towards Egypt. Everything there is blended and borrowed. In a nutshell: the whole Levant is at Balagan!

Tell us about how you met and your association with the famous chefs Assaf Granit and Uri Navon. Why them specifically?

Pierre-Charles

We only work on gut feeling. We loved Barbary and Palomar, their London restaurants and as they used to drop in for a drink (or several!) at the end of service in one of our establishments, we launched right in and asked them “would you like to open a restaurant in Paris? “. They said “yes”, on one condition, that we should come to Israel to get a true understanding of their cuisine and their history.

Portrait Olivier Bon Balagan Restaurant Expérimental Group Paris
Balagan, A Joyful Bazar
Plat Balagan Restaurant Cuisine Israélienne Expérimental Group Paris

At the Balagan, you can dine just a few centimetres from the ovens and be served by the chefs directly.

Balagan, A Joyful Bazar
Balagan, A Joyful Bazar
Balagan, A Joyful Bazar
Experimental Group Dorothée Meilichzon Portrait Balagan Restaurant Expérimental Group Paris

What are Le Balagan’s signature dishes? Which are the most popular?

Romée

All of them! The deconstructed kebabs, the Moroccan-style oysters, the breads, the sweetbreads, etc.

Dorothé, how did you get a hold on this place, on the ground floor of the Renaissance hotel?

Dorothée

We (the Expérimental Group and I) went to Israel a year ago with Assaf Granit and Uri Navon, to get an understanding of the roots of Israeli cuisine and to draw inspiration from it. We travelled across the country, attended conferences on the multicultural roots of the cuisine, visited the markets and, most of all, ate and drank a lot to make the most of this joyous, festive and unparalleled culture. So it was this spirit that I tried to reproduce at Balagan, that feeling of celebration when you eat together.

What were your inspirations in creating it? Who did you work with?

Dorothée

I reused some of the features I discovered over there: sky blue that draws you in and bids you “welcome”, geometric elements, brass suns as a reminder of the Mediterranean, traditional, natural, organic materials, like handmade ceramics, beaten earth, enamelled lava from the Auvergne, linen and cotton. But also a scenography that encourages sharing and conversation, facing the open kitchen where you can dine just a few centimetres from the ovens and be served by the chefs directly. I designed the benches in the restaurant, taking inspiration from those you often find in the Maghreb, Near and Middle East: a low structure in carved wood that rests on the floor with big cushions to sit on. The panelled design on the walls echoes the diamond shapes of the tops of the Jardin des Tuileries that you see in perspective at the end of Rue d’Alger, and the mirrors and the rounded niches of the bar echo the Rivoli arches.

What projects have you got in the pipeline?

Romée, Pierre-Charles & Olivier

A hotel in Paris with Giovanni Passerini in the kitchens, then some other projects in London, New York and Spain!

Balagan, A Joyful Bazar
Balagan, A Joyful Bazar
Balagan, A Joyful Bazar
Balagan, A Joyful Bazar
Balagan, A Joyful Bazar
Balagan, A Joyful Bazar
Enseigne lumineuse Bar Balagan Restaurant Expérimental Group Paris

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