Frédéric CASSEL

French pâtisserie on the lake

The Tunis branch of Maison Cassel is larger than a pastry counter: a restaurant, a dedicated salon de thé, pâtisserie to eat in or take away, and house-made ice creams, all under one roof overlooking the Lake of Tunis. It opened on 13 September 2017 as the North African address of the French house founded by Frédéric Cassel, and the brand lists it as a restaurant rather than a standard boutique, which is an accurate description of what it does. The concept was built to make French pâtisserie familiar in Tunisia, carrying the savoir-faire of the Fontainebleau mother house into a full dining setting. That ambition, rather than a template, is what produced the format.

A room built for scale

Plan for a large-format pâtisserie restaurant rather than a compact neighbourhood café. The salon de thé can seat 400 guests, an unusual scale for a pastry-led venue and a clear sign of what it serves: groups, celebrations, business meetings, long sit-down visits and people buying a box to carry home. The lakeside view is part of the appeal, tying the branch to Les Berges du Lac 2 rather than to a shopping street. It is a destination address in the literal sense. Frédéric Cassel’s own style anchors it, described by the house as delicate yet generous, authentic and joyful, and open to surprising flavour combinations, the product of three decades of pastry work.

What to order

Food is the reason to go. The offer covers pastries to eat in or take away, savory restaurant service and house-made ice creams, so a visit can be a full meal, an afternoon in the tea salon or a quick pastry stop, depending on how much time there is. The wider Maison Cassel repertoire points to the rest of it: chocolate made in the artisanal Fontainebleau workshop, including grands crus tablets and fruit pastes, and hand-shaped breads made with French flours and natural levain. In December the branch joins the city’s bûche conversation, appearing in Tunis guides to the best Yule logs, which is the moment the pastry side is easiest to judge against local competition. Catering extends the same kitchen to occasions beyond the room. Its work also sits among Relais Desserts member boutiques, the association the house belongs to.