Like Britain, France once had a vast empire. Many immigrants from these former colonies have settled in Paris over the past 60 years: Senegalese, Cameroonians, Algerians, Tunisians, Moroccans, Vietnamese, Laotians, Cambodians and Lebanese to name a few. They have gone to great lengths to reproduce the cuisine of their countries, making Paris a place where you can take a culinary journey. Although ethnic restaurants have had to elbow their way into the French consciousness, they are now part of everyday life. Couscous is France's favourite national dish and is served in school cafeterias at least once a week. Chefs such as Fatéma Hal, who opened the Mansouria restaurant in 1985, has become an ambassador for Moroccan cuisine worldwide, and Rougui Dia, of Senegalese origin, revitalized the kitchen as head chef at the venerable Petrossian restaurant.
On any given night, Parisians can choose between a steaming bowl of Vietnamese phô, a crispy almond and chicken Moroccan pastilla dusted with confectioner's sugar or the Senegalese national dish – tieb bou dienn, rice and fish cooked in a tomato broth.
Zerda Café
Opened in 1946, this is one of Paris' first north African restaurants. Franco-Algerian and proud of his Berber heritage, Jaffar Achour manages the kitchen, serving a variety of couscous dishes. "Coucous should be like snow," he says, and recommends his "spring couscous" made with yellow turnips, fresh peas and broad beans. Alain Ducasse comes regularly to eat the mechoui lamb marinated in butter and honey, or in butter, olive oil, garlic, onions and spices. His seffa dessert, semolina with raisins, almonds, pistachios, dates, crushed speculoos, (thin and spicy crunchy biscuits), sprinkled with orange flower water, was invented by his pastry chef Karim, who will open a pastry shop of his own this summer. The Zerda also has one of Paris's largest wine cellars specialising in north African wines.
• 15 rue René Boulanger, 10th, +33 1 4200 2515. Métro: Strasbourg-Saint-Denis. Open daily (closed Sat and Mon for lunch)
Pho Tai and Pho Tai Tai
Te Ve Pin arrived in France from Vietnam in 1968 and went straight into cooking school. After opening a restaurant in the posh 16th arrondissement, he moved to Paris' Chinatown in 2002 where he opened what is now a Parisian fixture: Pho Tai. Phô and derivatives of this cult-like Vietnamese soup are served, aromas of cinnamon, ginger, and star anise wafting through the restaurant. Pho Tai Tai across the street opened in February 2011 so that clients can spill over and get not only their Phô fix, but also crispy chicken with orange and lemon, sautéed duck with basil and green pepper or rice noodles with grilled pork and shrimp sautéed in lemongrass.
• 13 & 18 rue Philibert Lucot, 13th, +33 1 4585 9736. Métro: Maison Blanche. Open Mon, Tue, Thu-Sun, noon-2.30pm, 7.30pm-11pm
Le Palanka
Paris-based Congolese writer Alain Mabanckou says it's his favourite restaurant. Chef Christian Abegan from Cameroon has created a pan-African cuisine with French flavours inspired by Francophone African countries such as the Ivory Coast, Mali, Gabon and of course Cameroon. You might start with a spicy fresh papaya salad with chilli, or hearts of lettuce with fried shrimp and a tamarind seed dressing, and continue with a yassa (fish or chicken in a lime and onion marinade) from Senegal or guinea hen with a moyo onion sauce from Benin.
• 15 rue des Lombards, 4th, +33 1 4277 2926, lepalanka.com. Métro: Châtelet/Hôtel de Ville. Open Mon 7pm-2am, Tue-Sat 11am-3pm, 7pm-2am, Sun 12.30pm-4.30pm, 7pm-2am
Comme sur une île
On an unassuming street up the hill from Père Lachaise cemetery, this pretty restaurant has a steady neighbourhood clientele that comes to eat Mauritian Rafiq Hamjah's light and spicy dishes. Mauritius's cuisine is one of the most multi-ethnic in the world, combining Creole, Indian, Chinese and French influences that Hamjah uses in his Indian flavoured wontons, shrimp in a Creole rougail sauce, or his spicy French Daube.
• 83 rue Orfila, 20th, +33 1 4636 0324, commesuruneile.com. Métro: Gambetta. Open Tue-Sat lunch and dinner
Les Trois Frères
To get a taste of where north Africans first settled when they came to Paris, head to the Goutte d'Or (Drop of Gold) or Little Africa. Locals flock to Les Trois Frères for couscous accompanied by a glass of Algerian or Moroccan wine, or to eat a classic steak-frites standing at the spanking clean bar. At lunch there are two menus, costing either €8 or €12. Arezki Arab, his two brothers and two cousins took over from the previous generation of three brothers, who opened the restaurant 30 years ago when they arrived from Algeria.
• 14 rue Léon, 18th, +33 1 4264 9173. Métro: Château Rouge. Open daily lunch and dinner. Average €4-€9
Rimal
One of a number of excellent Lebanese restaurants in Paris. Fadi Khoury takes great care in the selection of his products, evident in the freshness of the tabbouleh – finely chopped parsley with onions, tomatoes, bulgur and a hint of mint; smoky eggplant "m'tabal"; "kibbeh nayyeh", raw ground lamb with bulgur and spices; or his grilled meats - chicken, lamb or quail. Don't miss the homemade pistachio, mango, strawberry or almond Arabic ice-cream. Rimal also has two takeaway hubs, one across the street from the restaurant, the other on Boulevard St Germain in the 6th arrondissement.
• 94 Boulevard Malesherbes, 17th, +33 1 4227 6122, rimalparis.com. Métro: Malesherbes
Liza
When Liza Soughayar first opened her restaurant and bakery next door (with chef Karim Haidar, who has since gone on to open his own restaurants) it was a first for Parisian-Lebanese cuisine – contemporary, creative and hip. Now well established, the designer Liza restaurant continues to serve re-interpreted Lebanese dishes, and its bakery next door is the ideal place to stop for a sandwich if you're in the area of the Paris covered "Galeries". Look for freshly-baked man'ouché sandwiches with zaa'atar (herb) cheese, cucumbers and olives, or a kafta sandwich of lamb brochettes with parsley, onion, hummus, tomatoes and pickles.
• 14 rue de la Banque, 2nd, +33 1 5535 0060, restaurant-liza.com. Métro: Bourse. Open daily, lunch and dinner (closed Sun lunch, Mon dinner)
Ethnic Angel
Cameroonian Angèle Seguillon (never without a hat) is the angel here. After a successful career as an executive with Carrefour supermarkets she put all her savings into a vast space off the Grands Boulevards and opened an ethnic supermarket where shoppers can find any spice they like, fresh fruit and vegetables, organic millet, coconut milk, Lebanese cheeses or pre-cooked manioc. Upstairs there are cosmetics, fair-trade clothing and a restaurant where the consulting chef is the prominent Christian Abegan.
• 16 rue du Faubourg Montmartre, 9th, +33 1 8250 2010, ethnic-angel.com. Métro: Grands Boulevards. Open Mon-Sat 9am-11pm, Sun, 9-1pm.
Christian de Montaguère
Nestled on a small street in the chic 6th arrondissement, Guadeloupe-born Christian de Montaguère opened his high end Caribbean concept store in 2008. After studying business and living in the capital for 10 years, de Montaguère decided Paris needed a cave dedicated to 350 fine rums and punches but also a shop where one can find specialty chocolates made in Martinique with exotic ganache fillings, tropical pâtes de fruits or Bonifieur coffee, the ancestor of Jamaican Blue Mountain. Spices, biscuits and tropical fruit juices line the shelves, as do beauty products and books, of which St. Exupéry's Little Prince translated into two dialects of Creole – from Martinique and Guadeloupe.
• 20 rue de l'Abbé Grégoire, 6th, +33 9 518 94055, christiandemontaguere.com
La Rose de Tunis
The two Achach brothers from Tunisia opened this pastry shop more than 20 years ago. It's hard not to want to try a bit of everything here, where pyramids of pastries made with almonds, walnuts, pistachios, honey and essence of orange blossoms and rose petals are piled high in the showcases. Try the inescapable cornes de gazelle, makroudh, or honey-soaked semolina cake to begin with.
• 7 Boulevard Ornano, 18th, +33 1 4606 0864, larosedetunis.com. Métro: Marcadet Poissonniers.
• Olivia Snaije is a Paris-based writer
