The Story Behind Noé

What started with a simple “What if we actually did it?” has become a restaurant, a menu we're proud of, a terrace, a logo, and countless decisions, some tiny, others life-changing.

Eighteen months ago, there was no restaurant, no space in Gueliz, no terrace beneath a mandarin tree. To be fair, the idea hadn't even occurred to us yet.

And then there was that hammam…

It was in the steamy heat of a hammam, somewhere in the middle of yet another conversation about work, that a passing thought (almost a joke) started turning into something more serious. We were both growing tired of the working world and dreaming of doing something for ourselves. Something that reflected our values and, in our own small way, made the world a little kinder.

But to understand why we wanted to do it together, we need to rewind a few years.

We met when we were 18, at the start of university. We've grown up together ever since, even as our careers took us in completely different directions.

Claire settled in Paris, building a career in the cultural sector, working across communications, marketing and project management.

Audrey, meanwhile, has been living in Morocco for seven years. After starting out in banking compliance in Paris, she found her way back to what she really loved: food and hospitality. She worked as a vegan caterer before going on to manage a restaurant, also vegan, in Casablanca.

Over the years, trips between Paris and Morocco became more and more frequent. Claire would visit Audrey, discovering a little more of the country each time: its culture, colours, energy and, inevitably, its food.

So perhaps that idea in the hammam wasn't quite so crazy after all.

We didn't know exactly what kind of place we wanted to open. But we knew there would be vegan food, music, people gathered around tables, and somewhere we'd genuinely want to spend time ourselves.

Marrakech Just Made Sense

Morocco was the natural choice.

For Audrey, it was already home. For Claire, it meant moving countries, leaving behind a familiar routine and starting a whole new chapter. But why not?

The only question was where.

Marrakech quickly came out on top. We loved its energy, its contrasts, its colours and creativity. A city shaped by encounters and influences from around the world, yet unmistakably Moroccan.

And then, of course, there was the food.

Moroccan cuisine is something we both love, with an incredible range of possibilities. But as a vegan and a vegetarian, we kept running into the same problem: plant-based options were available, but they often felt like variations on the same few dishes.

And look, we love falafel. We really do. But we'd had enough to last us a lifetime.

We wanted to sit down at a restaurant and be able to order anything on the menu. We wanted plant-based versions of the Moroccan dishes we loved, including those you'd rarely imagine without meat. And we wanted more than that, too: food inspired by different places, unexpected combinations and dishes that felt like us.

Slowly, our rather vague idea started to find its direction.

From an Idea to an Actual Restaurant

As it turns out, there's quite a gap between saying “Let's open a restaurant” and actually opening one.

For over a year, there were countless trips to Marrakech, neighbourhood explorations, property viewings, recipe trials, floor plans drawn and redrawn, meetings, spreadsheets, brilliant ideas, terrible ideas and more than a few sleepless nights.

We changed our minds. More than once.

We went back to square one. Once.

We had doubts. Plenty.

But we kept going. Always.

Until we found the space in Gueliz that would become Noé.

It Took a Little Imagination

The first time we walked through the door, we had to look beyond what was there.

The space had previously been a small takeaway and delivery kitchen. An enormous professional kitchen occupied almost the entire ground floor, leaving barely any room for guests. Not exactly what we'd pictured.

But the space had potential. High ceilings, a mezzanine, natural light. And outside, a terrace with a mandarin tree.

We could see it. The kitchen would move upstairs to the mezzanine, freeing up the ground floor for a proper dining room. The terrace would become a little hidden gem, somewhere to have lunch, enjoy dinner, stop for a drink or simply take your time.

Then came everything else: materials, colours, furniture, lighting, tableware, fabrics, music… Every detail was ours to figure out.

So we got to work. We had four months.

Vegan Food. For Everyone.

One thing was clear from the beginning: Noé would be 100% vegan.

But we never wanted to create a restaurant just for vegans. Quite the opposite. We wanted to make generous, exciting, seriously delicious food that anyone could enjoy, whatever their usual eating habits.

Part of our menu draws inspiration from the Moroccan dishes we love: tagines, couscous, briouates, and other favourites you don't often come across in plant-based versions.

All our plant-based meat alternatives are made in-house at Noé.

Alongside those dishes, you'll find our own creations: a freer approach to cooking, shaped by different influences, our travels, our cravings and everything we love to eat.

Using Moroccan, locally sourced and organic ingredients wherever possible.

Four Squares. Four Essentials.

As the restaurant started coming together, we realised that what we wanted to create went well beyond the food.

There was flavour, of course.

But there was colour, too. We wanted a space full of life, with a few surprises along the way. Music, because we can't really imagine a good meal without it. And heart. All the love and energy we'd poured into this project from day one.

Flavour, colour, music and heart.

Four things that eventually became the four squares of our logo. And perhaps the simplest way to explain what Noé is all about.

So, What Happens Next?

Today, an idea dreamed up somewhere between Paris and Morocco has a real address in Gueliz, Marrakech.

And after spending so long talking about what Noé would be, we finally get to tell you what it is.

That's also why we started this journal.

There'll be plenty of food, of course. But we'll also introduce you to the people who helped bring Noé to life, and the stories behind the architecture, music, ideas and everyday life of our restaurant in Marrakech.

Because after eighteen months of dreaming, planning, building, changing our minds and starting over…

Noé's story is only just beginning.