Petanque Social Club

Overview

Petanque Social Club is, first and above all, a garden. Hidden behind the Art Deco facade of the old Ciné-Palace in Gueliz and reached through a jasmine-scented passageway, it opens into a sprawling courtyard shaded by olive trees and strung with wicker lanterns. The original pétanque court from the 1930s is still there, boules ready for a game, and the terraces spread out beneath the trees with the unhurried feel of a place that has been gathering people for nearly a century. Restaurateur Kamal Laftimi spent three years restoring the site with the designers DiegoandAlexeja, recycling almost everything they found: old shutters became trays, and photographs of 1930s club members discovered in a safe now line the walls. Inside there are terrazzo floors, vintage La Mamounia chairs, a mural by Yassine Balbzioui across the old butchery and a library of photography books and poetry, but the garden is where the eating, drinking and lingering happen. Open from morning until 1am, and until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays, it moves from breakfast and long lunches to dinner and signature cocktails, with a Mediterranean kitchen built on local produce. Friday nights bring guest DJs, guest bartenders and live music, and the garden stays full of the city's creative crowd well past midnight.