Since 1998, Fitzroy North’s Moroccan Soup Bar has been a go-to for locals in search of a wholesome and wallet-friendly feed.

But – after more than 20 years – the homely, eternally jam-packed diner, as we know it, has closed.

Worry not, though. It’s relocated to the former site of Moroccan Soup Bar Two Go, a takeaway-focused offshoot, only a couple minutes up St Georges Road, that opened in 2018. It’ll now be the sole Moroccan Soup Bar location.

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After dine-in service was banished in March, the original location went from 180 covers a night to none. And following unsuccessful rent negotiations, owner Hana Assafiri decided to make the move. “On an unassuming day, I just packed it all down and literally left,” she says. “Who knew that the last time we closed the doors was the last time?”

Since then, she’s really ramped up the takeaway offering. You can pick up colourful lunch packs that might include mujaddara (a sauteed lentil and rice dish), grilled haloumi, falafel, chermoula eggplant sticks, sweet potato chips and hummus. As well as the bang-for-your-buck banquets – in to-go form – with all the traditional dips, stews, soups and that famous chickpea bake.

And despite mounting financial pressures, Assafiri says it’s otherwise pretty much business as usual. “The generosity, the abundance, the variety will all still be offered,” she says. “And we’re not putting the prices up.”

While the new location might look a bit more like a general store now, it’ll emerge from lockdown with a laser-focused social-justice mission. “As grateful as we are for the cult following, we wanted to do more,” Assafiri says. “I didn’t want to just turn tables anymore.”

Across six, newly kitted-out, themed dining rooms (ideal for the social-distancing era), diners will be invited to think a little deeper about the world around them, with conversation-starters, quizzes and even guest speakers.

The garden room, for example, will focus on the climate crisis; the women’s room will be a place to celebrate the achievements of women across time and cultures; and in the kitchen, cooking will be stripped back to its basics – “nutrition and health, not just something for Instagram,” says Assafiri. There’ll also be a performance space, which will support the ailing arts industry.

Leaving behind her bustling, one-room restaurant was bittersweet for Assafiri – a self-described “ultimate extrovert”. “But while we’ll miss it, we’ll recreate it in a different way.”

Moroccan Soup Bar is takeaway-only in light of current lockdown restrictions. Order online for pick-up or delivery to nearby suburbs.

Moroccan Soup Bar
316 St Georges Road, Fitzroy North
(03) 9486 3500

Hours:
Mon closed
Tue to Sun 12pm–7.45pm

moroccansoupbar.com.au