Darna

About

3 Horkanos Phone - 02 624-5406 Kosher Mehadrin Hours: Sunday through Thursday, 12 noon to 10 p.m. Friday closed Saturday evening -- one hour after Shabbat ends to 10 p.m. From the moment you open the door and walk down the path to the glass doors which then open into the restaurant, you are transported to exotic Morocco. The name, Darna, means "our home," and at once you feel the warmth and beauty of the restaurant. Ilan Sibony was born in Morocco and came to Israel as a young man in 1968. Being very Israeli, he went to live on a kibbutz, was a paratrooper in the army, then came to Jerusalem to learn architecture at Bezalel. He opened a little pie house on Horkenos Street, which was successful for 20 years. Meantime, he visited Morocco, the beautiful and special Morocco he had forgotten. Next door to his pie house was a building that had been built as a private house during the Ottomans and was now a Chinese restaurant. The owners asked Sibony if he would like to be a partner and he thought---"what a donkey knows about ginger." Then the man asked if he would like to do a Moroccan restaurant--and the rest is history. Between 1993 and 1995, Sibony collected many decorative items from Morocco, hired Moroccan workers and Darna opened November 1995 with Sibony as the first chef. As we walked past the trays with candles on the floors through the walk ways, Sibony was our host and seated us in a room with four round tables to seat 14 people. We sat on burgundy and gold couches made from Moroccan material with comfortable pillows behind us. On the walls were large Moroccan platters and paintings; a glass cabinet with shelves holds necklaces; an insert on an opposite wall has wooden doors; sconces as well as a chandelier give soft lighting. The floors are mosaic tiles. The seven rooms can seat 200 people or are perfect for small groups. In the center of our table is a wood lazy susan. Nearby are miniature salt and pepper shakers like tagines. The dinnerware was designed by S