Dallas restaurateur Yaser Khalaf has partnered with Najat Kaanache for a new Moroccan restaurant, Souk (which means marketplace or bazaar), located in the entertainment district Trinity Groves, just west of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge.
Stefania Morandi, a graduate of Politecnico di Milano and designer for Trinity Groves, created the restaurant space, which is surrounded by large glass windows, plus an outdoor dining terrace that allows for a full view of the Dallas skyline.
Yaser Khalaf currently owns Baboush in the West Village, Farnatchi and Ketchup. Originally from Kuwait City, Khalaf spent his youth traveling through Europe and the Middle East. He moved to Lexington, Kentucky, for college, eventually running a restaurant but only after traversing the country in a broken down van devouring American food along the way. Here's that whole story.
Kaanache, who is of Moroccan decent and was raised in the Basque region of Spain, had a previous life as a leading actress on Spanish television. She first arrived in Dallas to take over Private | Social after chef Top Chef Tiffany Derry left this past January. Then in February the restaurant was reinvented as just P|S, and the menu was shaken up to include things like candy fried chicken lollipops and edible Dalí and sweet-seared scallops with caramelized garden veggies. The spot closed in July.
Now Khalaf and Kaanache are combining their worldly and eclectic backgrounds for Souk, which did really well in the Fork Fight -- a competition-style primer for all the new restaurants in Trinity Groves. Souk made it to the semifinals, where they lost a good fight to Chino Chinatown (although Kaanache wasn't there for that event).
Souk, at 3011 Gulden Ln #114, will open daily for dinner starting Friday.
