At the beginning, informal "asses on the ground
They originated in the early 1950s on the initiative of Ghanaian mothers, relayed by Baule women. Based on an exchange of good practices, the maquis were originally designed to recreate a semblance of a family courtyard for workers from all over the sub-region, at a time when Côte d'Ivoire was attracting a large workforce. The mothers who ran these popular canteens were able to supplement their household budgets.
These little gargotes, once known as "culs par terre", were initially part of the informal sector. Family-run and privately owned, these small restaurants often operated in total illegality. (Another interpretation explains the origin of this term by the fact that, under the Single Party, members of the opposition "took to the bush" and met in these places to discuss and debate politics).
The different types of maquis
The maquis are laid out as landscaped spaces, usually facing the street, where people can eat and drink while watching television or listening to music around simple tables usually armed with a crowd of plastic chairs. They are a must in popular Ivorian life and offer a variety of local dishes and drinks at unbeatable prices. The period of recession in the late 1980s (known as the "conjuncture") that followed the Ivorian miracle can also explain the growing success of the maquis, whose main asset, in addition to the conviviality and atmosphere that prevailed there, was to offer at more than affordable prices a good synthesis of typical dishes of Ivorian gastronomy.
Over time, some unpretentious canteens became true gastronomic receptive that sometimes compete with the best tables for the quality of the plate. A democratic space par excellence, one meets both the worker and the businessman who come to deal with important issues. The maquis today comes in many variations: from the original "maquis-cour", generally reserved for connoisseurs and regulars, to the "cul par terre" maquis and the kiosk where you can eat on the sly, through the itinerant maquis, with its braziers on the look-out for the construction site worker, to the more chic "maquis-ministre". Their popularity even makes them an alternative system for finding one's way around town, in the absence of effective urban street name marking.
The 1,000 maquis de fête in Marcory
The festive maquis is called the "hyper", a model above the others with its thunderous decibel streams, DJs and physio-vacuum cleaners, like those found on rue des Mille maquis in Marcory. If in the 2000s the rue princesse in Yopougon was the most prominent, it was destroyed in 2011 for renovation work. Other more fashionable corners have taken over. Marcory is particularly prized by the Abidjanese and lovers of authenticity today. A very important district in the modern Ivorian musical culture, it has served as a starting point for several coupé-décalé artists. Tourists generally opt for Zone 4, which has a large number of trendy restaurants, bars and clubs (more than 70 on a square of barely 1 km!).
Maquis, instructions for use
It may not be necessary to mention it, but we'll tell you anyway, in case it's your first time in Africa: don't go there in the frame of mind of an HSE inspector. These small, popular establishments, which are springing up like mushrooms everywhere, generally offer rudimentary comfort and hygiene. Courtyards or sandy ground, plastic or wooden chairs and tables, possibly adorned with an oilcloth tablecloth. Before your meal is served, a bucket of water is usually brought along for you to rinse your fingers. The bucket, along with a small sachet of Omo or Nil detergent, will come in very handy for degreasing post-stripping phalanges.
In general, maquis dishes are cooked to order: waiting times can be quite long and vary according to the dish chosen. Grilled and braised dishes take much longer to prepare than sauces (seed, peanut, leaf, etc.). One gourmet is worth two. Calling half an hour in advance to place your order is a good idea. Once you're there, all you have to do is put your feet under the table and wait for your food to arrive, while enjoying a cold beer to whet your appetite.
What do we eat in the maquis?
Sometimes there is a clear difference between the menu, which offers a wide choice of dishes, and the actual offer, which is much more limited. It's customary for the waitstaff to check with the kitchen to see what is and isn't available before service, but this isn't yet a widespread practice in Côte d'Ivoire, so don't be surprised if the waiter comes back to you sheepishly a few minutes after you've placed your order, to tell you that the dish you've chosen isn't or isn't available that day. The same goes for the ingredients of certain dishes, which many waiters won't know about if you ask them ("If you'll just wait, I'll ask in the kitchen").
Ivorian specialities. Meat or fish kebabs, braised dishes, or fish soups (with crab and seafood). Each address has its own specialties.
L'Alloko. Some maquis are neighbors of the "allocodromes", a veritable institution for alloco (fried plantains). The best-known in Abidjan is the Cocody allocodrome.
Attieke. Or cassava semolina, a specialty of the Côte d'Ivoire lowlands. In the maquis and among the braiseuses, it is traditionally bought in the form of small plastic sachets, 100-gram "balls" sold for 100 FCFA each, hence the frequent question: "How much do you want attiéké for?"
Bushmeat(s). Game animals in this category are generally poached in the bush: from the popular agouti, whose meat is highly prized by Ivorians and can be cooked in just about any sauce, to hind (a generic term used for all types of antelope) and snake, not forgetting warthog, porcupine (known here as hedgehog), armadillo, bat, pangolin and even chimpanzee. Officially banned from Ivorian plates and kitchens in September 2014 due to the Ebola virus, venison made a stunning comeback in the bush in September 2016, with the lifting of the "embargo" that had hit bushmeat for two years. One man's happiness is another man's misfortune: for game, the hunting of which was supposedly banned by a decree promulgated in... 1974, the respite may well have been too short-lived... The arrival of covid-19 has encouraged the government to re-issue a "strict ban" on bushmeat consumption in March 2020, as the pangolin is a reservoir of the virus and circulates on Ivorian market stalls.
The maquis, "institutions" for eating in Abidjan
Some maquis are more than just bars where you can have a cold beer and a chat. They are true culinary reference tables for tasting authentic Ivorian cuisine, where kebabs and braised dishes are legion.
Chez Ambroise - Marcory Centre. Here you can enjoy "the best kebabs in Abidjan": beef, grouper, snails, braised fish or chicken with attiéké, yam or alloco fries. Overjoyed braisers and folkloric tourist dances liven up the place.
Maquis du Val - Cocody Ambassades. Ivorian, African and European specialities and signature dishes such as rice with olives, garba du Val and grouper kebabs feature on the mouth-watering menu of this not-to-be-missed establishment popular with locals and expatriates alike.
Maquis Sole Plus - Treichville Arras. You've never eaten sole like this: enormous, with melting, flavorful flesh, whether grilled or braised, accompanied by the traditional onion-tomato salad and the garnishes of your choice (alloco, attiéké, yam, etc.).
Le Débarcadère - Treichville lagune. A bucolic setting that's particularly magical at sunset and at night. Set on the edge of the lagoon in a lush, colorful garden, it offers one of the best views in town. On the menu: grilled meats and brochettes with sauces and kédjénous, salads and French dishes
Chez Ernest - Cocody Anono. In this small, unpretentious establishment, you can enjoy perfectly cooked, deliciously seasoned beef, accompanied by French fries, rice or other dishes, as well as big, beautiful salads served with a succulent vinaigrette.
Chez Tantie Alice - Marcory Poto Poto. At VM (la Vieille Mère) Tantie Alice, you can enjoy excellent fish, crabs and shrimps fried, baked or prepared in soup, accompanied by good alloco and local attiéké, or regional specialties such as akassa or ablo.
Chez Arthur - Cocody M'Badon. This is a very popular restaurant in Abidjan, especially at its new address in Cocody. The specialty here is the fisherman's plate (fish soup, snails, squid, crayfish and crabs), with plain or red-oil attiéké, mâchoiron etouffé and braised oxtail.
Chez Miss Zahui - Cocody Riviera Palmeraie. Miss Zahui is the Abidjan benchmark for fish preparation, particularly the very popular grilled fish-attiéké-alloco, its specialty. The place is very popular and often crowded.
