Brasserie Les Platanes — French / Algerian Café, Oran
Brasserie Les Platanes occupies the shadiest stretch of Boulevard Zabana — Oran's main colonial boulevard, flanked by the plane trees (platanes) that give the restaurant its name and were planted by the French municipality in the 1920s. The café has operated in various forms under various names since the boulevard was built.
The morning menu is authentically French in the colonial Algerian tradition: café au lait, croissants from the neighbourhood boulangerie, and the Algerian pastries (makroud, cornes de gazelle) that the French colonial café adopted and that now constitute the café's most characteristically Oranais offering.
The lunch menu adds the Algerian plat du jour — usually a meat tajine or the day's soup with bread — that reflects the kitchen's acknowledgement of the city it serves rather than the city it nostalgically references.
The plane trees provide genuine shade for the terrace — a practical distinction that matters enormously in a Mediterranean city where summer temperatures exceed 35°C. The café's afternoon session, under the trees in the mottled light, is one of Oran's most pleasant hours.
Best Occasion: Perfect for Solo Dining
Café au lait, makroud, and the boulevard life visible from a shaded terrace. The most civilised solo morning in Oran.
Best Occasion: Works for First Dates
The boulevard café format is universally comfortable. The plane trees create atmosphere; the pastries create pleasure; the Algerian morning creates conversation.