From Syria With Love has a new life as rooftop restaurant BijTutti in Antwerp (Antwerp)
From Syria With Love closed its doors on the Git dishlei in Borgerhout. That does not mean the end of the restaurant and catering business where Syrian women cook. For goodies from Syria you can now visit the rooftop restaurant ‘BijTutti’ on the Mechelsesteenweg in Antwerp.
In the spring of 2018, From Syria With Love opened in Borgerhout. Yara Al-Adib’s project to persecute refugee Syrian women through cooking then got its own place on the Git dishlei. But at number 268 it has become very quiet in recent months. The website now reports a new place under the name ‘BijTutti’, a rooftop restaurant in the C-Hive building at Mechelsesteenweg 180. Mazen Gamay is behind the helm there. He explains the move.
“The building on the Git dishlei got a new owner. We had to move and got a tip. Were we interested in this location? I know it looks a bit ‘fancy’, with a beautiful view on the terrace. Yet our concept remains very accessible. From Syria With Love is not always the catering business that Yara runs. The same team cooks here, prices remain very fair for authentic dishes that Syrian mothers would prepare at home. And you can also just come here for a drink. For example, the staff of a nearby school recently took over the entire terrace on a sunny day, no problem.”
Cozy BijTutti
The new name did not actually come about by accident. “BijTutti has different backgrounds. Bij is a Dutch word. Tutti means everyone in Italian. But you have to look at the whole word, bijtutti is Arabic for cosy. The word gives a feeling of home again. It refers here to food that you can eat at home, we want everyone to enjoy it.”
The start of the new business is a bit behind the times. Are old and new customers from the Antwerp and Arab community already finding their way to the roof of C-Hive? “That remains a working point for us. This location is also a knife that cuts both ways. We are not on street level. You really need to find your way here. We mainly try to promote through social media. We also cater for company dinners. And that is getting better and better.”