“She was born in Beirut; she ... lived with that diet, ... so she always wanted to do some kind of thing like this,” Fabien said. “We figured that a lot of people wanted that kind of food and that kind of ambiance."
The restaurant’s menu features selections from Italy, France, Portugal, Morocco and the Middle East, to name a few. Fabien said offering a diverse dish selection was the part of the original concept for Piaf. Dishes include a lamb shank braised for 16 hours, prime filet mignon, mushroom ravioli, and marinated chicken skewers with garlic sauce and saffron rice.
“The good thing about this menu [is] you get a lot of different options ... with the Mediterranean diet, ... which is very nice—a lot of vegetables and whole foods, whole food ingredients,” Fabien said.
He said he has also curated a list of more than 200 wines to pair with the Mediterranean fare.
"I travel throughout the world, so I got some some Italian, French, ... Spanish, Portuguese, and I got maybe like four or five different ones from Lebanon,” he said.
Piaf’s drink offerings do not stop at just wines. Goury has added a Mediterranean flair to Piaf’s cocktail menu. Cocktails include a French Old Fashioned, which mixes bourbon and cognac, as well as Mediterranean-style mules and a Middle Eastern liquor.
Piaf’s storefront features a private party room that can fit about 40 people as well as a vista upstairs "where you can see the sunsets,” he said.
The Gourys also own Main Street Bistro & Bakery and Chez Fabien in Grapevine.
The inspiration for Piaf's name comes from a type of European sparrow that tends to congregate in large groups, Fabien said.
“They always get ... flocks of them everywhere,” he said. "They get together; they drink together, eat together; they party together. And so the thing we wanted to do [with] Piaf is to bring the whole community back together to Piaf for people enjoying good food, good wine.”
Piaf is located at 129 S. Main St., Ste. 130, Grapevine. 817-527-6898. See website for hours. www.piafkitchen.com
