"Throughout the night, I kept thinking it was just a nightmare" – two days after the fire that struck his restaurant Levantine on Rue Notre-Dame, owner Alaa Benchiba is still coming to terms with the scale of the damage.
Benchiba explained that the blaze began unexpectedly with kitchen towels that were placed in the dryer. The issue with these towels is they retain traces of oil, and that can make them ignite in the heat.
Benchiba recounts that if he had not seen the video footage, he would not have believed it.
Levantine is normally closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, but Benchiba usually stops by on Tuesday evenings to take out the rubbish, a routine that meant he arrived just in time to discover the fire.
He recalled that when he went in around 9pm, he touched the window and realised that it was burning hot. After opening the door, he was immediately hit by a wall of smoke.
Benchiba started evacuating equipment from the premises, assisted by a neighbour who brought a fire extinguisher. Firefighters arrived promtly and were able to put out the flames in a few minutes.
Although the fire was extinguished fast, it had been smouldering for hours. He summarised that it took five hours for the fire to really catch, but in just two hours, everything was gone.
The incident came as a bitter blow to the new restaurant, which had enjoyed a highly promising start since opening in October 2025. Levantine is Benchiba's second venture in Luxembourg, following his successful Bao Bar in Clausen.
He said that business was going extremely well and that he had to cancel 300 reservations, as they were fully booked all the time.
Now, every part of the restaurant's interior – from the benches to the chairs and paintings – bears the scars of the fire. Soot covers almost everything, making the clean-up even more challenging.
A specialist cleaning company is due to begin work on Friday morning. Only then will Benchiba know the full extent of the damage and what needs replacing.
Early estimates suggest it could take two to three months to restore the restaurant. However, Benchiba is determined to beat that timeline, treating it as a personal challenge to reopen in six weeks.
Before dedicating himself to hospitality, Benchiba spent six years in Luxembourg as a site engineer and project manager, experience he now hopes will help him coordinate the recovery.
Beyond the practicalities, the fire has brought an abrupt halt to a project close to Benchiba's heart. He admitted that it is heartbreaking to see, as right now, his entire life revolves around the restaurant business.
Levantine employs seven people, including Benchiba himself, and he remains keenly aware of the impact the closure will have on his team over the coming weeks.
