History

The name of our restaurant inspired by a fascinating and complex character, Alexis Zorbas.

Alexis Zorbas is a character created by the Greek writer Níkos Kazantzákis in his novel "Life and Morals of Alexis Zorbas" (Βίος και Πολιτεία του Αλέξη Ζορμπά). He is often described as a man full of life, exuberant, and with a charismatic personality. Zorbas is a character who lives each moment intensely, a “primitive who cracks the bark of life” in the words of the author. It is both tender and brutal, exalted and bitter, reflecting the paradoxes of the human condition.

In the novel, Zorbas represents instinct and experience, in contrast to the narrator, a young intellectual, who embodies reason and psychological introspections. Their friendship and journey together become a universal parable about the search for freedom and the meaning of life. The character of Zorbas has become a symbol of Greece and the Greek spirit, notably thanks to the 1964 film adaptation, "Zorba the Greek", where he was immortalized by actor Anthony Quinn.

Zorbas is therefore a character who teaches by example the importance of seizing life with passion and generosity, a message that resonates with the philosophy of your Zorbas restaurant in Paris.