Atlas Mediterranean Cuisine

We stopped in for dinner on 8÷15÷14 and really were happy we did.
We were greeted by very nice wait staff and were given our choice of seating.
We started with the maakouda and hummus. Both were very flavorful. Bread was was warm and soft. The sauce with the maakouda was great. A smidge on the salty side but still really good.
We had the lamb tagine and the chicken kabobs with rice and greek salads. Ending our meal with briwat.
I would suggest an offering of smaller portions of the grown up meals for the kids.
Everything was really good. Our server was super nice and kept our glasses filled by the time they hit half way. Our tea was made fresh for us and she had a solid knowledge of the menu.
We will go back for sure.

I’d passed by this many times, curious about the cuisine, so I decided to be adventurous and see it for myself. The menu boasts a nice selection of Moroccan cuisine. I’d ordered the Atlas platter which came with bread, rice, and lamb in tomato sauce served over spiced yellow rice. The meal was flavorful, and the server very knowledgeable and attentive. The interior décor and ambiance (i.e. Moroccan music) were conducive to the experience as well. Only regret is that my phone was dead and could not take pictures, but the presentation was superb as well and will have to take pictures to prove it next time.
Sadly, place was not busy, and with the quality of food and service that I received, I hope that business will increase in the near future with more advertising/​publicity. So yes, do come and check this place out!

I stopped by Atlas Mediterranean Cuisine again for lunch today, it was great as I have come to expect it to be. I love the Vegetarian platter. Their hummus is really something special, the pitas are warm and just a bit crispy. The zalook Is cool and spiced just right with great flavor, but today the chef had added saffron rice instead of the usual afghani rice. The saffron rice was great with a little cool yogurt on the side! So beautiful, authentic and tasted just perfect with this meal. Next time I go, I want to try the cucumber salad too. (It sounds really refreshing)! I did have the desert … Okay, I felt guilty about it until the evidence was gone, but I did take a picture of it. (It was pretty and as well as delicious) It ended up being a pretty special lunch, the food and hospitality were great!

Stopped in for dinner tonight. Nice selection of Mediterranean specialities, fresh ingredients, fast service, and comfortable décor. The place is relatively new and wasn’t busy. I hope more people will stop in and try this little gem.

I am so excited to see such a great new restaurant replace Unaabi Grill! I dined here for dinner and I was super impressed. My guest and I started with the hummus and the maakouda which is a kind of fried potato cake. The hummus was delicious and fresh and the spicy chili paste that came with the potatoes was unexpected and delicious. I got the atlas chicken dish for my entrée which was flavorful and very satisfying. It is a good option if you are looking for something that is more filling. My guest got the mixed grill which she really liked-​particularly the merguez which was one of the kebabs. Our experience was really great and we will certainly be back!

For some reason i always feel bad giving just 3 stars to a mom and pop business but I always remind myself 3 stars isn’t bad! it means it’s A OK! and that’s exactly what i thought about this place. They just recently opened, so the stars on this review could always go up following a second visit!
My hubbie loves international fair, so all through our courtship and marriage he continually whisks me off to try things i’ve never had before. I think most people associate Moroccan with Greek food, and while it defiantly has a Greek tendency, it also has a personality and flare of it’s own. While I do not claim to be a Moroccan expert, I can verify that I have had it before and found it to be quite tasty. So I was looking forward to trying this place.
They are located in the old Unaabi building, and have done a nice job giving it their own touch, even throwing up half wall down the middle of the restaurant to give some privacy. It’s still a nice open spacious place, and a calm environment. Our waitress was attentive, although still getting to know this genre of food. Everybody has to start somewhere, so i don’t say that as a complaint, more of a fyi, if you’re looking to be able to ask things like «is this similar to tabbouleh?» you might get a reply such as «I’m not familiar with tabbouleh, so I don’t know.» But kudos! for saying I don’t know instead of trying to make something up.
So onward to the food:
We ordered a hot tea, which was beautifully presented, but did not taste as good as it looked. It was kind of on the weak side.
We got an appetizer, the Maakouda, which is the Moroccan version of a potato cake. They were not bad but seemed on the bland side. I think even a little extra salt into the mix would have helped. But it seemed to be missing the general feel of Moroccan spice that I’m use to. To me it just tasted like plain mashed potatoes, not sure what about it was Moroccan in nature, other than the little side cup of, what seemed like, pimentos that came with it.
For a salad we ordered the cucumber salad. This was cucumber, onions, tomatoes, parsley and olive oil, and salt. It was a good flavor, but I hate to say, nothing that I couldn’t easily whip up at home. Again missing that Moroccan feel that i’m use to. But they do give you a generous amout for the price, so I would probably order it again since it is one of my favorite types of salad.
We split an entrée and got the Kafta Kabob with 2 sides. It was a little hard for us to decide on the sides as it was kind of a random mish mash of options. French fries, rice, greek or couscous salad, or potato salad. We ordered the couscous salad and the french fries. Looking back I would opt for the greek salad over the french fries, but we weren’t sure what the couscous salad was going to look like (we were thinking tabbouleh since they said it was couscous, tomatoes, parsley and something else). However when the dish arrived, the couscous salad was more couscous with some tomatoes and parsley thrown in to create some color. It was ok, but not exceptional. French Fries were your standard frozen variety and the Kafta was good, but again not exceptional (still missing some spice that i’m use too). I would say the hubbie and I agreed that it was better than some places, but not as good as some of the excellent places. We received a good amount of food on the lunch plate, and would say the portion we got was reasonable for the lunch price, not sure if the dinner portion size changes, but if it is about the same i would say the value isn’t as good as the lunch price.
And for dessert we tried the Housemade Briwat. I had never had these before, so i’m not sure what i was expecting, but not quite what we got. We received 5 little 1 in x 1 in x 1 in triangles. They were plated very well, drizzled with honey and pistachio and almond pieces. I think in my head they were going to be like little turnovers, where the insides are kind of mix of filling and airyness. Since they were so little we both just popped one in our mouths. My hubbie immediately started laughing, and as I took my first bite, i understood why. These little bad boys were pretty solid… in fact had a solid chewyness to them. When it says stuffed with almonds and pistachio on the menu, they aren’t kidding. They were reminiscent of baklava to some extent… but maybe only to the extent that it was nuts, honey, and a pastry bread. Anyway, they were ok, and initially i didn’t think worth the $ 4.50 price tag, but as many nuts are in this thing, i can see why they are a little pricey. More than likely I won’t get it again, but glad that I tried them.
Overall I thought it was good. However, it’s not a place we would run back too, especially since we live in youngsville and it’s a bit of a haul to cary just for A OK! food. But I would like to give it another try after they’ve been open a little while and hopefully i can bump it up a star or two.