Morocco’s Restaurant

Soo enjoyed eating here. The executive chef Jay Essadki was so attentive explaining everything — it was my first time. And what a sense of humour — the food was lovely too — but the best service and entertainment I have had in a long time.
What a shame it has closed

Not a good place for a big party, i would say thd food itself was mediocer. I think there tons of more better middle eastern cuisines

I have had the wonderful experience during three different times, one for business networking session, another with girl friends for lunch, and a third my family when Castro open. The cooking is consistent and true Moroccan.
Great Sangria!

I would order the Chicken Tangine and Imperial couscous
Briwatt chicken. Has a little tint of cinnamon and nuts
Don’t really find the vegetarian was that appetizing
Make a reservation. If you walk in you sit in the front good for two.
They have a light up drink menu.

Looks like the space is taken over by back a yard or something now? I know they moved up to Mountain View and they ran both for a while. However this is the branch I ate at first. Chicken Briwatt and Lamb Tagine were pretty tasty. The owners are very enthusiastic. Maybe too much so. But you can’t blame them for being passionate. Guess I will get my Moroccan fix father northwest now.

NOTE: they seem to have gotten rid of the automatic 15% service fee
Came here with a group of 6 on a Sunday night. Very quiet night for them.
Ambiance:
Very cute and nicely decorated place. Love the billowing cloth ceiling that gives the whole place a cozy feeling. Lighting is romantic and low lighting.
Service:
Only one server that night (only 3 tables the whole time we were there) and was very nice and helpful about questions we had about the menu. Let us try some the wine before we decided which one we wanted.
Belly Dancer:
She was a good performer but did more dancing than belly dancing. Very nice and smiley– had some people go up to dance with her– very fun. A little awkward though since you had to choose between looking at her dancing around the room or eating the yummy food!
Food:
My 90 year old grandpa was with us and he could eat the chicken and lamb (but not the beef) so that shows you how tender it was. My dad LOVED the lamb dish we got. Everything was very tasty– not a very extensive menu so we tried a dish from each choice.
Overall it was a very enjoyable night. Not a cheap meal but a place to sit back and enjoy! I don’t know if I would bring a date though since it would be awkward having your date looking at the belly dancer as she danced next to your table haha!

Their lunch special is worth checking out.
$ 6.00 and you get 3 choices of salads, kebabs or grains.
I tried the Beef Kebab, very juicy and delicious with lots of flavor.
Worth checking out and excellent and friendly service too.

I came here for a dinner date with a friend mostly because I had a buy 1 meal get 1 free coupon (wahoo!). I tried the shrimp like the reviews suggested and it was good but it could have been fresher. Our table was tiny so it was a bit snug (as is the restaurant). I like the ambient lighting and the cultural décor in the room. Service was spectacular (from the host to the waiter).
Oh and best part was the belly dancer! I’ll give the restaurant an extra star just for that entertainment.

Had dinner here right before a Shark’s game on a Saturday night. Our first time having Moroccan food and we thought it was delicious! I checked in on Unilocal and — BAM — we got rewarded by a coupon choice of a complimentary surprise starter or wine tasting.
Great service. The waitress was very nice and friendly. She made a very good wine recommendation and she was attentive in filling our water glasses.
Great food. The kebab sampler was a good choice for an appetizer for two. Beef was cooked perfectly, chicken was moist, shrimp was good and the sauce wasn’t overpowering. Portions for the entrees (beef kebab and kefta meatballs) were just right but some of the zucchini was a little overcooked as it was soggy (I like my veggies with a little crunch to them).
We arrived at 5:30 with no reservations and I think we got there at a perfect time, just before the rush because by 6 the place was full. I’d recommend making a reservation if you plan on dining here after 6:30 during the weekends.

People take this Unilocal review stuff way to serious!
I was there a few days ago, from my experience the fee’s are not hidden.
There are small laminated cards on each table notifying you.
From what appears to be a small family run business I feel the service, food and atmosphere is 4 Stars! And I added an extra star because of the really unecessary meanspirited statements folks have made. Parking could be a challenge but I was there on a Sunday night and did not have a problem finding a ‘free’ spot. It’s downtown San Jose, if you’re out on a busy Sat night of course parking is going to be a challenge.
Try the Moroccan beer. The orange cinnamon blossom dessert was nice and refreshing after the meal.
They have a nice belly dancer on Sunday nights. Umm… perhaps the «hidden» fee everybody references is going to her? When I was there nobody tipped her. I’m sure she doesn’t work for free.
Worth checking out.

This place blew me away. My first time really eating here and I was a bit skeptical because the place was empty except for a large wedding party.
My date and I had a kabab sampler for an appetizer which was absolutely delicious. I had the lamb shank and she had the fish filet and I was very impressed with both. Generally I’m not a huge fan of lamb but I thought why not and was pleasantly surprised. The belly dancers were also a bonus, getting people up out of their seats to dance.
Oh we also had their Sangria which was spiced with I want to say Anise. I personally thought it was much better than most other sangrias I’ve tried.
I will definitely be back. I think the only con would be it took a little work to get the attention of someone so we could pay our bill while everyone was up and dancing.

I came here for lunch because we had a buy one get one free coupon. My co-​worker and I shared the samosas and Cous Cous and lentil salad.
The chicken samosa was my favorite and tasted borderline like a dessert because of its sweet flavors. I enjoyed it, but then again I like anything sweet. The texture of Cous Cous was perfect and although it didn’t have much taste to it, it complimented the salad and sambusas wonderfully. The lentil salad wasn’t all what I expected but I was blown away by the refreshing flavors. We were very pleased by our choices and the service was great.
The ambiance is exotic and I hear there’s belly dancing in the evenings or weekends. The downside is that the price is a bit high considering how small the portions are.

Moraccos is a quaint and very cute restaurant. I would have to say I loved everything that I have tried. I’m not a big fan of cous cous, generally, but everything was pretty darn good. My friends and I were stuffed for the night… of course with some wine and sodas.
Beet & Potato salad-​all the spices seemed to work together. Surprisingly, I did enjoy this dish and I’m not a fan of beets.
The Spinach, Nuts and Fruit Salad with a vinigarette was good as well.
Cous cous-​average
Shrimp Pil-​Pil-​great taste
Chicken Briwat-​went well with the beet salad

Beef Tagine-​this by far was one of my favorite dishes of the night. Great taste and great use of spices. I love tender meat!

Fresh Fish Filet-​great citrus taste-​opposite of beef tagine

Dessert: Carmelized Apricot & Almond Briwatt, Dark Chocolate Briwat were tasty-​like naples or flaky pastries. filled with stuff. By far, of course, I loved the chocolate the most. I popped those suckers into my mouth with the ice cream. YUM! What a night!

the food was absolutely delish! I can’t wait to come back again and bring the bf. They’re going to open another one in Mountain View soon. I can’t wait! :)

I’ve never tried Moroccan food before, so I’m not sure how it’s supposed to taste. But this was pretty satisfying.
We got the Imperial Couscous, the Kefta Meatballs, and the Spinach, Nuts, and Fruits salad.
The salad was good, but I wasn’t fond of the blue cheese, or the surplus of dressing .
The meatball dish was my favorite, but the person I was eating with said it relied too much on cumin spices.
The Imperial Couscous had good couscous… which isn’t hard to make… but everything inside of it was just ehhh.
We also ordered dessert. The Orange Cinnamon Blossom, which the waitress recommended, as well as a White Chocolate and Strawberry Briwatts.
They were both delicious, but I was having trouble trying to eat the orange slices with a fork. And it just seemed incredibly simple, like something we could make really easily at home. The Briwatts were delicious, but fried, of course.
Their hot tea tasted like mint tea with honey. A much better combination than I would have expected!
The decorations of the place were amazing, but we weren’t there for the belly dancers :)
The service was good. I was annoyed that the table was inbalanced, but the waitress got down on her knees and fixed it as soon as we noted it.
I think the prices are a little excessive. So I probably won’t be back since my status is again going to be changed to a starving student. But I enjoyed myself.

I came here last year for the 5 course dinner and a show back in December. The show was called «Distance: A Magical Dinner Show at Moroccos,» and it was a fabulous production. The cast danced and sang, and made it an interactive evening for all of the guests. During the show, they served the 5 courses, which consisted of a moroccan fruit and cheese plate, chicken briwatt and spinach bruschetta salad, eggplant and shrimp, and a strawberry-​chocolate briwatt. All 5 coures were delicious!
It was a really cool night of dinner and entertainment, and it seems like most of their other special events would be fun as well. Since I tried their food during a special event, I’m anxious to try out their restaurant on a regular evening.
OH, the only bad thing about the show was since it was done in the restaurant itself, we were very very close to the stage, pretty much a part of it, and the B.O. from the actors was a bit overwhelming. haha. That’s definitely not the restaurant’s fault but I just wanted to point that out… hehe.

If you’ve never tried Moroccan food before, you should check this place out.
I’m usually never too adventurous, but sometimes you just have to let go. It was a warm night so I had my dinner outside. They have two tables set outside. When I came here the other day, they had live music which was nice.
Before my meal came, the waitress brought a complimentary starter plate (vinaigrette lentil salad) to the table. For my meal, I ordered the Kebab Sampler which consisted of beef, chicken, and shrimp. They were all seasoned differently and they were delicious! I’ve never tasted meat with so much flavor! I sampled the Moroccan tea which was very refreshing. The tea reminds me of the one you can purchase from Aveda.
Anyhow, during dinner, I saw a San Francisco Trolley roaming the streets. I’m not sure how long they have been giving tours on that trolley, but that was the first time I’ve seen it in DTSJ. Anyone know where they pick you up and how much it costs to ride it?

Service was excellent. The host gave us a free appetizer of the chef’s choice card to use. Our waitress was very friendly. She actually let us sample a bit of white zin and red sangria to see if we want it or not.
Food– unique, but not my kind of taste.
Chicken Tagine– kind of like curry
Shrimp pil pil– this was flavorful and yummy
Signature lentil salad– interesting taste
White zin and red sangria were pretty good. Both were sweet. The sangria was unlike any i’ve tried and it tasted like plum.
I wouldn’t return for the food, but for wine maybe. So 1 point off for food.

It was a magical night really. Read about the food on Unilocal and since it’s a special night we decided to try this place. Unilocal did not disappoint at all. The reviews were on point.
The red décor got me all hot and adventurous ;)
We decided to go Moroccan all the way. We started with the Spicy chilled Cucumber Salad. Crunchy and very tasty with a perfect balsamic chili vinaigrette. $ 8.00
Appetizer: Shrimp Pilpil was awesome! It was definitely to be tried a second and a third time even fourth time. The mixture of different sauce was just a party in our mouth. $ 10.00.
Entrée: #1. Chicken Tangine was my choice served with olives and home made preserved lemons. The meat just fell off the the bones and it was something to dream about after I consumed my meal. I found myself wanting more. $ 16.00
#2. Kafta Meatballs– definitely spicy. But no doubt awesome with flavorful burst of taste. $ 13.00
Wine: A Moroccan red wine called the AMAZIGH. Light and young berry forward and semi dry finish. Awesome complement to the food.
Free desert called Chocolate Briwatt (means small envelope) was on the house that night to honor the special occasion. Very thoughtful gesture. Usually $ 6.00.
Décor is authentic. There was a guitar player/​singer that night and it added to the memory of the night.
They validate parking for the garage across the street. We found easy parking right in front of the restaurant.
Awesome night!

I’d definitely head back here for more of their Moroccan cuisine. Instead of taking advantage of the lunch specials available, several of us went for lunch and ordered off the full dinner menu in order to experiment and try a variety of authentic dishes.
We started with their lentil salad in cumin balsamic vinaigrette. Lentils can be boring … but these were delicious, a light dish in a really great dressing. Our next voyage was to munch through the three varieties of appetizer Briwatts (phyllo stuffed with mixture of vegetable, chicken and crab). Warning — a couple of them were pretty spicy and, I think it was on the crab version Briwatt that I couldn’t finish it because even my lips were burning. Putting that aside, we then grazed through a couple shared entrees: the M’Rouzia (lamb braised for hours with 25 spices, raisins, honey and almonds) was really quite wonderful; and the Kefta meatballs were well-​seasoned if a little on the hard side (the potatoes and carrots served with it were delicious, really stellar).
For dessert we each sampled three of the stuffed phyllo. While the mild almond paste and honey version was nice, the apricot and almond version was very good, and then the final Medjool date and almond one was just absolutely out of this world and had all of us murmuring «Ymmm.» I’d go back to Morocco’s for just a plateful of that date dessert even if they didn’t have other items on the menu I liked.
I don’t know if our experience was unique, but there was no lunch business to speak of until about 12:30 p.m. when a bunch of people started arriving, so go early and get some personalized recommendations and attention from the very nice waitress we had.

Maybe my taste buds were not feeling it that night, but it was my first time trying Moroccan food. Super excited for some authentic couscous and tagine. Overall, I thought the meal was alright.
Vegetable Cous cous was good. Chicken Tagine was a little cold, or maybe it was sitting on the table for awhile, while I was working on the couscous. The lentil salad was refreshing and was not how I imagined it. It had a strong cumin flavor, but was tasty. The sangria was okay, maybe because I do not really like Sangria (I realized after trying it for the first time here). The cheese and nut platter was small and ordinary. feels like something I could whip up with a container of nuts and some cheese from Costco. The ice cream was alright and the almond paste and honey was okay as well.
The ambiance was dark, but that provided a unique setting.
I asked for the bathroom, and I think the manager said, Oh sorry, we like to keep it real, they dont have stalls in morocco, so… just kidding, it’s down the hall.” I thought he was going to lead me to some room with a hole in the ground or squatting urinals or something… sorry i do not know what kind of bathrooms they have in Morocco.
I came for Downtown Dining so my meal was 20 dollars. The portions are smaller than usual, obviously, but without the 3 course promotion, I’d be paying too much for my meal.
The service was fantastic though, and overall it was a mediocre meal. The best part was the conversation, which made the meal pleasant.

Nadia L. planned a fantastic surprise birthday party here for her boyfriend, and I had the pleasure of attending. She collaborated with the owner and chef of Morocco’s to put together a special prix fixe meal for all of us. See Nadia’s review for our menu, and I’ve uploaded pictures of everything (please forgive the poor lighting, as it was quite dimly lit at Morocco’s):
My favorite items were the Shrimp Pil Pil and the Beef Tangine, but I was not the biggest fan of the Imperial Couscous (too sweet) nor the Lentil Salad (meh). But the best thing about this place is not the food, but the service. The owner and chef were sooooo warm and attentive. I guess that’s one of the greatest advantages to customers when a new restaurant opens with owners that really care about the customers’ experience. Sham and Jay were super friendly and genuinely humble, giving us their personal attention throughout the night! It felt more like we were being invited into their home as dinner guests, rather than their restaurant.
The friendly service, the candle-​lit mood, the exotic decorations, and the live music make Morocco’s a great place to bring a date, or for ladies to enjoy a free Sangria on Ladies night (Tuesdays)!