Casablanca Moroccan kitchens

Great food and amazing experience and ambiance! Would definitely recommend! Try the lamb tagine with prunes

My family decided to try something new for Easter lunch, and since Casablanca popped up as a recommended spot on yelp. OMG! So glad we tried this place out! The restaurant is so beautiful and spacious... which can be deceiving when you first enter. As soon as you cross that little threshold, you'll be met by the prettiest dining area. Naima is such a sweetheart, service was amazing! From the amuse-bouche of olives and bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar... we already knew we were in for a treat. Naima even offered us seconds with complimentary mint tea to boot! We got the chicken and the seafood pastilla... both of which came out piping hot and crispy! For entrees, we got the lamb honey tagine, the merguez couscous, and the kefta and veggie mixed grill. Everything was delicious! For me, the lamb was the star... the meat was literally falling off the bone! Everything was flavored perfectly, and served piping hot! We ended the meal with baklava and some Moroccan cookies... all of them were not too sweet! Just the way I like it! The price point is actually pretty good for the amount and quality of food you get. All in all, I know this won't be our last time here!

Happy husband after our dinner here. Lol. It was my birthday dinner but I thought of my husband with this pick for dinner. He is Moroccan and we don't have Moroccan restaurants near us so we spent my birthday in LA so we can have dinner here.

We were greeted right away and the owners are so friendly. It was nice seeing my husband speak darija with the owner. Staff were all so friendly and the dinner was amazing. We can't wait to come again for our next celebration.

My husband decided to get the pescatarian dinner and I chose the meat dinner. I love chicken pastilla so I was excited to try it. It didn't disappoint. Opted for the chicken Tagine as well but I was so full from the pastilla. Everything was so amazing we absolutely loved it all. Also the Moroccan way is to eat with bread! Sooo good!!! Love the fresh khobz. Had to keep asking for more so we could eat our food the Moroccan way.

A fascinating Snoopy's doghouse of a place. Its spartan little storefront on Smellnose gives no clue as to the airy, ornate, and seemingly spacious patio they have in back. A cramped, ill-maintained bathroom reminiscent of water closets in Europe was a reminder, however, of the economy of space here. Although they do have Moroccan-style tables with couches to kick back on, the majority of stations here are straight-ahead, white linen tablecloth deals, which should tell you right away that you are in for a more snootsy-frootsy, "delicate portion." pseudogourmet fusion deal.

Moroccan restaurants have a reputation for being "clip joints," but compared to this place, I am starting to see what a great deal, albeit pricey, that those places are. At least with those places you get a complete, authentic, and veg-aware overall experience informed by centuries of culture and tradition. Here, although the food quality is unimpeachable, the set meals are kind of lopsided, ill-conceived, overpriced swindles that are insensitive, despite every apparent virtue-signaling effort made to the contrary, to the vegetarian need for protein.

Upon arrival, we were given some offerings to appetize us. I am familiar with Moroccan-style bread, as I have eaten it often at other such places, but I didn't think anyone would bother to make miniature versions of such loaves. At that, we were given about three tiny slices, with an equally diminutive white porcelain ladle with (I assume!) olive oil and a period-size dot of balsamic vinegar in it. For symmetry, we were given another such ladle with what must have been five small black olives, pitted, and pickled in some kind of red pepper/tomato comfit. They were delicious, but you need a jewelers loupe to eat them. We were several times asked by very kind server if we wanted more bread, and we did indulge.

The two of us wanted the full Moorish Monty, so we went prix fixe. I ordered the veggie one at 55 frogskins and she ordered the fish one at $75. I assumed that basic drinks might be included, and was dismayed to learn that the traditional mint tea was not included at the end as it usually is. However, we were given upon asking an elegant chilled carafe of water, with ice and lemon wedges provided.

We were started off with three small cups of salads, similar to those seen at most Moroccan or Tunisian restos, but not served that way. We were each given marinated carrots in one cup, beets with some kind of pine nut in another, and something similar to pico de gallo or shirazi salad with chopped cucumbers in verrry salty dressing in the third! I like salty, so this didn't offend me, but even I was taken aback by the degree. The beets were delicate and that extra crunch counterpoint was a nice touch. The sliced carrots were inoffensive but bland, sorely missing the overtone of exotic spices and rosewater that usually makes these salads such a treat.

The stars of the show, and the only items that justified the fusion treatment, were the bastillas. They were a bit small, but stuffed full of delicately seasoned riced and mixed vegetables, and tasted great. A novel twist on a classic.

For the veggie meal, you have the choice of couscous or a mixed vegetable tagine. I chose the tagine, which turned out to be an uncharacteristically large and inelegant blob of veggies including zucchini, cauliflower, carrot sticks, peas, and potato chunks. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't unhappy with it. They were steamed to perfection and the spices were subtle and delicate, but could have been bolder for my taste.

That however is when it hit me. A lot of things seemed to missing compared to other similar north African restos! What about that killer harissa, Karissa? I asked the server for some and she did oblige, again served in this cutesy little porcelain dish like something you would see for sale in a kawaii store in Little Tokyo. It was puddled with a suspicious oil, but did deliver an exotic red pepper punch that did not disappoint. My friend couldn't help but observe that the cute little dishes were appropriate in this case. I asked after her fish and she said it was superb. It seemed to fully submerged in whitish sauce with a reddish marinara on the periphery. She is a fan of sauces, so I know she was sincere.

But what also hit me was the eternal cluelessness of those that plan vegetarian meals but aren't veg themsleves. These people think we are rabbits or something that are averse to protein in our diets. Most true Moroccan places are careful to make sure that if you order the veg option that you get either a rich hot bowl of lentil soup, steamed chickpeas, or both. This is their ages of conscious hospitality showing through. And, sorry, no, the green peas in the tagine do not count.

All in all, a nice experience, but the bill socked me in the gut also, let me tell you. I mean for what I was expecting compared to other places that serve this cuisine? Yeah. Sorry, not as good as "real" Moroccan.

This place is MAGIC BABYYY!! Hard to find a perfect blend of authenticity and innovation and this place is it !

The owner Naima (for sure mispelling her name sorry!) is unreal as a personality and elevated the entire experience, without her i dont know if it would be the same. She made me proud to be arab haha

Price: Super Fair!
Portions : large
Ambiance : mood on point. Vibey. Dim lit dinner spot
Highlights: Lamb CousCous ! merguez ! The homemade harissa hot sauce was soo good !!

They bake their own bread in house and its top notch. Served with (non bitter) olives and high polyphenol olive oil, my fave !

Thank you guys ! Keep it up Naima and Casablanca team

Amazing food. Every single dish we ordered was made fresh and we delicious. I highly recommend it

The friendly service and lamb shank make me want to come back for more, but next time I want to try dishes that aren't as sweet. Mint tea was sweet. Chicken pastry was sweet. Lamb was sweet. You see where I'm going with this review...

I don't like leaving bad reviews for mom and pop places and wasn't going to but they pissed me off for adding a mandatory 20% tip (for a table of 2 not a large party) for an absolutely horrible service they provided. The food arrived exactly one hour after we were sitted. The salad 30 minutes later which makes no sense since it's already pre-made. Our waitress barely spoke English (didn't even speak Arabic) and couldn't understand what I meant by "what's your most popular dish" and broke a glass literally an inch from our feet with all the broken glass pieces hitting our legs. So the not 18% but 20% forced tip was the cherry on top. Food was okay, definitely expensive for what you get. I mean, $65 for chicken? Haha. Experience was absolutely horrible but I guess when you are guaranteed a 20% tip, it makes sense to not care to give good service :)

Do not get a wrong impression by the entrance to this restaurant. What you see is definitely not what you get.

Inside you will be transported to a marvelous dining experience. The chicken tangine is to die for. The hosts are kind, generous, welcoming. Excellent experience.

I went here with my friend last night wanted to experience trying authentic Moroccan food and was AMAZED by the quality of food, amazing service, and beautiful ambiance. I got to meet the chef who was so sweet and passionate.
Things I recommend is the grilled shrimp, lamb tagine, vegan couscous, and can't forget the Moroccan mint tea. Friday and Saturday they do live shows/bellydancing. I will be coming back!