If you are one of those people who crosses the street to avoid the vendors selling incense, do not go to this place.
I am just such a person.
The heavy odor of incense hung in the air around us when we entered. We were led to the table directly to the right as you entered, which was cozy and private since we’d ascended a flight of stairs to enter, and the window was blocked off. Three of us sat on a couch with very Moroccan? genie-in-the-lamp-ish cushions, while two of us sat on chairs that I swear were too tall for the table (I couldn’t cross my legs and even sitting normally, my thighs were brushing against the bottom of the table).
The menu (as you’ll notice on their website) was pretty limited, and upon hearing that one of the four entrees offered wasn’t even available (seafood bastilla, which at least two of us wanted to order since our other friends said chicken bastilla was a good dish they’d had at another Moroccan restaurant), all five of us opted for the chicken bastilla with the hummus as an appetizer.
Our waitress was incredibly disappointed to hear that we’d all be eating the same dish, and made a few off color comments- it was normal for her to ask “Oh, who’s birthday is it?” since we were giving each other stuff en masse (a few of us made recent trips, and most of us hadn’t seen each other in about a month, so there were books being returned, lent, passed around, etc.)- but when she leaned close to me (I was sitting on the outside) and said confidentially, “I’ll dim the lights in a few minutes, so you can [something] the girl, wink wink” (she had a heavy accent, I couldn’t understand most of what she said), I laughed only so she would go away. She returned a few times to make equally cryptic comments- was she implying I was a lesbian? Why, because we were 5 girls at dinner? Completely inappropriate.
The hummus, which was served in a large portion with toasted pita bread and olive oil on the side and extra toasted pita, was actually really delicious. The olive oil was really good, but I’ve been really enjoying olive oil lately so that could definitely be influencing my feelings on that. There was plenty of bread- she gave us a basket along with this initial dish- even after finishing the first basket of bread, though, we had more than a half plate full of hummus left. When the waitress came to fill our water glasses (and make more inappropriate comments), she noticed this and brought us more bread, no extra charge (she’d mentioned while serving the dish that she would bring us more bread as soon as we needed more). I thought this was unusual since it seems like in Manhattan, everything is always at an additional charge. The unfortunate part here is that there was so much that we all filled up on bread and hummus – which was really flavorful, I would highly recommend that hummus actually – the waitress left us to our own devices and an hour of noshing on the yummy pita bread had passed before we thought to tell her to bring us our entrees.
After a promising start with the chick-pea-licious hummus, we were eager for our chicken bastillas, which, according to the menu, were akin to chicken pot pie except with phyllo dough for a crust. I hate chicken pot pie for its thick crust, so I was excited to try it with phyllo dough, which is known to be flaky, thin, light and airy. After my dish was placed in front of me, I was a little surprised to see powdered sugar across one side of the plate, but one girl, who’d had this dish (at another restaurant) before, said that it was both a savory and sweet dish. I was game… but I was extremely disappointed with the crust. I felt like they could have done much more to make it flakier, lighter, and tastier, while it really was just … there. The inside of the bastilla was incredibly dry, while I’d thought it would be much wetter or saucier. About 3/4 of the way through my bastilla- I’d shoved aside the top layer of phyllo dough- I tasted something weird in my mouth and thought a stray hair (I have really long hair and had it loose last night) found its way into my mouth. I brushed at my face but nothing came out, while the feeling remained; I opened my mouth a little and pulled out a hair… with food on it.
Everyone said at the same time, “I’m done eating.”
I’m pretty sure it was my hair- it’s the only way I could not freak out- because it was really long, the waitress had short hair, and anyone cooking in the back, if their hair was that long, would have put it up and put a hairnet on. But the sight of it was just so disgusting. Ugh.
Overall, I would not go back to this place nor recommend it to anyone. The only thing I wonder is if I can get an order of hummus with extra pita bread to go. I should mention here though that I’ve never had Moroccan food before and after last night, I am under the impression that I personally do not have an appreciation for their combination of spices, the general flavor of Moroccan food. The bastilla’s insides did not excite me at all.
Yvo says: Avoid unless you really love Moroccan food and must try every Moroccan place you find. I thought it was expensive, too- my friends got a small pot of tea, which was $8, and my total for hummus + chicken bastilla, no drinks, no desserts, was $27. Definitely not worth it, although the huge hummus itself was only $8 with perhaps unlimited bread.
Swan says… click for another perspective from last night.
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