The new pink awning tipped us off weeks ago that the Moroccan restaurant, Marrakech, would be opening on Bloomfield Avenue opposite Whole Foods. We happened to be walking by last night – the door was open, and the music, soft lights, and our curiousity induced us to go in. Although Marrakech wasn’t serving yet, owners Said and Simon Chbihi from Casablanca were happy to show us around. They have opened up a jewel of a restaurant – a magical transformation of the space formerly occupied by Taste of Asia. The upscale, chic look is acheived with tables, lanterns, and architectural accents imported from Morocco. And it looks like the space has great party potential.
We checked out the dinner menu, relieved to find some of our favorites: Pastilla, Briouat, Tagines, and Couscous au Poulet – plus some French dishes like Bouillabaise and Duck Breast with figs. The chef is none other than the mother of Simon and Said – so we have a good feeling about the food, and that it’s going to be the real deal. Stay tuned for the review of their lunch and dinner. (If they decide to do take out, maybe they’ll name the menu The Marrakech Express.)
Marrakech opens for dinner tonight, August 31, and invites all of Baristaville to come and enjoy a Moroccan experience. In the true North African style, Said and Simon will be offering our readers a complimentary glass of traditional mint tea through Labor Day weekend. Just tell them Baristanet sent you. – Annette Batson
What a glamorous dining room — Annette the menu sounds delicious! Can’t wait to go!
why the photo of a man dressed like the police?
Is this the same one that was in Parsippany?
Don’t think so, the owners used to have a restaurant in NYC on 2nd Ave called Plate 347.
We went there tonight for dinner – the place was hopping (probably thanks to the publicity on Barista). The food was delicious and the owners are very friendly and nice. Since they only just opened there were a few delays in the service (which was due mainly to the unexpectedly large crowd) but nothing that won’t be worked out. Very good, highly recommended. We’ll be back!
I also ate there last night and it was quite busy thanks to Barista. The food was very good and considering it was the first night had some minor problems. Our hostess was simply lovely (and beautiful to boot). My comments:
Have some sort of dip for the toasted pita bread that is given when one sits down.
We ordered the curry mussels, the mussels were good, but the dish could of had more curry flavor.
I ordered the duck special with figs which was very good – the duck arrived medium rare as specified – they could have sliced it a bit more thin for my liking – the sauce was to die for – the biggest problem I had was that the bed of mashed potatoes it was sitting on was cold. The others with me enjoyed the food (and we all enjoyed sharing).
Nice glass of moroccan tea at the end – too full to sample dessert.
All in all a good dinner and a nice compliment to the variety of places to dine in Montclair.
Just curious–are the owners connected to Lalezar in any way? I had heard that…
I don’t think so, they didn’t say anything about it and we even mentioned Lalazar’s to them. They used to have a restaurant in NYC.
we are not connected to Lalezar.Any question please contact Marrakech restaurant for further details. 973 744 7773
Thanks.
I stopped by there today, and met Simon…he’s cool, and the place looks great…stay tuned, for in October, we’ll be airing a segment on the new place to eat in Montclair.
And watch Inside Montclair on Tv – 34 this month, we have a special program on our neighbors from the Watchung Plaza
air dates..Mon.Wed. Fri. at 8:00pm
Enjoy the show.
Plate 347 was a wonderful neighborhood restaurant. This bodes well!
do you have a menu online? i am planning to go tonight and have dinner with my husband, we are celebrating our fourth wedding anniversary.
do you have a menu online? i am planning to go tonight and have dinner with my husband, we are celebrating our fourth wedding anniversary.
Happy anniversary and we will email you our menu.WE look forward to seeing you.
Marrakech web is coming soon ,send us an email to request a take out menu and we will reply.
We just came back from Marrakech for dinner. We had such a lovely time. We enjoyed our food, everything we ordered from the Appetizer, salad and main entree were all superb. We ordered the Zaalut(eggplant side order dish),Lentils salad with avocado and tomatoes, Phylo pastry with vegetables, and for our main entree, we had the couscous with chicken and raisins and chick peas and Pastilla with ground beef- a sweet and savory dish. And the olive dip with garlic they give you with the flat breads is so good, i could it that alone for dinner. Also the Moroccan Tea is good and so much flavor of Mint.
I wanted to thank Simon and his brother (Said)for the good service and very friendly to us. We will surely come back to your restaurant.
Maria
Marrakech restaurant is open for lunch now, please call 973 744 7773 for more informations.
My wife and I had a wonderful dinner at Marakech on Friday evening.
We had the Cigar Marocain appetizer, which was a nice start to the evening. It was a nicely spiced mix of beef and egg in a crispy casing.
We definitely echo support for the Couscous de ma Mere and the Tangine d’Agneau. The lamb tangine was fragrant and the blend of spices and fruit made it a true sensory experience. The flavor really hits you.
We look forward to sampling more of the menu.
My husband (who is Moroccan),my son and I all enjoyed and excellent dinner at Marrakech this evening! The food was great. We started with the Cigar Morocain which was delicious. For our main dishes we chose Tagine du poulet and Pastilla au Poulet (a filo pastry filled with chicken, ground almonds and cinnamon)….both of which were excellent. Didn’t really have room for dessert, but we tried the Pastilla au lait which was sweat and satisfying. The owners were very welcoming and we will be sure to visit them again.
The only downfall was no harira (our favorite Moroccan soup) and no traditional bread (khobz)
Went to Marakech on Friday night. We got lucky and were seated even thought we didn’t have reservations. I would say that the service was slow, but friendly. I thought the food was wonderful, but the menu was a little bit limited. I was surprised that there weren’t more traditional Moroccan dishes (the traditional bread, almond paste cookie desserts, more marinated vegatables, etc), but I did thoroughly enjoy my meal.
I went for dinner last night (9/18) and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The ambiance, service, and especially the food were all impressive. I had a lamb dish, Tagine D’agneau (spelling?), and finished with some Moroccan tea. The menu was not extensive as some, but I was fine with it. A lot of restaurants have long menus but lack variety. I will definitely be back soon. Thank you to Said – our friendly, informative, and accommodating waiter.
Ate there opening weekend. Food was great….Duck lovers must try the duck and fig dish. Often I eat duck while out, and their’s was excellent. Menu is limited, hopefully I’ll see more specials to make up for that. The place looks great, obviously a lot of $$ and time went into the design of the place. Our host appeared to be the mgr. or owner. He seemed nervous…Relax!! My wife and I eat out every Friday night in Montclair…Your restaurant really impressed us. See you soon….Maybe even tonight.
Ate there last night. This place is wonderful with a couple of exceptions. The service was fine, the waitress was very nice, the owner extremely personable. Busboy should have had a decent T-Shirt on rather that a grunge one, but his hands were very clean as was his person so it was forgivable. Just a kid and possibly a relative.
We ordered (2 of us) an appetizer and salad and we split both. I had the duck w/ figs and my partner had the lamb. A side of eggplant was ordered too.
Skip the salad. Lackluster at best. The scallops were delicious, in an onion, white sauce. We wish there were more than 3 of them for $8 or $10, but they were very tasty.
The duck was superb. Not a drop of fat on the meat and vegetables with it done to perfection. For $19 it was very well worth the price.
The lamb was just as good. Obviously prepared with care and done to perfection too.
We printed out a coupon for the tea and I’m glad we did. That was a real treat at the end. We skipped dessert.
We will go back again for sure. This time we’ll bring some friends and I will make a reservation in the lounge area. The place was very crowded at 7:30 which is always nice to see for a new business that takes pride in what they do.
bobby J.
My husband and I have been there twice. Both times we had the same thing. The couscous and the lamb tagine. Both delicious! The lamb is soo rich with prunes that it’s good to share the couscous to cut down on the richness. The couscous is light and fluffy.
The cigar marocain is excellent, skip the lentils.
The service is friendly but very relaxed and laid back. If you are in a hurry, come back another time. but the owners were extremely nice. Once we were invited to stay and dance with their friends. Extremely tempting, we had to leave but we hope to be invited again sometime.
If you like exotic tasting food prepared very well this place is great! Welcoming hosts and beautiful friendly waitresses.
Is it eat with your hands like Marrakesh in Parsippany?
Can someone send me a link or email me a menu?
Christine,
Thank you so much for your interest in our restaurant. In response to your question–No, it is not required that you eat with your hands, however you may if you choose to. You can obtain a copy of our menu at our temporary website Marrakech-restaurant.net
We hope to have you try us some time soon!!
Sincerely,
Management
Run… do not walk… to this fabulous newcomer to Montclair’s Restaurant Row on Bloomfield Ave. Best Moroccan food I’ve ever eaten(and that includes restaurants in NYC.)Highly recommend Zaluuk (eggplant side,) Couscous with chicken al la Mere,Pastilla(shredded chicken, cinnamon,perfect,delicate phyllo)… all beautifully presented in a fantastic space that whisks you straight from Montclair to Morocco without the airfare.Everything … from the drama of the exotic and tasteful design(check out the lighting and Moroccan furnishings)to the charming, caring staff and service and the excellent food (be sure to mellow out with the Moroccan mint tea)make Marrakech of Montclair a fantastic dining experience.