Marrakesh Costa Mesa

Delicious prix fixe dinner for two (which was enough for 3 of us), excellent service, some of the waitstaff speak French, and a belly dancer will cap off your evening! I highly recommend making time to have dinner here and hope I get to again… (Make sure to have their Bastilla)…if only I lived a 1,000 or so miles closer!

I like the sphere over there. It’s so traditional that it reminds of the days I spent in Casablanca Morocco but however, the main steward in charge was to respond to us in a mean way.
The fact that my father was visiting me and since that we’re from Saudi Arabia originally, he felt like trying arabic food to break the routine and somewhat evaluate the quality of arabic food as well.
Anyway at the moment we entered that guy was upset and I don’t know why. He started to serve us as if we’re to eat for free or so. The moment my father asked him for an Arabic menu as the way it is with all the overseas diners in the U.S. the guy felt so offended and said «This is America»!!
Ok. We know that Mr Captain America. If we didn’t see that this is the right place and best land to live-​in then we wouldn’t be here with all the locals and multinational nations as well.
Let’s discuss this in a few points Mr.Mister. I bet that the restaurant owner was to start his business in a well-​balanced area to serve the number one modest mentality of residents and that’s a fact. If to act upon this point then the steward would’ve been more skipping the stereotyping moment he got stuck onto or else, at that very moment he felt like he’s already satisfied with their loyal customers not trying to attract more customers and be a normal man, being the main aspect of the diner, looking after success and also seeking a greater reputation.
However, my point was to say that he may have been more of a gentleman while in his duty call and been a great person. Cuz if he were to count it financially, it’s $ 200 usd if we were to eat there and so if we started to invite my father’s friends or guests on a periodical basis, then it would be $ 600 usd a month and as a yearly average it would be $ 1600 usd in which he caused the owner to lose such an amount that could’ve covered their annual Edison bill.
God bless

Five star!!! That’s all folks! ^.^
Ok ok let me qualify this…
First, if you like bland non complex flavor food, just go with main dishes, but if you like to explore complex flavors, EAT HERE!
Inside décor is quite the great astounding contrast to its exterior… Inside is beautiful, ornate but warm at the same time
We get the traditional feast with groupon!
FIRST my good friend and I chit chat with our waiter… super nice guy, Waishim I think was his name?
Of course we’ve got to quiz him hehe!
Moroccan restaurant, Moroccan food, Moroccan décor, sooooo… Moroccan employees? He turns out to be… Wait for it…
Moroccan!!! And can speak both Arabic and French fluently… Cool!
THEN we are both rather NICELY shocked being greeted with traditional hand washing with warm water at the table, impressed even before the food comes!
Soup! spices are super different, a little acidic, tasty! Bread smells so different… Spiced, slightly sweet, nice texture, also tasty!
I’m smelling all my food by now before tasting it cuz the smells are sooooo different…
MORE than anything, the food is NOT salty, but spiced, not spicy hot, but spiced, making quite a nice blend of flavor without transforming you into thirsty water buffalo
Salad… 3 part salad, the flavors are so complex I can’t even describe them, but went great with the bread, plate finished clean… Yum
Appetizer:
ok my friend and I are almost full so we are looking at this thing wondering if we ordered it or whether it’s part of the pre fixe meal haha!
I don’t remember what it was called, but it looks like a MEGA size mung bean filled golden flakey wrapped Chinese mooncake with a cinnamon camel on it… Inside is ground chicken, almonds, and egg, wrapped in super flakey dough dusted with powder sugar, cinnamon… It was DELICIOUS… HAD to to-​go-​box this cuz I’m def having the rest of this when my stomach can stomach it =P
Super awesome part, Waishim got us another of the same appetizer without nuts in it for my friend who is allergic… Without taking the original back (we thought he’d take it back), AND without charging us… Impressed!
Did I get to the entrée yet?
Ok here goes, friend’s chicken with couscous, really tender and tasty, interesting sweet spiced flavor on top of her vegetables made a tasty contrast!
my lil pigeon bud, *cough* quail was tasty but its lil ol wings were a bit burnt, but meat was still tasty and tender! Sooo this was the only half point off haha
Dessert: homemade baklava = super nutty, flakey, some spices, YUM, sweet but not crazy kill-​me-​sweet-​need-​water-​now! like a lot of baklava I’ve had, plus 1!
Mint tea… Gosh, smell and taste so very unique, flavor tasty, but gosh I could not finish it for fear of not sleeping at night… requested and SURPRISE they had to-​go-​cups for us!!!
Omg we practically had a whole to-​go meal dinner for tomorrow with so much food left over… dunno if it’s their tradition to take left overs home or to eat left overs, but this was way too tasty of good food to toss that much away, YUM
Other servers are nice, one older one who fits right in with his beard, hat and all is actually El Salvadoran! He picked up the accent pretty well cuz his English was def not chilled with a pure Spanish accent
as we’re sitting, chatting, I notice Waishim make himself some sort of fancy coffee concoction at a distance, so I HAVE to ask…
He shares a little bit of his cappuccino with me… Oh man YUM again! I love all these different flavors and spices!
On to visit Waishim’s café nearby soon, apparently he’s also a French barista!
I call this cross cultural food experience a COMPLETE adventure! Goodnight!
^.^

Wonderful restaurant and fun experience! The staff was friendly, helpful and a good part of the experience. The décor is amazing & really sets the tone of the evening. Our group of 7 adults & 2 children all loved the feast! Everything was fresh & beautifully presented! The lamb, fish & lemon chicken were superb! We loved the baklava & sweet mint tea for desert. The Lebanese beer is good, too. 4 of the party had a groupon & it was accepted graciously & accurately. Highly recommended! I agree with others, as wonderful as the interior is. the exterior of the restaurant needs some TLC. looks unkempt.

Great atmosphere. I love how suddenly you enter and you feel the vibe of being in Morocco. The food was excellent. Customer service wasn’t he best, they were very slowww to come out with the food but it was worth the wait. Price was expensive but that’s what you expect with Costa Mesa. Highly recommended.

I used to come here 10 years ago and was back in town and I was definitely happy I came back. The food was very flavorful, the service was great, and it was a fun night out doing something different than just eating. The belly dancer was a fun addition to dinner and no one will ever leave hungry! I got the meal with the shrimp and lamb, definitely get the full dinner with the honey lamb with fig!

wow where can I start!!!
i decided to take my wife to Marrakech Moroccan restaurant in Costa Mesa last week to celebrate our 10^th weeding anniversary. I called 2 days before and made a reservation. last Friday we went to Marrakech and waited by the host stand almost 10minutes and finally Mr Rachid the floor manager who by the way has no skills of a manager and as we know Moroccan people are very friendly people. Mr Rachid came to us and first thing he said you guys came in a very busy time that was already very unprofessional to us then took us by the bar asked us to wait then went to his 2 moroccan buddies and joined the conversation while we were waiting for a table. After 15 minutes he «Mr Rachid «decided to take us to our table not even apologized to us at all. we had our own bottle of wine that we got from our last trip in France we did ask him for some ice to chill our white wine he said we don’t have it.
Then all of sudden Charlie the server which was a very professional friendly old guy who took very good care of us after we explained to him how terrible we felt with Mr Rachid
Now the food was OK i would not go back for the food nor for the customer service
Last but not least Mr Rachid over charged us for the corkage fee that he didn’t provide ice bucket because he was super busy to join his buddies who ate drank and left without paying as far as i can tell because i m a business owner in LA and i can watch.
Finally i would highly recommend to the owner to find a better skill trust worthy manager

Marrakesh Costa Mesa was a charming spot to have dinner. I’m a big fan of themed restaurants, and there are not many in Southern California. Marrakesh used to be all the way in Studio City, and it’s nice that it’s local to OC’rs.
The outside looks divey and could use an improvement (might help bring in more customers). But on the inside, the place is pretty amazing. Almost every seat has a different, unique view.
From the décor, to the variety of exotic food, to the servers pouring that mint tea from 3 feet away, everything is an experience at Marrakesh.

Marrakesh is the best Moroccan restaurant in town
Food is really good the bellydancer is very nice
The service is beyond perfect
The manager Rachid he is very nice and kind
The service is very attentive 7 stars if I can give .
This is the only Moroccan restaurant in oc and is the best ever .the food is fenomenol (the best lamb ever) ask for redone or charlie they’re really good host

Awesome food, service goes above and beyond. Very cool and fun spot. Highly recommended.

FOOD IN BELLY | BELLY DANCER
My aunt took me here so I had no idea of what to expect… all I can say is I had a fabulous experience. For this particular place, I won’t ruin any surprises.
I guess you could read other Unilocal reviews. But I think the joy I received derived from knowing nothing about it.
I will only say: Bring some small cash to tip your dancer… Otherwise, it might get awkward…

We went here last night for the fist time. I fell in love with this place. The ambience is wonderful and you will feel like you are in morocco on vacation. The owner speaks French and it super nice.
Service was great. The food was delicious. I had the «mini feast» filet mignon kabobs with Lentil soup. Omg, the lentil soup tasted so delicious. Almost as god as my mom’s :)
The kebab was perfectly grilled and for dessert they bring you hot mint tea and baklava. YUMM.
They had a belly dance for entertainment. We all enjoyed it.

I haven’t had much Moroccan food in my life so when a friend suggested a group get together for dinner here, I didn’t know what to expect except for bellydancing.
We had to valet the car and once inside, it is very dark. The ambiance definitely makes you feel like you are in a Moroccan restaurant (at least my pre-​conceived opinion of one), with lots of colorful tapestries, rugs, and lighting. Aladdin comes to mind. We were seated in a group area with low chairs and a round table. Being a group of 10 it made it difficult to interact with the group on the other side (each table fit 5, not comfortably). And the seats were very sunken in so it made it hard to get out.
Anyways, you are here for the food, not my comfort. We came during Restaurant Week so we had the option of the prix fixe menu or to order a la carte. Our group chose a mixture.
Before we started, we got to wash our hands with rose water. I loved this little gesture. The rose water made my hands smell so nice!
We had the hummus and it was really good. As expected, since it’s authentic. For my meal, I chose moroccan mint iced tea and lemon chicken (this dish was also available on the RW menu). The iced tea was really refreshing and I had several refills. Many at the table chose mai tai’s, they were strong and a hit. On the RW menu, Chicken bastilla (the dish with the camel in powdered sugar) came. I didn’t like it much. It was meant to be a blend of sweet and savory but I just didn’t like the combo.
My meal was good. The chicken was very flavorful and lemony! I ordered a side of couscous and it was a huge side. I ended up taking my meal home. I tasted the honey lamb – wow, great dish! The lamb sausage one of my friends had was also good. I’m grateful he gave me a piece.
Baklava was the dessert and it was so delicious! We did receive a visit from the belly dancers which was a nice element of entertainment.
Fun night! We were unexpectedly given gift certificates at the end of our meal to return so I’ll hold on to that one for my next visit.

We went here for dine oc since they had the three course meal for 30 dollars.
Parking: is just valet we ended parking in the neighborhood its a little bit more of a walk on the weekend.
Price: price wise they always have prefix meal deals on there menu so I didn’t think it was that much more than the oc restaurant week deal.
Food: I picked the hummus, it came with bastilla, the lamb tangine, mint tea, and baklava. Hummus wasn’t anything special just typical plain hummus no special flavor in it. The bastilla is very interesting it’s fill dough filled with chicken, eggs, and nuts sprinkled with cinnamon and powder sugar. The lamb tangerine had good flavor with the prune taste but it was a bit bland the bottom part soaked up more flavor than the top. I wasn’t a fan of there baklava way too sweet and the bottom nut part seems more soaked in syrup than usual. I like there mint tea but its not for everyone it was strong on the mint and sugary side.
Atmosphere: the atmosphere here and décor is amazing you really feel like arabian nights or something. Love the tent feel its very intimate. Belly dancers I didn’t really see them since we got seated in a different area.
I think its better to order a la carte somethings on the menu aren’t as good as others.
I would just come here cause the décor and atmosphere is amazing the food not so much.

Went here for the second time last night. It was my 50^th and 7 other friends and my wife all celebrate birthdays around this time and one of them chose this location. Last time I was here was 15 years ago — same owner back then. Service was great, waiter was an exchange student from Morocco and was friendly, helpful and funny.
We all enjoyed the rose water hand wash at the start if the meal. Use the towel they provide to dry your hands, not your napkin as we mistakenly did.
Started off with some stuffed grape leaves and hummus. For our gluten free companions they brought out a plate of cut carrots and cucumber upon request for an alternate to the pita bread.
We each got the mini feast. The steak was tender and the chicken and shrimp flavorful. Came served with either an authentic salad or lentil soup. Both were very good. The main dish was served as a shish-​kabob on a bed or couscous and cooked vegetables. To finish the meal, and included, was mint green tea and baclava! It was plenty to fill anyone’s appetite.
The entertainment/​dancer was fun and friendly. We tipped her at the end of the dance and it seemed that was customary. We all got into the dancing which really topped off the evening.
Overall a great experience and fun night out with a group of 8 friends on their birthdays.
Plan to pay $ 4 plus tip for the valet parking or walk a few blocks to get to this place from the only free street parking around the corner. Better come early to be there in time if you plan to walk it!

Since moving to Southern California, my husband and I have explored different restaurants with the help of Groupon. Marrakesh called my attention on there due to the prix fixe menu which offered a three course meal, and one of them included lamb. I was sold on lamb!
We came to Marrakesh on a Friday night. We called ahead and made reservations, though I think we would have gotten sat right away anyway. I was blown away by the décor, and my husband was especially obsessed with the drapes coming down from the center of the venue. We were seated in a small, round table and we chose to sit next to each other on the booth rather than the little stools. It was intimate, and the ambience was just perfect for date night.
As soon as we sat down, the waiter approached our table and took our order. Note that you will not be able to upgrade for the Chef’s special when you use a groupon. Anyhow, soon thereafter, one of the servers came by with rose water to rinse our hands. After that, we were brought our food in a timely manner one course after the other.
For convenience, here is my rating on the food:
Starters:
— Lentil Soup — 3.5÷5 — I’m not really a fan of soup. I thought it was too salty, though it had a good consistency.
— Salads — ⁵⁄₅ — I love salad, so I was a fan of all of them. My favorite was the marinated eggplant, though, the carrots and tomatoes and cucumbers were also fresh and delicious.
— Bastilla — ⁴⁄₅ — This was my husband’s favorite dish. I also enjoyed it as the flavor was right between nutty and meaty, but I thought it was a bit too sweet for my taste.
Entrees:
— Lamb tangine — ⁵⁄₅ — Excellent! It’s probably the best lamb I’ve had at a restaurant by far. The meat would just fall off the bone. Very tender, flavorful, and just delicious. I would MOST definitely recommend. I do wish it brought along some carbs, though.
— Chicken with vegetable couscous — ²⁄₅ — I did not enjoy this dish at all. The chicken was dry and did not have any flavor. The vegetable couscous lacked seasoning as well, so overall this plate was very bland.
Dessert:
— Mint tea — ⁴⁄₅ — Delicious! I loved it as a way to wrap up the meal. I wish it had been a bit hotter. However, my husband found it too sweet for his taste.
— Baklava: ³⁄₅ — Overall average, though I was barely able to eat since it was too sweet. This with the sweet mint tea is too much for one serving!
Indeed, I definitely would come back for the lamb and ambience. They do have a belly dancer that performs, though I’m shy and I don’t really like busting a move unless intoxicated. It’s also worth noting that the servers were very attentive and the meal was brought out promptly. It was overall a great experience!

Love this place! got the groupon and it was a lot of food and it was a very unique experience, PERFECT for a date!
I love all the different steps that they go through to make your experience worth while, it’s the little touches that make things memorable. The appetizer with a camel stamped on it was so cute and different! Never seen such a thing. Washing our hands with rose water, the belly dancer, the mint tea was free flowing at the end so i didn’t feel rushed to leave right way. I got the chicken entrée and it was great. What a great experience, i only wish they poured more wine per glass, i figured for that price they would use the larger glasses or at least pour a full glass with the smaller glasses but oh well i’ll just drink at home before next time lol.

Treated my man here for Valentine’s Day. No need to valet in their private lot. Arrive early and look for street parking. Pep Boys was closed so we parked there.
Upon arrival, the host couldn’t find my reservation — incredibly stressful because the restaurant had called me just four days prior to our event for my credit card and if the restaurant had been busy, she probably wouldn’t have said, «Don’t worry about it, we’ll seat you anyway.» She was very spacey, but super sweet, and everything about her reminded me of Sybill Trelawney from Harry Potter.
The environment was perfect, like stepping into another world. All the servers appeared serious, but proper. None of ours smiled, which was unusual for me because when I used to wait tables, my team was constantly reminded to smile.
After being seated, a pot of rose water was brought to our table for rinsing our hands (loved it) prior to placing our order. Sadly, their $ 54 special prix fixe menu was the same as their $ 35 standard prix fixe menu minus 2 – 3 items. The hummus appetizer was delicious, lamb was delicious, chicken was average, I loooove dessert but the baklava was too sweet for me, the cookies tasted like coconut macaroons (delicious), and I’m a chocoholic but I’m not a fan of chocolate-​covered strawberries (sour chocolate).
The belly dancers were beautiful. Although they didn’t step into the third level, the couple that sat across from us were super sociable and entertained us.

The ultimate dining experience. Loved the flavorful food, cozy ambiance, belly dancers, and all the staff. Can’t believe I waited so long to give it a try — I’ll def be returning and highly recommended it for a fun evening out with friends. You’ll be ready for bed after indulging in the delicious food… the perfect Friday evening for me. \\
«You wash your hands in rose water and eat baklava for dessert.» SOLD from this comment in another review.

I came here with a Groupon for 2 people. It was a $ 20 cut from the normal price for 2. In the end, we still paid $ 5.11 though.
I expected the meal to be very large, but actually, it was perfect. It’s a fun place to go, especially on a first date, because both of you will be confused and have an interesting shared experience. They have tiny little chairs here so be prepared for it, but the ambiance is cozy.
It took awhile to get service. First, they bring out rosewater to wash your hands. Then, you get a lentil soup without spoons to sip on and fresh baked bread, which was just okay. Then they bring out a plate of the 3 salads: carrot, eggplant, and cucumbers/​tomatoes. All of them are delicious. You share the dish. The chicken filo pastry is also shared between us two. I wonder how many people it takes in your party for them to bring you 2 of these. Regardless, we only ate half. It was slightly under-​seasoned.
For our entrees, we picked baked rabbit and quail. It was easy to share these items — the baked rabbit literally tasted like chicken, more so than any other meat you think tastes like chicken.
Finally, they bring out mint tea. I liked it, but my date said it tasted like Listerine. The baklava was the best baklava I’ve ever had, and I don’t like baklava.