Mezze
Lamb Tagine
Chicken Tagine
August 2011 - Not been yet but apparently the Mezze has a had a revamp - hope it's good. Really like this place and would like them to do well.
July 2011
July 2011
Moroccana is a new venture on the site that was Wild at Heart. It’s a great little spot on the corner, not too near the road, with plenty of outdoor space. A really nice venue to sit, eat, drink and chat. The first thing that caught my eye was ‘paninis’ written on the A-board outside, a bit unexpected. Didn’t sound very Moroccan – but quite a few places expand their menus a bit to tap into other markets, which is fine so long as the core cuisine remains intact.
We thought we’d try to play to Moroccan food’s strengths and presumably the the bread and butter of a place like this so we ordered a shared Mezze and a Tagine each. I was disappointed with the Mezze, the picture says it all really – potato salad, coleslaw, beetroot, boiled eggs, chicken - no babagnoush, no tabbouleh, no humous, no falafel, no vine leaves. I should have just had the olives. It was about £5 and not great. I couldn’t help but think we were getting sandwich fillings – which is the negative side of an off-shoot, a bit like getting naan cooked in a pizza oven or chips with kebabs. The tagines were a completely different story – rich, tasty, fully of meat and interesting flavours – the prunes and almonds worked brilliantly with the lamb on the bone, as did the preserved lemons with the chicken. They were exactly what we had come for and at £5.95 with bread, seemed a good deal. We would have preferred flat bread or something similar rather than the Panini/baguette type stuff but hey ho – it soaked up the delicious juices well enough. Though again this felt like the Panini trade impinging on the Moroccan side of things.
They guys working there are very attentive and friendly – a real credit to the establishment. The bill was £21.80 I think, which I couldn’t really work out – £5 starter, 2x£6 mains and £3 a pot of Morrocan mint tea adds up to £20 – so maybe we were charged for the bread I’m not quite sure.
We really enjoyed it here, though will stick to the Morrocan main courses in future, unless they really start to do the Mezze properly. It’s only been open a while, perhaps getting the Mezze up and running is next on their list. We wish Morrocana all the best and will see them again.
We thought we’d try to play to Moroccan food’s strengths and presumably the the bread and butter of a place like this so we ordered a shared Mezze and a Tagine each. I was disappointed with the Mezze, the picture says it all really – potato salad, coleslaw, beetroot, boiled eggs, chicken - no babagnoush, no tabbouleh, no humous, no falafel, no vine leaves. I should have just had the olives. It was about £5 and not great. I couldn’t help but think we were getting sandwich fillings – which is the negative side of an off-shoot, a bit like getting naan cooked in a pizza oven or chips with kebabs. The tagines were a completely different story – rich, tasty, fully of meat and interesting flavours – the prunes and almonds worked brilliantly with the lamb on the bone, as did the preserved lemons with the chicken. They were exactly what we had come for and at £5.95 with bread, seemed a good deal. We would have preferred flat bread or something similar rather than the Panini/baguette type stuff but hey ho – it soaked up the delicious juices well enough. Though again this felt like the Panini trade impinging on the Moroccan side of things.
They guys working there are very attentive and friendly – a real credit to the establishment. The bill was £21.80 I think, which I couldn’t really work out – £5 starter, 2x£6 mains and £3 a pot of Morrocan mint tea adds up to £20 – so maybe we were charged for the bread I’m not quite sure.
We really enjoyed it here, though will stick to the Morrocan main courses in future, unless they really start to do the Mezze properly. It’s only been open a while, perhaps getting the Mezze up and running is next on their list. We wish Morrocana all the best and will see them again.
Shame about the mezze. We went to Morocco last summer and the mezzes all seemed to consist of olives, cumin carrot salad, figs, curd cheese, potato salad, zaalouk and lentils. Definitely no coleslaw or boiled eggs in sight! And that aubergine looks quite sorry for itself. Also one of the best things about Moroccan cuisine for me was the bread - I certainly didn't see any sliced baguette knocking about! Still the tagines look very yummy and authentic. Will have to try this place's mains out! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete'no tabbouleh, no humous, no falafel, no vine leaves' you werent served these because they are dishes you would find in countries of the Levant eg Lebanon and Turkey, not North Africa.
ReplyDelete