Menara Moroccan
Categories:
Restaurants, Moroccan Restaurants, Middle Eastern Restaurants, Mediterranean Restaurants
Details:
$$, Family Style Dining, Prix Fixe Menu, Romantic Dining, Open 7 Days
Message from Menara Moroccan
Menara Moroccan is a true Moroccan oasis in San Jose. We invite you to our award-winning multi-course menu that is not just a meal, but a feast. Try something different? Tonight, have your own little adventure in Casablanca. Romance, fantasy, fun, entertainment, and mystery await you. Join us at Menara Moroccan for a culinary experience that will take you thousands of miles away to Morocco. Relax of pillowed couches, sip a Moroccan Magic, dine on award-winning food, and be mesmerized by traditional belly dancers. Menara Moroccan is open for lunch by reservation only (25+ guests) and nightly for dinner from 6pm ? 10pm.
Editorial by Citysearch
The FoodThe menu at Menara is what you'd expect at a Moroccan restaurant--lots of chicken and lamb dishes and plenty of couscous--with only a few Mediterranean diversions like baklava and a phyllo dough chicken pastry. The catch at Menara is that they offer four different multi-course dinners, including a vegetarian meal, and everyone at the table eats the same thing. This means that if your mouth waters for rabbit, you'll have to talk your date into it, too.
The Scene
Like all traditional Moroccan restaurants, diners at Menara lounge on pillows around low tables using their hands as utensils, which gives the place a very relaxed, laid-back vibe. If you get there at 8:00pm, you can catch the Menara's stable of belly dancers in action--an interesting sight indeed.
Insider Pages Reviews for Menara Moroccan
Came here with a bunch of friends. Atmosphere was fun. Everyone sits on the floor. There was a bellydancer. Great entertainment The food wasn't enough for the price we paid. If they lowered the price we'd come here more often.
Posted 10/15/08 | Report Abuse
Was this review helpful to you?
First of all, the volume of the food doesn't much with its price (basically, $30 for a plate shawurma)..Ironically, two people cannot order different dishes b/c the chef want to cook family style (never heard), but we got charged separately. The atmosphere was extremely depressing, the dancer showed up only for not even ten minutes...I would rather meles diner
Posted 07/31/08 | Report Abuse
Was this review helpful to you?
Take your time, grab a cushion, and get ready for a treat. The food is delicious. The belly dancing fun and the atmosphere truly different. This is a great options for going out with your friends. The kids loved it too because they got to eat with their hands, sit on the floor and take part in the dancing.
PROS: great ambiance and food
CONS:
Posted 07/25/06 | Report Abuse
Was this review helpful to you?
I just LOVE this restaurant. The ambience simply transports you to another place. You sit on the floor and eat with your hands. Some nights there is belly dancing. They have a special cocktail that is very refreshing. The bread is heaven. All dinners come with a kind of ground veggie salad that is more like a dip and is fabulous. The chicken pie that comes with everything is another unusual and delicious dish. You will get a big towel instead of a napkin and they bring hot water to wash your hands.
The entrees run from chicken and lamb to beef, all so tender and flavorful you won't believe it. Fresh fruit is for dessert served with Spearmint tea. The whole experience is relaxing and enjoyable, if you haven't been, you are missing a great evening.
Posted 05/19/05 | Report Abuse
Was this review helpful to you?
Latest reviews from Citysearch.
Great Ambiance
by atruereview
Food is good but pricey. I like the atmosphere and took my friends there and they had to dance as well as my kids who loved it! If you're shy, be aware the belly dancer will ask you to dance and join the party!
Posted 08/06/09
Food is ok but really come for ambiance
by honeybunch
I've only been to one other Moroccan place in SJ but this did not compare. Amount of food was rather expensive for what you get even if there are multiple courses. The best thing was a chicken dish, the name of which escapes me at the moment (shows how good it was) but the rest was just so-so. It's definitely a place for special occasions but other than this birthday party I went to, don't see another reason why I would eat again. Not enough to draw me back. Belly dancer was fun, especially when pulling people from the audience. For $35 min per person, at least you get a show.
Pros: Great for parties, groups
Cons: Expensive, food is just ok
Posted 06/10/09
An average moroccan venue!
by lisahazarika
We had a birthday gathering with more than 10 people at this morrocan place. The place, the belly dancer as well as the menu seemed very moroccan and similar to most other moroccan places in the bay area. However I did not find the food very appealing. Specially for the price that was charged. It is a very expensive place and the food is not really worth it... I'll rather go to other places for moroccan food.
Pros: Belly dancing
Cons: Very expensive
Posted 09/26/08
The worst food ever !
by moroccan
There is nothing authentic about the food served at Menara ! I am a Moroccan, so I know what I am talking about. The food is rediculously expensive for both the quality and the quantity you get. The couscous was the worse I ve had in my life and had nothing moroccan about it but the name, the lemon chicken was swimming in a watery sauce ( definitely not moroccan), and the bastilla was just dry and inedible. AVOID !!
Pros: NONE !
Cons: FOOD, PRICE, SERVICE...
Posted 06/15/07
Overpriced and Unauthentic
by rainy_dayze
My fiance and I walked in without reservations and were seated with no problems. The ambience was Moroccan like and we sat on pillows on the floor. However, we were really disappointed with the food. It was $30 per person and wasn't flavorful. Everything tasted "Americanized", nothing new. The chicken was average and overcooked. The lamb kabob came out and tasted like gyros I get from shop that is 1/4 of the price. I could have justified by saying I was paying for the entertainment, buy even the belly dancers performed unauthentic dances. One of the belly dancers used a gold cane and was doing some kind of broadway dance and another did a belly dance to a Moroccan version of "My Heart Will Go On" from the movie "Titanic". It's a place where you need to go with a large group of people and have many drinks to enjoy.
Pros: Good for groups, ambience
Cons: Unathentic Food, Expensive
Posted 03/03/06
The Best of the Best!
by ashivam
Menara Morroccan Restaurant is the best of the best, and I have been dining there for the last 13 years. The decor, food, service, and entertainment are unlike any other you've seen around. Everything is unique and brings out the true Morrocan culture. The food is exquisite, the service is undeniably gracious and the entertainment which is belly dancing blows you away. No matter if you are on a romantic date or a large group, your dining experience at Menara Moroccan Restaurant is one you will never forget.
Pros: Food, Service, Entertainment
Posted 06/07/05
best moroccan food and ambiance out of morocco
by bhagirath
i have been traveling around the globe , menara is truely moroccan experience. was recommended by my friend who is with tourism department of morocco.food , decor,and service was very good. no wonder they have been there for 27 years is land mark and deserves that and hoping to continue the same
Pros: great food, you are in morocco, great dancing
Posted 05/25/05
Overpriced for the service and food
by blondwahine
My husband and I have been to several Moroccan restaurants...many of the offer the same atmosphere of belly dancers, floor-cushioned seating, the authenticityof eating with your hands.
This restaurant offers this, however we were disappointed with both the food and service. With a reservation it took 15 mintues to seat us. Our order was taken and the only time we saw a server is when they brought our food. We like to keep the drinks flowing and to have the courtesy of asking how our meal is...we received no such service at this restaurant.
Having been to several other Moroccan restaurants in the Bay Area gave us a foundation to compare Menara's food. Their meats were over-cooked, and the supposed Lamb Kabob that was a part of our meal was actually a meat ball...not served in the traditional kabob style. For the price of around $30/person we expected much more.
Pros: Roomier, good entertainment, easy access
Cons: , mediocre food, disappointing service
Posted 06/05/04
Rude service, high prices
by birby
Prices are very high and the service was RUDE. The owner (not the waiter, the owner!) first got snippy when I asked about wines by the glass, then downright angry when I asked him to explain the pricing. The atmosphere is also terrible for a date, with the music way too loud to have a conversation.
Cons: price, service, loud
Posted 07/10/02