Babouche

Just saw via Unilocal that Babouche is now closed. I’m pretty bummed about that. Even though I’ve only been here once, they had the best Morroccan cuisine I’ve ever tasted. Looks like I’ll have to look for other North African restaurants in or near CT.

I ate here last Friday night with 4 other friends and it was exceptional. We were lucky to get a fantastic table all the way in the back corner of the restaurant. The table was perfectly big and round (we anticipated needing room to «stretch out» post meal) with the seats VERY close to the floor, curtains hung around us, very dimly lit with mood setting lamps, jazzy moroccan or middle eastern music (I have no idea, but it worked) and within minutes we had a peach flavored hookah. Ambiance? F word yeah.
The waiter could basically tell we weren’t messing around. He could see we were there to eat and drink for a few hours because… well because we had pre dinner drinks and were all warmed up and we told him that. Schnarf! He seemed pleased and brought us a couple bottles of wine and not too long after that the food began to arrive.
We started off with a plethora of apps. Mediterranean salad, calamari salad, tomate montrache, moules a la marocaine (moroccan mussels) confit de conard, and briouats. Everything was outstanding. Not only that but I think after this first round we all realized we had just gotten hungrier, made a toast to that, and instead of ordering main dishes decided to hit up more apps.
Another order of mussels, 2 more briouats, another confit de conard, and a brochette d’agneau which quickly turned to 2.
Everything to this point was miraculous. We already finished off maybe 3 bottles of wine and wanted something different, the waiter offered their sangria. I don’t like sangria. I like their sangria. It was lighter, and almost effervescent and had a refreshing quality rather than fruity crap red wine. It was a bit on the sweet side, yes, but the lightness helped to relieve that.
At this point we wanted to just relax so we ordered another hookah. By the way, I’ve never tried this, but the hookah actually goes great with the food.
During this eating break (that’s a lie, I continued to order more mussels) I tried their Moraccan beer. I can’t remember the name but it was a bit on the lighter side, similar to an amber… actually I think it was an amber, doy… but the hint of spice is prevalent and accompanies the dishes perfectly.
After some time we put our «big boy» pants back on. Our party of 5 was now down to 4 (SOMEone forgot her «big boy» pants) but we were on an unstoppable freight train of delish and we weren’t ordering less just because of an empty chair. Pfft!!!
All aboard for kefta tangine, steak au poivre, carre d’agneau, couscous au poulet, and… and something else. At any rate, after this, we were D-​O-​N-​E.
Now comes the one single blemish. We were a party of 5 and we almost paid the bill without noticing we were accidentally charged for gratuity. We spoke to them and they very genuinely apologized and corrected it. It came out to $ 100 even for each of us and that included a very generous tip.
I can’t get back to this place fast enough.
Disclaimer*** I am not well versed with Moroccan/​French cuisine. I am, however, well versed in «this %#&! tastes good!!!» If you’re looking for perfectly done traditional Moroccan/​French, I have not a clue if this is it. All I know is I literally felt like a king and was served a kings’ banquet and for the price I have no reason to not go back as soon as I can.

Came here with my wife and son on a Friday night. We sat outside but the interior of the restaurant looked very nice and they were playing Casablanca. After sending an inordinate amount of time looking at the menu my wife and I settled on the pre-​fix, pastilla for me and the couscous royal for her, and my son got the grilled shrimp.
We inquired about their sangria, but after a taste decided against it. They make their sangria just with wine and fruit juice, no brandy and Cointreau, so it doesn’t have the punch that I like.
For the first course both my wife and I got the tomato and beet salad. Both were lightly dressed and the brightness of the tomatoes played well with the sweet earthiness of the beets. I would have liked for them to put a touch more preserved lemon in there but that’s just a personal preference.
Our dishes came presented beautifully. I was especially impressed with my son’s dish. There were four enormous prawns arranged on top of a mound of pesto flavored couscous.
As for the dishes, my wife enjoyed hers and stuffed herself with it. My son liked his but he had a slight issue with the texture of the prawns (they were fine as far as I was concerned). His couscous was awesome, fluffy and full of flavor. My pastilla was good, not great. The brick was slightly overcooked. Not enough to take away from the flavor of the dish, but it did become a little tough and dense.
For dessert, we both had the chocolate mousse. It was exceptionally good. Not overly sweet, light yet rich.
Is this the best Moroccan place I’ve been to? No, but it is good and I’d be willing to try it again, especially if they can resolve that sangria situation.

Horrible service! definitely a new waiter who wasn’t trained or supervised. He was outwardly difficult for no reason.
Beyond that, fine food, higher prices, nice owner … We ate outside and there were roaches crawling from the subway grate but that they can’t control

Wow. This place blew me away. I am going to make a BIG statement here and say this might be the best food I’ve had in New York City. That’s right… not n Brooklyn… in all of New York City.
I was walking down 5^th around 8:30pm just looking for a place to eat by myself. It was a beautiful night so wanted to sit outside. I passed by Babouche and looked in to see a gorgeous space with a big white couch and tables well spaced out. No one was inside but a few couples were sitting outside. I still didn’t realize this was a Moroccan place until i received the menu when I sat down outside.
I ordered the tomatoe and goat cheese appetizer. I remember the first word was Napolean so being Italian, I knew that meant there would be some layering of goat cheese and tomatoe. I was right… this came out as a whole tomatoe, sliced with goat cheese layered in between. DELICIOUS and such a pretty presentation (I took a pic and will post!)
I was undecided between the salmon entrée and the sea bass so when my waiter (who I think was the owner) came over to take my order, I asked him which one he recommended. He told me to go with the sea bass. I am so glad I took his recommendation! This was the best. It defintely topped my Cavo sea bass. The flavor was unbelievable and the couscous that it was over just completed this fantastic tasting experience.
It was cooked in a black bean sauce (no beans) with bok choy. My mouth is watering writing this review!!!
I see that it has been said, but I’ll say it again… the SANGRIA IS TO-​DIE-​FOR!!! I had the white sangria… actually, I’m not sure if they have red, but I would assume they do.
I didn’t have dessert since I wanted to savor the taste of my meal long after I cleaned the plate.
I paid near $ 70 for myself– 2 glasses of sangrias, one appetizer, one entrée – and it was well worth it! Then again, feeding myself good food is always worth it! :)

When I lived in Paris, one of my favorite dishes was couscous. Babouche is the most authentic couscous I’ve found in Brooklyn, and I’ve been searching: couscous served dry with a vegetable stew on the side that you pour in as desired. Many restaurants don’t give you the stew, which is just not the same. Other places also use ingredients that are not traditional e.g. squash. So Babouche wins!
I really enjoyed the live music too. The belly dancing was a little awkward because the dancer comes very close to your table, and you want to watch but not stare. I’ve never been to a restaurant with dancing, maybe that’s usually how it goes. (I say this as someone who belly dances.)

I always wanted to try this place and good thing I did.
I loved the food and the amtosphere. I will be coming here again.
The hummus and flatbread was good, Grilled calamari salad was delish!
The tomatoe with goat cheese was good and i loved the crab cake, one of the best crab cakes I ever had.
I went for the Friday night live music, it was pretty good.
Saturdays they have a belly dancer. The next time I go it will be on a saturday.
The server that I had was also a litlle kooky but I love kooky.
He was plesant and very helpful.
This place is a must try.

Absolutely LOVE LOVE this place, me and my boyfriend come here at least twice a month.
The waiters and the owner are so friendly and an great place to eat and relax.
My favorite on the appeitizer is the lamb skewer and the almond pastry stuff with meat OMG so heaven ly delicious.
The Sangria is the BEST! The BEST part about this plaec you can bring a bunch of friends and Hookah after being stuffed with dinner, which by the way is to scrumptous the filet mignon or steak is cooked just well with all the juices and seasonings and flavors.

Casablanca playing on a big screen, my sexy man across from me, Moroccan wine and the beautiful décor of Babouche… someone is gonna get lucky tonight! Arrived around 6 to participate in Brooklyn Dine in and the place was near empty but as the sun went down, the lights dimmed and suddenly the place was full. This place has tons of ambiance. The service was excellent. Sunni our waiter was very attentive and Omar the owner chatted with us and gave us a tour of the place. My salmon was perfect as was the couscous. Enjoyed some Hooka in the lounge afterward and my only regret is that I didn’t have time to wait and see the bellydancer.
Im definitely coming back to try out their brunch!

If you’re ever in the area this is a pretty nice place to eat. Surprisingly, it’s empty every time I pass by with possibly a handful of people from time-​to-​time. I’ve had brunch here a couple of times and I always enjoy the food.
The staff is friendly and the ambiance is amazing: white leather chairs and white walls, amazing semicircular arched columns; large, round Moroccan-​style lighting fixtures; and colorful couches and pillows. I recently had their lentil salad with scrambled eggs and roasted potatoes for brunch (Happy Times). And I love their cobb salad too.

WOW! The food exceeded my expectations. I thought the food would be mediocre, but I was absolutely dumbfound. We’ve tried several appetizers which were; Zaalouk (eggplant), Salade de calamar a la marocaine (grilled calamari), and Salade de betrave et de concombre (diced beet salad). AMAZING!!! but the grilled calamari was the most delicious appetizer of the three. The down side, not enough to share!!! We were a party of four and we had to take a few pieces each.
Moving on to the entrée. We ordered, Tagine de poulet (Chicken), Coucous royal (lamb sausage and chicken pieces), Sirloin steak au poivre, and Chilean sea bass in black bean sauce. I must say, the Tagine chicken was absolutely delish, the chicken literally fell of the bone when forked. Coucous royal (per my friend) was amazing. Me, I had the sirloin, it was a bit hard and dry for my liking. I ordered med-​well, they brought me out a well done steak :’(. Chilean sea bass was slammmmming. I was shocked. I never had a good experience with black bean sauce in a non-​asian restaurant, but this sauce was excellent. It did not overwhelm the fish at all. Also, we shared a Coucous aux legumes (vegetable) dish, which was sufficient to feed 2 – 3 people. OMG! My mouth is watering just typing all this stuff.
Last but not least, dessert! My favorite part of the meal. We ordered mint tea and moroccan coffee and one order of chocolate soufflé. Mint tea was minty good, moroccan coffee had to be the worst of the whole dinner. I don’t know what about it that made the coffee soooo terrible. I can’t even describe the smell. It is definitely not a starbucks or dunkin donuts coffee. It had some sort of spicy-​ish smell. For those that like STRONG! and I emphasize on STRONG coffee, this is it! but beware the smell. And the soufflé was like chocolate cake. It was nothing special, probably better off with crème brûlée.
Atmosphere was lovely, a little dark, but still nice. Décor was awesome. LOVED every aspect of the restaurant. Service was a little slack but the food totally made up for it. Seemed like only one lady was serving the whole front side of the place. There is a hookah lounge in the back, but we didn’t get to go because 1) it was late, 2) it was still packed at midnight.
Happy eats fellow foodies!

I did the prix fixe brunch here today. I don’t know how it compares to other places in the neighborhood (I’m new here), but I thought it was quite delicious, and reasonably priced. First of all, the mint tea is delicious – they use fresh mint leaves in it, and it was probably my favorite tea I’ve had in a restaurant.
For the meal, I had the salade verte and the goat cheese omelette (not going into the French name). The salade verte was good, nothing to write home about, but then again, few simple mixed green salads are. There wasn’t enough goat cheese in the omelette for my tastes, but the eggs were very fluffy and everything tasted fresh. And the roasted potatoes that came with it were quite tasty.
The staff was very personable (take a look at the cavernous lounge in the back), and the environment very chic. I quite enjoyed it, and I’ll be back for some of the specials sometime.

The coolest thing about this place was the belly dancer. This is in comparison to the bland food that took an hour to prepare and reach our table, the hour it took the hostess to bring us our bill, and the fact that I was charged twice when I checked my bank statement the next day.
Thank you, Babouche. You suck.

Jesus. I could eat that hummus forever. Incredible presentation, beautiful flavors, perfect texture. I also shared the vegetable tangine and rack of lamb. Both delicious as well. I’ll be back for the hummus and hookah next time.

The right components, the right texture, the surprising factor and the exotic side that belongs to a underrepresented cuisine as Moroccan is, evoked so much pleasure with each bite that I will remember the word Zaalouk for long time. Zaalouk are roasted eggplant slices with olive oil and garlic, tomato, arugula and balsamic vinegar. Hot in texture as is tender to the melting point, but served cold. A touch of sweetness. A touch of exoticism. I also loved their Briouats. This small pockets are made with pastry dough in a triangular shape and filled with pieces of chicken, tender and tasty, that preserves the meat flavor but that have incorporate the sweetness and spiciness of the rest of elements including ginger, cinnamon, saffron and almonds and maybe others. Sweet at first bite, tasty with the following. The dough was soft without missing firmness, and flavorful by itself. And not because the powder sugar that lightly covers each piece but because the way is made. well, I think they really use the special Moroccan pastry dough for this dish call warga* because I couldn’t identify it as phyllo, which seems to be the alternative option.
I didn’t know that there was a previous location for Babouche at SoHo** closed now, and that Frank Bruni didn’t like it at all. If the «Second Chances”*** that he was asking for Babouche have allowed to reach this level at the current Brooklyn location, then I’ll have to thank him not only for the enjoyment of reading his reviews. With the same name, same owner and same concept and references I’m assuming we are talking about the same place, maybe you know this and you can tell me for sure. But regardless, and besides what the original restaurant Barbès, the Manhattan brother is offering, I think Babouche represents authentic flavors using high quality ingredients, wrapped in a clean and exotic look but dressed in elegance. Add an excellent service, large food and drink menus, reasonable prices and seems clear that they known the formula for a five stars.
We order many dishes as we were a large group and everything was just delicious. But the Moules a la Marocaine or Moroccan style Mussels, deserve to be mentioned. Served hot, inside the earthenware were seems to be cook, just in the last minute with the steam. The sauce, a mixture of tomato, crushed pepper, garlic and cilantro was light in texture but full of flavor and a bit spicy. If you taste Moroccan food you know you have to try couscous and tagine at some point. We had the Couscous aux legumes (vegetables), Couscous Marocaine traditional with lamb and Tagine de legumes. Served in their corresponding earthenware as well. The presentation is beautiful. The taste was excellent and the texture perfect: fluffy couscous, tender but firm at the same time and colorful vegetables, sign of the perfect steamed cooking, tasty and not watery at all. The flavors remind me what I had at Tunisia a few years ago although the two countries make different versions for both dishes. I think the couscous should be more tasty, even spicier by itself but mixing it up with the vegetables you really don’t miss flavor at all. Shiraz and Malbec were the wines that we choose among a large list of different countries. Both were excellent, and I highly recommend it, but the classic pinots, cabernet or chardonnays are offered as well. Beer and champagnes are also an option.
Pita bread was continuously coming warm to our table. A party of 15, complete only 2h after the dinner started. Yes, my party for 15 wasn’t ideal, ok it was terrible as only half was there 1h after our reservation time when we start ordering. But complains? any. Rush? any. Bad faces or attitude? Any. The experience was complete after the 10min show of a belly dancer that interact with the patrons and can even choose your girls to dance with her when they are part of a group. This seems to happen every Saturday. The cost … $ 40/​person in total.
«Every city in Morocco has a special pull: Casablanca is known for its hospitality and warmth, Tangier for its cuisine and culture, Marrakesh for entertainment, and Fez is linked to the past and to its French roots»
This is what Barbouche claim in their site to represent. And to me, it is certainly true … we didn’t miss any of them at all.
*
**
***

My boyfriend and I were walking down the street (in late June) trying to decide where to eat dinner and this is the restaurant that won!
I think what won us over was the sexy, Moroccan-​themed décor. You really feel like you’ve been swept away from BK to Morocco.
Unfortunately, I don’t remember the waitress’s name, but she was very nice and helpful (as we asked for a couple of descriptions and recommendations).
We had the confit de canard (Duck Confit with Roasted Beets, Lentils & Balsamic Vinaigrette) as an appetizer. It was tasty.
But what really I feel like my entrée blew everything else out of the water. I had the crevettes au pistou (Grilled Shrimp with Pesto Couscous & Coriander Harissa Sauce). It was delicious big prawns in spicy tomato sauce and couscous. OMG, it was so delicious. I was in heaven.
My boyfriend had the kefta tangine (Ground Lamb Balls, French Green Peas & Moroccan Spices in a Light Tomato Sauce).
He enjoyed his meal, but it would be hard for anything to compete with my dish, so it seemed only average in comparison.
We finished it off with this interesting an tasty dessert. It was flaky wafers with a light, sweet and fluffy cream. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the name.
We had a late dinner so I was tired and I guess that, combined with being in la-​la land from this wonderful meal, I managed to leave my iPhone on the table. To top it off, I somehow didn’t even realize this until sometime the next afternoon. I was so relieved when I called and was told that my phone had been found and went and picked it up. Definitely a plus in my book.
I will definitely be back again (and again!).

On a Friday night this place was practically empty. Fine with me but I’m not sure why!
Not well versed in Moroccan food, the waitress led us through her favorite things. While we asked for her recommendations, she ended up describing practically everything on the menu with such enthusiasm, I didn’t really feel like she had a bad thing to say about anything. We ended up deciding on a hummus starter, vegetable tangine, and chicken couscous.
The hummus. Oh man, the hummus. With balsamic vinegar drizzled atop it was amazing. The vegetables were delicious and I couldn’t stop sopping up the sauce with extra bread. While the chicken was really dry, the couscous that lay beneath was delicious. I would definitely skip the meat all together next time and just opt for that.
The man in charge of the hookah try to peddle it to us for the last half of our meal but we weren’t biting but told him we’d definitely come back. While I’m not sure I will come back just for the hookah, the prospect of hummus to accompany it may just do the trick.

I came here the other day for some hookah and some chilling time with the gals.
The hooka that they brought out was fucking huge! It literally was like 4 feet tall, and only ten bucks! We got two of them with awesome flavors, one was lemon mint and the other was mango. Loved both.
The guys were also so sweet, kept the drinks flowing and asking us if we needed anything.
Also a huge plus: Once we left the place and walked about 2 blocks, I realized that my credit card was missing! We went back to Babouche, the guys reopened the store, turned on all the lights and helped me find it. (And this is like 1 am on a weekday) I really appreciated that! Thanks

Oh how I love Babouche… started coming here in 2008 — right before my trip to Marrakech, Morocco — so I could awaken my senses and get myself excited for the trip… Came on a Sunday night so we could take in the live flamenco… which was great… had the huge table up front with my girlfriends… and we felt like we were at home… At that time… I was still eating meat… and had the chicken tagine… which was very flavourful… along with the best tasting hummus I’d had in a very long time… and way too many other things to remember…
All of the wait staff were extremely helpful. and answered all of our questions… and they go out of their way to make you feel happy and warm… I think we had 4 pots of Moroccan Mint tea… which is my most favourite kind of tea everrrrr (then come Jasmine)…but the way they make it is unbelievabe… and it tasted EXACTLY the same when I got to Morocco… Dessert was to die for… Pastilla — which is a traditional Moroccan dessert — light/​flaky phyllo pastry with fresh cream, nuts, strawberries/​mint on top… OMG. I went back twice the next week just for it…
Bottom line. Babouche is a place that I feel so comfortable at… that I’ve gone back numerous time — alone… and had great dinners sitting up at the bar. chatting with the bartender… and have made some really great friends with the staff… (yup…we’re friends on FB now)…
Please don’t think my review is biased… if the food/​service sucked… I would tell you… ;)

You know when you’re in the mood to go out to eat and just want something different? Something other than Japanese, Thai, French or New American? Well, I recommend heading over to Babouche for some Moroccan food. When was the last time you had Moroccan anyway?
The first thing I really enjoyed about this place was the service. It was just so… personable? While the hostess forgot to give us the menus when she sat us down, she apologized profusely when we eventually asked for them and it was hard to keep a grudge. Our waitress was very sweet and most importantly honest about what she thought was good on the menu. She told us which dishes are the truly traditional Moroccan dishes that she enjoys. We decided to listen to her expert opinion, she was Moroccan after all, and ordered the couscous royal and the fish tagine (a kind of stew). Both were excellent but what really impressed us was the hummus. It was sooo good.
I also have to mention the atmosphere, which I thought was awesome. The space is beautiful and big and felt… Moroccan, maybe it was the mood lighting. The only thing that was missing was a belly dancer. Anyway, aside from the main dining area which includes a hookah smoking area upfront, there’s a lounge in the back and I think a downstairs area that can be reserved for parties. There was also a live band that was playing Moroccan music some of the time.
Overall, a very enjoyable experience.