Marrakech Cafe

Here is the message posted on the restaurant’s website.
«Marrakech Café endeavors to bring authentic Moroccan cuisine to Kansas City.
.Announcement
We apologize to our customers for closing Marrakech Café at the current location. Odors from the adjacent rug store overwhelmed the dinning area of the restaurant. We will update you with the new location of the restaurant as soon as possible.
Marrakech Café Management»
The food here was amazing, every single item we ordered. We had a party of three and ordered nine different items on the menu and all tasted each others, it was spectacular! I can not wait to here where they might be re-​opening.

I set up a Unilocal account just to come review this place. I ate there for the first time yesterday, and while I want to emphasize that the food was delicious, the management has permanently lost my business.
When my best friend and I got to the restaurant and were seated by our very friendly waiter, we told him ahead of time that we each had purchased a Groupon voucher for the $ 10 for $ 20 deal. He told us he’d run them at the end of our meal. We went on to enjoy some tasty couscous, salmon, lentil soup, mint tea, and baklava. Although Moroccan will never be my favorite, it’s definitely some of the better food I’ve had lately.
However, things went downhill when we requested our checks. Both my friend and I presented our waiter with our Groupon vouchers, but when he came back, he told us that the manager was refusing to honor both vouchers. We asked our server to please remind the management we were paying separately and had purchased two separate vouchers. When he came back the second time, he said the management wouldn’t budge.
In the end, I let my best friend use her voucher, since she’d found the deal, but it completely ruined my night because it cost all the money I had budgeted for our evening out. Including what I paid for the Groupon and tipping the server 20 percent (I obviously wasn’t going to penalize him for stingy managerial decisions) I spent $ 40 when I should have only had to pay $ 20. If I’m going to spend that amount, I’d rather go to a restaurant that justifies such a price tag.
Needless to say, Marrakech Café’s decision to be tight-​fisted about honoring the Groupon that they signed up for guarantees I will never encourage anyone to patron their establishment, ever. I did call Groupon and complain, so I should get my money back, but I’m warning everyone to be aware that they now have a pattern of behavior of refusing Groupons.
Bottom line: eat at your own (financial) risk. The food IS good, but that’s no excuse for a business owner to cherry pick when to honor coupons.

We went because we had a Groupon, and we were glad to discover it! We got the sampler appetizer platter and two entrees. It was plenty of food (we were stuffed), and the bill with 2 mint teas was $ 55 (before the Groupon). I ordered the beef tagine — a kind of pot roast in a sweet stock with apricots, prunes and hard boiled eggs. It was really delicious, but I was glad to have a few bites of my husband’s mixed grill entrée to cut the sweetness of mine. I think it’s best to share this dish.
The server was very friendly and helpful in suggesting what to order. And she was great about keeping our mint tea flowing! The décor is very nice, too.
The food was very good and the flavors were interesting and unique. The prices are maybe a tad bit high, but not unreasonable. We’d like to come back with friends.

Marrakech is in a street side location in the Westport area of KC. We’ve dined there three times over the last year. The food is invariably of high quality and the service is friendly and informative. Go ahead and ask for specialty dishes not shown on the menu; they may have them, but in any case ou will get a complimentary response. Three of us ate tongiht and shared dishes. We had an appetizer dish with eggplant, peppers and carrots, with charmoula sauce, and an order of mussels in a special sauce (best dish of the evening). We also had for main courses a lamb tajine with kalamata olives, a bastiche (chicekn filled pastry with light sugar powder coating, and marguez (sausage) with couscous. This is a traditional restaurant, so you will have a choice of tea, mint tea (Middle Eastern style), Pepsi or water. Parking on the street or nearby side streets. Price very reasonable.

Marrakech is a great option for a casual and fun night out. I’ve been a couple of times now, and the food has always been excellent. The most recent time I came with an out of town colleague, and although I had previously had good experiences, I was a little concerned that she wouldn’t like it. A mixture of host jitters and the fact that she’d never had Moroccan I guess.
Anyway, I shouldn’t have worried. She was blown away. :) The portions are a good size for the price. They aren’t the largest ever, but I think many restaurants serve too much anyway. I have always felt as though I got my value’s worth at Marrakech. The service is solid too, no complaints there.
It was nice to see more folks dining out on my last visit, I really hope that Marrakech is here to stay.

Mmmmoroccan!

I am sorry not to agree with some of the reviews. I gave them two chances and they flunked both. Portions are and were «meager». I am not a hog but I literally had to go get more food elsewhere for –lunch!!!
I got lentil soup and kofte combo. My cup of soup was half full, almost cold and the kofte sandwich was dry and mildly warm:(
Two friends who came stated the same — one got kofte with fries, the other chicken sandwich… dry and cold…
Last time we went they were recently opened. We went for lunch. No lunch menu and they charged for each tea cup of mint tea. Dude… I am from Turkey… I know tea doesn’t cost that much!!!
We told them to have a lunch menu cause paying ten bucks for lunch was too much. They said they are working on it. That was 6 months ago…
And…both times the place is a ghost town. This is entry to Westport during lunch for goodness sake… maybe I should have listened to the «signs»

This café is a jewel on Broadway! I always feel like I went on a mini vacation after a visit! The mint tea is a new addiction! The saffron rice is delightful. The lentil soup and ½ beef kafta special is the best pick two in town. The hospitality is beyond compare! If you are looking for a stay cation just head down Broadway!

it’s been two years that everytime I pass by the Marrakech Café I want to stop and eat a couscous. I’m orginally from France and always loved the Moroccan traditional food… I was just worried that I will find in this restaurant another «americanized» exotic restaurant!
Far from that it was delicious… not too heavy spicy enough, flavorful, colorful… the owner (I guess he was the owner) was incredibly friendly… and he spoke to me in French… It was kinda sad to see there was no one but it was election day… Anyway,
We started with the SAMPLER PLATTER and it was the perfect size for two to start with… Everything was absolutely delicious. The semolina of my Marrakech Couscous was exquisite, soft, not dry (which is usually the problem with bad semolina), the chickpeas were great and the chicken was rostaed perfectly… My husband got the Couscous Merguez and the «Merguez» (spicy sausage) was excellent not overcooked, not over spiced, just flavorful and delightful.
We got the backlava as a desert and the only thing I didn;t like was the banana syrup which was too sugary for me…
i HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS PLACE… I wish more people would explore… Thanks again to the chef and our waiter (the owner???)
PS: I corrected your website address it should be working now!

The food here is GREAT! I came here for lunch one day and got the Royal Couscous which included chicken, lamb and beef. Since I’m not really a beef eater I asked if I could swap the beef with shrimp and they exchagned it with no problem.
The place was clean and had some nice music, but the décor could use a make-​over to give it more of a Moroccan feel. The waiter was cool and the prices were very reasonable. They also have a groupon available for dinner that I plan on using in the near future.
The only downside to the restaurant is that you have to step out of the restaurant, into a hallway, to get to the bathroom (not that big of a deal). This was my first time trying Moroccan food and I will definitely be trying it again soon.

What’s to love?
MOROCCAN TEA
Outside seating with prime viewing for people watching
Beet salad
If for anything, go for the tea!
They recently started using the Spot On loyalty cards

One of the indices I use for food quality is how good the leftovers are the next day. And my couscous and chicken was awesome.
I met a couple friends here for a meal before Shakespeare in the Park this last week and had a wonderful meal.
Be prepared for slow, inattentive service. It was hard for me to be hard on her because she’s easy on the eyes, but my female companions were less forgiving. :-)

Some friends and I have a tradition. We attend a local art class and follow it up by trying a new restaurant. Typically we like to try something that no one in the group has had before and the more we stretch the better. I’ve driven past Westport Road and Broadway numerous times, but until one winter day, I hadn’t noticed the quaint Merekesh Café tucked just south of the bustling bar district.
We arrived to find a cozy atmosphere with soft music playing in the background. The place was not busy, but you could tell the folks who were here were thoroughly enjoying themselves. It was quiet, but not awkward to have conversation. Perfect for our Wednesday evening dinner.
Not having had Moroccan food before, I asked our server to give me whatever he suggested. We got the sampler appetizer plate and I had the lamb coos-​coos. The chicken skewers in the sampler were both cooked perfectly, but also seasoned exactly how I would like. The Taktouka which is basically green pepper and tomato salad was incredible.
I cannot continue on to the main course without mentioning the hot tea which I drank. It was unlike anything I have had before, minty, a little sweet, but so refreshing, great on the cool day we were there. (For the summer visitor they also have iced tea which is similar but adds rosewater, also very refreshing I am sure!)
When the main course arrived I could not have been more pleased. I love lamb, and am very picky about it. This was cooked to perfection the addition of braised vegetables which included zucchini cabbage and yellow squash amongst others simply hit the spot.
We all left feeling content, but not stuffed. The food was incredibly flavorful, but also felt very fresh. I’d highly recommend a trip to Marrakech Café, you won’t be disappointed.

We’ve been in twice and both times the food has been fantastic and the service perfect. We’ve had several rice and couscous-​based entrees; lamb, chicken and fish. All of them have been delicious. I didn’t mind the banana mango touch on the baklava — I’m wondering if they cut down on the sauce. The mint tea is wonderful, too.
The clincher for the fifth star for me — they deliver. We just called in an order and it appeared at our door in 30 minutes. Everything was perfect. So few places in KC deliver; Marrakech is going to be getting a LOT of our business.

I enjoyed dinner here last night as part of a special, somewhat off-​menu, family style service for a party of about 25 – 30 people.
Service was great, they handled our party with ease. The food was amazing. We started with a combo-​plate of cold veggies and rice. My favorites were the spiced carrots, roasted beets and the rice with tuna and lemon.
The next tasty course that arrived was a HUGE plate of veggie-​studded couscous with saffron sauce and topped with chick peas. I could have eaten that and been perfectly satisfied, there was a lot of it so I was lucky enough to score a take home box. I’ll be enjoying that for lunch today.
The mains arrived. Fish tangine and rack of lamb. The fish was my favorite but the lamb was good too. No leftovers there, we went after that rack of lamb Flintstones-​style, that made for some great fabcebook pics. :)
For dessert we were treated to two different baklava, one had a banana flavor to it. My only complaint here is that it would have been nice to have my knife back for cutting the many layers of buttery phyllo dough. The rich sweetness of this was followed up by a perfect pallet cleanser of mint tea.
It’s BYOB so bring your favorite bottle and enjoy! We are looking forward to a return trip soon.

My husband and I have been to this restaurant twice now. After going once, we knew we would be back, if only just to bring the other foodies (and non-​foodies) in our circle of friends and family.
The staff is very friendly and attentive. The atmosphere is relaxed and casual with a Moroccan theme (fitting for the food, egh?). Some nights, most likely Friday or Saturday (it was a Saturday for us); you may have live entertainment/​music. The weeknight (Wednesday/​Thursday?) that we went in, we did not have live music, but it was also a less busy evening.
The Moroccan Mint Hot Tea is dangerous/​addictive; I highly recommend that you order it when you come in.
On both occasions, we have enjoyed the Appetizer Sampler = plenty for 3 people and all components tasty (each person may have a favorite).
Entrees (all plentiful in portions) that we have enjoyed to date:
Beef Tajine (beef roast/​brisket with figs and apricots in a broth that has hints of cinnamon, comes with pita bread), Lamb Shank (probably the least amount of meat) and Roasted Cornish Hen. We have ordered the Beef Tajine twice as we tried on our first visit and wanted my Dad and Step-​mom to try it when they came for a visit. Both the lamb and hen were served with yummy vegetables and rice. I found all three dishes to be quite yummy, but the parentals preferred the Cornish Hen. My step-​mom packed up the left-​overs from her hen for me to eat later in the week… but my dad got into it either overnight or early the next morning before anyone else got up for breakfast.
We find the Baklava to be large enough to split between two people. Of course, this is after we split a appetizer sampler and a beef tajine between two people before we get to dessert (how we save room for it).
We’ve been told that you can special request/​order Chicken Pastel ahead of time, so we may do that next time… if we plan it ahead of time that is! We were also told that it maybe added to the menu sometime in the future!
They are currently BYOB… they do not serve alcohol, but other patrons seem to be aware of this fact and we bringing in their own bottles of wine.
Now, if only they had belly dancers like another Moroccan restaurant in DC which goes by the same name (they also have their restaurant set up to serve just a 7 course meal… but that has limited customization options).

We fell in love with Moroccan food in Orlando and was pleasantly surprised to find this place in KC. We had a large group and they accommodated us well. The mussel appetizer was the best we had since in Maui. The sample platter was really good too. Gave us just enough variety. I loved the warm pita triangles. The couscous was excellent! It was moist and flavorful — best we’ve ever had. I split the lamb and the cornish hen with a friend. Lamb just fell apart and melted in your mouth. The hen was moist and bigger than I expected! My rice was not a good as the couscous but still good. Vegetables cooked to perfection. All 12 in our party loved their food.
It’s BYOB people. Don’t be afraid to take in it. The staff is so nice and very accomodating. They brought us ice in glasses for our drinks and whatever else we needed. They are working on their liquor licenses but until then take your own.
The place is nothing fancy and bathroom is very very small and located in the kitchen. If you can look past these things, you will have a great meal! We’re definately fans and will be going back as often as we can.

Thanks to a $ 25
voucher I purchased for $ 2, I tried Marrakech Café again for next to nothing. Note they are still honoring the vouchers but will be switching to Groupon in the future.
Daniel H wrote a detailed review regarding what we ordered this trip, so I want to focus on the food that I tried. The carrot and eggplant in the sampler were spiced very nicely though I wish they were served warm. I am not familiar if it is traditionally served cold or warm so be prepared if you are expecting piping-​hot veggies in the sampler.
The cous cous was light and fluffy with a hint of butter. However, some of the veggies that came on top of the cous cous were a bit tough and fibrous. On the other hand, the carrots were perfectly done and tender. With an order of cous cous, you have the choice of soup or salad. I opted for the lentil soup and it was nicely seasoned.
Since my last visit, they have added more decorations and the restaurant now has a more homier feel. However, the ambiance inside is still a bit lacking and our table was rickety. We sat next to the shared wall between Marrakech Café and the rug store next door. I could definitely still smell the mothballs.
However, I don’t come here for the ambiance. I come for the food. The service here is still excellent as well.

3.5 stars.
I came here with my friend, Lilian O. and her friend to eat dinner. We arrived probably around 5:37pm and it wasn’t busy. Of course, that time would be too early for most people to eat dinner at. The place was small and it looked like it was painted recently (probably not though). Our waitress was nice and seemed like she was shy (awww lol).
We ordered the Marrakech Sampler ($ 9.95) to share as an appetizer. I ordered the Beef Kabob ($ 12.95), Lilian O. ordered the Vegetarian Couscous ($ 12.95), and her friend ordered the Beef Tajine ($ 14.95). We waited a pretty long time before we got our Marrakech Sampler. I’m not sure if it was because it took a long time to prepare or that other tables’ orders were in the process of being cooked. Whatever the case, I tried the chicken skewers and they were pretty good.
After we finished the Marrakech Sampler, we waited a little bit longer for our food to come. My Beef Kabob was tough to chew on some of the pieces. The safron rice and vegetables tasted good though. They somewhat compensated for the beef on the skewer being tough to chew. Other than that, it was a good place to eat at if you haven’t tried Moroccan food.

AMAZING! The quality of food and service was outstanding. Definitely exceeded my expectations! Very flavorful and nice size portions. Will be returning frequently and telling friends!
Also, if you like baklava… You are definitely going to want to give it a try!!!