Casablanca Grill

First let me start by saying that I go to Casablanca Grill on average once a week as it’s by my job and in terms of my healthy eating habits, this place satisfies my needs for a great price.
However, I will tell you that the food is hit or miss in regards to preparation. There is one young gentleman, I do not know his name, attractive and athletic looking, who makes amazing sandwiches and salads. He is extremely attentive and asks you what you want, extras, sauces, etc. When he makes my order, this restaurant gets a 5, hands-​down. Unfortunately, when anyone else is making my order, inevitably things go missing. For example, I got a Greek salad two weeks ago, no tomato or onion. It’s really not that complicated and it left me very disappointed. When this happens, the restaurant is a 3.
With all that said, why did I decide to go with a 4? I have very sensitive taste buds when it comes to middle eastern spices, and I really enjoy the falafel here. It is not overpowered by cumin and allows me to taste the chickpea mixture without an overwhelming odor and taste of cumin (perhaps I should have said that I am very sensitive to cumin in particular).
The service is a bit slow, BUT, and a huge but, the person taking your order is also the one cooking your food, so my expectation is not for fast service.
If you’re looking for food a little off the beaten path, I would try Casablanca grill.

I am still living in this neighborhood (unfortunately), and hate the lack of choices around. However, I do like having Casablanca Grill to satisfy a desire for middle eastern food. I’ve stopped in for the chicken shawarma wrap or the falafel sandwich from time to time, and usually ask for an order of babaganoush because I can’t resist getting it anywhere it’s available.
Last time, I got the couscous with lamb & vegetables. I got 2 full meals out of it, and I’m not some tiny waif. It was freshly prepared, and the gentleman working the front (& back?) let me know I’d have to wait about 10 minutes. It actually was ready faster. I got my side of babaganoush, and he asked me if I wanted extra paprika and olive oil on it, so of course I said yes. My only qualm was that the babaganoush was a bit plain, and at $ 5.50 for a side of it, a bit pricey. However, they give you a HUGE portion. I wish they had a portion half the size, that truly feels like a «side», rather than as an appetizer. I also wish they would change whoever they get their pita from, as it’s only ok. It’s nice that it’s whole wheat, but I’d rather a slightly less healthy one that tastes better.
I recommend giving Casablanca a try if you’re living in the neighborhood. They’ve always been very nice, and the food is very tasty. I still haven’t tried any of the tagines, but might have to next time now that I’ve finally tried something other than the wraps.

Only if you’re on First Avenue in the low 60s, and you won’t be.
Small and shabby space. Dubious about the hygiene.
Service is inexplicably slow, for a place that was empty.
Saving grace is that the falafel is edible. And there’s nothing anywhere nearby.
Another bull~^%+} x «recommendation» from Sietsma, who never actually eats at the places that pay him.

I’m pleased to have an inexpensive take-​out/​delivery option in the hood. This one is just passable. Decent portions and fresh food, but the meat is always dry and relatively flavorless. The white and hot sauce are a good choice to cover up these deficiencies but deficiencies nonetheless. Oh how I miss my previous options right across the river in Astoria.

Fast food Middle East style. I stopped here and got carry out to take back to the Bentley. Looking for something healthy and decided on chicken kabob platter. It comes with two veggie sides so I picked the eggplant and grape leaves. All I can say, it was the best Mediterranean meal I had in a while. I got the garlic sauce on the chicken. It was so good, that I could have eaten here for every meal. Definitely give it a shot if you’re in the area, but remember it’s more fast food than gourmet.

Mediocre. The food is decent, but not worth the price tag. The quantity is also under what I am used to for most mediterranean/​kebab places. Why can’t all places be like Afghan Kebab House?!

The food is generally good, however overpriced. The chicken kabab combo with rice is really tasty as is the schwarma. The hummus and tabbelouh are kind of bland though. The hot sauce is awesome. On this past takeout order I noticed they put the meat and rice in one of the smaller sections of the container and the salad in the larger section, where in the past the chicken and rice were in the larger section and definately a more generous portion. It’s kind of ridiculous to pay $ 6 extra for a skimpy ladle of rice. $ 14+ incl tax. I think they can do better, or if they’re gonna skimp they should lower their prices.

Really nice staff. freshly made foods with great flavors. By extra you’ll want more the next night. Love the Spinach Pie, Moroccan specials and all the sides.

Saw it on Unilocal that this hole in the wall joint had awesome chicken kebab w awesome sides. So my hubs, my gf n i have decided to go there on a sunday afternoon. The sign said, «grade pending», so i didn’t want to go but decided to give it a try bc of the reviews…
When we were trying to order, the guy said we need to wait bc hed just received a large order which we understood. So we sat for a bit since we had a catching up to do w my gf. We mustve sat for ten mims or so but nothing… My gf went up then we were able to order. One guy was cooking n packing foods for delivery and serving…
After waiting for almost half an hour, food finally came out which we were excited to explore. We had ordered three chicken kebab combo which were $ 12.95 each n came w chicken kebab, rice, we picked toubouli, gabagounish?(idk how to spell it)& salad w a side of pita bread.
The only good thing out of the combo was the chicken & the rice (thank gooodness) & all the sides were bland. There was no vinegary n garlicky taste at all on none of the sides, like tabouli salad. It was just chopped up parsley w tomatoes… Salad was just salad w no seasoning at all. Mebbe a pinch of salt? Babagounish was just a mix of eggplant… W a pinch of salt…
Will i go back there again? MAY BE if i had no where else to go n im about to pass out of hunger n i happened to be right in front, then, id just order the chicken n rice n nothing else… Weve spent over $ 70 w drinks n tip… For three of us

I’ve been to this place quite a few times and have to say it’s a bit over priced but the food is generally good. I’ve had little gyros with lamb and chicken, lamb shoulder and cous cous, and lamb tangine. I’m a huge fan of lamb and have to say the lamb should and tangine are great dishes.
The lamb melts off the bone in bother of the dishes. The one major problem with tangine is that you seem to get more both than actual meet. It’s very frustrating I have to say and the bones are generally from odd areas of the animal. There is also no consistency with how much meet you get. One day I am pleasantly surprised with the serving and on other days I am left hungry after spending $ 15+ for a fish.
The service is extremely slow. Sometimes it doesn’t make sense how slow it is. Often times it’s the owners nephew or something that works there. He seems to be very young and can try hard at times but be very unprofessional as well. I guess it’s to be expected from someone his age, especially with no adult supervision to guide him in providing a consistent professional experience. Part of the mom and pop experience I assume.
Like I said the food is generally pretty good. I had to take stars of because I am always waiting 20 minutes to get my food when it’s only one other person in the restaurant. Hearing less than professional conversations from the nephew and random employees also gets to annoying when you sitting down to eat your meal. Is like sitting at a high school playground to eat your lunch. They are mildly over priced which I know keeps customers walking by. If they would be a dollar cheaper in some areas they would deadly have weekly repeat business from me.

My new favorite Falafel place. You can feel that they take pride in providing delicious, fresh, carefully yet quickly prepared food. Nice décor for a little, casual take-​out or dine-​in joint. Best option when you want fresh and healthy, cheap and fairly quick. Falafel Hummus sandwich with everything on it not only tastes amazing, it’s quite a deal for 5 bucks. Highly recommend.

I like the place, the food, and the personnel. Very nice and kind. You can enjoy delicious dishes from Morocco and North Africa. Ask for some couscous or sweets. You will not regret it.

Delicious! I got a chicken shawarma wrap, which allows you to choose 2 main ingredients to put inside in addition to a bunch of condiments. They make the meat after you order, so it’s hot and juicy. It’s probably one of the best wraps I’ve had to date. Only issue is that they were understaffed the day I went, so the ordering and paying was confusing. People were standing around confused. However, I’m glad I came because it was delicious. Also tried the baklava which wasn’t bad.
I saw some other people getting the platters, which looked delicious. Will come back if I want a quick wrap. $ 9 – 15 range.

I have never been inside Casablanca Grill, but I’ve ordered from seamless. The food is excellent, hugely proportioned, and definitely worth your money.
In a nutshell, you should order either a sandwich or a platter. The platters are HUGE and can likely provide you with two meals. The falafel is perfectly crispy and delicious and the hummus is sooo good.
The pita bread is slightly dry but it heats up well and goes great dipped in hummus.

Amazing place to share with friends at any time. The food it’s amazing and the waiters very welcoming. Also their plate presentation is great too.
Definitely a place I would comeback.
Thumb up to them!

The food is a 5 but the cleanliness is a 2. I saw that the worker was flipping the meat with the same pair of tongs that he used to scoop up all the salads. That’s definitely not sanitary and not good for vegetarians. It means all the vegetable salads are contaminated with meat and possibly salmonella if the meat hasn’t been adequately cooked. After seeing this I sadly won’t be returning. It’s a shame because like I said the food and prices are good.

Casablanca is just one block away from me, so I pick-​up dinner from there once a month. Moreso out of convenience than anything. The food is pretty uneven. The main dish, whether it’s a wrap or platter, is usually pretty good. But the sides are just okay. The hummus tastes strong of tahini, and isn’t too appetizing. Their pita bread also errs on the cardboard side.
The good news is, the food is fresh, the guys behind the counter are friendly, and they’re pretty fast. Also the food is filling.

This place is amazing. Come with an appetite because they’ll give you a lottt of foood.
I had the Shawarma platter, which came with rice, bread and two sides. Everything was good and fresh. However, don’t expect a 5 star dining experience. The staff is super friendly and polite.

Staffer up front took my order quickly and efficiently, and the grill man in the back had no problem making my falafel. Interesting — more broccoli in it than expected, but still good. The tahini wasn’t as savory as I’m used to but the red chili sauce was as hot as most other places I’ve eaten at in NYC. Much a simple fast-​food joint rather than a sit-​down restaurant (though I have seen students just eating and sitting in here a while).
The place is unassuming, and they don’t take credit cards, from what I saw, one downer. The minimum delivery amount is $ 9.

This used to be the Jerusalem Grill and had some of the best falafel and shawarma. In fact, the falafel here was voted the best in New York City. Some time over the last year, they had a change of name, and perhaps a change of ownership and management. I continued to eat here and still found their food to be very good and the people who work here to be very pleasant. Recently, however, I have noticed that their sauces that come with the shawarma and kebab platters (the white and the red sauce) are watered down and no longer taste good. Moreover, the falafel does not taste the same anymore, even though they continue to advertise the fact that they were voted as having the best falafel in the City.
I think they have a pretty easy fix on their hands, and there’s a good chance I will start eating here again (given that it’s very close to my apartment) if they start making their food the same way they did a year ago.