Dar Tajine — Restaurant in Agadir

I had read lots of good reviews of this Moroccan Restaurant and so added it to my plans, I also blame social media...

While I was walking upto this place I started getting doubts... as the place seemed too empty for something 'so good'.

So we sat down ready to start looking at the menus...

We spent good 5 minutes looking at the menu but realised there was no tagines. We then had to wait like 15 minutes to get hold of a waiter who then told us we had menus for their sister restaurant next door that do Grilled food.... wth? Great...

So we then spent what seemed like fore ever looking for a tagine dish.... The waiter, of which there were over 5 just kept charging past our table.... if we caught their eye they'd say I'm busy or one minute... and the attitude? Did we offend them by sitting in their restaurant? Did we do something to anger them?

We finally managed to grip a waiter and placed our order. While waiting we realised the table was rocking excessively... so we had to move tables..

If you read the other low star ratings you will see many other people have a big problem with their lack of service too, I didn't read these beforehand but you can...

The waiter then bought out the desert... How strange... Why would you bring out the desert over 10 mins uses before the main course?

Then we noticed few flies started flying near it... After getting fed up of shooing them away we asked the waiter to take the desert back and bring it back later....

The waiter then bought out the bread/naan like 5 minutes before the tagine... what should you do?

While I was looking at the bread... I realised it looked bad... it was definitely burnt in places... over crispy in places... Probably the worst naan bread I've had...

When the tagine finally came ( without the characteristic top I have to add) it looked kinda OK... but there was no sauce or masala...

It was packed with chopped onions and beef pieces and nothing else... I think in a way its meant to be like that but I was def expecting some kind of sauce.

The bottom of the onion base was burnt....

The beef pieces had a decent taste and there was a good amount BUT they were bad to eat to say the least... they were NOT tender they were really chewy... they were even hard to cut... did not enjoy chewing the meat pieces!

So the burnt bread was a bit pointless as this was a dry dish...

The deco was nice and I suppose I don't mind the unisex toilet... However plenty of flies to annoy you and contaminate your food...

Service is very bad and there seems to be some underlying bad attitude problem towards certain guest.. The staff are wandering around or joking with each other or attending their mobile phones .. as opposed to being attentive to their guests needs. Staff need retraining and mobile phone use limited. I even saw one of the female staff almost grope one of the male waiters privates and laughing as he backed off..

With some customers the staff seemed much more friendlier and attentive...

Upto you but I'd read the bad reviews before checking this place out.. I'd def give it a miss if I was in the area...

❌️They are sticklers for timing. We arrived at 11.40am as our taxi (the daft fella!) randomly dropped us off early and they wouldn't let us wait (bizarre) so we had to go for a walk and then - as it so happens in a foreign land - we wandered off and get lost....So we came back the next day later in the afternoon.

❌️We were not really greeted and had to ask for a table - not really customer service, sadly.

❌️As soon as you enter the outdoor seating area, it is full of flies, and it really is annoying. Anyway, it looked busy, so we thought we would give it a go as locals had recommended it.

❌️We were told to take a seat with a random gesture / wave of an arm and left to guess where to sit - we really had no idea despite asking for clarification.

❌️We sat down and had to wait and then ask for a menu.

❌️Once we received the menu, we noticed that they didn't have an English menu - not to worry, as Google Lens came to the rescue again.

✅️When we ordered, the waitress was polite and reasonably friendly. The waiter came and put out paper table cloths - not seen before - and brought out cutlery and glasses.

✅️The food was fairly quickly served - we had a beef tagine and lamb tagine with fries, fresh juice, and water.

❌️We were given bread despite asking not to be served any rice or bread.

❌️The bread just attracted 🪰 🪰 🪰

❌️We were quite disappointed.

❌️There was a lot of fat and very little meat, so the ratio wasn't right.

❌️The meat lacked flavour, and the dish had a lot of olives, peas, and onions, which overwhelmed the whole dish. Not like the other tagines we had been eating for over a week.

❌️The beef tagine was very sweet from the caramelised onions and loaded with olives 🫒 which meant I could hardly share as half of us don't like olives🤦🏽‍♀️

We were quite disappointed.

The better tagine that we had was at...

Dar Tajine restaurant in Agadir, offers a truly flavorful dining experience with its hearty servings of couscous and perfectly cooked chicken brochettes. The couscous dish I had was abundant, full of vegetables and chickpeas, and very satisfying. The surprise standout for me was the chocolate mousse—rich, smooth, and clearly made with care. It's rare to find dessert that good at a traditional spot like this. The staff were friendly, efficient, and attentive, even when the restaurant was busy, which it often seems to be.

The interior is stunning, designed in an intricate Fez style with beautifully tiled walls and traditional chandeliers. The vibrant decor creates a lively and authentic atmosphere. However, there are a few practical issues worth noting. Upon arriving, I was greeted by a massive aerosol paint cloud coming from a car painting workshop right next to the restaurant. It was a bit shocking to see, and unfortunately, some diners were sitting on the terrace nearby. Hopefully, this was a one-time occurrence.

Inside, the charm of the decor was offset slightly by the smell of smoke from the charcoal-heated tagines. It's great to have food prepared in a charcoal traditional way, but the ventilation is poor, so the smoke seems to linger, darkening the walls and even clinging to clothes.

Despite these minor drawbacks, the overall experience was positive. The food and service stand out as excellent, and I’d definitely return to explore more of their menu. If you're looking for authentic Moroccan cuisine in Agadir, Dar Tajine is worth a visit—just be prepared for the quirks that come with its traditional cooking methods...