Clay Oven Marrakech — Restaurant in Marrakesh Prefecture

My family and I had the misfortune of revisiting Clay Oven this year, and let me tell you, it was a disaster from start to finish. We had specific requests for our dishes - mutton masala to be hot, while the rest (chicken tikka masala, butter chicken, and kebab tikka curry) to be mild with no spice at all. Seems simple enough, right?

As we entered the restaurant, my hopes were cautiously optimistic. The butter chicken and chicken tikka arrived at our table and to our relief, they were not spicy at all. The butter chicken was mediocre, scoring a solid 5 out of 10, while the chicken tikka fared better with an 8 out of 10 rating.

However, things took a turn for the worse when the kebab tikka arrived. It was burning hot, sending smoke signals that surely signaled a mistake in the kitchen. We immediately notified our waiter, who was quick to rectify the situation. In what felt like the blink of an eye, a new plate of kebab tikka was presented before us.

Excitement filled the air as we eagerly dug into our replacement dish, but it was short-lived. It tasted as though the chef had mistaken our request for mildness and replaced it with an overdose of sugar and honey. The sweetness overwhelmed our palates and left a bitter taste in our mouths. Needless to say, not a single member of my family was impressed.

We shared our disappointment with the waiter, who promptly relayed our concerns to the owner. To our dismay, the owner simply brushed it off, claiming that the marination of the kebab tikka was indeed spicy. While this may have explained the initial mix-up, it certainly did not excuse the fiery hot curry that was served to us.

Moroccans on the whole are known not to eat soicy food. We dod make this point very clear several times and was assured it will be very mild with no spice, yet was given something opposite. What did the it for me is the owners response and instead of rectifying the issue, thought its cool to brush our concerns away, and serving a curry mixed with sugar.

If you're a fan of fiery food, this might just be the spot for you. But if you prefer your meals to be mild or have a normal level of spice, then I implore you to steer clear.

As for me, I have decided that I will not be returning to this restaurant after today's experience. It was a disappointing affair, and my family and I deserve better. The Clay Oven may have been a hit-or-miss for me in the past, but this year's visit solidified its place in the "miss" category.

So, take heed and be wary. And if you happen to be craving some flavorful, non-spicy Indian cuisine, I suggest you explore other options. Trust me, there are plenty of other restaurants out there ready to cater to your taste buds without leaving you with a disappointing aftertaste. A waste of 700dh when we only...

Even the 1 star is too much. The dining experience at this restaurant has definitely left a sour taste on what has been an overall amazing trip. We ordered a range of starters which took a good while to arrive, which isn’t an issue as we would all prefer fresh food as opposed the precooked, refrigerated, and then reheated food that was served to us. Upon complaining of how cold the food was, it was taken away, put in a microwave and then served to us again. By this time, the whole party was extremely annoyed and unimpressed by the whole experience. Other things that made it worse, was the fact that they ignored repeated requests for the AC to be switched on, they would just say yes every time we asked. The water that originally asked for, turned up in the form of warm bottles of water. It was only upon requesting cold bottles that they were served. Unfortunately, the problems seem to be deep rooted, as every member of staff we spoke to up to and including the owner, denied that there were any issues with the food. They insisted that the food had been heated in a tandoor, despite it dripping with fat and oil. I can’t believe that the local authorities are letting such health hazards operate without a thought for the poor customers who are paying for the privilege of being put at risk of serious food poisoning or worse. Hopefully, management take note of these criticisms and work to rectify the serious shortcomings in their food, and customer service. Should management have any issues with the facts within this review, I shall be more than happy to discuss this with them further, instead of them trying to reply to this review with disinformation to try and mask or avert the attention to the serious...

⭐️⭐️ Very disappointed, didn’t match the reviews

We went to Clay Oven as a family (with a toddler) after reading some good reviews, but unfortunately our experience didn’t live up to the expectations.

On the positive side, the staff were attentive and friendly, and the chicken lollipop and mixed starter were tasty and enough to share. The garlic naan and butter chicken were also good.

However, the rest of the meal was very disappointing. We ordered a mango lassi (since there was no fruit juice for our child) but it wasn’t cold at all and our toddler didn’t like it. The virgin mojitos were also barely chilled, with only two ice cubes, which was surprising given the Marrakech heat. On top of that, the restaurant itself felt hot, and we had to ask to be moved near the AC unit for some relief.

The biggest letdown was the mains. The chicken curry was inedible, watery, bland, and more like tomato soup than curry. The mutton dum biryani was equally disappointing: the meat was chewy and lacked flavour. As a biryani lover, this was especially disheartening.

Overall, despite good service and a couple of decent dishes, the food quality (and comfort) did not justify the reviews or the visit. Sadly, we left disappointed. We had to request the chicken curry to be removed from the bill, which was done after requesting...