Little Morocco Cafe — Restaurant in Burlington

We ate here last night and I must say at the top of the review that the food is outstanding! Every bite was delicious. Kudos to the chef for the delectable lamb shank. It positively melted in our mouths! It is a pricy $25 a serving for it but worth it. The big bummer is that it's a BYOB restaurant but if you BYO, they charge like you are buying it from them! There is a $9 cork fee per bottle (they hand you a cork screw to do it yourself) and $3 per beer no glass offered. It definitely deflated our enthusiasm when we received the bill despite being mentioned on the website (read that fine print before you dine folks!) And if they're going for the moneyed crowd they're going to have to do something about the lighting. There are lovely unlit hanging lamps all over the restaurant and yet the single source of light in the dining room is a glaringly bright chandelier that makes you squint if you are unlucky enough to sit facing the dining room. In the mostly empty restaurant we were not allowed to sit where we requested either - the waiter insisting we sit right next to the front door. I'm hoping the owner reads this and reconsiders the micro-gouging. Pho Hong down the street has been doing amazing business in the same neighborhood for a decade by not charging for BYO. Giving generous portions/great value and always being lovely and accommodating to the guest. Those cheap little details go a long long way to making a customer want to return. The chef at Little Morocco deserves to be beloved and the restaurant could be hopping all the time. I suspect these details are what are holding it back. I hope they catch on and thrive. Edit 10/4/19 Way to go on taking solid advice from a long time Burlington resident and also career professional chef. I have worked for small restaurants all of my adult life and i know exactly what is involved. I also know that snarky front of the house all too often blows it for the efforts of all. The reviews here for the food and service are all great and I have no doubt that you will steadily grow a well deserved customer base in this small town largely devoid of international options. But you won't stay solidly busy because of the things I mentioned. I've watched enough businesses in the O.N.E. and elsewhere come and go because of little details such as these. I didn't mean to imply that the lamb wasn't worth the price. In fact I emphatically insisted it is! The cork fees however are ridiculous. I don't begrudge you a small fee but yours are off the rails. Lastly, you chose to read this as all criticism and become defensive rather than to process it and either choose to use it to your advantage or ignore it. I made a few edits because some of your critique of my critique seemed reasonable. I toned it down. You're...

This is a nice addition to the Burlington restaurant seen.

The décor is unique Moroccan - hanging metal lanterns, photos of Morocco and shelves of clay dishes. It's dark and cozy.

We had the mixed plate appetizer - three dipping sauce with homemade pita. The sauces had very refined flavors. They were excellent.

After the appetizer, I could not wait to try the entrees. We ordered the seafood ($26) and vegetarian tangier ($16). They were served in interesting clay dishes with clay covers. Both, unfortunately, were lacking. Their flavors needed more intensity - more spice. My seafood dish was mostly white fish - 3 shrimp and bits of calamari. The rice that came with it was perfect. It was also served with vegetable side dish, we didn't care for it. It tasted and smelled like damp old wet grass. They would be better off serving more rice with the meals.

We finished with two dessert pastries (size of a medium cookie) - ground peanuts with lemon zest and chopped walnuts with honey both were powder covered pastries. The owner gave us the second dessert for free, We ate them with a wonderful sweet mint tea. Lovely!

Service was very good even thought there was only one server. He hustled and took good care of us.

They clearly have their hearts into this place and we appreciated the warmth, care and hospitality of the owner.

The reason I gave this 4 instead of 5 stars is their pricing, everything is overpriced for what you get by about $2 - $3. Our meal, without alcohol, including tip was $86 for two people. If they keep these prices, the entrees need to be a little larger and the flavors...

As my late grandmother put it simply (and felt compelled to share out loud for a visiting patron to hear at the time of dinner), the food is "delicious." Little did I know our night out almost a week ago would be the last time with her as she passed suddenly a few days later, but in hindsight I would not have picked a different place to go. Recommended by my uncle, my grandmother had wanted to give Little Morocco a try for some time. She was always up to try new flavors and appreciated the many authentic ethnic tastes offered in our diverse community. She was also a tough critic and not easy to please so to hear her positive affirmations of the food that night was a testament to the quality of cuisine offered at Little Morocco. She got the Lamb Shank, my girlfriend got the Veg Couscous and I got the Tagine. All great dishes. It wasn't too busy on a Monday night but the service was nonetheless amazing - offering us many tastes 'on the house' throughout our dinner. The name is lost on me - but get the lemon dessert pastries --- out of this world! Thank you, Little Morocco, for this last, and sure to be lasting positive memory with my grandmother. I look forward to returning to eat here once...