Marrakesh Mediterranean Cuisine — Restaurant in Jacksonville

SHORT REVIEW: Marrakesh is a MUST-VISIT. Don't even keep reading, just go there right now! I tried almost everything on the menu, and it was all a 10/10.

If you are someone who cherishes the authentic family-style homemade foods found in the Levant, then you will not want to miss Marrakesh, and the warm hospitality they offer.

PICTURES: All pictures are my own, and each one should be described accurately. Each of these items I ate in full, and each of them was 10/10.

SEATING: You may find some of the seating to be less than comfortable for long-term sitting if you're someone who is fussy with seats/padding as I am. If that's the case, I suggest one of the chairs around the tables, vice the bench seats.

FULL REVIEW: I had the pleasure of passing through Jacksonville, NC for a couple of weeks recently. I prefer to avoid chain/box-retail food spots, and really enjoy getting to know unique spots in an area when I visit. Marrakesh caught my eye when looking for Mediterranean styled food. I didn't take any time to look into the location, I simply drove over to give it a blind test!

As someone who grew up around Greeks/Italians -- if you get the reference you know where I'm going with this -- you'll know if the food is homemade the moment you bite into the Pita Bread and the Stuffed Grape Leaves.

The first night a friend joined me. I ordered the Grape Leaves along with a Sampler Platter -- we had the waitress choose the samplers for us.

The moment I bit into the Grape Leaves, I knew without a doubt, it was made by people who grew up in a family taught to make them the way their Grandparents did. I was instantly taken back to childhood memories of watching the Grandmothers prepare the food just before I ate as much as I could. Simply phenomenal.

The Sampler platter was amazing. My friend, who hadn't had half of the selections before at any time in his life, fell in love with each one.

Later that evening I looked at the Marrakesh website, and discovered my hunch was correct -- it's a family-run location, using their family recipes & methods!

I continued to dine and lounge at Marrakesh for the next week, and through that period was able to sample almost everything on the menu. Not once was anything short of perfection.

The environment is relaxing, warm, inviting, and uplifting. Each of the staff were an absolute delight to be around. The attention paid to each table is exactly what I'd expect such a great location to have.

I look forward to the next time I pass through -- which should be soon. I miss the friendly faces and the...

O.M.G!!! So happy to have found such a GEM. Let's break it down. Location, its great close to the mall easy to find , easy parking and good amount of parking. It's really close to a lot of different stores so stopping in wont take you out of your way.Now the ambience, so fun yet elegant the decor is so festive feel like im really getting away from the outside world. I can see this being a date night , big partys , small partys, events, or just a Tuesday night dinner kind of place. Its definitely kid friendly. When I went there was a good amount of children enjoying themselves. Comfortable chairs good spacing, no one is crammed. The sofa seating is super fun too. The lighting is absolutely beautiful. I caught myself staring at the lights a few times they are just so hypnotizing.The decor is fun to look at too. Let's talk about service. Service is great very nice attentive but not overbearing. Never had an empty drink even when it got busy. Super knowledgeable about the food and gave great recommendations to fit our wants. Now the moment of TRUTH THE FOOD. FOODGASM!!!! When I tell you I was in complete awe of the favors, textures, serving sizes, everything about it was AMAZING. I tired a number of menu items and each one was fantastic in their own way , each with a different personality but all go together.The meats were cooked perfectly and a perfect temperature when received. The salad was so fresh the veggies were cold and crisp. The Tatziki is to die for I got an extra order to take home with some pita bread. The stuffed grape leafs were so good ANNND Cornish Hen was just spectacular. My 4 year old loved the hen dish. The Cornish Hen was cooked absolutely cooked to perfection nice and tender not mushy and not dry at all.Each dish had Just the right amount of each ingredient not over stuffed with rice or veggies is was a good balance. The Beef Shawarma was very well cooked and seasoned. The flavor was something you just want to keep eating. Of course the rice was cooked and seasoned good. The BAKLAVA THHHE B.A.K.L.A.V.A!!!!!! was to die for those thin crispy layers of CRISP heaven and the perfectly executed nut mixture and syrup I got 4 to take home just for myslef lol. I sure left a happy girl and even got some merchandise a Comfortable sweater and a shirt. I'm definitely going back there's so...

I wanted to give this place a 5 across the board however my first visit had us feeling awkward as our waitress was rude and didn't seem interested in answering questions as I said it was our first time visiting so was not familiar with the menu. The food over all was very good and tasted as it should. The bad however was the fattoush salad as my side was a mere few pieces of lettuce and really was gone in about 3 bites. Portion size was the smallest side salad I've ever had in a restaurant. As was the hummus appetizer for the price is very minimal!!! I wished there had been more as it really was a very good salad with wonderful mediteranian dressing and the hummus was very good as well . My second visit was very enjoyable but again the portion of the side salad was tiny as was the hummus app. I wish I would have taken a picture. It was my sisters birthday and she ordered a piece of cake for dessert. The slice of cake was close to half a cake and had a $10 price tag!!!! Not exactly what we had in mind. the good was the baklava I recommend not missing out on this. My 3rd visit i took my husband and he does not like hummus. So I asked for a small side of hummus to go with my Shwarma sandwich and was told I would have to order the app which is very pricey they basically told me no! Have never been to a restaurant that won't give you a side of hummus. They also do not have garlic paste (toom) if you know you know!!! which for me is a must with any mediterranean restaurant and felt dissapointed they didn't have it. Overall waitresses were much nicer the second and third visit atmospher is very good and food overall is...