Moroccan Bites Tajine — Restaurant in Leon Valley

I love getting the opportunity to broaden my edible horizons and try new cuisine from other parts of the world. It was in a strip mall in Leon Springs where I got the opportunity to sample some of the goods that come from Morocco by way of Moroccan bites, a new place catching the attention of the San Antonio press through positive reviews in The Current and Express-News.

Its a little more than a cafe with a few indoor seats and fewer outdoor seats. They were mostly full on the Friday evening I visited, though it never got so bad that people were waiting to be seated. The floor is manned by one poor overtasked server who was trying her best to serve everyone, but was ultimately slowing things down - I grabbed an open table as soon as I walked in, but I waited at least ten minutes before she got around to me.

Before I ordered I was served come complimentary appetizers - small bowls of lentils and chickpeas in varying tomato-based sauces. They were very similarly flavored, with consistency and a hint of spiciness being the only differentiating factors, far as I could tell, but they were tender and good.

They were not the last lentils of the meal, as I ordered an appetizer serving in an onion and beef broth, which was a more familiar presentation of the legume and ones which I munched throughout my meal. They proved to be almost too much to handle when considering the main course, the lamb and cous cous dish, prepared simply with a wonderfully braised lamb shank surrounded by a mountain of cous cous and topped with well-cooked carrot, zucchini, and potato. The cous cous was almost an impossible yellow color, thanks to a drizzling of olive oil, I think, over everything. I made short work of the vegetables and meat, though a good portion of the cous cous was left for the trash. It's a meal that's only served on Friday's, but it's worth scheduling the time - this restaurant sat on my bookmarks for over two months before I found a free Friday on which to visit.

Moroccan Bites is small - more the size of a cafe, but they're dishing out big flavors and their authenticity can't be beat. There's not a better Moroccan place in town, partly because there isn't more than two other restaurants in the city, and partly because they're very good. Sure, there may be a bit of a wait when it's busy, but when you can clearly see everyone working hard to meet demand,...

Inept but for the prices.

Our guest visiting from overseas wanted to try a Moroccan restaurant in our area after having tried one in NYC. We were 2 hours away and needed to call to make sure we would not have to drive 4 hours round trip to find the place closed or not serving lunch. A woman answered and I asked if they were open for lunch. Her answer was: "I am on the phone, aren't I"? Not a good sign. After driving all the way across San Antonio, we found the place in a dilapidated strip mall. There was an employee smoking by the restaurant door. Once inside, we wanted to check the menu first to see if my guest could find dishes he would enjoy. The waitress walked over to us and asked abruptly: "For here or to go?" I told her that we did not know yet. She turned away in a huff. The waitress was not done yet. We sat down and she came over to take our order. My guest asked if the tajine with prunes was very sweet or medium. She snapped back that he should not order that. She said that folks like him, from the Gulf states should only order lamb and rice. My friend ordered the prunes tajine anyway. I asked about the traditional Moroccan dish, Couscous. She again snapped back that Couscous is only served on Friday. I suggested that in a restaurant, all dishes listed should be served. She was upset and argued about Moroccan tradition of only serving Couscous on Fridays. This is contrary to the the legendary Moroccan tradition of being extremely hospitable. Oh no, not these Moroccans. Then the topper, when the dishes finally arrived, the food amounts were small with very little meat on two huge shank bones which took most of the space of the miniature tajine dishes used to serve. Again, these geniuses somehow missed the traditional Moroccan generosity to guests. Needless to say we left hungry, insulted and ended up paying nearly double what we should have paid for a much better meal in any other restaurant. We later found out that the place had been visited by Guy, a host of some cable TV show about diners and dives. That still does not explain the rudeness of the waitress/co-owner. The only thing I can say about the place is: stay clear. The management and staff may need years of training. One last thing, I read in other reviews that they have the gall to rent parts of the restaurant furnished in Moroccan style (in addition to paying...

I gotta say I'm quite sad to write this review. As a Moroccan, I have always loved ordering here for special occasions. Taste wise, I have not come across another restaurant in San Antonio that compares to the authenticity of this food. However, the head chef who works there really hurt my feelings. I went to ask about the portion we received in our order, it was small compared to previous times we've gotten takeout from here, so I inquired about it. One of the women was so nice to me, but the chef came and was passive aggressive, then went to the kitchen yelling about me in Darija, saying things then yelled at her staff because of me like it's my fault they are being treated that way. She was probably thinking I don't understand Moroccan dialect. I wasn't trying to be rude or angry or make anyone else upset, I just wanted the portion we've received in the past and that I saw was still being served based on other reviews pictures. A simple explanation would have sufficed, as I did not mind paying extra, I was just confused why the portions are different. I left really hurt, and I cried. The experience of this restaurant was ruined for me, and it makes me double sad that I can't enjoy delicious food happily from where I grew up anymore because I'm imagining the words she yelled about me in public that I could hear from the door even though she was all the way in the kitchen. If you want great Moroccan flavors, there is no shortage of that here. Please don't think this chef's behavior is a representation of Moroccan culture, it isn't. The woman who was kind to me and the waiters who are welcoming, that is the hospitality of Morocco. For reference, Vegetable Lamb Tagine is below. Tasted great, just wish it would've had more vegetables. She was very insistent to me and her staff that you only get 4 potatoes, 4 carrots, and 4 peas. I didn't technically get 4 carrots, but that's besides the point. More vegetables cost extra, just so y'all know. I should add that the nice woman who talked to me first did give me extra carrots; unfortunately it was at the expense of being publicly berated in front of customers and staff by the chef while I...