White House Tajine — Restaurant in Lower Merion Township

Very small place! Made a reservation the day before for 5 adults and 2 kids for a Sunday afternoon and we were the only ones in the restaurant for almost an hour (only 1 small group of 3 after that until we left). The food was OK but we waited more than 1 hour for the food. We also got appetizer plates for 2 (5 different appetizers for 2 people) while waiting and those were the smallest portions I have seen so far. 2-3 group members received their food in 40 minutes or so but the last 2 main entrees arrived almost 70-80 minutes later. Moreover, the owner (waiter/manager? We only saw one person during all our time) was pushy and made us uncomfortable. He made one of our group members(female) choose spanakopita (really pushed for it even by offering to change it if she did not like it after tasting) and after 20-30 minutes came back and changed it to pastilla (did not even offer a reason for change) without asking her opinion (by the way, pastilla was not good and more than half of it was not eaten even after other group members tasted it). He asked us about desert and we said we would not order. In the end, he brought a plate of baklava to our table and just left it. We thought maybe he was being nice and offering for free (which is somehow common in middle eastern restaurants outside the US , especially in the middle east) since we did not order it. When I paid in the end though, baklava was included in the bill. We just wanted to get out so did not even argue because he literally hovered overhead very closely physically when I was paying the bill and deciding on the tip percentage. This behavior made everybody very uncomfortable in our group. As for the food, it was mainly OK but overpriced in my opinion. This was a place we all wanted to try because we all love Moroccan food and based on the reviews we read but I do not think I will ever go there again.

Update: I am not claiming anything about anyone but it is surprising that some reviews published right after mine interestingly mentions the staff person as wonderful by name. I usually check reviews for many services especially the low scores to see what are the problems I can come across and it is very easy to identify the legitimate ones and I find those extremely helpful. However, since reading about many reviews by reviewers who were paid to write good reviews on different platforms, I must say I am losing my confidence in the 5-star reviews even if many may...

This restaurant is, quite frankly, the epitome of charming. The decor is clearly done by hand, the painted stenciling slightly askew, the front window a darling mishmash of brocade and little sparkling candle-lamps and the odd hookah. A large mirror on the far wall stands like some magic portal in the back of a slightly chintzy bazaar, lending an airiness to the room along with the natural light from the wide front window.

We were greeted by the proprietor, who learned all of his cooking from his mother and now shares the kitchen with his wife. Determined to ensure every visitor is treated to a flawless experience, he brought bottles of water and then proceeded to tour us through the menu, giving sound advice indeed on where to begin (and to end) the meal. Chatty and teasing, he is wonderful to talk to, but also knows when to vanish again and let you enjoy your food.

And you Will.

Sweet heaven.

The caliber of the food brought to our table is far higher than a glance at the tables on the patio or the slightly drippy geometric patterns on the wall prepares you for. The plating was frankly lovely, and the flavours were absolutely to die for, from the lemony, garlicky eggplant to the sizzling, olive-studded chicken tagine. I came looking specifically for the pastilla, and the cinnamon-and-sugar-dusted, chicken and almond-stuffed pastry did not disappoint. Ultimately, the three of us could not finish everything, so a few scraps of leftovers, and a significant amount of baklava got packaged to go home. I recommend it, honestly, let the experience last as long as you can.

So- We live hours south of this precious little place with its long couches and little round bolster pillows, but we Will be back. I'm sure I can find some sort of excuse in the area to make my way...

The food is absolutely AMAZING! The reason why I took a star off is because the older gentleman who serves as a waiter took a call in the middle of me ordering my food - one of the other workers came to take the phone from him so he could continue taking our order and he gave her attitude. I wasn't done ordering when he took off to another table and then to the back when I tried getting his attention he told me he'd be right there and it took another 10 minutes before he finally came to the front again and at that point when I tried to order he told me to hold on and made a call then took a call when the phone rang (asked that person rudely what their name was) and then after about another 8 minutes finally said to me you wanted the veggie couscous (umm yes I did) so why did he have to do all of that other stuff before helping a customer who was already sitting down in the restaurant and had already placed half their order. It was very bizarre. At the end the younger gentleman who I believe is the son of the owners charged us for the bottled waters that they provide - we didn't get charged the last time and my thoughts are if that's all the water you're going to serve you shouldn't be charging your customers - I was charged for 3 water bottles. When the last entree I was able to order got to me other tables that had sat and ordered way after me had already gotten their food which I thought was odd and didn't like that.

The other thing that I didn't like was that I ordered one of their Tajine food items and they brought that Tajine out without the top, I had to ask for it and I shouldn't have to do that.

I have definitely recommended people to this place because of the amazing food but the hospitality definitely needs...