Tajine: Organic Moroccan-inspired Vegetarian restaurant — Restaurant in Santa Fe

People: there are dignitaries in our midst. Two beautiful young men from Casablanca have opened up a little gem of a Morrocan restaurant inside Body. There's Arab hospitality and then there's North African hospitality...warm smiles, open hearts, and the most delectable dishes you'll ever taste! Gluten-free and vegan options are prominently featured and you'll never miss the wheat or the meat.

The mezze (sampler) is out of this world. Familiar themes are present (hummus, cucumber salad, felafel) but the nuances are inspired and unique. We couldn't stop exclaiming with delight over the freshness of the food. This panorama of perfectly balanced flavors satisfied my dining companion and me to the point where we worried that we'd ordered too much. But when our chickpea and lentil soup arrived, we were entranced with its comforting, subtle spice profile and its creamy vegan goodness. I had to keep holding the bowl up to my nose so I could revel in its aroma.

The next dish was a bastilla, a stuffed filo dish. This dish was very rich and we were definitely stuffed, but the intriguing flavors kept us eating beyond our capacity. Fresh mint tea was a balm for overindulgence. We had considered ordering the tajine but were concerned that it might be too sweet for us (it contained dried fruit, which is customary). The couple sitting next to us later shared that it was not at all overly sweet, so we'll be sampling this choice next time.

Tajine is only three months old and will quickly gain in popularity. It's authentic, affordable, charming, and they play soulful Middle Eastern music that really underlines the ambiance. The presentation is artful.The service is prompt and enthusiastic.

Malik and Zakariya have done a terrific job. They clearly invest pride and passion into showcasing their native cuisine. The Santa Fe restaurant scene has truly...

The atmosphere in the small restaurant is nice. There's not much space and some tables have very low seating, we were lucky to get one at normal height. The food tasted good, it's not the "classic Moroccan restaurant tajine" with meat, couscous etc. That could be a bad or good thing depending on your preference. Staff was very friendly. The reason for the "meh" rating is that the portion size was VERY small. We had the tajine for two which was advertised as a main course and I - a woman of average appetite - was very glad I still had some cereal bars in the car because I was still hungry. The portion size would have been adequate for one person and the price was $27 (for two) for the vegetarian dish. If we were talking about exotic ingredients that are difficult and expensive to source in the US that might be reasonable but it was mainly things like green peppers, zucchini, peas, carrots, quinoa and pita bread - pretty cheap stuff.

The chef was very busy chopping tons of vegetables, looks like it's all 100% made from scratch. Still, can I get a few more pieces of those inexpensive vegetables please? At the very least call the tajine an appetizer, so we know what...

This the hidden gem of Santa Fe. Maybe our best meal after living here for a month. We had the Mezze for 2 and the Tajine for 2, and both had wonderful flavors and a variety of spices without being hot spicy (though you could add harissa if you wanted to). We’re normally big meat eaters but we’re very, very happy with the vegetarian dishes here.

The Mezze came with falafel, eggplant, salad (outstanding flavor), hummus, and very good hot pita bread.

The Tajine was a delectable and we loved the presentation of it in the traditional clay pot. It had slow cooked vegetables (carrots, zucchini, sweet potatoes, etc) and was partially sweet with dates.

But the highlight was the Moroccan mint tea, served traditionally in glasses and poured from high up. I haven’t had tea that good in awhile (and yes I go to the Teahouse).

Warning — this is a BYOB restaurant, so bring your bottle of wine with you (and save money).

Will...