Marrakech — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

Overall Thoughts: I had high hopes for this homey family-owned restaurant, but was a bit disappointed in the duller flavors of the dishes. Taste is personal, but I would've preferred the flavors and spices to have been more robust and vibrant. Additionally, I felt the prices were quite high for the portions; for 2 people, it was $40 pp. While we were full afterwards, it was more so due to all the pita bread they provided with each dish; the dishes themselves were kind of small. The service was also pretty slow (took 2 hours from start to finish), but the owner and son working there were both super sweet and friendly. Judging from all the good reviews, I'm hoping that they were just having an off-day when I went. I was between 3 and 4 stars, but gave it a 4 as I'd still be willing to give it another try in the future.

Food I tried: Marrakech Deal Appetizer (Zalook, Taktouka, Carrots Ala Chermoula, and Bakoula) (4.4/5): This was among my favorite dishes from what we ordered. I especially liked the zalook (smokey, charred eggplant flavors), bakoula, and taktouka salads.

Moroccan mint tea kettle (4/5): The mint tea was pretty good. We asked for sugar on the side but they put it in, which was not a big deal. It's pricey for the serving though-- just 2 small glasses each for $10.

Marrakech in Tagine (3.5/5): I was kind of confused here because the dish didn't come with any of the ingredients listed on the menu (i.e. the tomatoes, olives, etc.) except for the fries and lamb shank. Although the fries were very tasty and crispy, the other veggies were sorely needed to balance out the flavors and textures which eventually got too dry / salty. The lamb was very tender with the meat falling off the bone, but overall, its flavor was mild and I wish it were more flavorful.

Harira Soup (3/5): This was a super small soup for $8, which felt overpriced. It tasted just okay, and quite bland overall.

Price (relative to peers): 3.7/5 Food: 3.7/5 Ambience: 4.6/5 Service: 4.2/5 Overall...

If you’re expecting fast food or big sweaty cooks at an open grill, this isn’t the place for you.

If you’re ready for some authentic, cook-to-order homemade Moroccan cuisine in a quaintly decorated restaurant, you’ve found just the place. We came in with no expectations, even got a little impatient while waiting for the food, but then had the most pleasant surprise once we took our first bite.

The Moroccan mint tea wasn’t just a pretty pot, it was fragrant without being overpowering, sweet but not cloying, flavorful but subtle. The seafood pastilla appetizer was a rich medley of fresh seafood wrapped in perfectly crispy phyllo pastry. The mixed grill contained a plate of well-seasoned meat that perfectly complimented the star of the show - couscous. I honestly never thought much of couscous ever until I had it here. Then came the veggie tagine. Make no mistake, it is NOT vegetarian. It’s a slow-cooked fall-off-the-bone lamb shank with some vegetables just so you can pretend to feel healthy. Needless to say, we cleared all our plates.

We had a really nice chat with the owner after our meal, where he reminisced his younger years growing up in Casablanca, boasted about his capable wife (aka executive chef of the restaurant) and hardworking son (aka our server), and showed us tea and couscous that they use, imported straight from Morocco.

They just recently opened during the pandemic, so they are still pretty quiet. Definitely come support them so I can continue to have amazing Moroccan food in my neighborhood! Just remember to bring an interesting date so you have plenty to talk about while waiting...

It is not clear to me how this place stays in business. They can't turn tables on busy nights and they are only open for dinner. And the food is decidedly mediocre.

As others have commented, this place is SLOW. But in ways that don't make sense. Why do I have to ask for water after 20 minutes? Why not bring my simple appetizer out to at least keep me sated even if the mains will take longer? It was about 45 minutes from ordering to seeing our first plate of food and the rest soon followed, but they could have paced that much better. A larger group near us had it it even worse and were audibly annoyed

As for the food, completely unmemorable. The pastilla is the only thing worth recommending. The lamb tagine was a nicely braised shank, but it's tiny, needed a huge hit of salt and the dried apricots seemed thrown in after the fact. This combined with a lack of any spices left a very underwhelming dish.

I don't understand the amazingly good reviews at all as reading other reviews suggest this is not an isolated experience. I recall a much better...