Marrakesh Restaurant

Any of the 5-star reviews that you read about this place had to have either been paid for, or were posted by restaurant management. more

Went there for the first time (will NOT be the last time) and I love this place! I've done some traveling in the Mediterranean & Middle East and the atmosphere and cuisine are very authentic. Everything was perfect - the service, the ambiance, and the food. I'm just stymied by the reviews saying the service is slow, because we walked in the door at 7 and out the door at 8. An hour is a PERFECTLY reasonable amount of time to spend on a restaurant dinner. We didn't feel rushed, nor were we left waiting. The waiter was VERY attentive and friendly, but without ever becoming an annoyance. The little touches like handwashing at the table gave the experience a wonderfully exotic flair. And the food was delicious. At $20/person for a 5-course meal, we were happy with the value for our money. Portion sizes were satisfying. Overall a really fun dining experience and one I'd recommend to anyone. We were already talking, right AT the table, about who else we'd like to bring there and share the experience with! YES, it's a fixed menu. You choose your entree, but you have no say in the soup, salad, appetizer or desert. That's how this restaurant operates and it's part of what makes it unique, so go in with your eyes, and mind, open. If you're a dyed-in-the-wool yokel (like some other reviewers apparently are) who has no interest in trying new things or broadening your cultural horizons, who only wants to able to pick and choose at random from a vast menu and have your food delivered immediately, then I have one word for you: McDonald's. (Alternatively, Burger King, Carl's Junior, Jack In The Box, and Wendy's are all fine dining establishments that will suit your needs perfectly.) BUT if you want to step outside the ordinary and have a really cool cultural experience as well as a very satisfying dining experience, then give it a try! We totally dug Marrakesh! more

The food is incredible, the atmosphere is incredible, even the decor is incredible! I'm absolutely in LOVE with the Marrakesh restaurant! more

Went last night with my boyfriend and had an amazing time! I had read all the other reviews and wasn't sure what to expect, but I loved every minute of it! The food was excellent, the service was excellent, the ambience was excellent! You won't be disappointed...don't go there if you are in a huge hurry...this is a place to go and slowly enjoy your food. There are no utensils but that is part of the fun...Try it once just for the cultural experience, and I bet you will go back! more

The owner is an amazing person who my boyfriend and I both love to talk to. The food is great, and although it takes a while to finish the meal, it is well worth the wait. It is also not 20 dollars a dish. It is 18 dollars for a five course meal. It is amazing if you are not one of the stuck up Americans that have reviewed this restaurant. FYI, America is not the best country in the world, there are others, and honestly from what the owner has told me, Moroccans have some systems that are much better than ours. The food is delicious, but different from the usual American foods, which it should be. I would disregard any negative comments and experience it for yourself. Just have an open mind and an empty stomach. Pros: Awesome service, fun talks with the owner, great food Cons: The people who go there expecting an american chain more

Where to start . . . It's a run down building. One guy does everything. Seriously. He plays host, cook, server, etc. It takes an hour to get your food. It takes 30 minutes in between each awful course. All the food is cheap canned food from the grocery store, but it's 20 bucks a plate. It's dirty, the silverware/plates are dirty, etc. Truly awful in every way!! Pros: The laughs my wife and I still get about how terrible it was Cons: Everything - terrible food, unsanitary, over priced, rip off more

I have never had such a bad experience at a restaurant. I thought waiting an hour at Catacombs once was bad, but this surpassed that time by leaps and bounds. We had to wait 15 minutes to be taken to a table because the owner is also the host and server--he might also be the cook, too. It took about another 20-30 minutes just to get our drinks and place our orders. Over the next THREE HOURS we were served a total of five mediocre (at best) courses. The salad was good, but the soup tasted like a liquid salt lick with some lentils thrown in. When we FINALLY got our entree after 2.5 hours it was boring, and the lamb in my boyfriends' dish was overcooked. The tomato-based salmon dish I got was simple, and not in a good way (especially after the wait). The baklava was chilled and soggy. Wtf? Not to mention, the owner is a creep. There was a table of 4 women near us, and he was really handsy with one of them (no, he didn't know them), to the extent that he was feeding her by hand and rubbing her back. Not very professional. There is absolutely NO REASON this should have taken 3 hours. It was a waste of time and completely anticlimactic because the food was nothing special, or even unique. Apparently they are moving to Division & Sharp soon. They would be better off closing for good. Cons: touchy-feely owner, mediocre food, slowest service ever more

My wife and I had wanted to try Morrocan food for some time but found the outside appearance of the Marakesh restaurant was wanting. However, making reservations for the Marakesh Restaurant is well worth the effort. Our dining experience here was not only a delicious meal in an exotic atmosphere but a delightful cultural experience as well. Our host was attired in a traditional outfit and treated us with dignity and respect. He was most helpful in instructing us in our first Morrocan dining experience. After being seated at a low table on a comfortable hammock (my wife chose the cushioned seat in a more common position) we washed our hands at the table with the assistance of our host. Next we had the Morrocan mint tea with our lentil soup that was both refreshing and satisfying. The meal continued with a surprising dish consisting of eggs and light pastry. The third course was mixed fresh vegetables and bread seasoned with tasty spices. There is a special way to eat this and our host showed us how. Utensils are optional but we chose to enjoy the food in the manner of the country. The main course is a choice of dishes made from lamb, chicken, beef or completely vegetarian. My wife and I each chose a different dish so we could better sample their offerings. Mine was chicken with plums and honey while my wife chose a braised chicken dish with rice. Both were exceptionally surprising, exotic, and delicious. Desert was an excellent baklava and tea. We washed our hands one more time as we finished the meal and listened to the music of the country. It was a slow night at the restaurant and we had an opportunity to enjoy some enlightening conversation with our host. There is no doubt in our minds that we will return to the Marakesh again. There are still many items on the menu that appealed to us and we want to sample them all. The food was plentiful and tasty. The service was exceptional. We highly recommend this restaurant for its food, interior atmosphere, and great service. Pros: Food, Atmosphere, Service Cons: What's not to like? more

If your expecting a typical American style restaurant and are unwilling to accept anything different, then don't go there. Olive Garden or Red Robbin will be sure to accommodate you. If you want something different and refreshing, then this is the place! The food is wonderful and strange, the staff is knowledgeable and charismatic, the ambiance is very romantic. There are no utensils, you must eat with your hands....so don't be lame and ask for a fork. I recommend sitting on the floor, it's easier to eat that way. The whole experience is unconventional and strange, but wonderful! Pros: Unique and Authentic more

First we waited for 20 minutes to be seated in a nearly deserted restaurant. Then we did not receive any kind of acknowledgment from our waiter for about another half hour and no water or beverages for the first hour we were there. Then the waiter decided to come onto the women we were with and spew his philosophy on sexual identity issues over the next two and a half hours. In the end my credit card mysteriously had $15 extra charge on it when I checked my bank balance. Outrageous!!!! more

Yes, the restaurant is very unique - the music, the seating, the hand washing - but that is where the good experience ends. First of all, there were only 3 things on the menu at $17.50 for a 5 course meal. There were 3 of us - ok, we ordered each a meal. First, the tea -- I'm not sure if it supposed to be like that - but the tea tasted like soap. I'm from Asia and drink tea alot, and that stuff wasn't nearly good. Appetizer: 1 loaf of french bread(you would think that they will make their own traditional bread) ripped apart and dipped into something like salsa. We had to share this appetizer between 3 of us. Then there was soup - I think it was lentil. It tasted ok, but it was something like baby food that you had to sip, and you only got about 1/4 of a cup. Then there was the main course - we had to wait about 1 hour for it - and I'm not kidding! I ordered beef kobobs with rice pilaf. What I received was something very pathetic! About 3-4 pieces of tiny meat - and it wasn't beef. It tasted like old lamb, and the rice was cold. And the last course was desert: a tiny piece of baklava. OMG- I was shocked! I couldn't believe it! So, 1st course is tea, 2nd is 1/4 cup of soup, 3rd is french bread dipped into salsa like substance (which everyone has to share at the table, you don't get your own), 4th - main course: a choice of kabobs ( or so they call them- I know kabobs, and that wasn't it) - about 1-2 oz of meat total, 5th is desert - a piece of baklava from Costco. And that, along with about 2 hours of your time, will only cost you $17.50 plus tax and tip. To sum it up - don't go there. Go to Olive Garden, and you'll get alot more for your money, and you won't have to wait 2 hours. Pros: Unique Cons: Ovepriced, long wait, and pretty much a rip off! more

I went to Spokane for a 2 day visit. It was a pleasant trip other than our visit to this restaurant. The owner was not very willing to answer questions and he did not like it when we asked him if he had anything else other than his 5 course dinner. I think a 5 course dinner is a lot of food and wasteful. We ended up not eating there in the end because he told us that his kitchen was closed 1.5 hours before his published closing time. That too after we had waited for 15-20 minutes. Cons: Rude owner more

Between the unique atmosphere, excellent food and great service, the Marrakesh is a place you'll want to come back to, time and time again. Each dish is excellent, embracing the many flavors of Morocco, and the portions are very generous! The decor and ritual of the dining experience makes one feel that they've been transported to the Middle East and allows you to embrace the complex beauty of the culture, if only for one night! The Marrakesh is vegetarian and vegan friendly and has even received praise from Natalie Merchant (there was an article in the Spokesman Review which is posted on the walls of the women's bathroom.) Pros: Unique, Service, Ambience, Vegetarian Friendly, Tasty Food, Local Business Cons: No Alcohol Available more

There are only a fewing dining experiences in Spokane that really stand out as being unique and interesting, and this is one of them. The ambience is great from the decor, seating, and hand washing. The food is intersting and served communally; this is a great place for a group of friends to have a fun experience. more