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The Marrakesh Restaurant offers Moroccan Mediterranean cuisine at 2147 P Street NW, Washington, DC 20037, approximately four blocks west of Dupont Circle. The restaurant is situated in a busy section of downtown Washington and it is hard to find parking. You may have to walk several blocks after you park your car. The restaurant is open for dinner every day, and open for lunch every day except Monday.
Morocco is located in North Africa with the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Mediterranean Sea to the north. The country's cuisine has been influenced by Berber, Moorish, and Arab traditions.
The restaurant has ceramic floors and the walls are covered with tiles featuring geometric Arabic designs. There are padded seats with pillows along the wall, Ceramic lanterns and exotic brass decorations adorn the dining hall.
The back room of the Marrakesh restaurant is ample and can seat many people. The tables are covered with white tablecloths and Moroccan music plays in the background.
Once you have ordered your meal, a dipping sauce with tomatoes and olive oil is brought to your table. WARNING: The waiter did not warn us that the sauce can have pieces of olive pits. Apparently, the sauce is made in a blender and olives with pits are used.
Bastilla, also transliterated pastilla, is a traditional Arab-Andalusian Maghrebian dish. It is basically a flaky phyllo (filo) dough pie containing savory shredded chicken, hard-boiled eggs and almonds. The pastry is sprinkled with powdered sugar and cinnamon.
The chicken tagine was served in colorful ceramic plates. The chicken was covered with a sauce containing onions and lemon rind. The chicken was somewhat dry as if it had been roasted separately and then covered with sauce. The sauce had a good balance of spices and tartness from the lemon and olives. See recipe for Moroccan chicken.
The Fish Couscous consists of cooked seasonal vegetables served on top of couscous and topped with grilled salmon. The plating presentation was not very good, but the dish was tasty.
The Marrakesh restaurant has live belly dancing every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night starting at around 7 PM to the accompaniment of loud music from the audio system.
The meal concludes with a serving of sweet spearmint tea. The tea is served with great flair. It is poured from a teapot held two feet above the glass.
Call the Marrakesh restaurant at (202) 775-1882. Find more information about the restaurant at its web site: www.marrakechrestaurantdc.com
