Overpriced and Disappointing.
I just returned from Casablanca Restaurant in Old Town Alexandria, VA, and it was a tremendous disappointment. I was in Morocco a couple of months ago and now wanted to taste Moroccan food again. So, last Friday took my family to “A Taste of Morocco” in Arlington, VA, and today went with some friends to the Casablanca. The first experience was great and my family loved it. However, Casablanca was not what I had expected. Both the food and the service were bad. We ordered the $20 per-person fixed menu. The soup was bland and almost cold, and the beef kebob was very tough. Although the chicken was tender, all the food was bland and lacked the spices that give Moroccan food its special taste. The mint tea was watery, and seemed not to have been prepared from fresh mint leaves. For dessert there was only one kind of sweet and there were no fruits.

As for service, we had to wait for about 30 minutes before the soup was served and later had to hurry up eating the Bastilla because the server brought the main dish too soon after bringing the Bastilla. We had to specifically ask for bread, and the server never brought the Coke refill he promised. There was no belly-dancing show, contrary to what we were told when we made the reservation (the story: the belly-dancer had a car accident earlier today and none of the replacement dancers were available). Despite all the above, the bill already included a 15% tip, which I do not feel the server deserved.

Overall, the food was not worth the price and the service was not worth the t    [29 Dec 2003 23:29:41]

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     ­Anonymous   

A Great Time
I went with my wife and two friends, one of which is Moroccan, and we had a great time. We made reservations for 8:30 Saturday night and got there a bit earlier in time to see part of the 7:30 belly dancing show. When she was done there was a gentleman playing the keyboard...not so bad.

Our server was friendly and unlike the last review, we received out food pretty quick from when we ordered it. All of us enjoyed our soup, we did add some "hot sauce", I was told it was made from pimentos. It added a good bit of kick.

The belly dancer was great, smiling and had good skills to an untrained eye like mine. Afterwards the band came on and played Moroccan music which I thought was great, the belly dancer made a repeat appearance also. Many people joined in with the dancing and seemed to have a great ti    [11 Jan 2004 03:20:20]

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     ­Anonymous   

Tourist Trap
This restaurant was something fun 20 years ago. Now it has torn chair cushions, lousy food, mediocre service and is just an all out disappointment. It's been a while since I have been there, I will admit, but the last time we were there we felt so ripped off that when I saw it listed tonight, I just had to add my 2 cents. It was extremely expensive. We can get some truly fine meals in Old Town and other parts of Northern Virginia for this kind of money.    [19 Mar 2004 21:21:11]

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     ­Peggy, McLean, VA   

Good lunch buffet
The lunch buffet has always been good food and a great price - $6.95 or something like that. Has good salad, hummus, usually some sort of chicken, rice, other veggies. Quite a good deal.    [10 Dec 2004 17:09:46]

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     ­Brendon   

I like it
I read the first review listed and have to take issue with some of the comments. Many Americans seem to want rushed service. Morocco and many other parts of the world appreciate a slow, leisurely meal. This gives you time to enjoy the company, the show if there is one and digest your food. I have been to Casablanca many times. I even took a friend who lives in Morocco there. I have had dinners that lasted an hour and dinners that lasted 3. I have brought many new diners to Casablanca and have rarely been disappointed. The service is always quite charming and the chef is always willing to share cooking tips, an extra bastilla or a recipe. I have not been a big fan of the kabobs there, but the tagine dishes more than make up for that. They are simply amazing. I would recommend Casablanca. In fact, I'm headed there no    [03 Feb 2005 17:27:25]

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Recommended Dishes: bastilla

     ­Lia, Vienna, VA   

A Total Rip-Off
My fiance and I love the Marrakesh Restaurant, but wanted to try other Moroccan restaurants in the D.C. area. Casablanca was a bad idea.

First of all, the restaurant falsely advertises its prices on the front of the building on its menus. They add about 4-5 dollars more per item once inside. As for the ambiance, we were the only ones there. There was a strange odor, almost like urine all throughout. We were not even offered napkins to put on our laps. Not good.

The Bastilla was caked in sugar, with no nuts or raisins inside. The Chicken With Lemon and Olives was brown and did not have any authentic Moroccan taste to it. It was more like a dark colored puttanesca sauce minus the tomatoes. The rice was so bland and stale. And to top it all off, they charged us $30 for the 2 dishes because they gave themselves $5 for the "service" fee. How ridiculous.

I would absolutely not recommend this restaurant to anyone, maybe with the exception of those I do not like.    [05 Apr 2005 12:13:47]

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     ­Anonymous   

I enjoyed it.
I am from Alabama and recently moved to the Arlington area. I have tried many restaurants here. Many are over-priced and not worth the time. However, this restaurant was very entertaining. Yes the restaurant has some signs of wear, but it is by no means falling apart. I felt that it actually made you feel like you were there in Morocco. I highly recommend the lamb, it was like eating roast. The belly dancers were wonderful each one better than the previous.    [07 Apr 2005 17:43:02]

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Recommended Dishes: The lamb

     ­Anonymous   

See For Yourself
My wife (who is from Oujda, Morocco) and I recently moved to Old Town in 2005 -- we've been to Casablanca twice and so far it has been above average. Service is slow, as it should be in this type of restaurant (I don't want to be rushed out), the food is good (I'm a sucker for lamb and cous cous), the entertainment is great, and the ambiance is top notch. Regarding Bastilla--it grosses me out no matter what, even if my wife makes it--sugar and chicken (or pigeon if you're being authentic) aren't meant to be together. If you want great Moroccan food (only), go to the Taste of Morocco in Arlington--if you want to have an overall great time, go to Casablanca instead    [13 Apr 2005 11:55:38]

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Recommended Dishes: Lamb with Cous Cous

     ­Stephen   

Not impressed
Even though I had read mixed reviews about Casablanca, I wanted to give it a try for myself. I took my boyfriend there for Valentines Day. I made a point of telling our server it was our first time there and asked for suggestions. He recommended the lamb with honey and almonds. I can honestly say that over 1/2 the dish was fat, I know lamb is a fatty meat but it was a little gross fishing through the fat to get to the meat. The only part of the meal we enjoyed was the salad and the tea. We tried the lamb and the beef kabob was our other entree, it was dry and the "vegetables" were overcooked Birdseye blend. The desert was a dry paste cookie, one was burnt and the other just as inedible. To top it all off the bill was over $100 and we would have had better service and food at a drive through fast food joint    [15 Feb 2006 11:51:24]

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Recommended Dishes: salad, tea

     ­Anonymous   

Where do I start? The food and service were awful and the entertainment was decent. I've had better hummus from the grocery store. The bread and cookies were extremly dry. The worst part of the meal was the price. I wouldn't mind paying ~$20 for a 5-course meal if it was good. Your other option was to pay $10 for a cover charge if you do not order food. They don't mention this on their website. drinks are overpriced as well. If you decide to go eat at Casablanca, don't base your opinion of Moroccan food on this restaurant itself.    [29 Oct 2006 09:27:23]

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     ­Anonymous