Nestled in the heart of Old Town Chinatown, Kasbah Moroccan Cafe offers an authentic taste of Morocco. This charming family-owned establishment specializes in traditional North African dishes, offering a menu that features mouthwatering options. Kasbah Moroccan Cafe, a three-month-old restaurant with sunset orange walls laden with native artwork, comes from Naji Bouhmid, his wife Maleaha Laski who runs the front of house, and mom, Zahra.
In a tiny salmon-toned Old Town breakfast-and-lunch counter-service spot, Bouhmid is a warm ambassador for a Moroccan cuisine he's eager to differentiate from Greek- and Turkish-inflected Mediterranean and Middle Eastern fare. The cuisine, like the language, is a unique mélange of Spanish, French, Arab and Berbere influences.
Kasbah Moroccan Cafe is the second excellent quick-service spot with cooks from food haven Fez to open in Portland in the past two years, alongside food cart La Camel and its sublime lamb-shank tagine.
The inviting atmosphere is enhanced by beautiful decor, making it the perfect spot to unwind over breakfast or lunch with a cup of their exquisite mint tea or freshly baked pastries.
The Culinary Experience
You can often find Bouhmid, who learned to cook in the northeastern city of Fes, bouncing around the dining room, dropping food at tables and chatting warmly with guests.
Read also: History of Kasbahs in Morocco
Start with the trio of dips -- bissara, a nutty fava bean puree; zaalouk, a creamy eggplant tomato puree; and bakoula, wilted power greens with a hearty after heat -- served with a fluffy disk of flatbread dusted in semolina ($8). What makes Kasbah unique in town are its wide array of starters, such as the housemade batbot flatbread served with a three-deep array of intense sauces for $8 (or $3.50 singly), including a zaalouk eggplant puree bracingly dense with fresh garlic, a bakoula dip of wilted greens and olives, and a blessedly spicy bissara that's a bit like a fava bean cousin of hummus.
The salads are a pungent school in North African spice and bright acidity, from a beautiful cilantro-cumin-cinnamon carrot salad ($3.50) laden with surprising heat to a vinegared potato salad topped with egg ($3.50) that puts the Germans to sad shame, and a refreshing, fast-pickled beet salad topped with parsley and onion ($3.50).
For lunch, we recommend one of the tagines, served bubbling on a metal tray with a side of fluffy couscous. Tagines-stews named after the dish they're cooked and often served in-are probably the most familiar of Moroccan cuisines for most Americans. We ordered the spiced, housemade merguez lamb sausage with a sweet tomato sauce stippled with olives and two runny eggs ($9.50). Though it doesn't arrive in the typical cone-shaped tagine, the dish still tastes long-simmered and complex. A smaller version can also be ordered for breakfast.
Among the hearty tomato-stewed versions served here alongside griddled sunnyside-up eggs, go for the tender kefteh meatball stew over the somewhat rubbery merguez, and find as much comfort there as from any Sicilian grandma.
The makouda, a fried potato sandwich with a heavy slathering of olives and tomato jam on a crisp baguette ($6), is staple of students in Morocco, Bouhmid says. The patties are somewhat reminiscent of falafel, but spicier and squishier, with a brinier bite from the olive salad. Take it to go.
Read also: Moroccan Retreat
The bastilla, a sweet and savory chicken pastry dusted in an intricate powdered sugar and cinnamon crosshatch made by Zahra, also travels well ($7). The flaky pastry, wrapped in warka, a thin dough similar to phyllo, arrives warm with a soft filling pocked with nuts and shredded chicken. Whatever you do at Kasbah, always get the bastilla ($7), the almond and chicken pastry that is one of the world's truly great comfort foods. The cinnamon- and sugar-dusted bun arrives hearth-warm, sweet and savory and blooming with coriander-made with airy, flaky warka dough that's a slightly more ethereal cousin of the phyllo used in baklava, its layered leaves so thin they're practically transparent. Once you've had the bastilla here, you will crave it anytime you're nearby.
Consider it a reminder always to escape Old Town by 5 pm, the time Kasbah closes on weekdays.
For breakfast, Kasbah offers eggier versions of the kefteh and merguez, a saucy omelet of the day that came, on our day, with a wealth of olives and veggies, and a cream cheese- and kefta-stuffed batbot pita made into a breakfast sandwich by the addition of egg ($6.50). Immediately, it's one of my favorite breakfast sandwiches in town-toasty, fatty and spicy.
But if you ask nicely, you might be able to get that bastilla meat doughnut in the morning as well-proof that Christmas spice can come early even in a terrible year.
Soothe the slow burn from some of the spicier dishes with a sweetened mint tea ($2.75-$3.25). If you're eating in, get the tray of sweet mint tea-which Bouhmid may teach you how to serve by filling the cups often and shallowly, raising the tea kettle high to allow the hot tea to both cool and breathe even before it hits the cup.
Read also: History and Culture in Tangier
Menu Highlights:
- Kefta Meatball Tagine
- Merguez Lamb Sausage Sandwiches
- Spiced Potato Patties (Makouda)
- Chicken Bastilla
- Yellow Split Pea Soup
Kasbah Moroccan Cafe is a hidden gem in Portland, offering an authentic and heartwarming Moroccan dining experience. Reviewers rave about the incredible food, from spiced potato patties to yellow split pea soup, all bursting with unique flavors. The atmosphere exudes warmth and charm, with ornate lamps casting a honey-colored glow over tables filled with memory and tradition. The owner, Naji, adds a personal touch to the service, making guests feel like family. From the slow enjoyment of mint tea poured from silver pots to the soulful dishes cooked with love and heritage, Kasbah transports diners to another continent through its genuine hospitality and flavorful cuisine.
Additional Information:
- Address: 201 NW Davis St., Portland, OR
- Phone: 971-544-0875
- Hours: 7 am-5 pm Monday-Friday, 11:30 am-7:30 pm Saturday
How to Make Moroccan Mint Tea
Why you should go:
- Experience authentic Moroccan cuisine in Portland
- Enjoy unique dishes like spiced potato patties and chicken bastilla
- Immerse yourself in a warm and inviting atmosphere filled with tradition
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tags: #Moroccan
