For those craving the exotic flavors of Marrakesh, Fez, or Casablanca, Washington D.C. offers a variety of dining options to satisfy your culinary desires. While restaurants solely dedicated to Moroccan cuisine may be less common, a strategic search of Lebanese or Mediterranean restaurants can often reveal hidden gems with a selection of authentic Moroccan dishes.
Eater maps are curated by editors and aim to reflect a diversity of neighborhoods, cuisines, and prices.
Irresistible Chicken Tagine Recipe | Easy Moroccan Comfort Food!
Top Moroccan Restaurants in D.C.
Here are some of the best places in D.C. where you can experience the rich and diverse flavors of Moroccan cuisine:
Mekki DC
Located at 517 8th St SE, Washington, DC 20003-2835, Mekki DC offers an innovative and romantic dining experience.
By visiting this restaurant, you are entering the life of the young Moroccan Mekki Karrakchou, restaurateur and philanthropist, who's mother fed the family with the exact same all-natural organic, halal menu in this restaurant. Mekki modern Moroccan cuisine brings the culture and countryside of Morocco to the new, beautiful southeastern part of Washington D.C.
Formerly located in New york city, this restaurant moved to the capital to join the surging diversified population of residents from all over the world seeking global experiences. Between the decor, the menu and even the plates used to serve every dish. It'll be similar to taking a short trip to Morocco for a few hours.
Read also: Philadelphia's Fez Restaurant
Mekki DC can accommodate both full and partial buyouts for private events, depending on the budget, occasion, and guest list size.Visit Mekki DC for happy hour cocktails and Moroccan wines after work, have lunch with colleagues, dinner dates or request from our homely catering menu for larger groups for your family or offices.
Key Details:
- Cuisine: Moroccan
- Price Range: $31 to $50
- Address: 517 8th St SE, Washington, DC 20003-2835
- Hours: Tue-Sun 4:00 pm-10:00 pm
- Payment Options: AMEX, Diners Club, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
- Executive Chef: Yazza Benallah
- Cross Street: 8th Street SE/E Street SE
- Parking: Street Parking
- Public Transit: Eastern Market Metro Station
- Additional Features: Banquet, Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Counter Seating, Entertainment, Full Bar, Gender Neutral Restroom, Gluten-free Options, Happy Hour, Outdoor Smoking Area, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Takeout, View, Wheelchair Access, Wine
What People Are Saying About Mekki:
Mekki is rated 4.5 stars by 116 OpenTable diners, reflecting high ratings for food, service, and ambiance.
- Overall Rating: 4.5
- Food: 4.5
- Service: 4.4
- Ambience: 4.4
- One reviewer raves: "Mekki was delicious- I don’t know why I haven’t been before. Between us we have chicken skewers, chicken couscous and a lamb shank. All were quite tasty, and the couscous portion was huge! The place was quiet, the cocktail was quite good, and I’ll be back for sure."
- Another satisfied customer says: "Great service and amazing food. The pastilla and the Beef tagine were mouthwateringly delicious. It’s been a few days and I still keep getting a hankering for the mint tea! Would return any time I’m in the area."
- One reviewer noted: "As always the food at Mekki was wonderful!"
Commonly Asked Questions:
Mekki offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (202) 525-5472.
Fettoosh
Fettoosh serves both Moroccan and Lebanese food. As an American who has travelled to Morocco, and who has now developed a frequent craving for Moroccan food, I will travel an hour to experience the foods and flavors of Fettoosh that transport me back to a lovely hot but breezy Friday afternoon in the city of Rabat, Morocco enjoying couscous with mint tea. ?Want authenticity? Visit Fettoosh!
Read also: Moroccan Cuisine: A Review of Casablanca
Friendly, welcoming staff and delicious dishes.
Vegetarian options: Vegetable Couscous, and many, if not all, of their salads are vegetarian.As a Moroccan, I can confirm this is authentic and home quality food. The owner is so funny, the place is clean, and the decor is so cute! Highly recommend!!!
Best Moroccan food i have had! And very reasonable price for such quality.
Fettoosh never disappoints! The Chicken Bastilla is always perfectly executed and the Lamb Couscous and Royal Couscous are authentic, delicious, and VERY generously portioned.
My first time ever here . I had a Togo order . Everything was great. I think I interacted with the owner and he was super super nice . Gave me some amazing hot tea. Also helped me with the door and just a great over all vibe ! The lentil soup was amaaaaaazing.
Read also: Moroccan Cuisine in San Francisco
Key Details:
- Cuisine: Moroccan and Lebanese
- Parking: A few spots right in front of the building.
Other Notable Options
- Casbah: Besides a selection of Greek and Lebanese dishes, Casbah has chicken and lamb tagines made with a mix of spices, dates, almonds, and apricots. There's also a dessert called Moroccan chocolate- an almond cake topped with strawberry sauce.
- Maydan: Yes! We’re located at 1346 Florida Ave NW, just off of 14th Street NW on Florida Avenue. You’ll see a few of our neighbors (La Colombe and Franklin Hall), and you’ll make a right down the alleyway, going underneath the bridge and past the Mark entrance. Yes, it doesn’t really look like you’re going the right direction, but you are-we promise! The closest Metro station is the U Street/Cardozo Metro on the Green Line. Exit the Metro station at 13th and U, and follow U Street until you make it to 14th Street. Make a right and walk north on 14th Street for three blocks until you arrive at Florida Avenue, and make another right. We are big advocates of public transportation! We recommend the Metro or any number of buses that go up and down 14th Street.You’ll have the most parking success in the garage located on 14th Street and U Street in the Reeves Center Parking Garage (Sunday through Thursday: 6 pm-1 am; Friday through Saturday: 6 pm - 3 am). The “Tawle” (meaning table in Arabic) experience is an ample tasting menu which showcases the best of what the kitchen has to offer. All dishes are served family-style and meant to be shared. As it encompasses the entire dinner menu, it is designed for people with diverse tastes and can be tailored to fit allergies and dietary restrictions. The Tawle experience is $95 per guest.Online reservations are available for parties up to six (6) people HERE. These reservations become available at 10:00AM on a rolling 21 day basis.While we do ask that parties 5 or large participate in our Tawle experience, our a la carte menu is available upon request for any groups of 4 or fewer. For all reservations, we are able to hold your reservation for up to 15 minutes after your reservation time. Due to our limited space, we are unable to guarantee your reservation after 15 minutes. If you are running late, please reply to your confirmation text and let us know when you expect to arrive. Does Maydan host events? We would love to host your special event at Maydan! Yes, whenever tables or bar seats are available we will offer walk ins. These tables are available on a first-come, first-served basis. If you arrive at Maydan and we are unable guarantee a table, we will add your name to our walk-in waitlist. A service fee of 20% is added to every check. This fee is used to pay all non-management employees in the form of wages and benefits. We are committed to providing a stable and equitable pay structure, as the city constantly changes its laws and regulations around small businesses. This structure ensures consistency for our staff across both the kitchen and dining room. We have included an optional tip line if you would like to acknowledge exceptional hospitality, but it is not necessary. All parties of 7 or more are subject to a 22% service fee.If you have additional questions, please ask, we are more than happy to share all the details unique to doing business in DC. Due to the historic nature of our building, the second floor is only accessible by stairs-we do not have an elevator. Yes! We do our best to accommodate most dietary restrictions.
- Other mentions: There's also tfaya, which has chickpeas, raisons, and almonds. Mazagan does modern versions of traditional Moroccan dishes. Diners don't have to "rock the casbah" to get Moroccan food here. This restaurant literally has a bedouin tent with a menu that's all Moroccan. Hiding in José Andrés' extensive menu of dishes from the Mediterranean is a harissa sirloin that uses Moroccan chili paste to flavor the meat.
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tags: #Moroccan
