Casablanca

11/11/09

EAT HERE AT YOUR OWN RISK-LITERALLY

by dgurewitz at Citysearch

I bit into something that wasn't supposed to be in my meal (bone, glass, metal?) and broke a tooth! The manager was very apologetic and told me to contact them as soon as I had the tooth fixed. I tried, but the owner, Sari Abul-Jubain, dodged my calls for about 2 weeks before finally telling me, "That COULDN’T have happened here (thus accusing me of lying), and, besides, we don't take responsibility for any accidents like this." He was as unfriendly and unreasonable as he could be. So my group not only spent $300+ for overpriced, average food and drink, but I had to lay out another $700+ to have my tooth fixed. This was REALLY an overpriced meal. You can get better, cheaper Middle Eastern food in lots of places whose owners treat their clients with genuine respect and who wouldn’t dream of not taking responsibility if an accident happens in their establishment.

• Cons: Sleazy owner

07/23/07

Awesome Mural and Great Drinks!!!

by equity6 at Citysearch

Four of us dined here on July 21st and had a wonderful meal. The dining room itself is below street level, but the lighting and artwork make up for the lack of a view. Very creative cocktails here! We had the Basil Martinis, made with Hendricks Gin and infused with fresh basil which were among the best cocktails we've had in a long time. Food is also creative - several interesting salds and tapas to start including golden beet salad, and serrano ham. We had mostly fish and seafood entrees and my diver scallops were great with frisee and other accompaniments like grilled escarole. Service is very good. Prices are in line with the quality. Location is right near Harvard Square

• Pros: Basil Martinis, grilled escarole, wide variety of foods
• Cons: difficult parking

12/12/06

Go to the lounge, not the restaurant!

by zoechance at Citysearch

The only part of Casablanca that takes reservations is the restaurant, but the decor is like a bad hotel, service is poor, and they have a $17 food minimum per person. (This means 2 tapas per person, which is a lot of food - more than my girls and I could eat.) Wait for the lounge instead, hope for one of the cozy basket tables, but be satisfied with a loud table in the middle of the happy chaos. No food minimum, much better ambience, and better service. On the bright side, tapas and cocktails are excellent in either section of Casablanca. We *loved* the grilled portobello. We also enjoyed the Turkish mezze plate, grilled pear, hummus (not pureed - a novel experience), and artichoke crepe. The Moroccan mule cocktail was iffy, but I should have known it from the description. Our spacy waitress took FOREVER to take our drink & food orders, and both the drinks and tapas took a long time to arrive, so bring some interesting friends and relax.