casablanca restaurant & lounge (alexandria)

restaurants > alexandria > middle eastern > casablanca restaurant & lounge

posted by:  an anonymous user mclean, va on 2004-03-19

foodrating:	2
servicerating:	4
ambiancerating:	2
overallrating:	2

review: 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.

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posted by:  an anonymous user  on 2004-01-11

foodrating:	6
servicerating:	8
ambiancerating:	8
overallrating:	6

review: 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 time.

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posted by:  an anonymous user  on 2003-12-29

foodrating:	4
servicerating:	4
ambiancerating:	4
overallrating:	2

review: 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 tip.
i recommend you order the none.

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