Tajine - solid Moroccan food in disco environs

The other night, my husband and I joined a couple of foodie friends for dinner at Tajine which reopened on Thursday on VanNess at Pacific. We were in the mood for something casual, inexpensive and relatively kid-friendly since we were bringing our three year old daughter with us. We had never eaten at Tajine’s previous locations but had heard good things about the food.

Let’s see. There’s friendly staff including chef/owner Mohammed Ghaled personally welcoming us at the door? Check. You can bring your own wine without a corkage fee? Check. They have decent, if not large, portions of affordable Moroccan food? Check. Kid-friendly? Check.

Those are the pluses. The decor and seating configuration, on the other hand, reflected more of a lounge vibe and was not very conducive to having a relaxed, liesurely dinner. Or maybe I’m just an old, forty-something fuddy-duddy. There were black and silver couches, orange ottomans, disco balls, spotlights and a glowing, neon-lit bar. My husband and I sat on the sofa and towered over a very low standing table to eat while our friends sat opposite us on round ottomans that were better suited to the height of the table, but were seemingly not very comfortable. My friend said it reminded her of the way people crouch and eat at street vendors in Asia.

Tables around us were literally folded up and rolled away just before 10:00 p.m. to make way for the nightclub that Tajine transforms into on Friday and Saturday nights. It was a little off-putting to see and hear the staff putting away furniture as we tried to finish our meal. I imagine it would have been better if we sat on the floor on pillows, because we all would have been at the same eye level with each other and it would have felt a tad more homey.

That night, it appeared that more emphasis was placed on the Heights nightclub aspect than on the restaurant itself. It’s unfortunate because most of the food was delicious. We all agreed that one of the highlights were Merguez sausages which were flavorful, slightly spicy sausages atop cucumber slices. It was the perfect size to share between two people and whet our appetite for the entrees. We also enjoyed the lamb tajine, succulent pieces of lamb, that were moist, tender, and falling off the bone. Prunes added sweetness and brightened the dish. The chicken with olives and preserved lemon was a winner, too. There were really tender pieces of chicken bursting with flavor from the briney olives and tangy preserved lemon. You have to soak up the sauce with the bread they pass out, delish! Our friends also thoroughly enjoyed the chicken bastilla which was enormous! It was made of phyllo stuffed with ground chicken and sprinkled with powdered sugar and cinnamon.

The two dishes that fell short were my lamb couscous which had generous portions of couscous and vegetables but no so much lamb and was pretty bland overall; and the lamb kababs which also came with couscous and veggies. The two skewers looked good but were overcooked and dry.

I might go back with a group since it’s inexpensive, you can bring your own wine and it’s kid-friendly, but not on a Friday or Saturday night.