I noticed a review in the new Gazette for this place. It's a Moroccan restaurant (add that to OKC's ethnic diversity). On Wednesdays, the owner combines cous cous (granular semolina) with chicken or lamb on Fridays. They are also serving many family recipes.

Cous Cous Cafe
6165 N. May
286-1533

I love Moroccan Food. I am going tonight. I called to get some gouge and apparently they are open 7 days a week. I'll post a better review tonight.

Wow, sounds great. Thanks for the info. I look forward to trying this.

lpecan did you eat there last night? please do a review?

Ok, so I went there last night. First off, here's the website with the menu : .:|:. Couscous Café .:|:. (http://www.couscous-cafe.com/) .

Place is small, as you would expect. Maybe nine two-person tables. The menu seems very lunchy. However, every night, they have one dinner special. As mentioned, Fridays are cous cous with lamb (literally my favorite dish in the world), Wednesdays Cous Cous with Chicken, and Mondays are Chicken tagines. I'll preface this by saying I am not the world's biggest fan of chicken tagines, but I had it any way. It was very good. I typically do not like the texture of slowly cooked chicken, and while this was the case here, it tasted great. It was served with French fries artfully (if you can believe that) placed in a circle around the edge of the tagine (tagine means the dish or the pot in which it is cooked). I don't know how authentic French Fries are since I've never been to Morocco. However, I definitely thought it was tasty and well worth the $9. The dish was also well presented for the type of restaurant it is. It kinda looks like a small deli. I also had a pot of moroccan tea. Also good.

I will be returning on Friday to check out the lamb. So far, it is a definite should-go place. It is casual and inexpensive and the staff (one person, Abdul, last night) is really nice. OKC is a little short on more obscure foods, and this is a definite find. Speaking of finding, it is a little difficult to find, Its just north of the golden corral on the west side of the street. I don't think it has a sign.

If you've never had moroccan food, try a couple of the salads with some friends. I think those are often the best things there. Plus, given the array of kebob, you can take anyone there who likes mediterranean food even if they are not adventurous.

For more middle eastern food, you also may want to try Shishkabob on 30th and May (it's ok, but the staff is the nicest around) and the perennial favorite of Med Imports.

I'll try and give an update on Friday!

I've eaten here twice since I read the article in The Gazette. The first time I ordered the lamb and kefta kabob combo which was very good, but the next day I tried the the lamb tajine and the mint tea. Essentially the lamb tajine was a slow-cooked lamb shank with plums; by the way, the meat used here is halal. I have a refined palate, and I'll admit that this was one of the best lamb dishes I've eaten. While I've never been to Morocco, the tea was very similar to the mint tea I had in Tunisia. I highly recommend this restaurant.

I cannot wait to go!

we went a couple of weeks ago, but with the holidays I haven't gotten a chance to post a review.

Basically, we loved it. There is reasonably different stuff for me (kefta, lamb, etc...) and relatively tame stuff available for my wife (she's a sucker for hummus and falafel) Make sure to get the hot tea. I can't wait to go back on a Wednesday or Friday to try the chicken or lamb with cous cous.

We'll definitely be returning.

Also, it's a little tough to find, but it's in the shopping center on the West side of May between Golden Corral and Denny's (? I think)

Yep, I loved it. Lamb kabobs were great-hummus was good too.

The early reviews you guys are putting up make me want to try this sooner, not later!

Interesting location... that's just a couple of blocks north of Zorba's 'new' location, isn't it? The competition will be a good thing, I hope.

I drove 8 miles to get there with the address in hand, only to have to turn around because I could not find it. I was pretty disappointed! I wish the place would put up a sign or something,

I drove 8 miles to get there with the address in hand, only to have to turn around because I could not find it. I was pretty disappointed! I wish the place would put up a sign or something,

we literally drove by it 3 times before we found it. It's definitely nondescript in that little shopping center.

my daughter and her boyfriend went the other evening on my suggestion (from OKC Talk!) but they got there too late for dinner. But she said the owner was super nice and very apologetic and they had the tea which was very good.

It is in the same shopping center as Best Buy on N. W. 57th and May but on the side that faces May Avenue. I believe there used to be an eyeglass place there before?

my one gripe with the place was that the owner was almost too accomodating. I did my usual "what do you guys do best/what do you eat?" (which drive my wife crazy) and he said "everything is great. I eat it all"

really, though, based on our 3 dishes, I can't say that his statement was wrong.

The tea is excellent.

I finally got to this place and I loved it. I posted a full review on my blog at the following link. I gave link credit to OKCTalk and this thread for turning me onto this place! Thanks you guys!

Check out the review, rate it, and leave me a comment if you like:

CousCous Cafe Brings the Taste of Morocco to Oklahoma City (http://www.eataroundokc.com/2007/couscous-cafe-brings-the-taste-of-morocco-to-oklahoma-city/)

After reading the review at eataroundOKC's site, my info on the location was wrong - sorry about that! Guess I shouldn't always listen to my daughter . . . anyway, eataround gives great directions to the location if you have tried to find it.

Finally made it to Cous cous. . . GREAT eats!! Zaalook to die for, and super good stuffed grape leaves.

Absolutely fantastic! Everything we had (especially the tea) was great! Thanks again eataroundokc (and others on this thread) for giving it a glowing review, since its so hard to pick where to eat around OKC with so many great things to try.

Try the Fish Tagine (sp?). It was a special, and OH MAN!!! I'll be dreaming about it for weeks. I don't know what is in it per se, but it was a spicy and sweet sauce...oh forget it, just have to try it!

I hope this gem does well, please keep them in business!

:bow:

Hey JerzeeGrl -- you are welcome. Glad to hear that you liked it so well!

Is this place open for lunch? I'd love to try it and it's not far from my work.

Is this place open for lunch?

I believe it is, yes. But be advised, they are not known for being quick. I've heard several people express frustration that it took so long. If you do try it, please let us know how your experience goes.

I ate there at lunch today with a couple of my coworkers. It's a tiny little place with lots of kitschy middle eastern decorations - much like you'd see kitschy asian decorations at a chinese buffet. But that's not a big deal for me. More important for me, the place was clean.

Upon walking in we had to work our way through a crowd of young men crowded around the TV (inexplicably placed right near the front door) watching a soccer game. I don't know if that's a normal thing during the day, but it was a little irritating.

We found a seat and a friendly gentleman came by quickly with the menus. We indicated that we had a good idea of what we wanted to order because we had taken a look at the menu on their website before we left so the guy came back fairly quickly with our ice waters to take our order.

I had the special of the day - couscous with beef. Judging by the other patron's plates, it seemed to be the thing to do. My friends are less adventurous than I so one had the chicken kabob platter, but the other ran into a little snag. He wanted a gyro, which is on the website menu, but not on the menu handed to us. He was told that it was not available. Disappointed, he settled on the chicken kabob sandwich.

I also orderd the Moroccan tea. Our waiter thoughfully brought out a couple extra glasses so that I could share (dammit!);). As stated by others here, it was delicious.

The service was friendly and overall pretty good, although there were some odd things popped up. I stuck with water and the tea, while my coworkers each ordered a Dr. Pepper. Instead of a drink in a glass of ice from the fountain, they were brought cans and straws. One normally expects to be able to get free refills with a fountain drink, but if you wanted more, they charge you for another can (of course). Perhaps this is by design, but I found it off-putting. They need to offer fountain drinks. There was a machine behind the counter, I don't know why it wasn't being used. My coworkers didn't want to bother about it so I let it go.

As for the food, I enjoyed the special. The beef was like a hunk of roast beef with some tasty spices. It was very moist and tender. The couscous was great and soaked up the beef juices nicely. The vegetables were a little overcooked for my taste (mushy), but they had a nice flavor. The portion was generous and I was completely full long before the plate came close to being empty.

My coworker with the chicken kabob platter had mixed feeling. He liked the chicken, but disliked the rice that came with it - too much clove in it. I tasted it and I have to agree. He didn't care for the stuffed grape leaves that came with his meal so he gave me one. I liked it, it had a nice tangy flavor to it.

My other coworker enjoyed his chicken kabob sandwich and fries, but then again, it was a pretty safe choice. ;)

All in all, I enjoyed the experience, though the atmosphere with the roudy guys watching the soccer game was a little annoying. I want to go back and try the lamb kabobs or shawarma platter. Those sound really good.

One thing I have to point out is that although there have been warnings about the speed of service, we were served surprisingly quickly. The place wasn't packed (though the soccer fans took up much of the table space), but it wasn't dead either. There were at least six other patrons at tables and a few more at the counter ordering to go.

Bottom line, I'll be back - mainly for my curiosity about the other dishes, but my coworkers will decline.

Good report. I'm glad to see that service was quick. Thanks for all of the detail.

I've eaten there twice and one time I got the tea for free.
Probably because of all of my charm.

Anyway, they were very nice. We've sampled a few things and
the kefta was really good. Grape leaves were really good.

I have ate there for the first time yesterday and every thing that i had was good hummus lamb kabob ect. and the location well not that great it is hard to find but i still love zorbas there hummus and kabobs are the best and the people are always friendly there but it is always good to have competion and a second choice to eat at if zorbas is way full

I drove by there today and it looks like they are out of business. :(

Anyone know for sure if they've closed up shop?

Cous Cous cafe is still open!
7 days a week
11am-11pm

286-1533
6165 N May

The Morroccan Iced Tea is addictive!

I think on weekends they have Tagine specials
including Lamb and seafood stews.
very delish!

That's good news. I'll make lunch plans again soon.

I went there last weekend to bring a friend along who has never tried it.

The Moroccan tea is EXCELLENT. We got it hot and it was one of the best teas I've had (and I'm asian).

The lamb tagine was also excellent too, so if you guys haven't tried it...head over there!

I had lunch there last week.
Tagine specials every day of the week.

my co-worker had the Lamb Tagine
huge hunk of lamb shank with a sauce of onions, raisins
she loved it.

I had the Lamb burrito (wrap)
HUGE portion, loaded with hunks of tender lamb, hummus, rice, greens.

We both tried a cup of the Harrina (?) soup - very good

The Moroccan iced tea was no charge.

The pastries/cookies near the register are great too - he explained what each of them were. The owner indicated he was intending to start putting various salads & meals in the display case for carry out and quicker service.

He is very friendly and accomodating.

7 days a week
11am-11pm

I had dinner there today
it was pretty damn good food.
I wanted to try the lamb tagine but he said that they were out of it so i went with the chicken one. Everything was great had the Moroccan tea which was great.
Apparently the waiter was the owner and the cook
Truly a one man show
He had to close the restaurant because hes the only one on duty
He says that there isn't enough business to hire employees . and he cant find decent employees to hire.
So everyone try to help Rashid and bring him some business and HELP!!

We ate here this afternoon for the first time, about 130pm. Including the two of us there were about 18 people in there, so business was good. The food and the tea were good, but the service was very slow, only one person waiting the tables, and maybe two people in the back fixing the food. My husband ordered an iced tea, and it finally came well after he got his food, although we asked for it a couple of times. We didn't mind waiting too much as it was the weekend and we were not in a terrible hurry, but if you just had a limited time for lunch during the week, it could be a problem. They did give us a free dessert because we waited so long.

Sigh...we were there earlier yesterday and had to leave. I normally love this place, and while the service is slow, the food more than makes up for it (and they are usually nice to us). Yesterday, we went in, there were two other people there, and only one guy in the back (nobody else). The TV was blaring with international political news regarding Gaza (just the thing to give you indigestion...), and we couldn't even hear ourselves talk it was so loud. We gave the guy in back 10 minutes, but he didn't put down what he was doing to even hand us a menu. We left after that without ordering.

I say, I don't care how good the food it, it only takes you so far...if you're going to be open, get some more staff, and turn down the freaking tv (or put in back in the kitchen). Or don't be open.

Maybe we have to come back during an hour that is more busy (the likelihood may increase that more staff will be there).

:headscrat

Sigh...we were there earlier yesterday and had to leave. I normally love this place, and while the service is slow, the food more than makes up for it (and they are usually nice to us). Yesterday, we went in, there were two other people there, and only one guy in the back (nobody else). The TV was blaring with international political news regarding Gaza (just the thing to give you indigestion...), and we couldn't even hear ourselves talk it was so loud. We gave the guy in back 10 minutes, but he didn't put down what he was doing to even hand us a menu. We left after that without ordering.

I say, I don't care how good the food it, it only takes you so far...if you're going to be open, get some more staff, and turn down the freaking tv (or put in back in the kitchen). Or don't be open.

Maybe we have to come back during an hour that is more busy (the likelihood may increase that more staff will be there).

:headscrat

I went a few weeks ago with the same experience. I was meeting some people there and I arrived about 10 minutes early. The TV was blazing and I sat at a table by myself with no acknowledgement. When my party arrived I told them I think we order at the register since I have been there with no service. We thought the menu was the “special” of the day board, but after standing at the register for a few minutes the guy seated us and gave us menus.

After that the experience was great. An older lady came in (I thought it was a customer but she served us water and turned the TV off) and then another person came in to wait the tables. I ordered the chicken something. It was shredded chicken (seemed more like ground chicken to me) over rice with a small salad. It was very good and the hot tea was great also. One of the people I was with ordered a small tea and they brought out 3 glasses so we could all have a try. I will go back and after we were done, I assumed the guy didn’t wait on me because he knew I was waiting on someone. After reading your post I think I would have left also if my party was there and waited the entire time I waited.

Well that's good to hear, I do know that things have been better there, and the food is always incredible (once its served). I guess me, impatience, and hunger are not a good combo.