Cous Cous Cafe

[metro]

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

[lpecan]

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.

[eataroundokc.com]

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

[metro]

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

[lpecan]

Ok, so I went there last night. First off, here's the website with the menu : .:|:. Couscous Café .:|:. .

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!

[citizenkane]

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.

[ad47aw]

I cannot wait to go!

[Andy1807]

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)

[ad47aw]

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

[Rifleman2C]

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.

[mecarr]

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,

[Andy1807]

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.

[soonerfan21]

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?

[Andy1807]

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.

[eataroundokc.com]

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

[soonerfan21]

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.

[foodiefan]

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

[JerzeeGrlinOKC]

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!

[eataroundokc.com]

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

[MadMonk]

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

[eataroundokc.com]

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.

[MadMonk]

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.

[eataroundokc.com]

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

[Bob&Frank&Ted&Bob&Alice]

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.

[blitz00taz]

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