Casablanca

Our entire experience at Casablanca was just lovely. The server and other staff were warm, attentive, and very sweet to our toddler. Everything we ordered was incredibly delicious ! I haven't lived in southeast MI for over a decade and constantly miss quality middle eastern food (particularly a shish tawook sandwich). Casablanca's shish tawook was perfection, I did a little happy dance with that first bite! We also tried their hummus, homemade bread, fattoush salad, lamb tagine, Moroccan coffee (my husband said it was one of the best things he's ever tasted), and several sweets. I highly recommend this restaurant!

As soon as we saw that Casablanca served Moroccan food, we were very interested in visiting. We hadn't had Moroccan food before but all the dishes seemed delicious and we especially wanted to see how the cuisine differs from the many Middle Eastern and Mediterranean places we've been to throughout Metro Detroit. We stopped in for a Saturday lunch and found the place almost completely empty, with only a single other table eating in. Service was generally friendly and quick although they were rather short staffed at the time, with only the owner and one cook in the house. While we were leaving another two people came in to work so we might have just been there too early. We settled on getting the Moroccan Combo for Two, which basically hit almost everything we wanted to try.Moroccan Combo for Two ($49.99) - This menu item comes with a variety of different Moroccan dishes, so it was a good choice given that we had a number of things we wanted to try. The combo comes with two sides, with a choice between rice, fries, soup (lentil or vegetable), and salad. We went with rice and salad. Salad - The salad is pretty standard cut vegetables (romaine, diced tomato, and diced cucumber) with a fattoush-like vinegrette. The portion size is a bit smaller than what I expected, given the full size salad we usually get from Middle Eastern and Mediterranean restaurants when we order the combos for two.Zaalook - This dish tempers down the smokiness of a baba ganoush with a bit of spice and tomato base. It has a slightly chunky texture so we could scoop it up with bread easily. Hummus - Pretty standard hummus, nothing much else to say. It goes well with the bread.We got a small round loaf of sliced Moroccan bread (khubz) with the two dips. The bread is served warm to the touch, with a good crust and moist interior. It seems to be mainly whole wheat based, adding a good earthiness. It's yeasted, and the inside is nice and fluffy. Half Bistilla - We were a bit taken aback at the sweet/savory combo here. Cinnamon on savory, fine, but powdered sugar on top as well? After we tasted it, it turned out to be really good. Fresh fried crispy phyllo surrounding a layer of spiced chicken and egg mixture, a layer of chopped cinnamon almonds, and then topped with ground cinnamon and powdered sugar.I think it was very smart of them to include a half serving in the combo, so we could take a risk and not have an entire entree to go through. Be sure to eat the bistilla quickly as the bottom can get soggy after sitting a while.Half Sweet Lamb Tagine - The sweet lamb is served with couscous that is extremely fluffy and pairs well with the meat. I do not typically like the gaminess of a Western lamb, but this one was tender, lean, and had almost none of the gamey lamb flavor. I guess they use fat-tailed sheep? Take this with a grain of salt, but I found that the lamb was some of the best I've had - the fact that I actually enjoyed eating this was a surprise. The lamb is covered in a delicious sauce flavored with bay leaves and herbs (cilantro stems + ?) mixed with diced onions and raisins. There are several large pieces of carrot included, which were tender with a sweetness that complemented the dish.Half Chicken Mhammar - This was served with the rice choice as mentioned above. The rice seems to be cooked in a salty chicken broth - we actually found it to be a little too salty for our tastes. It had the texture of a pilaf with a kind of al dente bite. They cook it with some fat to give it a smooth mouthfeel, and turmeric to give it a bright yellow appearance. The chicken is served in a tasty tomato and onion based sauce. The chicken had great flavor on the skin and had some crispier charred bits. The interior, as expected for most roast-type chickens, was kind of on the dry side especially on the breast meat, but this just allowed it to soak up more of the delicious sauce. Side Note: Casablanca charges a 4% credit card feeCasablanca was definitely a great introduction to Moroccan food. Everything was delicious and I feel like we got good value for the price. We'll be back in the future to try some other Moroccan specialties - we're thinking the Kafta Tagine and the Charmoula.

The restaurant has gone down. The food does not seem fresh and unseasoned. The Harara soup is bland. What happed to this good restaurant. The building is old. The silverware is old. The glasses are old plastic glasses that have been around for years. I would only recommend getting carry out.

My experience with Moroccan food is relatively limited --- it was SoCal-based where it was almost more about the entertainment, atmosphere with the tagines, the mint tea pour in a beautiful teapot from above head height....Casablanca is not that. It's super no frills, but it's tasty and like walking into someone's home because of the hospitality and family-run nature of it! They also have Mediterranean dishes but we wanted to try some new things. We ordered: *MOROCCAN COMBO (Choose 4: Hummus, Baba Ghanoush, Zalook, Tabouli, or Falafel.) - We picked hummus, baba ghanoush, zalook (Fire-Roasted Eggplant puree with tomatoes, herbs, spice & olive oil ) and the tabouli. I've never had Zalook before and it was SO good. Super flavorful. All the dippie dips were delicious. It's served with this house made bread that we asked for seconds for! So tasty! *CHICKEN TAGINE WITH OLIVES ($17.99 - Slow-cooked Moroccan Chicken, olives; cooked with aromatic herbs & spices) - This was delicious - super juicy chicken. *KAFTA TAGINE (MOROCCAN MEATBALLS) [$18.99 Moroccan Meatballs seasoned with aromatic herbs & spices then sautéed with our house-made tomato sauce.] - I got my with cous cous ($+2.99) and had no regrets! I could tell this was a lamb blend of meatballs though as I'm a bit sensitive to the gameyness but honestly it wasn't too gamey at all. It was great the next day as well since the portions were huge! Definitely a good value. *HARISSA (House-made Hot Sauce! Chili pepper, spices & Extra-virgin olive oil) - definitely get this as a side. It packs a punch and there's definitely plenty to take home with you! I ended up using this to make tahini and harissa roasted cauliflower at home.It wasn't too busy at all for weekend night. There were mostly to-go orders. I'll have to come back to try the other menu items like the Bistilla, Charmoula, etc as well as save room for dessert.

What a wonderful find! This restaurant is housed in an old Taco Bell which also makes it neat in my opinion. Love the old arched window and architecture of it all. The food is amazing! We started with the harissa, garlic paste, hummus with chicken l, falafel. An order of fresh bread was also brought to the table. It was warm and tasted delicious mixed into all of the sauces and dips we had. Yes it destroyed our breath but it was worth it. The harissa is spicy and the garlic paste is pure whipped heaven. I also had a medium fatoosh salad. It was quite large and packed full of flavor. The large would be big enough to share. The dressing was tangy and I really liked it. Everything we ordered I would order again. The service came from the owner who was a class act. He told us all about the food with so much love and pride. Bookmarked and highly recommended. Fairly priced this place is one you need to try. Don't let the exterior scare you off.

Foods decent if you're taste is sweet savory dishes. The stuffed pastry was good! But fries too salty for my liking and bread was cold ( maybe that's how it's supposed to be eaten?) Manager seemed unpleasant. Cute decor but wet floors during service.

Excellent food. The lamb and beef gyro was great. I also ordered baba ganoush and the lemonade with ginger. It was all delicious. Can't wait to return!

Pleasant surprise, this is why you never judge a book from its cover. From the outside you may not think much but once you order and get your food you will be pleased with the quality of food and portion sizes. Their plate for two can easily feed 3-4 people and was absolutely delicious. I'd recommend and look forward to eating there again.

Best Moroccan food ever!! (counting Morocco) Best hummus, too. The family that runs Casablanca is wonderful. What a great discovery.

It's so damn good. The lentil soup is incredible. Everything I eat here makes me want more. Truly some of the best food in town.