Marrakesh… Mashallah!

This review is not only long, it’s long overdue too. It’s a long review because I have compiled one review for having ordered from Marrakesh five times.

I had heard a lot about Marrakesh. For some reason I could never make it to the restaurant. Luckily, a food ordering app I had downloaded had Marrakesh as one of the listed restaurants. Without waiting any longer I placed my first order with them. Since then, I have used that app to order from them time and again. I guess that does tell you I LOVE the food they serve!

To begin with, for my first order, I had called for Dajaj Shawarma Roll and Murgh Reshmi Tikka. My first reaction was disappointment, as they had added pickled vegetables and shredded cabbage to the roll. The carnivore in me refuses to eat raw stuff and there are NO exceptions to that. I picked out all the cabbage and the pickled vegetables and found the roll to be delicious after that (except for the stray cabbage shreds that wandered into my mouth.. urghh!), as was the Murgh Reshmi Tikka. The outside of the Tikka had a lovely char and the meat remained succulent from within. It does not get any better than that!

My second order with Marrakesh was Dajaj Makhani Roll and Chicken Chops. These were recommended by fellow members of a Facebook food group. There was spicy chicken in each and every bite of the Dajaj Makhani Roll and the Chicken Chops, too, were very well made except that I would have preferred to have a bit more cheese over it. There can never be enough cheese for me! (Rahul Majumdar / Priyanka Anand, heartfelt thanks for the recommendations)

I also decided to go along with some other suggestions and tried something new for my third order. This time it was Makrana Kabab, Lahm Paya Shourabat and Dajaj Tikka Roll. The Makrana Kabab: what a recommendation it was! Succulent chicken drumsticks, slightly charred from outside, perfectly spiced. It had a few semi-crushed peppercorns pressed into the drumstick that lent a wonderful peppery bite once in a while. It was MINDBLOWING! I have ordered the Makrana kabab many times since then and they never disappoint! I truly go bat-shit crazy over them. The Dajaj Tikka Roll in the Rumali Roti had too much rumali roti around the chicken and that did not make my taste buds jump with joy. Having had such good food from Marrakesh this was a big disappointment! The Paya Shourabat (soup) was delicious! It was a semi-thick soup but extremely flavorsome and hit all the right spots of my foodie soul. I would have preferred it to be a tad peppery, though. (Hasan, many thanks for the Paya Soup recommendation and once again, Rahul, thanks a million for introducing me to the Makrana Kabab) 

One evening, I re-ordered the Dajaj Shawarma Roll and this time informed the restaurant not to add pickled vegetables and shredded cabbage. They complied. OMG! I was in raptures with each bite, probably because I did not have to draw sword and battle with raw cabbage shreds and pickled vegetables. :D Seriously, it was fantastic! I had also ordered for a separate serving of hummus and pita bread. I must make a special note here to say that I have had hummus at numerous places including five star hotels, but Marrakesh makes the meanest hummus of all! It was perfectly balanced with just enough lime to enhance the taste and not overpower the other flavors of the hummus! I was in ‘hummus heaven’ that evening. *happy – contented puppy sigh*

I normally stick to ordering from the starters menu, except the time when my buddy was visiting. (He had heard me praise Marrakesh many times and wanted try out their food.)  This time we ordered from the main course section: Bhuna Gosht, Butter Chicken, Garlic Naan and Murgh Achari Tikka were our choices. The Bhuna Gosht, Butter Chicken and Garlic Naan; were all well made, but there was nothing exceptional about them. What stood out were the Achari Murgh Tikkas. They were succulent with that perfect balance of achari masala. I loved them!

The tiny negatives: Their Hadapsar Branch never had any Baklava. Not once! Very disappointing!! Another time, for my 4 pm order they told me that they could not give me Nalli Barra or Makrana Kabab as they put coals in the oven at 4 pm only and thus could begin serving tandoori stuff at 7 pm. I found that odd because they have delivered Makrana Kabab to me at 4 pm before. Twice! I guess the chef was in a lazy mood that day. He’s human too, so won’t hold that against him. We’re all entitled to a lazy day. ;-)

Positives: The quality of their food is fantastic and consistent! The prices are reasonable and the food is value for money. Do I even need to say anything more? 

Team Marrakesh, rest assured, as long as you retain the quality of food, I shall order from you guys time and time. Someday I hope to have the baklava that I have heard so much about. Please keep up with the good food.

Note: As food from Marrajesh has always been home delivered, all photographs have been clicked, at home, on a simple dinner set - Seedhi baat, no bakwas! :P

Ambiance: Food from Marrakesh has always been ordered in hence cannot comment on ambiance

Food: 4/5

Service: 3/5 *over the phone*