Moltaqa Moroccan Restaurant Mainland Street Yaletown

My mum was visiting Vancouver for the first time and we decided this was the first restaurant to take her to. We were running a bit late and had called ahead to let the wait staff know, and to our surprise when we arrived they had not only accommodated for our delay but also saved the best booth in the restaurant for us! Thank you for such a lovely experience and great food. My mum is vegetarian but she left feeling very happy and full - it was perfect!

Atmosphere and ambience is perfect. Food was decent, especially meat. Salad was too sour, also the rice was drenched with dressing from the salad. The seafood pastilla was a great appetizer, must try if you are okay with deep fried greasy food. The lamb and beef kebabs were perfectly cooked. Ordered 2 cocktails, very different from regular cocktails you have everyday. The tint of spices gave it a refreshing feel. They provided me a knife which was not washed. Grave mistake. Other than that, no complaints about the service. Not completely satisfied with the experience. They could do a much better job with the kind of place and options they have.

Eating here is a complete experience. The staff are helpful and attentive. The decor inside is well done, and the live music adds to the ambiance. The food tasted great, starting from the appetizers to mains and dessert. They have both a bar section as well as tables. During weekend evenings, there's also a dance performance. Overall, we really enjoyed the experience. P.S. the only small issue is if one is reserving a table online, even after selecting a dinner table, the booking was made for bar seats or dinner. The staff were, however, really accommodating and got us a table quickly.

Excellent! From the food, service and entertainment, we enjoyed it all! The service was super friendly and we enjoyed the quick chat we could have with some of the staff! Mimo ( the owner) explained some of our dishes, the flavours, cooking process. The food was so good and this is really a place you must try.

Really Good Moroccan Food! 😋 This place was amazing. The atmosphere was great with a bohemian feel. Food was delicious and entertaining with table side flambe. We ordered the flambe Rack of Lamb which they flambéed table side. We also ordered a side of Arabian rice to share between two people. The portions were more than enough for two people. We also ordered the baklava thing with vanilla ice cream. I'm not really huge on deserts but I can honestly say it was really good! Customer service was top notch. Our server(s) made sure our waters were always filled and always checked on us to see if we were good. Getting a table for two was super easy with no lineup since we came here pretty late. They actually gave us a pretty big corner seating that could easily fit 4-6 people which was nice. Overall, I really enjoyed the food here and I'll definitely come back to try their other menu items.

Moltaqa is a standout in the Yaletown dining scene: its homemade cocktails have an off-the-beaten-path taste profile; their sampling platters were generous in portion, had great variety, and was ideal for 2+ people; the chicken pastilla was light and crispy; and our flaming duck main was as much a delight to capture on video as it was to eat. To top it off, the service of the friendly staff was exemplary and the dimly lit dining atmosphere made for a great place for conversation. We were lucky to come early with no reservations, but would definitely recommend securing advance bookings for large groups.

Great service. Our servers recommendations were always accurate and food was really good. Love the decor and the belly dancer. Would definitely come here again. I can't remember what the drink was but the one with pear was excellent. Very delicious.

Awesome place that feels super Moroccan. They have the music, decor and of course the food. I like that it’s a bit dark and moody. Been here a few times with groups of friends to see the belly dancing. This time we came late night for a friend’s birthday so we got some drinks and two desserts. They brought it out with a candle, cheering and clapping which was nice.

Ambiance was nice, spacious enough to enjoy our own table and feel relaxed. I enjoyed the food - palette here is on the sweeter side by the way. I highly recommend having a few appetizers to share and 1 or 2 mains for a group of 4. It keeps the flavour profiles interesting with variety when you try multiple appetizers. (Chicken pastillas were SO GOOD). I'd recommend a tagine and rice on the side. The servers were very nice and have great recommendations however, they seemed disorganized. We received the wrong dish to our table, we had to ask for serving cutlery twice before receiving it.

I want to love this place. The restaurant is decorated beautifully, the food is tasty, and the service is friendly. However, the food is very pricey for what it is. We felt that you could get the same quality and taste elsewhere for a fraction of the price (I.e. Cazba on Davie or Nuba in yaletown / gastown). Some other small things: we ordered the vegetable pastilla and were given the chicken instead. The cutlery was murky / had water spots. Also, there was a blonde hair in my water...

another michelin guide restaurant off of julia's list and thank you to s for coming out even tho she had a shitty night before this was a celebration (of sorts) after my first tattoo and rly - it was just an overdue girls' date. we both decided that we need some exercise so we walked frm pacific centre to the restaurant - not a bad walk tbqh. we were a little early and the restaurant was just opening for dinner service - we waited abt 30s before we were led to a table. the decor - arabic, moroccan, whatever you wanna call it - you are def transported to a different world once you step inside. the staff was very respective yet attentive when we need assistance. cutest thing was - whenever we were taking pics/vids - the staff would try RLY hard to not be in the shot. a small detail but a detail nonetheless! also, heads up for those that like wearing hats - hats aren't allowed in the restaurant. you'll be asked to remove it as per the owner's wishes - the table next to us learned that the hard way. we both agreed that this was something that should have been listed on the website. that aside, s and i took a few minutes deciding on what to order. we started with drinks - s had the bourbon sour and i had the pomegranate spritzer. we both found the drinks to be weak on the alcohol-side of things. the spritzer was light and refreshing tho on the sweeter side. the sour had a nice cinnamon/spice to it. for food, we decided to get a dip and 2 mains to share. since it was such a hot day, we ordered the chilled eggplant dip. the spices, flavours and the fact that it was cold made the dip very light on the palate. the moroccan semolina bread was warm and pillowy - perfect addition to the dip. for mains, we had the harissa spicy chicken kebab and the lamb shank with apricots. thank you s for always letting me steal a bite of your lamb - i'm not rly against lamb but we basically agreed that i had a bad experience once and now i've been sorta scarred for life. gaminess and lamb - not a good combo for julia. however, the lamb shank was juicy and savoury - the spice mixture made the dish very tasty. the harissa sauce was def the highlight for the chicken kebab - the chicken was still juicy and the harissa sauce added a nice kick. the dressing on the salad added a nice tang to the dish. s wasn't too hungry so we did have some leftovers but we were still stuffed at the end. i need another occasion to come back and try the flambé duck that our neighbours had!

Came back to Moltaqa. It seems like you can't get a good seat if you come alone. It's either a bar counter or a two-seater, but it's not very comfortable because it's on the aisle. So I ordered it to go. I ordered lemon & olive halal chicken tangine with saffron and chocolate pistachio cheesecake. Hope good meals. I heard nice music and romantic place.

Delicious food and gorgeous interior. Highly recommend the flambé duck. There are also belly dancers on weekends. Service was quick and provide helpful recommendations on portions

This place is a little cramped and hard to walk through but once you're seated it's a vibe! We made a reservation on a Friday night at 8pm, our table wasn't ready for about 10 minutes so we did have to wait around. The beef and lamb tangine meatballs were okay. The meat was a little dry but the stew was flavorful and well done. We also got the chicken pastilla which was actually really enjoyable. Though we ordered all our food together, they brought the main course first and then chicken pastilla at the end which I thought was a little odd. The tables are also super small so fitting both of our dishes on our table wasn't possible unless we stacked things. The belly dancing was definitely the best part of the night. The performer was so nice, engaging and super fun. Not sure if I'd return for the food and drinks, though.

Tasty Moroccan place in Yaletown. Parking here is pretty awful. Metered spots only. The inside looks pretty Moroccan themed. No idea how authentic it is though. Staff were friendly, though service was a bit slow. The place was packed. However, they were quite helpful in helping my group pick their dishes. Moroccan platter - comes with 2 soups and some 8 mini dishes. Besara - lentil soup with olive oil. Goes well when dipped with bread. Harirra - tomato lentil soup. The rest of the platter was bits of random goodness. Chickpeas, potato chunks, beet slice, cucumbers in sour sauce, red peppers, and some others. Great for sharing. Half chicken tagine - served in a bowl with a cone shaped lid. Chicken was a bit dry, but the (curry?) sauce was pretty good. Comes with a bowl of couscous with chickpeas on top. Lamb sirloin steak kebab - 6 large chunks of meat spread over 2 skewers, with a side of Arabic rice (saffron type rice with peas and other mixed vegetables) and potatoes, and 2 types of salad. As a standalone dish, this would be my recommendation. Duck flambe - quite the spectacle. The waiter brings the cooked duck to the table on a platter, then pours some flaming sauce on top, searing the outside. Nice juicy chunks of meat. Served with chunks of zucchini, potato, and carrot. Rack of lamb - similar to the duck, but without the flambe. Once again, nice juicy chunks of meat. Arabic rice - This was a bit redundant as some of our other dishes already had the rice. Overall it was a pleasant experience, though the tables often got too full based on the number of dishes. Basically this place is probably best enjoyed in smaller groups. But the food sure was tasty. Recommended.

I decided to celebrate a birthday dinner with my gfs here. We were a group of 7. They were very accommodating and respectful to the needs of the group. I enjoyed the interior as it was pretty spectacular. I have never tried Moroccan cusine, so I decided on this place. There was some live music at the beginning of our visit. I can appreciate how staff was dressed in traditional Moroccan wear. I had the saffron and lemon lamb shank. It was very tasty and I had some nice bread to accompany it. Afterward, we looked at the dessert menu, and I decided to land on the saffron cardamom cheesecake. It was so good and the portion was very generous. Staff also sang me happy birthday. I will most likely come back to try other options I have been contemplating.

Amazing flavours. 4.5 stars, rounded up We shared the lamb shoulder tagine and the duck flambé as well as the chicken pastilla and a baklava-type dessert. Everything was really good Flavours were deep and delicious. The lamb was falling off the bone and the duck flambé had a crust which was tasty in a surprising and unique way. Dessert was also memorably rich and flaky. The mains seem to be large portions - in retrospect, we should have shared one main and two appies. Wine was very reasonably priced. Cocktails were decent. Ambiance was eclectic and fun, with a belly dancer balancing a sword on her head going around the tables. Great place for a night out with friends or a date. Will be back for delicious Moroccan food - looking forward to trying more things on their menu!

It was my first time trying out Moroccan food, which happened to be a Michelin recommended as well. While they are known for their lamb dishes, they have wide variety of vegan options. I enjoyed their cocktails as well, they had nice Moroccan twists for some classic cocktails. There was a belly dance performance and service was friendly, though they kept pushing us to finish our meal and pay the bill despite no one waiting for our table. Place had a nice moody ambiance. Mujadara Lentil Stew ($9.95) 8/10 Moroccan lentil stew with caramelised onion and Ras-el-Hanout, served with homemade bread. Honestly pretty different palate to what I'm used to, the onion really made the dish tasted rich and almost sweet. I personally like sweet-savoury dish but I suspect this will be either a love or hate thing. Definitely eat it with the bread otherwise the texture is pretty flat. Traditional Vegan Pastilla ($17.25) 5.5/10 I like the pastry texture, however dish itself tasted pretty bland. Since we ordered the vegan version, it was filled with carrot, peppers, and olives. Portion was somewhat small for this one.

Excellent dinner date place with great service and unique food. I came here with my wife for our anniversary dinner. The food was sumptuous. The lamb shoulder was amazing - super tender and I really liked the prunes. Even before that came though, we were already filled with small plates. The eggplant dip with bread was excellent. The bread - it was crispy yet fluffy. Really good texture and consistency. The bessara soup - really nice, thick, and tasty. The chicken pastilla - wow. It is sweet almond pastry - but the texture inside is sooo good. Lots of nuts, a bit crunchy. Yet tender. I also loved the bread pudding dessert. It's not Western bread pudding. It's more like really soft. Really really delicious. Would definitely come back.

I loved the decorations and food here; it made me feel like I travelled to Morocco. The service was fast and I had multiple servers come check up on me to make sure everything was great. The food I ordered was flavourful and I thought the portion size was decent. I didn't get to try out the cocktails or Turkish coffee so I will be back to try those next time. Here's what I ordered: 1. Hummus served with Moroccan bread: I thought the hummus was rich and smooth, and paired with well with the bread. 2. Seafood pastilla: I'm still not quite sure what this was but I liked the texture of the pastry. The only seafood I could really taste was the mussels. Not sure if I would order this again. 3. Lamb shoulder: a must order especially if you plan to share with another person! This dish came with 2 big pieces of lamb and a small plate of cooked vegetables you can add to the dish. The meat was so tender it was falling off of the bone. 4. Cheesecake with saffron sauce: this was definitely something I have not tried before. The saffron sauce was flavourful and tasted so good with the soft cheesecake.

The decor is cool! Appetizers were very good. Best hummus I've ever had in my life! But the entrees were very disappointing. We ordered a seafood dish and the lemon chicken which was over seasoned and overpowering. The waiter took forever to get our bill, we could have left and they probably would not have noticed!

Wow, incredible meal. I had the roast lamb shoulder, perfectly cooked and delicious. My cocktail was amazing, too. I don't have much experience with Moroccan food, and really glad I tried this place out. Servers were all tops. The owner asked how everything was, and seemed genuinely flattered by my praise. Unfortunately I live out of town so I won't be a regular, but I do hope to go back.

Since I only came to try the Amour du Maroc, I only gave it 4 stars. I absolutely will be back to try the food and hopefully update to 5 stars if the experience repeats itself. Such a cozy, beautiful spot. The decor feels like you're traveled to far away lands. The cardamom infused whiskey cocktail I had was delicious! The food menu looked amazing with lots of veggie/vegan options! I want to come back on the weekend when they have belly dancers performing!

From the unique decor to the exotic flavors and spices of their dishes, one step inside Moltaqa Moroccan Restaurant and you'll feel like you've left Vancouver far behind! On our table: Safran and Lemon Halal Lamb Shank Vegetarian Sampler Platter Side Couscous Moroccan Cherries Crepes Suzette I highly recommend the Vegetarian Sampler Platter. Whether you're Vegetarian or not, this platter is an excellent way to sample lots of wonderful flavors and textures. Even our picky eater enjoyed this platter! We also enjoyed the couscous. It was a lovely accompaniment to the different dishes that came on our Vegetarian platter. Couscous is very much an unsung hero. We see rice all the time in so many different restaurants that we go to, but we hardly ever see couscous. This couscous was soooo good! Moroccan Cherries Crepes Suzette is a showstopper that you really don't want to miss out on! It's visually stunning to see them flambeing it, and it tastes just as good as it looks! Our daughter enjoyed herself so much, she decided to leave a Thank you note for the restaurant. (Isn't she sweet?!) Such a fun place to dine in, and according to the restaurant, there's bellydancing on Friday and Saturday nights!  Service: Good Parking:  Paid parking on the street Location: 1002 Mainland St., Vancouver

This restaurant is a slap in the face of multicultural Canada. The host along with the manager demanded that I remove my hat while dining. When I asked why, they said that it's a respect thing for the Islam religion that the restaurant owners enforce to the theme of Moroccan food. After telling them that this demand is disrespectful to me as a person. They leaned in within a few inches of my face and told me I would be asked to leave. What if the owner dined in an Italian restaurant and they demanded that he say catholic grace before being served food? I'm generalizing on purpose here, because not ALL Moroccan people believe Islam religion. Does this establishment mean to teach that ALL Moroccans are of Islamic faith? Or are we simply not sampling Moroccan food as a multicultural right in Canada? What does religious beliefs have to do with casual dining? I didn't attend a mosque, I went to dinner in downtown Vancouver. The in your face intimidation received from the wait staff deeply shocks my Canadian belief that we can all exist harmoniously. It strips my freedom to be able to dine in my own community and home country, and pay for the food and service without prejudice against my beliefs because they differ. We were a large family group so I stayed hatless, and the food was small portions no taste. They over oil the eggplant and burn the garlic in the duck. The music was also amplified too loud and made conversation difficult. And there were two men sleeping on the bar from intoxication. It was tense, disgusting, and aggressive. DO NOT DINE.

Fun and upbeat restaurant compete with belly dancing entertainment this is a solidly good restaurant if you like Moroccan food ( which we do ). Husband ordered the duck tagine with prunes and pears and thought it was an A plus entree. I went with the most popular menu item ( according to our waitress) which was the lamb shoulder tagine with prunes and almonds. It was good. The lamb was little fatty for my liking so I really should have gone for the lemon chicken and olive instead . The entrees come with choice of couscous or rice or bread. We went for the couscous and it was fluffy and quite good. Service is speedy and there are more wait staff working at this restaurant than quite possibly any other restaurant iv been too. It has this frenetic vibe which works to create an atmosphere of positive energy. The belly dancing was a nice touch albeit a bit cheesy . Fun night in Morocco with solidly good food. Would recommend.

A neat experience. Be forewarned if you are adverse to chaos and noise this is not the place for you on a Saturday night. It was extremely busy, hectic, loud and boisterous. The belly dancer was interesting and entertaining; very hard working and interesting costume changes. If you're seated near the front door, be warned, they keep it open for the dancer and it gets quite drafty. We tried the vegetarian appetizer platter plus rice which was enough food for us, it comes with many different and interesting small portions to try, including bread. We enjoyed all the tastes, warm and cold, rice and tangy. We really enjoyed the tea and coffee also, the best coffee we've had in a while. For dessert the Oum Ali was a delicious warm, creamy "bread" pudding - sort of reminded me of warm breakfast cereal when I was kid, it was comforting and enjoyable. A smaller portion but nice to share due to the richness. Service was great, lots of folks around to assist. The decor is lovely and middle eastern themed, we thought they did a great job with the lanterns and serving dishes/kettles etc quite authentic. The bathroom though the 80's strip mall hallway was strange but functional; watch your footing on the way it's sloped/slippery in one part. Make reservations and try it out, it was a nice night out. Will probably be back to try another few food items and for the coffee :)

Moltaqa is a nice dinner spot. The ambience is relaxing and great for dining at a leisurely pace. I have not had morrocan food before so I can only judge the food by my preference. I thought the veggie sampler had many great flavors but also others where i felt was too bland. That may have been intentional to have some dishes be more light and fresh. The lamb I had was good, well braised and a nice subtly sweet taste. Some parts of it felt a bit dry but not overly so. I was very surprised by the moroccan cheery crepe. I was not expecting the strong taste of alcohol on everything. Personally was not my favorite but I am sure that others who like that flavor profile may like this

Took a larger group last year for a work event when our team was visiting for our annual in person meetings. Then felt compelled to take a former coworker that was in town for work as this cuisine is different to what she typically gets back home. I was raving about the freshly baked bread and dips that were memorable. So we decided to order only from the appetizers as the main tagines that our larger group had ordered were not as good as I recall from when Moltaqa was in Gastown when it used to be safer to dine there. We ordered the humous, prawns appetizer and chicken pastilla (unfortunately on the sweeter side bc of the syrup). Their bread that was the star last time I was here was brought out room temperature, not warm and did not taste freshly baked, rather kept, which did not taste as good. We paired our lighter fare with glasses of Mission Hill Cab Sav and my friend wanted to try their Syrian wine of the house. They have a great location in the heart of Yaletown but was disappointed when we went in June and hoping it was an off night but may be reluctant to bring more guests that are visiting from out of town.

Really Disappointing on so many levels. We have been to Moltaqa's in Yaletown several times and had always enjoyed it. We decided to go there with friends for my birthday dinner. As usual we ordered appetizers with Tagines for our main course. Two of us ordered the Lemon and Olive Chicken and two ordered the Duck with Figs and Pear, both dishes we have had in the past several times. The tagines as listed on the menu (see below), and traditionally, have always included a variety of vegetables. Our group ordered four tagines - not one vegetable in any of them. What??! To top it off the tiny pieces of duck were so dry. Very disappointing. The restaurant was busy so we let it go at the time and thought we would call the next day to find out what had gone sideways. Next day we called and were told the manager was not there but would call us back. No call back. Following day we tried again - same answer and again no call. Third day called and were told the same, my husband said perhaps he should go on social media with his concerns, and suddenly the manager was available!! Manager said even though the menu (see below) says vegetables included, they have decided to no longer include them. Although if you ask (why would you if they are on the menu?) you can get some. What??!! That is so wrong and not at all a 'tagine'. My piece of dried duck all by itself - $33.50 before taxes and tip. We will not go back and will no longer recommend it. Although we could always ask for the vegetables it says are included as the manager suggested, the lack of integrity is a complete disappointment and very unappetizing!

4.5 stars. We had a great time here at Moltaqa. The minute we walked into the densely packed lively dining room, we were transported to Morocco. The furnishings and tapestries and decor and dim lighting and music and gaiety was invigorating. Everyone seemed to be having fun and enjoying. Groups, couples, celebrants, the somber man on a date drinking a coke, and us. The lights dimmed... and sure enough a belly dancer emerged and entertained us. Lamb, lamb, lamb- that's what we were there for and it didn't disappoint. Beau had a shank and I had shoulder. We were in lamb heaven. All the sides were great- couscous and veggies and the pastilla for an appy. The experience, food and service was just great.

We came to this restaurant twice. The first time, we were treated cordially. The second time, it didn't go as well! We were treated with the utmost discrimination and rudeness by the host because of the way we were dressed which was by no means disrespectful. Being from Morocco ourselves, this is not the hospitality and warmth that guests or clients are expected to experience in a Moroccan restaurant. Yes, we are people of colour and we deserve to be treated like everybody else. Respect, diversity and inclusiveness is the world we live in nowadays and to anybody who thinks otherwise, all we have to say is this is NOT ACCEPTABLE! Rest assured, we will never step foot in Moltaqa again and we will certainly not recommend it to family members, friends and acquaintances in fear that they would be treated poorly. By the way the food is not great but AVERAGE!

A delightful menu, and pleasant ambiance. We ordered a variety of dishes and all were wonderful. The restaurant uses their space very well. Given how small the footprint, we had plenty of space. I'll be back.

Beautifully designed place, top-notch service, and creative food with plenty of vegan options. My wife & I visited for date night, having noticed all the vegan options on the menu. We ordered the vegan option of the vegetarian sampler for 2 ($31), the hummus plate ($8.25), and the vegan option of their vegetable pastilla ($17.25). Everything came out relatively quickly. A brief run-down of each: -The vegetarian/vegan sampler: they first bring you out to 2 different soups: bessara (a Moroccan green pea soup) and harira (lentil, chickpea, & tomato soup). The soups are served with a nice whole wheat bread. Both were delicious, especially the bessara, which had wonderful depth and creaminess. A great star to the sampler. After the soups, they bring you a big tray with 8 different items, 4 of which are different salads (cucumber, carrot, beet and pickled pepper with olives), 3 of which are stews (lentils with raisins, white bean with ginger, and eggplant pepper stew), and the last dish in the middle of the plate was stuffed mini eggplants. The salads were all nice, gentle and simple, relatively samey in dressing (with a light vinegary/pickled character). The stews were all tasty, especially the lentil and eggplant stews. The stuffed mini eggplants were interesting, but too acidic/vinegary for our tastes. Honestly, this sampler would've been enough food for 2 of us. (4/5) -Hummus plate with veggies. This was decent -- the hummus is served with crispy toasted chickpeas and green peas on top, and with various raw veggies (celery, zucchini, carrot and pickled beet) for dipping. Solid, but nothing special. 3.5/5 -Vegetable pastilla (made vegan). This was unlike anything I'd had before. It's a baked pastry of some sort, not too oily or decadent. The filling contained what seemed like vermicelli noodles, olives, peppers, and carrots. The pastry was pretty tasty, but nothing all that interesting. The pastilla is served with a simple arugula salad on the side. Tasty overall, but perhaps a tad underwhelming. 3.5/5 Overall, a wonderful experience, though none of the food was exactly mind-blowing. I'd happily return and recommend the place to anyone though, as it's a great spot.

Wonderful staff who cooperate with each other and appear to be enjoying themselves. They are perhaps a bit too attentive ! Food was also delight. My family was finished eating and were contemplating a desert. The manager obviously wanted our table for a group of later dinners. Rather than pressure us to leave he asked if we'd like some house made desert at the bar. It was handled well and we all enjoyed the free treats. More of a place for groups of younger people. Too noisy for a date in my opinion.

One of the best meals I've ever had. The tagine, freshly baked bread, cocktails, and the tea service at the end of the meal were all fantastic.

I have been waiting for this Moroccan restaurant to open up in Yaletown as I've never had this type of cuisine and I've been intrigued by the sounds of it for a while. This restaurant has a well-established site in Gastown and it finally opened up on Mainland a few weeks ago. Last night I finally checked it out with my two foodie friends (they've had Moroccan cuisine a lot in the past and even own a tangine and cook various Moroccan dishes at home). I was early for our reservation so I sat in the small waiting area soaking up the incredible aromas. Warm spices and aromas that conjured up exotic faraway places. I was enveloped in the plush upholsteries and paprika and ombre colors of damask curtains and sepia lighting and bronze lanterns. As I waited, within a 5 minute period, I was approached by four women who separately asked if I had a reservation and how many people were in my party. (Note: since this place just recently opened, I don't think they have their host/hostess system for diners to check-in worked out yet). All the women who approached me were friendly. The restaurant was full. I was heartened to see the vibrancy return to local restaurants and Yaletown in general. People seemed genuinely happy to be socializing again. Once seated, and when my friends arrived, we first sampled their Moroccan cocktails: the Kir cherry, the Marrakesh sangria and the Moroccan bourbon sour. All were delicious. Then we waited a LONG time to order our food (nearly 30 minutes!); we thought they had forgotten about us, TBH, but we were enjoying our cocktails and chatting, so it wasn't too bad. It just got a bit odd seeing all the tables around us ordering and then getting their food while we waited. We finally were able to catch the eye of a server who took our order. (Note: again, our servers were all incredibly friendly and pleasant. I simply don't think they've gotten out all the kinks in service yet, being so new, and since the restaurant was so busy yesterday night). We ordered the vegetarian sampler platter to start (I figured this would give me a decent sampling of various small dishes) and then a tangine of lamb shank with apricots (I heard this was a traditional Moroccan dish). I loved most of the sampler dishes. The pea soup ("Bessara") and chickpea soup ("Harira") were divine. Like, seriously, beyond delicious. This came with a hearty, chewy bread to dunk in the soups. We all could've made a meal out of either of these soups. Then there were an assortment of warm and cold salads and side dishes (lentils with raisons, white bean stew, cucumber and green pepper and carrot salads, and some mini stuffed eggplants. The only dish we all disliked was the eggplant dish (surprisingly, as we all love eggplant). This was bitter and sour, not in a good way. (They have other eggplant dishes on their menu that we decided we'd try next time). The lamb tangine was fantastic. it reminded me of a classic beef stew, except with lamb, but the sauce had a bit of a unique, warm flavoring to it. And the apricots were a nice touch. For me, all the dishes had enough overlap with Middle Eastern and Mediterranean dishes that I am familiar with, but they all added a bit of a unique sweeter spice flavor, along with the occasional fruit in with the meat. It all was delicious. My friends also ordered a bottle of wine they like but can't usually find, so they were impressed and happy. Oh, did I mention the bellydancer? What a surprise! I gather she dances here on certain nights, and we were there for two of her performances. Not only did she cross the room while gyrating with castanets but at times she performed with a saber (balancing it on her head!) and with a cape alight with colored lights. Dinner and a show. Bonus! (Pardon my fuzzy photos of said dancer; she moved fast and the shots are a bit blurry). It was a lovely meal, and a lovely evening. The lady who presented our bill (perhaps the owner, or the owner's wife) was wonderful, and we chatted with her for a while. She was patient enough to divide up our bill in thirds, and charge the wine to my friends (she didn't have to do this, but we really appreciated her help and her patience!). We plan on returning to try other dishes.

The food here was excellent albeit unusual to my palate. Having said that, this was my first time going to a Moroccon restaurant. The only reservation I had was that the restaurant was way too dimly lit. I had to use the flashlight from my phone to read the menu. I saw the other diners doing the same thing. The servers were great and oh so pleasant. Very pleasant dining experience. I will highly recommend this restaurant. 2 thumbs up!!

Food was good. But the vibe was poser. Doesnt feel like moroccans eat here or cook here. Or even serve here. I need that for it to be and feel authentic. I wouldnt come back but maybe do take out. Ppl were nice and we sat fast

This restaurant has a unique flavour of food. The chicken in lemon and saffron sauce was well cooked. The chicken was quite tender. Definitely try this dish when you are at the restaurant. Ambience on Saturday is very nice. A lady comes to do Belly Dancing!!

We happened to walk into Moltaqa later in the evening because it was close to the hotel and seemed interesting. We were immediately greeted by the typical Moroccan intricate patterns, low lighting, and mystic music. It was a very cool vibe! We were surprised to learn that this restaurant was the only true Moroccan cuisine restaurant in the Vancouver area. There was also a sign that said this was a Michelin guide restaurant. We weren't too hungry and ordered a couple things. My family ordered Harira soup with a side of the semolina bread. The bread was absolutely amazing - crisp exterior and soft interior with a warm freshly baked taste. I could eat that all day. The soup itself was ok - the lentils were tasty but could have had more spice to it. We also had the chicken pastilla which was tasty and a nice mix of sweet and savory. A lot of times pastilla is too sweet and heavy, but this pastry was more balanced. We also tried the lamb and beef kefta tagine. The kefta was meatball shaped and was very tender and tasty. It came with eggplant, veggies, and potatoes in a stew. The stew was a bit oily but other than that a decent dish. I would definitely recommend Moltaqa!

Unique experience but food taste was OK. Table is small and the ambiance is not super great for the price paid.

HIDDEN GEM! Extremely friendly and attentive staff. A good balance of male and female staff. Nice ambience and decent volume (you can talk but don't need to whisper or yell). Quite big and never fully packed on a weekday but always best to make a reservation for important occasions. They gave my aunt a free cake and candle because it's our special occasion (a farewell dinner for my favourite aunt that I see only once a year). Quite a few different selections of food and drinks, and a few for desserts too. The food are flavourful and unique. The 7 Vegetables Couscous is a MUST order dish. The Safran and Lemon Halal Lamb Shank is amazing too (tender and juicy). The Cardamom Duck is interesting in a good way but not as memorable for us as the other dishes. Quite salty and meat was decent but just decent. Not a bad dish but not something we will order again. The cocktails and beer were DELICIOUS! Unfortunately, the Ramandan Chebakia is only during Ramandan so I was very sad that it wasn't available but not in determined to my myself another reservation during Ramandan. The Pistachio, Almond Baklava with Vanilla Ice Cream was really good too. Definitely have to go back to try the rest and order the 7 Vegetables Couscous again! HIGHLY RECOMMEND, definitely won't be disappointed. The skytrain station is just at the end of the street and paid public parking across the street and around the area. It's yaletown so expect yaletown traffic at times but yeah it's a totally must try restaurant.

Service and food were excellent. Had the prawns, lamb with prunes, harira, couscous with merguez and the merguez appetizer. Everything was flavorful.

This was first time at this location. It was a second date, and looking forward to a lively conversation with my date. The pluses - the location, decoration, service, attentive owner, and delicious food all made positive impressions. However, the place was super noisy. The HVAC system drowned out most of the conversation, and really made it hard to have a conversation across the table. We left the restaurant around 10 pm, and perhaps 15 minutes before we left the HVAC was turned off, and we could finally share a conversation. Food, atmosphere, and staff were great; the noise was a set back.

So good , great service. Loved the atmosphere. Drinks were delicious. The belly dancer was entertaining.

Took over an hour to get the foot. Saw server twice inside 2 hours. Image shows what was at my seat after 90 minutes

Felt like we were actually dining in Morocco. The food was so delicious and the ambience was authentic. Service from Fatima and others was excellent. Price was very reasonable.

Lovely Moroccan gem in Yaletown. Had a cocktail and chicken pastilla appetizer. Both were delicious, friendly service and cool vibe. Would love to try more of the menu next time!

Great food and great service! The ambiance was so much fun, it felt like I was in Morocco.

We celebrated the NY here with friends and family . The owner Mimo was very sweet and nice . Food was delicious, it stimulated taste buds that I never tasted before I would highly recommend this place even on a none NY day .

Nice atmosphere, great service, food was very tasty and nicely presented. It's all tapas and i was there with two other women. We selected one tapas plate each along with a Greek salad followed by two dessert selections and we were completely satisfied. Definitely a lovely spot for a casual dinner.

My lovely gf decided on the spot after we walked by outside. The decor was so cool. The ambiance was amazing. Felt like I was transported inside a bazaar, carpet upholstery and everything. The food was pretty good and there was a live performance. Cannot recommend enough!

Disappointed. We'd visited the original location and been treated like family. Looks like the family has grown up at this second location. Ordered a lamb-based tagine, a mergez (lamb sausage) meal, and two seafood based tagines, along with a vegetarian sampler. The sampler was generally quite good, but two of the dishes (there were 6 or 8) were bland - sliced raw (or at least it seemed) beets, and cucumbers - both had marinades or sauces that just... weren't interesting. The eggplant dishes were all outstanding, as were their soup and lentil-based stew. Yum. The lamb tagine was tasty enough, but being advertised as a pound I expected something rather larger. The flavours were nice, but I found it excessively salty. Not to the point of being inedible, just... too much salt. As tender as you expect from a tagine... lovely texture and an infusion of flavour in the vegetables. The two seafood entrees were enjoyed by their diners. The mergez dish came on a plate with vegetables and while (by definition) the tagines were steaming hot, our host's meal wasn't, so much, and a bit of a draft in the restaurant exacerbated that. Pet peeve executed in spades: "Are we enjoying the appetizer? Can we clear these plates? Do we have space for dessert?". Sorry, you're not part of this dining party, you're *serving* us. They were also a bit aggressive as far as selling up the alcohol. Yes, that's where the margins are, but it gets tiresome. On the plus side, apparently our booking was switched to the original location but the manager accommodated us. That's appreciated. I might give the eastside location another try, but I'll skip Yaletown in the future.

Great and friendly service. Traditional and ornate interior. Nice to see a wide variety of vegan options. My family of four all ordered tagine entrees, one seafood, one lamb and beef, one lamb with apricots and one chicken. Flavours were bold and rich. Chicken was a tad dry in parts, but overall, we were very satisfied. Portions were spot on.

Last Saturday, we were supposed to celebrate a friend's birthday at this place. You would think that someone who works in the hospitality field would know how to treat their clients. The owner of this place proved me wrong. He has zero courtesy. Out of the party of 6 people 2 of us arrived couple minutes before the reservation time and we were asked to wait to be seated. Once we were at our table, 5 min later the owner came over and started complaining how the whole party was not there yet (no greeting whatsoever), we explained to him that they are on the way and that we knew that we had to vacate the table by the time they indicated on the reservation. About 5 min later he came again with the same hawk attitude and questioned us again. At this point I could not take it anymore and told him that we were leaving and he started threatening us saying that he would charge the person who made the reservation. I feel bad for the employees who work there to have such an employer (the waiters were so nice and kept apologizing). I will never go back to that place and will make sure my friends and community hear about my experience

October 20th dinner with friends to celebrate a couple of birthdays. 4 stars for food. 0 stars for service. Food was great, no complaints. 6 of us celebrating friendships enjoying great food and drinks. It was odd though that our server brought our bills and her card machine a few minutes after desserts and tea were served. We were still waiting for tea to cool down a bit and here she is collecting payments . Not cool, especially since everyone one were having a great time. Went to the ladies for a few minutes. Came back to the table only to be told by my friend that the server told them that they need our table for the next guests. WHO DOES THAT??? Not even there for an hour and a half for a group of six with appies meals drinks desserts and tea plus a belly dancer for entertainment. Manager came to the table and started telling us to consider their restaurant for the holidays. Really?? Asked how was the meal. Told him great until they told us to basically leave. He was apologetic and told us its friday night and so busy and offered us some free cookies. WTF!! Are we in kindergarten? DO NOT go here if you want to have a great time with friends and family.