Tara Kitchen Tribeca
Moroccan restaurant · Tribeca ·
Moroccan specialties like lamb shank and seafood tagines
Moroccan specialties like lamb shank and seafood tagines
"Unlike many of its neighbors, Tara Kitchen isn’t a super high-end spot that only caters to finance types who spend money in order to forget about how many hours they work. This Moroccan restaurant, which has a few locations in New Jersey and upstate New York, is a relatively casual spot with tufted banquettes and fake flowers stuck to the walls. Start with the marinated olives, then focus on the tagines. We’re fans of the one with honey and harissa-glazed lamb shank served over mashed potatoes." - molly fitzpatrick, bryan kim, willa moore, kenny yang
"Tribeca is full of pricey restaurants that feel like the kinds of places where day traders and models go to mingle after a long day of making millions. Tara Kitchen, a casual Moroccan spot with locations in New Jersey and upstate NY, is decidedly not that kind of place. It feels more like a theme park rendition of Morocco—and we suggest just leaning into the lanterns and drapes and letting the food transport you. Start with an order of marinated olives, then get into some tagines, which are the highlight of the menu. There are a couple dozen different kinds, including mechoui, a honey and harissa-glazed lamb shank served over velvety mashed potatoes that we'll be thinking about until our next visit." - Carina Finn
"Tara Kitchen serves Moroccan food in a vibrant space that makes us want to redecorate our home. When it comes to ordering, there are no wrong answers here—everything is excellent—but order an appetizer sampler and at least one of their 11 different lamb tagines for your table. During lunch, they also make some Moroccan-inspired pita pizzas. If you can’t stop thinking about your meal here, the chef, Aneesa Waheed, also has a cookbook." - Carina Finn
"At 253 Church Street in Tribeca, Tara Kitchen — opened by Chef Aneesa Waheed, who was born in Mumbai, fell in love with Moroccan food in Marrakesh, has appeared on Guy Fieri’s Grocery Games and Beat Bobby Flay (she lost), and sells a line of jarred sauces and a cookbook — feels like the best Moroccan restaurant to hit NYC in a long time. The recipes, honed at her earlier branches, have a lived-in, Mom’s-home-cooking quality that favors flavor over appearance. The menu largely ignores couscous and concentrates on 26 tagines: start with chicken m’chermel ($29), a half chicken and potatoes flavored with green olives and preserved lemons that resolve into a thick tart sauce, and don’t miss Mechoui, a monster lamb shank braised with honey and harissa and served on a bed of buttery mashed potatoes; other lamb tagines feature dried apricots, toasted almonds, eggplant, and chermoula. Equally notable is r’fissa ($29) — chicken seasoned with fenugreek and saffron and bathed in smen with lentils and currents atop shredded flatbread that soaks up the juices like a savory bread pudding — and the Essaouira plate, a choice assortment of seafood (scallops, shrimp, and fish) with a light spice mix that enhances oceanic flavors. Warm salads are a delight: the best ($9) is tender fava beans with artichoke hearts in a sharp dressing, while the fig salad (with white beans and almonds) was less harmonious; also try the warm Marrakesh green olives tasting of garlic and red chiles. Tagines may be mopped with pitas or eaten with rice. The Tribeca outpost opened just before last Christmas and only recently received its wine and beer license, so you can now enjoy Moroccan wines with your meal — and linger afterward with an order of baklava." - Robert Sietsema
"After opening branches upstate and at the Jersey Shore, this Tribeca newcomer fills a gap in NYC’s offerings of North African food; I found a broader range of Moroccan dishes than I’ve yet seen, including the rfissa chicken ($22), a stew flavored with an eight-spice ra el hanout and dotted with lentils and currants that’s deposited on torn pieces of msemen to make a slightly unsightly but supremely delicious quasi-pudding, served sizzling in a tagine." - Eater Staff
