Marrakech Restaurant

Savory and sweet combine in the Marrakech Restaurant to create a unique taste for Albuquerque. The menu includes the more familiar Mediterranean cuisine to attract customers to the familiar, then engages their taste buds with a distinctive array of Moroccan recipes as well.

The Marrakech Restaurant, owned by Ridha Bouajila, opened in January of 2010. It is the third restaurant opened by Bouajila in Albuquerque since 2002. The first was the Marrakech Restaurant by the university from 1998 to 2002. Then, he owned the Mediterranean Cafe from 2004 to 2006. The newest location has strayed away from the Greek cuisine a bit and added more Moroccan dishes -- and customers who gravitate to his use of dried fruit to naturally sweeten his dishes continue to find him.

"It is not an easy thing to do," Bouajila said, "to bring a new style of food to New Mexico. This is the only Moroccan restaurant in New Mexico."

Bouajila moved to the United States from Tunisia, North Africa 20 years ago. Then, he settled in New Mexico three years later. His background is in mathematics and social sciences, but that is not what he enjoys. Instead, he decided to share his mother's recipes through the restaurant.

"I could teach," Bouajila said, "but I have no passion for it. I'd rather cook than teach."

The Tagine of Lemon Chicken Mruzia ($15.99) is a favorite example of how the Moroccan recipes he learned from his mother use fruit to enhance the flavors of the meat. Bouajila cooks the chicken breast in a medley of dried plums, apricots, almonds and honey. Another example is the Tagine of Lemon Chicken ($15.99) where he cooks the chicken with lemons that he preserved in cumin, coriander, lemon juice, garlic and salt. Then, he adds olives and saffron to create a dish that is a delectable combination of salty and sweet.

Perhaps one of the most unique dishes to Morocco is the King's Bastilla ($15.99). The bastilla is known to be one of the King of Morocco's favorite dishes -- although the authentic dish uses pigeons instead of chicken.  
"It is an acquired taste," Bouajila said of the menu item described as "chicken artfully combined with crushed almonds, rosewater, sugar and eggs wrapped in phyllo dough, baked and sprinkled with powdered sugar and cinnamon."

"It is an acquired taste," Bouajila said of the menu item described as "chicken artfully combined with crushed almonds, rosewater, sugar and eggs wrapped in phyllo dough, baked and sprinkled with powdered sugar and cinnamon."

HelloMetro Tip: On Friday and Saturday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., belly dancers roam the restaurant in their elaborate costumes stopping by tables to shimmy and dance. "People like to have a meal," Bouajila said, "then have free entertainment."

- by Julie Medina, Albuquerque Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Julie Medina

Julie Medina has experience as a reporter at the Albuquerque Journal and has written freelance articles for the Albuquerque Tribune, Albuquerque the Magazine, New Mexico Magazine and New Mexico Kids Magazine. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in print journalism from the University of New Mexico in 2008. She has lived in Albuquerque since 1984 and believes it is best to remember to play like a tourist in your own hometown so you don't forget the vast culture around you.