The atmosphere and the music are amazing. They take you another place! The food was delicious. I liked the lamb the most
Tristan Villa
I often take my friends to this restaurant with my warmest recommendations. I visit this restaurant often. This recommendation is always successful. The the food there is tasty and the team is welcoming and cooperative. Whenever we go to this place we have a pleasing evening. highly recommended.
Alena O.
Menara offers a complete Moroccan dining experience. First, the setting is ideal, starting with a lovely open foyer which leads into a spacious seating area. Next comes the excellent cocktails and bread to whet your appetite. The 5 course meal that follows is one of the best you'll find in the South Bay. My husband order the rabbit main dish and I ordered the Cornish hen. There is not wrong choice, but the rabbit was to die for. On the other hand, the braised lamb with honey and almonds that adjoined my dish was exquisite. Honestly, everything we tried was excellent, and we tried a lot! Please do yourself a favor and come to Menara for dinner!
Athena Pitts
Moroccan food, mmm, quality stuff. Really nothing but great experiences here, so I will be back. Reminds me of a cafe in Chicago I loved to visit.
Moe
Harira soup is basically a lentil soup in here. This is not the best Moroccan restaurants.
S.P.A. Facial Plastics
Amazing food and entertainment. Been going here for years!
Suhas Avadhuta
Fun place to take your friends and family. Food quality can improve a bit but overall a great experience.
Velinda Galvin
I had to get my B'stilla, as that was my main reason to drive from Fremont to San Jose. I also tried the kebab platter for the first time, and it was pretty good. We also enjoyed the bread, Moroccan salad, saffron rice and vegetables. My brother hadn't eaten here in about 15 years, and he sad the food was good. Mind you my brother is a picky eater.
khyati mishra
Great ambience..good food. The artist performing belly dancing was able to really engaged the patrons. It was a good overall experience.
Nico L.
Fantastic food! I highly recommend this place. I've had a ton of the menu items but recommend the lamb shank more than anything. The bread they give you is some of the best bread I've ever had.
A friend posted a picture of Menara's garlic bread on Facebook and it totally caught my attention. I went through their yelp and website and decided to check them out tonight. I was very impressed with their phone ordering service. The guy who took my order really new their food and was able to give me assistance and recommendations due to my allergens. I was even more impressed with the way things were set up for pick up, especially during these times. This was the first restaurant I've gone to during SIP that brought the food w/ no contact, didn't even have to leave my car. The owner was super helpful and considerate. I greatly appreciate and impressed with the customer service here. My family and I ordered their hummus, Moroccan salad, watermelon salad, garlic cheese bread, small chicken bastilla(big enough for 4 ppl), chicken kebab plate, prawn couscous bowl(big enough for 2-3 ppl), chicken w/ lemon preserves, chicken w/ apricot, and fish w/ gree chermoula. They gave two loaves of bread w: cucumber/mint yogurt. OMG! Everything was delicious and perfect spice level! All was wrapped nearly and packaged nicely too! I typically use yelp to find a spot and will verify if it's worth checking out from the reviews from others, but an experience I had today definitely had me feeling the need to say something. #supportlocal
Deepika M.
Lovely food and very authentic environment. We loved the performance and were glad we arrived early to get a good seat! Highly recommend the kebabs!
Tracy Valero
I spent a lovely evening here taking in the beautiful atmosphere and enjoying the incredible food. The paneer was so fresh, and the lentil soup seasoned to perfection!
Mike M.
Menara Moroccan Restaurant has, over the years, been a great special occasion restaurant for us. My wife and I enjoy the good food and the belly dancing entertainment. The ambiance is distinct, with very low round tables where you can sit on pillows on the floor or on a higher padded, upholstered, and pillowed bench along the wall. We had reservations that we made some time before which we timed to be seated what we thought was a half hour before the start of the first dancer. When we arrived, the restaurant was mostly empty. Later all seats were taken. The entertainment started a half hour past the time when the normal belly dancing was scheduled as per their web site. We were told when we were seated that this evening (29 February 2020) was a special entertainment night with a live band and three belly dancers. That is good news from the entertainment side. The not so good news was that the normal menu would not be available that night; they only has a single fixed price menu with some limited choices of the main course. There was no advance notice of this when we booked the reservation. We were disappointed that our favorite dish (lamb with honey was not on the limited menu). The person who seated us said that they would prepare that dish just for us. On the special fixed price ($40/person) menu, the B'Stilla would be $3/person extra (normally that is included). I highly recommend the B'Stilla. We of course ordered it and it was, as usual, fantastic. They now provide forks; it used to be that you ate only with your hands, Moroccan style. The large towel was replaced by a cloth napkin, presumably since you aren't eating with your hands. There is still the hand washing at your seat before the meal. We tried one of their speciality cocktails made with fig liqueur ($10). It was OK, but not extraordinary. The lamb looked like a nice portion when served; however, we found that was mostly bone, resulting in a very small portion. We mentioned that later to the person who seated us (the manager?) and he apologized and provided us with another serving that was properly sized. The taste of the lamb with honey was absolutely fantastic. At the end of the meal, the mint tea that was served was only mildly minty sweet. Not like the very sweet minty usual Moroccan tea. Fortunately, our second serving of the tea tasted at it should. The special entertainment was very, very good. Their web site should call attention to the nights when this type of entertainment is offered. Also the limited menu should be prominently mentioned on the special entertainment nights so customers have no surprises. The music was very interesting with three different dancers, all very talented. The dancers make their way around the main room, dancing closely by each table, as well as dancing in the center of the room. One of the dancers did a dance with a curved sword balanced on her head. All in all, we had a very good evening.
Wafa R.
Delicious food and great belly dancing. Cozy atmosphere. Friendly owner and stafff.
The atmosphere and the music are amazing. They take you another place! The food was delicious. I liked the lamb the most
I often take my friends to this restaurant with my warmest recommendations. I visit this restaurant often. This recommendation is always successful. The the food there is tasty and the team is welcoming and cooperative. Whenever we go to this place we have a pleasing evening. highly recommended.
Menara offers a complete Moroccan dining experience. First, the setting is ideal, starting with a lovely open foyer which leads into a spacious seating area. Next comes the excellent cocktails and bread to whet your appetite. The 5 course meal that follows is one of the best you'll find in the South Bay. My husband order the rabbit main dish and I ordered the Cornish hen. There is not wrong choice, but the rabbit was to die for. On the other hand, the braised lamb with honey and almonds that adjoined my dish was exquisite. Honestly, everything we tried was excellent, and we tried a lot! Please do yourself a favor and come to Menara for dinner!
Moroccan food, mmm, quality stuff. Really nothing but great experiences here, so I will be back. Reminds me of a cafe in Chicago I loved to visit.
Harira soup is basically a lentil soup in here. This is not the best Moroccan restaurants.
Amazing food and entertainment. Been going here for years!
Fun place to take your friends and family. Food quality can improve a bit but overall a great experience.
I had to get my B'stilla, as that was my main reason to drive from Fremont to San Jose. I also tried the kebab platter for the first time, and it was pretty good. We also enjoyed the bread, Moroccan salad, saffron rice and vegetables. My brother hadn't eaten here in about 15 years, and he sad the food was good. Mind you my brother is a picky eater.
Great ambience..good food. The artist performing belly dancing was able to really engaged the patrons. It was a good overall experience.
Fantastic food! I highly recommend this place. I've had a ton of the menu items but recommend the lamb shank more than anything. The bread they give you is some of the best bread I've ever had.
Restaurantji Recommends
A friend posted a picture of Menara's garlic bread on Facebook and it totally caught my attention. I went through their yelp and website and decided to check them out tonight. I was very impressed with their phone ordering service. The guy who took my order really new their food and was able to give me assistance and recommendations due to my allergens. I was even more impressed with the way things were set up for pick up, especially during these times. This was the first restaurant I've gone to during SIP that brought the food w/ no contact, didn't even have to leave my car. The owner was super helpful and considerate. I greatly appreciate and impressed with the customer service here. My family and I ordered their hummus, Moroccan salad, watermelon salad, garlic cheese bread, small chicken bastilla(big enough for 4 ppl), chicken kebab plate, prawn couscous bowl(big enough for 2-3 ppl), chicken w/ lemon preserves, chicken w/ apricot, and fish w/ gree chermoula. They gave two loaves of bread w: cucumber/mint yogurt. OMG! Everything was delicious and perfect spice level! All was wrapped nearly and packaged nicely too! I typically use yelp to find a spot and will verify if it's worth checking out from the reviews from others, but an experience I had today definitely had me feeling the need to say something. #supportlocal
Lovely food and very authentic environment. We loved the performance and were glad we arrived early to get a good seat! Highly recommend the kebabs!
I spent a lovely evening here taking in the beautiful atmosphere and enjoying the incredible food. The paneer was so fresh, and the lentil soup seasoned to perfection!
Menara Moroccan Restaurant has, over the years, been a great special occasion restaurant for us. My wife and I enjoy the good food and the belly dancing entertainment. The ambiance is distinct, with very low round tables where you can sit on pillows on the floor or on a higher padded, upholstered, and pillowed bench along the wall. We had reservations that we made some time before which we timed to be seated what we thought was a half hour before the start of the first dancer. When we arrived, the restaurant was mostly empty. Later all seats were taken. The entertainment started a half hour past the time when the normal belly dancing was scheduled as per their web site. We were told when we were seated that this evening (29 February 2020) was a special entertainment night with a live band and three belly dancers. That is good news from the entertainment side. The not so good news was that the normal menu would not be available that night; they only has a single fixed price menu with some limited choices of the main course. There was no advance notice of this when we booked the reservation. We were disappointed that our favorite dish (lamb with honey was not on the limited menu). The person who seated us said that they would prepare that dish just for us. On the special fixed price ($40/person) menu, the B'Stilla would be $3/person extra (normally that is included). I highly recommend the B'Stilla. We of course ordered it and it was, as usual, fantastic. They now provide forks; it used to be that you ate only with your hands, Moroccan style. The large towel was replaced by a cloth napkin, presumably since you aren't eating with your hands. There is still the hand washing at your seat before the meal. We tried one of their speciality cocktails made with fig liqueur ($10). It was OK, but not extraordinary. The lamb looked like a nice portion when served; however, we found that was mostly bone, resulting in a very small portion. We mentioned that later to the person who seated us (the manager?) and he apologized and provided us with another serving that was properly sized. The taste of the lamb with honey was absolutely fantastic. At the end of the meal, the mint tea that was served was only mildly minty sweet. Not like the very sweet minty usual Moroccan tea. Fortunately, our second serving of the tea tasted at it should. The special entertainment was very, very good. Their web site should call attention to the nights when this type of entertainment is offered. Also the limited menu should be prominently mentioned on the special entertainment nights so customers have no surprises. The music was very interesting with three different dancers, all very talented. The dancers make their way around the main room, dancing closely by each table, as well as dancing in the center of the room. One of the dancers did a dance with a curved sword balanced on her head. All in all, we had a very good evening.
Delicious food and great belly dancing. Cozy atmosphere. Friendly owner and stafff.