El Mansour

Don’t know what all those ppl saying food was only OK were talking about — the food we got today (new years eve) was AMAZING!
Ambience is excellent. Love the décor. The seating gives a communal feel but every «table» still gets their little privacy.
You get a little handwash from a silver basin before and after the meal. A very nice little touch.
Our set menu for NYE was $ 49 (or $ 45, I forget). Appetizer includes spicy lentil soup (delicious and not too spicy), cold plate of eggplants, cucumber and other veggies (I don’t really care about pickly stuff so no comment), and something called Bastela which is a pastry that contains minced chicken HOWEVER the crust is phyllo dough with powdered sugar! I have never had a savory meat dish that has sugar on top, yet in this case it works perfectly! LOVE LOVE LOVE the Bastela! It is a must have dish.
For entrée, we got fish tangine, lamb/​chicken with honey and almonds, and lamb/​chicken with lemon and olives. All three dishes were amazing. The meat was extremely tender (I asked the chef and the secret is just low simmer for hours) and requires no knives. The seasoning was just right, not too much spices or salt, but a very nice delicate balance. If it’s any evidence, my 16-​mo toddler cannot handle spices (she rejects Ethiopian food and Indian food), but was able to gobble down the fish, lamb, and chicken with a voracious appetite.
Dessert is very simple. Banana fritter and sweet bastela, accompanied by sweetened mint tea. Overall the portions were very good, not too much of anything, and I feel satiated but not overly full at the end.
Finally, there is entertainment. When dessert came out, so did the belly dancer. She performed 4 — 5 pieces (including a knife dance), and then asked the audience to join for dancing. I thought that was very fun and I shamelessly joined in :) after all… it’s NYE! She was very engaging and professional. My little toddler was very intrigued by the dancing!
The chef came out several times to check on the guests. He also constantly made sure the waiters were attentive.
Perhaps this is a special occasion and thus everything was especially cared for. Nevertheless, I have had such a good experience here, that I cannot give it anything less than 5 stars! For sure I will be coming back.

All in all, I’d say this is a 3 ½-​star spot — but it’s just so fun that I had to bump them up to 4.
I was here for the first time last Saturday. El Mansour is really off-​the-​beaten-​path for me. A far-​far-​and-​away place that I wouldn’t have known about it had it not been for my friend’s birthday. Shout out to my girl!
When I arrived, I thought, «ok, the Moroccan theme is in full effect.» It is a bit corny, but all in all, they’ve done a good job with the ambiance — dimly lit, beautiful colors, mosaic lighting effects. All of the seating is the round-​table comfort-​style, so get prepared to take a chill pill.
After I took in the Moroccan theme, ’twas time to chow down. My friends ordered the 5-​course meal, and I gotta give them mad props for even mentioning that I’m a vegetarian. Seriously — when it comes to family-​style meals, I’m easy. Just go with the flow even if that means I’m eating bread and rice. It’s all good.
The party started with lentil soup. 100% vegetarian and definitely worth a second bowl if you’re hungry. And next up was a hodgepodge plate — there was a bunch of meaty stuff on this plate but the only thing I can remember I could eat was the eggplant — SO GOOD!
**THE NEXT DISH, YOU CANNOT MISS** I don’t remember the name, but it’s a sweet and savory pastry dish (they’ll know when you tell them). It’s a sweet pastry stuffed with savory, spicy, delectable vegetables and meat. El Mansour was so nice, they made a special vegetarian version for lil old me. That just made my night. By the way, it all comes with bread, bread, and more bread. Nothing special or artisan — in fact, I think the bread is just regular old white buns. But you’ll definitely want one or two to soak up all that spicy goodness.
And finally, desserts. Honestly, I don’t think desserts here are memorable — especially since I can’t remember what we had! It’s all topped off by mint dessert tea and that’s a fun one to bust out the iPhone video :)
All in all, the food, belly dancing, ambiance and desserts make a fun package for a group of friends to just hang out, be chill, and get some good bites.
FINAL NOTE: Don’t worry about getting gussied up to come here. Dress is SUPER casual.

Ok I came here with four other friends. We all thought the food and the decorations here were spot on. The restaurant was really authentic; they even had a belly dancer.
HOWEVER, we thought we only ordered the lamb and vegetable couscous, but the one waiter there just kept on serving us more than we ordered! We ordered only 2 of the main dishes and planned to share it «family style», since we are all college students on a budget and the place was a kinda pricy. BUT the waiter took «family style» as give these people all the food on the menu! So we kept getting big plates of food and even dessert. We thought came with the meal because we didn’t ask for dessert.
We expected to pay no more than $ 90, BUT when we opened the check the bill as a whopping $ 220! We were all shocked! He even charged us for the dessert! I feel like they took advantage of us by just giving us food and not telling us what we had to pay for. The waiter just kept on saying, «oh it’s ok, it’s ok» whenever we asked questions.
SOOO if you have tons of money and a hunger for Moroccan food definitely go here! But if not, STAY AWAY. THEY WILL JUST KEEP ON GIVING YOU FOOD WITHOUT TELLING YOU THE PRICE & YOU WILL HAVE A GINORMOUS BILL.

I’ve gone here several times and have been comfortable, well fed, entertained and impressed every time. Can’t wait until my next visit! The pastilla is my favorite.

Came here with girlfriends to celebrate a birthday and what a fun night. The décor and ambiance is really special. Service terrific and attentive. The bellydancer was fun, talented and what a nice person. The food though was phenomenal. Fresh, delicious and each dish was a feast for the senses. Loved the mint tea service and rose water sprinkled on our hands. I was still smelling the soft scent hours later and remembering the fun evening. Love to do this again one night. Wonderful and memorable! Lovely people. El Mansour does not disappoint!

It is and interesting concept, very Mediterranean. The bellydancer was somewhat entertaining, but she was very stiff, I wouldn’t rate the performance that high. It was nice that she interacted with guests.
They definitely need to have additional help, when we entered we were not greeted and were forced to stand awkwardly at the entrance.
There was only one server, who was quite nice but even with the somewhat slow Thursday night he definitely could have checked in on us and brought out the wine/​food a bit more promptly.
It seems as though it is a popular Birthday spot, as there were three other groups celebrating as well as our group.
The food was Ok, not that great but nothing too horrible, well… other than the scallops.
I ordered the Mediterranian seafood Specialty, that came with prawns and scallops. There were about three decent prawns and four tiny scallops that tasted like they had been sitting in water. There was no taste or flavor to them and we’rent even seared properly.
The traditional hand washing with the silver basin at the beginning and end was nice.
All in all, if you are going for more of a special occasion/​Mediterranean experience then it is fine but if you’re a foodie-​I would skip it.

Great food
Great atmosphere
Very relaxing
Belly dancer… what more could you ask
Mint tea is incredible

I been craving to see some good belly dancing and this is 1 of 2 places to watch and enjoy over some good food
5* for exceptional service. Plenty of attentive waiters. Warm water to handwash with towel is great. Rose water at the end the dinner.
4* for the ambiance and belly dancer. Nice décor and entertainment to boot. I disliked the seating as it was extremely unconfortable. The tables were low so you are basically eating on a elevated floor. However the floor is small hard bench. The decorative pillows help a bit.
2* The food is not something to praise over. Certainly the quanity is there but the quality lacks. The price options are basically set at 36.50 and 38.50. You pay whether you want the lentil soup, salad, basteya, dessert. The food tastes like a buffet, a bit stale. I ordered the rabbit for the first time and I have to warn you its very gamey. However, I didnt mind it. The sea bass is just sad. It has the texture of a canned fish, soft, and over cooked. It also comes out cold soaking in clay pot. It does not have the texture of a firm flakey and fresh sea bass that one would expect. The dessert is ok. Nothing to rave about.
Other than having bugs bunny on the menu, I probably will not be visiting again.

We went here on a Saturday for a date night, and stepping into this restaurant sent me on a fairy tale vacation to Morocco. The interior is gorgeous, with fabric hanging from the ceilings, and decorative pillows and tables. Before you start your course, they bring over towels and a fancy water spout to pour water over your hands to wash them. They top it off with an orange scented oil to make your hands smell extra good. Eating here is such an experience.
It’s a fixed course menu, so not the cheapest, but reasonable for the amount of food you get. You start off with this delicious soft bread and a tasty lentil soup. We had this unique sweet and savory meat pancake dish, the Bastela du Chef next. As our entrees, my boyfriend and I got two different lamb dishes– the honey and almond lamb and the lamb tangine. I would highly highly recommend the honey and almond lamb. I absolutely adored the amount of sweet and savory combinations going on. The dessert was equally amazing, with the fresh fried bananas.
Halfway through our course, the bellydancer came out, only adding to the experience. They poured us this amazing mint tea at the end, at about 3 ft above the actual cups– watching this was entertaining within itself. Though this place is quite a long haul away, it’s definitely worth it, both for the food and the Moroccan getaway. I will definitely be coming back.

This place is my treat. I’ve eaten here at least 6 times. The soup, bread, salad, entrée are all good. I love the Bastilla, mint tea and the orange scented hand washing experience. I will return again and again.
If I were to remove a star it would only be because it’s a long drive to the restaurant.

My husband and I enjoyed a nice evening here with tasty foods and pretty good entertainment for the price $$$.
LOVE THE FOOD!!! Belly dancing is also pretty cool, so do bring some cash to tip the dancers!

I was invited to a birthday dinner here and I’ve driven past this restaurant and never gone in but boy oh boy is it cool inside!
The decorations are gorgeous and exotic inside and the tables are lower to the ground with cushiony booths and sitting ottomans to sit at. Also there’s belly dancing at 8pm and 9pm which is pretty cool to watch although not as cool as the spinning dervishes I saw in Egypt, man they’re nuts!
The food was good but not great. Each meal consisted of lentil soup, salad, bread, a sweet and savory puff pastry appetizer, your entrée, dessert and mint tea all of which was ok except for the lentil soup which was awesome and the mint tea! My chicken and vegetable entrée was ok but it was simply a roast chicken with gravy, zucchini and carrots not bad but not great.
All in all it was a really cool experience and I’d come back since its a cool themed restaurant but I’d try other dishes.

I came here a few months after coming back from a vacation in Morocco. I haven’t been to any other Moroccan restaurants in the city so most of my comparisons are based on my memories from there. Overall, I had a great experience at this place and I would rate it 4.5÷5 stars but I’m bumping it up to 5 because of the excellent service.
The first thing that I noticed when I walked in was the décor. The restaurant is beautifully and colorfully designed. Everything about this place, including the patterns, textures, furniture, ornaments, and some of the silverware was very reminiscent of what I had experienced when I went to Morocco. The atmosphere was authentic and unique. There was a brief moment, upon entering, when I forgot that I was in San Francisco and felt like I was instantly transported to an exotic land thousands of miles away.
The menu is pretty straightforward, you order an entrée or a special and it comes with all of the works. I went with my girlfriend and we ordered the fish tagine and the couscous with chicken and vegetables.
They first brought out the soup with some bread. The soup reminded of the South Indian soup rasam, although it was not nearly as strong. I liked this soup better than the rasam because it was not overwhelming and I could taste the flavors more. The bread was good, but it wasn’t the same kind of bread that I had in Morocco.
The next dish was the salad, which contained four separate portions of eggplant, carrots, cucumbers, and some sort of salsa looking thing that looked oddly similar to pico de gallo. The former three were delicious, varied, and flavorful. Unfortunately the latter one was disappointing — I’m not sure what they were trying to do there.
After the salad came the pastilla. My judgement here will be unfair because in Morocco I had a home cooked pastilla that would probably be almost impossible to beat. Nevertheless, the pastilla here was fine even though it did not have as much flavor as the one in Morocco.
Afterwards, we had our entrees. The couscous with chicken and vegetables was excellent although it was slightly too salty. The fish tagine was a little disappointing because the portions were small, there wasn’t a lot of broth, and there wasn’t really anything else there besides the fish itself. I also wish they brought it out in an actual tagine with the lid on, but that’s probably just me being too pretentious about Moroccan food. Despite all that, everything tasted fantastic and was well cooked.
The dessert was pretty good as well and consisted of fried bananas and some other thing. It was good, but didn’t really stand out.
The last I had was the mint tea, which tasted very similar to what I remembered.
Besides the amazing atmosphere and good food, the service was also on point. Everyone was kind, friendly, and quick to attend to our needs. There was also a belly dancer performing for everyone. She was entertaining and fun to watch.

Game to experience different cuisines, our friends made dinner reservations for an exotic Moroccan dinner at a neighborhood restaurant. After entering the restaurant doorway that is lined with Moorish tiles, you’ve entered a large dining room that’s resembles a Moroccan tent. Walls are covered with green and red tapestry with low pillowed bench sofas and floor cushion stools and lacquered dining tables. The dining room was semi divided into two and we were seated in the back half this evening. (
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After checking out the menu, we opted for the specialty selections for the six of us. The meal starts off with a hand washing, where the waiters brings a silver basin to the table and pours warm water on your hands to wash them. Why? Because you eat with your fingers. No utensils here. Ok, they will give you a fork if you insist. (
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To start the meal, the waiter brings a large platter of sliced Moroccan flatbread for you to put on your plate. He does come by several time during the course of the dinner to offer more bread.
Harira Soup — a bowl of warm spicy lentil soup that you can dip your bread into it. Though described as spicy, didn’t think it was spicy. (
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Salade Mohammed V — a combination platter of tomatoes, eggplant, carrots and cucumbers. Each platter served three of us. This is where the bread came in handy. Used it dip/​grab the tomatoes and eggplant items. (
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Entertainment. Yes, this is when belly dancer started performing. After her solo performance, it was audience participation time. First three women, then three men. Let’s say, I got a dance lesson with my dinner. Ha! She then finished with a sword dance. (
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Bastela du Chef — chicken pastilla with almond and spices. Each of powdered sugar topped pastilla served three of us. The warm filling is not creamy, but rather a dry filling. This Moroccan chicken pie was tasty. (
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Specialties plate –this was a good sampler plate. It consisted of Moroccan seafood (shrimp and scallops), lamb and chicken kabob, lamb and chicken with almonds and vegetables. It was good way to get a sampling of the various Moroccan dishes. The chicken and lamb were not deboned and hence, at times it was a little difficult to manage with just your fingers. (
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Again, it was time for another hand washing before our dessert course. Mint tea was then artistically poured from three feet above the cup. (
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King Hassan (banana fritter) and Keneffa (sweet bastela with cream and almonds) — good, but expected something more exotic. (
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Overall, it was a nice experiencing the foods and culture of Morocco at a neighborhood restaurant in the Richmond District. Service was friendly and attentive. This being my first foray into Moroccan cuisine, it was nice being able to taste a wide variety of foods during this meal. Some dishes were tastier and more unique that others. Now I can say I’ve dined Moroccan.

Neighborhood places are often forgotten.
We often take them for granted since access is so easy.
The friends who introduced this restaurant to me have a special place in their heart here. You see, their original location two doors up from here was the site of two life changing experiences for them: their proposal and wedding!
As you walk in, you’ll notice the setup is similar. The tables have either bench seating or cushioned stools. We were seated near the kitchen entrance. After receiving our menus, my friends noticed it was different from before. There are meal options as well as ala carte selections available. We were a party of six and two diners were new to Moroccan food so we asked our waiter to put together a family style tasting menu. Here’s what we had:
First course
Soup and bread (
) — Smooth and slightly warm bean or lentil soup with fresh baked warm bread.
Second course
Pickled veggies and hummus/​dips (
) — Good munching while conversing course. Nothing really stood out.
Third course
Chicken pie (
) — Favorite dish of the meal, but wish it was warmer. Friend joked that he would prefer a double order of this over entrees.
Fourth course
Mixed entrees (
) — This plate featured a little from each of the dinner entrée options of seafood, kebabs, lamb, and chicken. The seafood comprised of scallops, shrimp, and some squid, I believe. The quartered chicken was well seasoned but a bit difficult to share as bones were an obstacle. The kebab was okay and didn’t stand out.
The dancer started her performance when we received our second course. By this time, the dining room was 70% full. The sword dance and audience participation were the highlights. Given the large gap between dining trips here, it is difficult to detail the changes; generally, I remember there was more protein, the old place was cozier, and the feel was a bit warmer and brighter. The meals here are around $ 40.00 per person pretax and tip. Food rates three stars plus half star for attentive service and entertainment. Decent change of pace neighborhood spot.

It actually pains me to say this because I’m a pretty big fan of Moroccan food, but I was honestly was not impressed by this place at all. That’s what happens when a dinner turns into a three-​hour affair that pretty much blows up your entire Saturday night plans. Not just that, but somehow family style (which you would expect to be cheaper) still ended up being like $ 60/​person. Shame too, because the food was pretty decent.

Spent V-​day here with the beau and it was absolutely perfect. I knew I wanted to go somewhere romantic and not too stuffy. El Mansour definitely fit the bill. Upon opening the door, you are whisked into the main dining room. The seats are lined up against the walls to create an open space in the middle. Everything felt very exotic — from the curtains hanging from the ceiling to the arabesque lamps lining the wall. The décor are deeps reds, golds and greens.
The menu is a five-​course meal where you just have to pick your entrée. The meal starts with washing your hands in a beautiful silver bowl while the server pours the water from a pot. This instantly set the mood that we were in for something different.
Next the lentil soup arrived with bread for dipping. I loved that it arrived piping hot. Next, a salad of various vegetables — carrots, and cucumbers and other pickled selections similar to a mezze plate.
Then the Bastela du Chef which was a puff pastry made up of sweet and savory fillings dusted with confectioner’s sugar.
For entrees, we had the Moroccan seafood with shrimp and scallops served with coucous and the Lamb and chicken. Everything was delicious.
For dessert, we had banana fritters and the Keneffa — a sweet puff pastry with cream and almonds.
Wait.there’s more! As a palate cleanser, our server pours us hot moroccan mint tea with a touch of honey. My favorite part was watching our server pour the tea from high above into the cup.
Needless to say, we were absolutely stuffed. At the end of the meal, the server comes out with the wash basin for us to wash our hands. As an extra touch, he also sprinkled rose water into our hands.
The cherry on top was the complimentary rose at the end of the night.
And of course, the belly dancing! She came out twice during our meal for about 10 minutes each.

This place is great for a group outing or special birthday dinner
Came to this place about 7 years ago but never Unilocaled it. Hmmm…
You walk in and you’re taken to another land with colored lanterns, ornate and comfy seating, and subtle traditional musis. Menu items are fixed meaning you choose your entrée (chicken, lamb, vegetarian) and is accompanied with a soup, salad, dessert and complimentary tea. The food is delicious starting with lentil soup, and sharing dishes such as chicken kebab with preserved lemons and lamb with prunes… of course, we all had the giggles as to who would have the first affects of eating prunes. Immaturity aside, the dishes were delicious and our group had fun all night without any potential-​prune-​induced issues. Probably a good thing they served mint tea… My favorite dish of the evening was the Bastila — sweet, savory, cinnamony, powdered-​sugary filo wrapped shredded chicken with almonds. Sounds odd but so delicious!
The belly dancer was wonderful and engaged customers in joining her. She had that side-​hip action going ala Shakira and were all wowed.

First date? Night out with some kids? Need some entertainment with your meal? El Mansour is totally the place to go.
PROS: Great food, semi-​pre-​fixe menu, gorgeous interior décor, parking easily available across the street, bellydancers nightly, outstanding service
CONS: Ok, it’s a little pricey.
The menu at El Mansour is mostly pre-​fixe; choose you entrée and the rest is taken care of.
Your meal starts with a ritual hand-​washing in a warm silver basin with towels (you’re gonna eat with your hands). Next comes a harissa spiced lentil soup you’ll sip from the bowl or sop up with homemade bread. A veggie course is next with a platter of 4 salads (tomato and pepper, roasted eggplant, pickled cucumber, and spicy carrot). Third course is the bastella, which is a thin and crisp philo dough filled with a savory-​almost-​sweet blend of chicken, eggs, and spices (this one is truly unique!). Your entrée of choice will come next, and after digesting they’ll bring out a fried banana dessert and a lovely pouring of moroccan mint tea. To wrap it all up, you’ll wash your hands in warm water again, and the waiter will sprinkle rosewater on your hands so they don’t smell like food.
El Mansour is solid moroccan food with a serving pattern that you can chat about with your fellow diners. The pre-​fixe setup allows you to try small portions of things you might not otherwise order, and get a great sampling of the cuisine.
5 courses for $ 38? Not bad!

This seems to be the only «traditional» style, multi-​course Moroccan restaurant with bellydancers that I have been able to find in SF, and compared with others I have been to in other cities, this ranks high up there — delicious food, good service, bellydancing, ambiance!
First, the food: The lamb + couscous was AMAZING, so tender! And I usually don’t like lamb dishes. My husband’s rabbit tagine dish was delightful. Every course was delightful (not a big deal and doesn’t change my high opinion of the restaurant one bit, but I think they could improve on the dessert — I’m personally not a big fan of fried bananas and phyllo dough with almonds, but others in my group enjoyed it).
Second, the experience: Interestingly, it doesn’t look like a restaurant from the outside — the ceramic tiles on the wall and blue door are full of atmosphere /​character, and the inside is cute as well. Service was attentive.
Unlike in similar restaurants, the bellydancer doesn’t merely go up to each table and do a little dance and move on to the next (we did go on a Sunday, so it was less crowded), but she performed for almost 30 minutes straight while we were there (starting at 7:30pm) and used props such as cymbals, a drum, and a sword. She also did some interactive dancing — I enjoyed dancing with her!