Simon’s Cafe

Still love this place. We held a holiday party here and they did a great job and were very accommodating. Food is delicious. Simon is a treasure. The only bad thing about the place is the parking situation isn’t great.

This place made me feel so welcomed, Simon was a very kind host and talked to all his guests. This is definitely a hidden gem you need to give a shot.
We ordered their cigars, with beef deep fried with a crisp and great flavor to each bite. But we didn’t stop there, we also had their cheese borek, 3 different cheeses in a buttery flaky crust. And to finish our cravings for appetizer we also decided to get the sampler platter. You get to try the first five listings on their menu. It’s worth it! Just filled with flavor and served the most delicious hot soft bread. We also got a side of their hot sauce, the green one was spicy and a great addition to our platter.
For our main course, I ordered the chicken tagine, a tomato stew with olives and I don’t even like olives, but it sure did taste delicious. The chicken was so tender and the sauce served with saffron rice, there wasn’t much left, I literally scraped every last bit of stew off. I also tried their chicken schnitzel, it’s like a big chicken nugget but absolutely juicy, crispy, and yummy. Make sure you get it with their French fries, I don’t know what it was about their fries but they sure didn’t need any ketchup, just delicious. And lastly I had a bite of the Rosemary marinated chicken, it’s my next dish when I return.
If you happen to be in the area, this place is one to try out. It’s a super casual, tiny restaurant but big on hospitality and flavor.

So I’m just going to get to the point: I did Peace Corps in Morocco. I know what actual (delicious!) Moroccan food is. Just thought I should start with my credentials.
The above being said, Simon’s is close to legit! Probably the only place in California where you can get a Casablanca beer. MIND BLOWN! The owner was super sweet and talked a lot about his adventures in the cuisine world. He also gave us a free cookie. :) Great food all around. If you go here you have to have harira (the Maroc soup). So good! Next time I would probably get the Tajin instead of couscous. Such a unique and wonderfully hidden gem in the SFV.

Hidden gym.
Service– head chef and owner Simon takes your order and chats about the food, wine, etc
Food– authentic, tasty, well Balanced; truly the best falafel I’ve ever had and as a middle easterner I’ve had lots throughout my life; soup (harera) was awesome and authentic, simple. Tagine was great,
Excellent and perfectly cooked lamb, very tender.
Desert was dangerously good, we ordered much more than anticipated and all around great (passion fruit mango pudding is a must try)
Ambience– small place, simple; this would be only critique. Otherwise clean.
Presentation of food– good; traditional
Highly recommend this place to anyone in the mood for great Moroccan food. I want to try tagine in Beverly Hills at some point but I’m betting I’ll come back to this place as a regular

Simple place, complex tastes, a good time was had by all. Two us us had the tangine (one lamb, one chicken) and two had the skewers (again, lamb and chicken), one with the Royal Couscous. The seasoning was not overbearing, but we could definitely tell that we were eating Moroccan foods. Simon is a great guy and made sure everything was as it should be. Come back often.

Best food ever! Definitely recommend to come here. Israeli salad with tagine chicken was amazing!!!

Absolutely delicious!!! We had two different entrees — both spectacular! The two tarts we tried were also excellent!!! Portions were very good sized and the prices quite reasonable. We ended up with leftovers, which were also quite excellent cold the next morning! Love this place and will be back!
Simon is such a warm and friendly host, and the restaurant has a nice vibe which makes it good for families, couples, or even business dinners.

TL;DR version of all these reviews:
–Simon is a wonderful human being who takes immense pride in what he does (which is cook like he’s The Creator’s gift to food. And to the people who love to eat it.).
–His food is scrumptious
–The tagine in particular induces gastronomic and spiritual awakenings
–Save room for dessert
Even when the food was slightly colder (after we drove it home in take-​out boxes), it was still magnificent. I mean truly glorious. It’s a safe bet that you’ll enjoy it, too.

Don’t miss out on this restaurant.
The appetizers, dinner, desserts, atmosphere… everything feels like eating top-​notch home-​cooked food somewhere between Marrakech and Marseille.
One of the few restaurants in Los Angeles where the food is cooked through and through with love.

Simon’s Café is definitely one of my favorite restaurants in the Valley. I have been coming here for years and even had my college graduation dinner at Simon’s. More recently, we decided to have a family dinner here on the weekend of our wedding. Simon is a lovely man and was so accommodating; because we had a larger party and some of my husband’s family coming in from New York, Simon let us give our entrée selections in advance. When we arrived, our table was ready and the food (appetizer combination plate, a variety of salads and tagines) came out in a nice succession. Half of our party really wasn’t familiar with Moroccan/​Israeli cuisine, but everyone was very pleased with the food.
My personal favorites: On the top of my list, the chicken tagine with tomatoes and olives is my desert island meal. The meat is so tender and the flavors of this dish are incredible (I have tried all of the tagines, and they are all delicious). The combination platter is very plentiful, featuring PERFECT falafel, this was a huge hit with our family. Also, the Pastilla (ground chicken and duck in pastry) is such a savory treat, a must-​try if you are really hungry and want to order an appetizer before the main course. Simon also makes delicious cookies. So good that I almost teared up when I first tried one several years ago!
The atmosphere of the restaurant is very warm and inviting. I would definitely recommend this establishment for a dinner date or family gathering, or to anyone that really appreciates quality Moroccan/​Mediterranean food. Thanks Simon!

Food was delicious and Simon is such a sweet guy! He came by the table to check on us several times and was so genuine and friendly. The space is small and cozy but clean and well-​maintained. Perfect for a date.
Wheat makes me sick so we ordered falafel for an appetizer and Simon threw in some hummus and pita (for my husband). I had the salmon, which was very tasty, and husband had the lamb tagine. He said it was fantastic. The tajin made his night! And when we got our bill, Simon brought us cookies. But then he remembered I couldn’t eat them, so he brought me some candied orange peel. We are definitely coming back!

I have been going to Simon’s for 10 years and the falafel are still the best I have ever tasted. His healthy and delicious soups and salads are the best in the Valley and I don’t know how he smokes his eggplants, but anything he makes with them is just delicious.
And ask for his fresh mint lemonade — so unique and refreshing.
Its not the speediest service in town, but since the food is all so hand made and good, its always worth the wait.
We never normally have room for dessert, but just recently tried one of his freshly baked fruit tarts– OMG, so yummy (he says is because he halves the amount of sugar most american restaurants use and sugar can drown flavor).

I have posted on Simon’s previously. So, I’ll do it again, because restaurants can change over time. The experience you had last night is not always the same as you will get on your next visit. Every experience I have had at Simon’s Café is always FIVE stars. If you are a foodie, you will fall in love with the delicate symphony of flavors that is consistently produced in this quaint neighborhood gem. TIP: Free valet parking in the rear. Take advantage of it.
Oh yes, lest I forget… fabulous homemade pastries. Fruit torts, cakes, baklava. In fact, for reasons of my waistline, I NEVER eat deserts anymore, out of necessity, (alas), UNLESS I am at Simon’s.

I hadn’t heard about this place until I went there, but I was so impressed. I had the beef tagine which was cooked perfectly, and the the chocolate mousse, it was silly and the perfect about of sweetness. The service was great, and Simon the owner was as cute as can be.

Finally came here one evening to try out their food! I was excited to get my meal served in a tagine and this is one of the few places near where I live.
We ordered the lamb tagine and a side salad. The portion was a little smaller than I was expecting but the food was great! You get couscous served in the middle and if you aren’t starving, then one tagine should be good enough to share between you and one other person but I’d recommend getting an appetizer to make sure you don’t walk out still hungry.
The service was quick and friendly, we came here on a Friday night and were the only ones there along with another party.
The lamb was delicuous, by the way! It was definitely cooked for a long period, meat wasn’t tough at all. It was cooked in a stew with potatoes and carrots… next time I’ll definitely order more food so I can try the other items!

Are you freaking kidding me? This stuff was good.
No Unilocal.Don’t added as a note. Does it looks like I want this as a note? If I did I would have wrote a note instead of a review. STUPID!

It was a crazy hard/​busy week. So at 930pm I got home rushed in & scooped up my fella for a quick date night at a place we’ve never tried.

We felt guilty getting there right before it closed at 10pm. We were alone in there. We were worried it would be terrible.
But we were greeted so warmly and waited on hand and foot like we were visiting this mans house. Every Moroccan dish was excellent! At the end of the meal we learned our waiter it was Simon himself! The Chef and owner, slowly walking out each dish like a proud father. Incredible. He described each dish like it was a painting.
This place should be packed. We cannot wait to go back.
Ps we had a ton of food to take home!
We ordered:
Hummus
Incredible Cheese Borek
Pastilla
Veggie Cous Cous
We took home desert as Simon suggested and he gave us cookies. We almost popped.

Well, I was impressed! We received a Groupon as a gift nearly 2 years ago, so it had expired, but figured we could still get the paid value for it… dragged ourselves from West LA to Sherman Oaks to try this place out. Totally worth it!
The pita bread that was brought to start was really fluffy, warm, and slightly sweet. Definitely a memorable bread that I will yearn for.
My husband’s beef tagine was a wonderfully tender, succulent beef stew with rice — it was hearty and comforting. My chicken tagine with tomatoes and olives was awesome. It was similarly tender, lighter in flavor but not in character. I’m not a raw tomato lover, but these tomatoes were stewed and pretty much dissolved into the sauce, so it was flavorful and delightful. These two entrees plus the pita was plenty of food for us — we were stuffed — but we wish we could have tried the appetizers! It seems a little pricey, though perhaps that has to do with the skill and time involved in the cooking ($ 18 – 21 per entrée isn’t really a cheap dinner).
Simon himself was very sweet and came out to serve us and make sure we were doing well. My main complaint is that our waiter mumbled and I could barely understand him or hear him — I felt bad that I had to keep asking him to repeat himself.

My family has gone to Simon’s for years. His food is fresh, flavorful and of high quality. He will also customize options to the best of his abilities. We love his made from scratch soups and his off menu lamb shank is fantastic with the meat falling off the bone without any gaminess one sometimes finds in lamb dishes. Leave room for his homemade desserts as well, my favorite is his chocolate cake which is rich and wonderful when warmed (this is coming from someone who normally doesn’t like sweets).
Simon oftentimes functions as the waiter as well and he’s always cordial and has an infectious laugh. He’s also fluent in multiple languages, including Japanese and Hebrew :)
In short Simon’s Café is a hidden little gem where you get great food and are treated like family.

I loved this place!
I wrote that immediately after going there but now that it’s been several months since I was actually there and many more tagines later, I still think this place is one of the best, if not the best that I’ve had!
The place is located on that weird little strip of restaurants on Sepulveda so parking is seemingly a little hard. There is some metered parking in front right on Sepulveda or behind the restaurants there is a small public parking lot. It’s a you park in a space and walk to the machine and enter your space number kind of deal.
I had the chicken tagine with fruit! It was delicious! It comes in a cute clay tagine with some couscous in the middle and the heart of the tagine around it all. It was so good! It was the perfect amount of sweet with all the fruit and the meat was cooked perfectly. Not fatty at all (as I’m super picky about my meat) and so moist, tender and juicy! It was so delicious that I am still thinking about it, as I said! :) My friend mentioned on her visit here that the couscous was dry but in my tagine it wasn’t at all.
Pump had the lamb tagine which I know he didn’t enjoy as much as I enjoyed mine because it wasn’t sweet enough (the owner said the clientele likes it less sweet). I know their lamb is supposed to be their signature dish but I think the fruit chicken tagine is the way to go! :)
I thoroughly enjoyed my tagine as I said I would definitely come back! :)