New and strange looking food can sometimes be a little bit daunting. We avoid it by politely opting for a safe chicken breast or portion of fries instead of the funky looking lamb or dubious pot of green stuff. Moroccan cuisine is one of those ones we sometimes put on the ‘maybe one day’ list, but it shouldn’t be. 

 

Tagine, on west 38th in Manhattan, looks fairly nondescript from the outside, perhaps even a little dodgy. The windows are covered in a thin veil of smoke and the paint on the outside is a little flaky. However, once inside you can see that it is one of the coolest restaurants in NYC with the allure of arabian nights to accompany the tasty Moroccan cuisine. Here's why you have to visit:

 

1) You can eat with your hands

 

One of the most common dishes in Morocco is a tagine. This is a stew-like dish that is served in a conical crock pot. Instead of cutlery big hunks of bread are used to mop up the meat and veg and Tagine fully embraces this hands on method. Napkins at the ready.

 

 

​2) Everyone can share one big dish

 

It is common for groups to order one big tagine pot so that everyone can tuck in together. This makes it a pretty simple yet social affair bringing everyone just that little bit closer. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3) You sit on cushions on the floor

 

Tagine has gone all out to achieve the Moroccan ambience so that means berber tapestries and fine silk hangings. While there are tables and chairs, the corners with low tables and comfy cushions add to the authenticity and are definitely the more adventurous option.

 

4) Belly dancers entertain you 

 

Everyone hates that wait between ordering and eating but at Tagine time flies as belly dancers take to the tables to entertain. The free entertainment takes you back to the North African tip and has you wanting to wiggle wiggle shake shake too.