Babouche, Brooklyn, NY

My friend Ashlyn has been working as a server for the past several months at Babouche. Although I go to Park Slope pretty frequently, I hadn't made the effort to try out her restaurant until this past Friday. It was definitely worth it. Officially, Babouche is a Moroccan restaurant, but in reality, it offers a great mix of authentic Moroccan dishes, such as zaâlouk, couscous, and kefta tagine, tradition French cuisine, like tartare and magret de canard, as well as some American-style appetizers like Cobb Salad or crab cakes. As soon as I walked into Babouche, I knew I liked it. The decor was certainly Moroccan-inspired, with huge bronze lanterns hanging from the ceiling, poufs, a warm fireplace, and beautiful carpets. The night I was there, they also had live Moroccan music, which complimented the restaurant's theme. You can also enjoy shishah in the downstairs lounge. I honestly was not too excited about the menu, since I'm not a huge fan of Moroccan food and I generally avoid French restaurants outside of France. However, if everything at Babouche is as good as the tartare de thon and the crab cakes à la Marocaine that I had, then I will definitely be returning a lot. Both dishes were very flavorful, had generous portions and were reasonably priced. What I loved the most about Babouche though is the layout. In the front, there is a more Western-style dining room, with elegant tables and chairs, as well as a lounge area next to the wood-burning fireplace. The backroom is traditional Moroccan, resembling the inside of a genie's lamp. Finally, the downstairs is a swanky, Arabic-style lounge... a great place to enjoy shishah and mint tea.
I am definitely excited to go back to try some more of their food and relax in the lounge.

-Marcus

Babouche Restaurant and Lounge
2 Lincoln Place
Brooklyn, NY 11217
www.babouchenyc.com/