Mamounia Lounge

Don’t know about you but I always get holiday blues around February and March time. Especially after quite an epic trip to Morocco in December, the holiday blues are real this time! There are quite a few Moroccan restaurants around London. However, there hasn’t really been any consistency on good ones. Seeing Mamounia Lounge situated at expensive areas, i.e Mayfair and Knightsbridge, we decided to give it a go as we thought it can’t get too bad if you go somewhere posh.

We went for the Mayfair branch on a Saturday evening. Stepping into the restaurant was almost like walking into a club. Not going to lie, it felt a bit confusing at first – maybe it’s because we completely weren’t expecting that at all. It was blasting with dubbstep music under a dimmed setting. We were seated by a corner sofa seat, which was quite comfy and cozy. Downstairs is the entertainment area, where we saw belly dancers going in.

Chicken Pastilla

Pastry was lightly crispy – the crispiness level was a slight step down from the ones I’ve had in Morocco and La Maison du Charly, but it passed. Flavour-wise it was quite nice, though there were a few moments where I personally felt like there was a bit too much icing sugar on top – it was giving me a powdery cough lol!

Lamb Chops

Beautifully presented, these lamb chops were also pretty delicious and a delight. They were cooked medium well but were still quite tender ( I normally go for medium for lamb chops). It comes with a bed of creamy mash potatoes and some mixed vegetables with potatoes. We really enjoyed the mash, which was incredibly smooth, with an umami garlicky flavour.

Chicken Tagine

With a rather high-ish expectation, the Chicken Tagine turned out a bit disappointing. The chicken wasn’t as tender as expected and the flavours were slightly bland. It could definitely use a much stronger kick of spices and seasonings. Nonetheless, I liked the fact that potatoes were in it as well.

Chocolate Fondant

We were going to leave without dessert but then I saw chocolate fondant on the menu and thus insisted on staying around longer to have it. We had to wait for quite a bit before the fondant’s ready – but was it well worth the wait?

Well, I thought the dessert was very delicious and satisfying, but it’s not phenomenal. That luscious and gooey chocolate was totally irresistible – it was absolutely perfect to go with a lovely scoop of vanilla ice cream. The ice cream, however, was a mere standard vanilla ice cream rather than a more refined “gourmet” one. Since the restaurant is located in such a higher-end area, I would’ve expected a more sophisticated quality – wouldn’t you? By no means was I disappointed with it, but I was just expecting perhaps at least a real vanilla ice cream with visible vanilla seeds and oozes with an alluring natural fragrance.

All in all, we thought Mamounia Lounge was a bit overrated for what it is. Food was okay but in overall mediocre. Setting-wise, the evening setting wasn’t exactly our type. If you guys know any good Moroccan restaurant in London, please do let us know!

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Tel: 020 7629 2211 | Website: https://mamounialounge.com/

Nearest station: Green Park