Looking for a restaurant with a warm and welcoming atmosphere to enjoy some spiced Mediterranean food? Well, you should definitely try Tagine!
We were wandering around Balham looking for pretty houses and vintage cars (as usual!), and we happened bump into this nice restaurant. We had never had opportunity of trying Moroccan cuisine and, having heard great things about it, we decided to stop by.
The atmosphere was very welcoming, and the staff made us feel at home right from the beginning. We asked Hafid – the manager – what makes Moroccan cuisine worth trying. He told us that it is the familiar feeling that you get when sharing plates with your loved ones that really makes the difference when dining in Tagine. Also, he told us that there food has a Mediterranean touch, full of spice and generosity. At this point we were really curious – and hungry – so we decided to order.
We started with two refreshing drinks, and we ordered a Mint Sahara, made out of fresh mint, lemon juice and sugar sirup, and a Berber Cooler, made out of apple, fresh orange juice and raspberry purée.
For starters, we ordered some Vegetable Mezze and a Pastilla of Chicken. The mezze were really colourful and tasty, and we really enjoyed the combination with the pitas. In our small dishes we had houmous, carrot salad, beetroot with honey and cinnamon, aubergines cooked with tomato sauce and slow cooked grilled pepper.
For main, it was a really difficult choice, but in the end we went for the Batenjan Bil Jibneh, made of aubergines stuffed with roasted peppers with goat cheese on the top, and for the Lamb Barkouk Tagine, made of lamb with prunes, almonds, poached pear and sesame seeds. The dishes were really rich, and absolutely amazing.
We decided to end our dinner with a selection of Moroccan sweets and a nice pot of their fresh mint tea. Also, Hafid insisted we try their Shisha, which comes in a variety of flavours and is totally tobacco and nicotine free. We trusted him by now, and we decided to try the strawberry flavour.
Our view
If you are looking for an alternative place to taste some quality home made food, you should definitely try Tagine. The atmosphere of the restaurant makes you really feel at home, and the food is excellent. Plus, if you pick a sunny day and love taking nice pictures, there are a lot of pretty houses and cars around. Bon appetit!
