Everyone--and I mean everyone--told us that we are going to just love the food in Toronto. We didn't really doubt this because we have had so many unforgettable gastro-experiences in Montreal and since Toronto is also in Canada, how different can it really be?! We decided to be spontaneous and chose The Sultan's Tent & Cafe Morac--a Moroccan restaurant as our first taste of Toronto. We didn't know anything about the place but we passed it on the way to our other reservation and decided to just go for it!
Inside, we thought the place looked the part. It had the appropriate amount of Moroccan ambiance--including belly dancers in the back--the Sultan's Tent. We opted to sit at the bar in the front of the restaurant--Cafe Maroc--so we could chat it up with the bartenders and hopefully get some other food recommendations from people who would be in the know.
The menu had several of my favorite Moroccan dishes which was promising but isn't that expected in a Moroccan restaurant? It is difficult to tell where it all went wrong but overall we were not too impressed with the food. Here is what we ate:
B'Stila
B'Stila is one of my favorite dishes and unfortunately Cafe Morac didn't get it right. The chicken was dry and stringy and the the phyllo was doughy. All I could stomach was just a few bites.
Moroccan Crab Cake
I actually enjoyed this dish but Dr. J didn't think it was that great. I believe I appreciated the little kick it had or maybe the frog legs gave me New Orleans flashbacks. Now, I haven't been to Morocco yet so I could be very wrong in thinking this but is frog part of Moroccan cuisine? I wouldn't even say anything about this if the dish was just called Crab Cakes but since they put the Morocco in the name, I had to ask.
Chicken Marakesh
I didn't spell it wrong, this is the way the restaurant spells Marrakesh. This was our least favorite dish of them all. It was the complete opposite of the Moroccan Crab Cake because it was quite bland.
Latshin
Oranges with cinnamon and powdered sugar. I could have had a bit more powdered sugar and cinnamon--just saying.
Mint Tea
Our favorite part of this meal was the mint tea. The presentation was well done and the taste was perfect. I was glad to end the evening on a high note.
I wish I could say our dining experiences improved on this trip but they went downhill from here! If we had found a genie's lamp hidden somewhere in the Sultan's Tent, our first wish would have been for better food!