Babouch Moroccan Restaurant - (310) 831-0246

THE WORST RESTAURANT IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA? QUITE POSSIBLY! THE BIGGEST SCAM IN ANY RESTAURANT I'VE EVER EATEN IN? MOST DEFINITELY! I've eaten in a lot of restaurants in my life (including lots of Arab, Middle Eastern and even Moroccan restaurants). This place is ONE OF THE WORST restaurants of any kind I've ever eaten in. A complete RIP OFF and SCAM. We were attracted to this place because of the decor and because we are fans of middle eastern food and belly dancing. Boy were we SORELY DISAPPOINTED. We called a couple of hours early to make a reservation. They told us that the Belly Dancing show would start around 7pm, so we made our reservation at 7:30pm on a Thursday night. When we got to the restaurant there was only one other couple there in a large restaurant that holds at least 150 people (a bad omen as we would soon find out). We ordered our food and drinks and here's how it went. Let's start with the appetizers. I ordered Dolma (grape leaves stuffed with rice). They put 5 SMALL ones on a plate, microwaved it and get this - their microwave didn't work right because some of them were warm and others were cold. Price: $7. My wife ordered lentil soup (small cup, mediocre) - Price: $3.50 and "salad" which was supposed to consist of eggplant, carrots and tomatoes. First there was NO eggplant at all. There were a couple of slices of pickled carrots and the tomatoes consisted of Kirkland brand Costco mexican Salsa (I clearly recognized it and so did my wife) on a bed of lettuce - not my idea of Moroccan. Price: $7. The entree - "Lentil Beans Mediterranean". THIS IS ONE OF THE WORST ENTREES THAT I HAVE EVER EATEN IN MY 40 YEARS OF RESTAURANT EXPERIENCE. Lousy, luke warm, flavorless lentils mixed with onions, completely boring. On the side COMPLETELY OVERCOOKED vegetables - cauliflower, zucchini, carrots. Soggy, tasteless, INEDIBLE. My wife said they tasted like they opened a bag of frozen vegetables and boiled them to death with NO spices. Price: $18.50 Drinks - My wife had a mint tea (small cup) nothing special. Price: $2.75. I had a Diet Coke. It tasted HORRIBLE. The Worst I've ever had. The waiter said it came from their fountain and that it never tastes like the bottled version. It was UNDRINKABLE. Price: $2.25. On their website they advertise their entertainment and the person on the phone said it would start at around 7-7:30pm. Guess what? It never happened. There was no entertainment. The person that answered the phone lied about it. After nibbling on this atrocious food, I felt sick to my stomach. So much so that I had to hurry home to get some Pepto-Bismol to get me through the NAUSEA that the food made me feel. What was the final bill for this HORRENDOUS EXPERIENCE? $52.50 not including tip. And that's for a couple of appetizers, ONE ENTREE a mint tea and a diet Coke. A COMPLETE RIP-OFF. Here's my final verdict. THIS PLACE DESERVES TO GO OUT OF BUSINESS. THEY SHOULD BE ARRESTED AND CHARGED FOR ROBBERY BECAUSE ALL THEY DID WAS RIP US OFF AND MAKE US SICK (QUITE LITERALLY). Another thing, the 5 star reviews on this and other websites for this restaurant are obviously another part of the restaurant's scam. Read the 1 star reviews and see if they jibe with the 5 star reviews. There's a major disconnect.

Sadly they will try to scam you on the bill. Otherwise good food, good ambience, spoilt by the bad taste left by blatant check miscalculation / mis-representation.

My spouse and I decided to check this place out - we were looking for a new experience. We both enjoyed it very much! The food is good, the portions are a little on the small side but very tasty. Neither one of us left hungry though, so we can't complain. The prices are reasonable and the entertainment is fun to watch - belly dancers perform periodically and the entire room cheers on those brave enough to get up and dance with them. We went on a Saturday night and it was packed! Glad we had reservations. Overall a good value for the price paid.