Note- Menu has changed a bit since I was there, with the prices having been updated (especially the tagine,) with there also being some new dishes on the menu. Recommendations- Bastilla/Pastilla, Tagines, Zaalouk. Grilled platters are alright. On a side note, some dishes, similar to other Moroccan places, such as couscous, are only available on weekends. As per many of my recent reviews, I was at this Moroccan spot a good while ago, with our host having heard about it prior to the place being featured in the NYT Top 100 as well as on TasteBuds, a highly recommended Instagram/TikTok account. The woman who helped us, whom I believe was one of the owners, was very friendly, and the place inside was casual and decently busy, especially for how far away it is from the subway. The food was overall very tasty, with a particularly good bastilla/pastilla, among everything else, and I can see why this restaurant has gotten so much publicity. My preference of the two appetizers was the $7.99 Zaalouk, or eggplant cooked in tomato sauce and marinated with charmoula. The dish reminded me a bit of Egyptian-style moussaka due to the mix, though less tomato-focused and more about the sweet eggplant. The chermoula was very light, with a hint of sourness and spice. Overall, this was delicious, especially with the bread. The other appetizer was the Moroccan Carrot for $6, which was a mix of sliced carrots with a spicy chermoula. Of everything we ordered, this was the least favorite dish of the night, as the cold carrots lacked much flavor, as there was a lack of chermoula flavor, just like with the eggplant. Best of the dishes was the $12.99 Chicken Bastilla, or Pastilla, listed as a traditional Moroccan pie stuffed with chicken strips, crushed almonds, and dusted with icing sugar and cinnamon. A lot of people might find this sweet and savory combination odd, but I have gotten used to it, and this was a very good version. The chicken was well-spiced, the pie was flaky, and it wasn't overly sweet. The previous place, which had the best version, was the long-closed La Shuk in Harlem, and this is better, though I do want to compare it to the other popular Moroccan spot in Astoria, Siham. Second favorite was the Lamb Tajine, or Tagine, With Prunes for $22, consisting of slow cooked meat with prunes, dried apricots, roasted almonds, and sesame, and served with rice. The lamb inside was very tender and fell off the bone. I liked the roasted almonds and sesame as the bit of nuttiness helped with the overall sweetness of the dish. We also liked this dish, and it paired particularly well with the rice. My preference from the grilled section was the $16.99 Merguez, listed as Moroccan merguez grilled over charcoal, and served with rice. The dish came with many pieces of sausage, which had a slight spicy kick and a bit of a snap. For the same price, there was also the Grilled Lamb, or tender lamb with a choice of rice or fries. The lamb was pretty flavorful, but some pieces were a bit overcooked. It was good, though, but not as notable. The fries on the side were a mixed bag, with some being crispy and some a bit soft, so between the two, I would recommend the rice more. While I didn't love the grilled platters, the rest of the dishes were delicious. Combine that with the friendly service, and we had a very good time. I wouldn't mind going back and trying again, though this might also be because I want to have more of their bastilla. read more

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Dar Lbahja was phenomenal from start to finish. We tried the lamb tagine, beef tajia, beef tagine with vegetables, and the chicken tagine, and every single dish delivered. The portions were generous, the meat was consistently tender, and everything was packed with rich, comforting flavor. This is the kind of food that really sticks with you. Even though we ordered to-go, the experience stood out. The staff treated us incredibly well during the wait and even offered complimentary Moroccan mint tea and bread. For a brief moment, it genuinely felt like a glimpse into Moroccan hospitality. I do not rave about places often, but this is absolutely one I would recommend to others without hesitation. read more

Dar Lbahja - Tagine! - Halal Near Me - Astoria, New York

This is a family run restaurant and the food is excellent. Everyone is welcoming and accommodating, including allowing BYOB. 2 of us shared everything, which we would recommend (we arrived at 1p on a Sunday and the lamb was not ready - the lamb tagine would have been main course the choice...we'll be back for that). Haria soup Kofta Cigars Zaalouk Tanjia - I'm not a lover of rice so we opted for the bread, which is delicious We would recommend all of these. read more

Save yourself a day's visit to Morocco and come here. This place is a nice quaint spot nestled in Astoria and I can almost guarantee, you won't leave here disappointed. The food was authentic, home made bread, tajin style dishes, soft house made bread, unique flavors and you can taste the love put into these dishes. We had some amazing service. They notified us that it will take some time so we were okay with building up an appetite. While we waited we tried their harrira and chicken bastilla. All unique flavors...but if you are not adventurous with your chicken with cinnamon and sweet then choose something else to your comfort level. We ordered the lamb and chicken tajine... don't be afraid to eat with your hands , the napkins are worth it! If you want to be transported to Morocco for a meal , you must come here. It's a warm and friendly atmosphere , and you'll leave wanting to come back for more! read more

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Admittedly, I do not have much experience with Moroccan food, but the straight forward menu and friendly service at Dar Lbahja is easy to understand. Looking over the menu I was immediately struck by the reasonable prices fearing the portions would be small (wrong!). We started with a Moroccan Salad that we partially saved to be enjoyed with the rest of the meal - diced tomatoes, cucumbers and onions with a simple vinegar and herb dressing. Light and refreshing. The chicken Bastilla appetizer comes looking like a dessert - chopped almonds, icing sugar and cinnamon top the pastry. The chicken inside was shredded, but unfortunately a little on the dry side. I wasn't sure if this could be eaten with our hands which would have made things easier, but we used our utensils instead making a bit of a delicious mess. Of our main dishes, the lamb tangine came out first. A beautiful, fall off the bone lamb shank topped with whole almonds and pruned fruits all sitting in a delicious sauce begging to be dipped in by the delicious round bread we were served. The bread was incredible - crisp outside and unbelievable airy and tender inside perfect for absorbing all those juices. The Chicken with Tfaya (Only on Fri, Sat and Sun) is a half a chicken, tender root vegetables, raisins and tuft of caramelized onions sitting on a fluffy mound of couscous. The chicken was inconsistent - the dark meat held up better and was more juicy that the white meat breast. I also inadvertently ate all the dark meat not realizing the rest was just white meat (my bad!). The portion was huge and we took the majority to go. My ignorance of Moroccan cuisine and culture shown when I reminded our server we ordered Moroccan tea. He thoughtfully held it towards the end of the meal - the minty tea is usually held for the end. It is strong and would probably not go well being sipped with the dishes. Overall the service and atmosphere is very welcoming - very mom and pop. The prices are reasonable and the dishes for the most part are very well executed - the dry, slightly overcooked white meat chicken was a bit of knock for me. I also would have appreciated more spice and flavoring to the dishes considering "Moroccan Spice" is a term I hear often, but perhaps this is a culture thing and they are used in moderation. Don't get me wrong, they were there but more subtle then I expected. Despite any criticism I would happily return and hope to soon. read more

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They have a few tables indoors and an outdoor table. It was empty when we got there for an early lunch. The Moroccan Salad was fresh and a bit on the vinegary side, but great flavor. It helped balance the heavier dishes. The Chicken Bastilla had a great balance of chicken, almonds, pastry and sugar. I loved the combination of flavors and textures. The pastry was crisp and stuffed with well cooked and spiced chicken. The hint of sweetness from the sugar added extra flavor. The Lamb Tagine with Prunes was tender and easily came off the bone. The spices and prunes went well with the lamb. I loved mopping up the sauce with the bread, which was crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. I do wish the almonds were halved, to balance the textures better. The Chicken with Tfaya (only available for the weekend) was a big portion! Took about half of it home for leftovers. Some of the white meat of the chicken was a bit dry, but overall well cooked. The couscous was fluffy and filling! The Moroccan Tea is served at the end of the meal. It's a bit too strong in tannin for me, though the sugar helps balance it out. The mint is good for digestion. Great spot to hit for Moroccan food! I will be back for that Lamb Tagine and to try other things on the menu. read more

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If you want to try some real Moroccan food, I would say this is the place to be as it checks all the marks that makes it worth a visit. Food: I had some Harira(soup) which was amazing with its texture being very good(not being too watery or too heavy) I took some chicken Pastilla and it was a delight although I would marinate the chicken little bit more. The cigars/rolls could be better honestly but I will give them another shot. Ambiance: I had a takeout but the place looked very nice so it would be a cool sit down place. I will circle back on that one when I visit again. Service: Friendly and welcoming, such a vibe honestly read more

Wanted to try this place for while now, first parking is hell in this area and they have very few tables inside. The service was fantastic was greeted and seated right away. I did feel rushed to order which is strange considering most Moroccan restaurants do not do this. As for the food, it was a massive disappointment. The chicken tagine which was recommended by the waitress was overly sweet and had an overwhelming taste of cardamom( and I love cardamom). They also give you a roll to eat with the food which seems like a cassanos roll. If I'm paying 20 something dollars for a dish I don't expect a crappy roll to eat it with. 5/10. read more

Dar Lbahja - Chicken Tajine - Halal Near Me - Astoria, New York

Dar Lbahja is a new Moroccan restaurant which opened in Astoria! The name means "House of Happiness"....and after you dine here, you will surely leave Happy (and Satisfied)! Chef/Owner Touria Lamtahaf was one of the Chefs from Dar Yemma, which closed due to management conflicts. Kudos to Chef Touria for branching off on her own! My group had dined at Dar Yemma before they closed. So when we heard about Dar LBahja, we knew we had to go! A group of 8 of us ventured out to explore! Here are the dishes we tried: MENU (shared by 4): ~ Harira Soup $6: Traditional Moroccan soup w.tomatoes, lentils, chickpeas, herbs & cubed lamb. Perfect for this cold, rainy evening! So flavorful and satisfying! Note: this is a rather large bowl of soup. ~ Chicken Bastilla (appetizer) $12: my Fave dish of the night! The slightly sweet pastry is excellent, and is stuffed with a generous amount of well-seasoned, shredded chicken. Just fantastic! A Must Have! Get this! ~ Tanjia $22: Slow-cooked beef w.Lemons & Moroccan Saffron. The beef was very tender and flavorful. ~ Lamb Tagine w.Prunes $22: the lamb was fall-off-the-bone goodness! Great dish! Make sure to eat the prunes. They went really well with the lamb. ~ Chicken w.Tfaya over Couscous $16: **available on Fri, Sat & Sun only! This was pure comfort food. Very generous portion; great flavors. ~ Jawhara w.almonds & cream (complimentary dessert): This was Excellent; not too sweet. It's not on the menu yet but will be added soon! Thank you so much for letting us be guinea pigs to try this off-the-menu dessert! We loved it! ~ Moroccan Tea (complimentary): "Gunpowder Green Tea" & Mint...This tea was so refreshing, and a perfect way to end our evening. It went perfectly with the Jawhara! Hospitality and Service were wonderful and accommodating to my large group of 8! We all had a fantastic time, and lingered for a while after our tea & dessert. What a great evening! Thanks to everyone at Dar LBahja! We shall be back to try other delicious dishes. Can't wait to see your new menu! read more

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This was my first time trying Moroccan cuisine, and I'm happy it was here at Dar Lbahja! The interior gives a homey vibe. It's not too large but not loud enough that the people nearby can hear your conversation. A lot of neighborhood residents stopped in or checked out the menu for takeout. Since we didn't know what to order, I let the staff provide recommendations. Here are my favorites and must-orders, if you are like me and are trying Moroccan food for the first time. Two dishes I HAVE TO rave about are the chicken bastilla and the jawhara dessert. The chicken bastilla is nothing like I've had before. It's floral, it's decadent, it's packed with filling with a crispy layer. It had me confused in the best way: is this a savory dessert or a sweet appetizer? I loved trying this dish and tasting flavor combinations that I haven't had before. The jawhara dessert is sooo good as well. It's made up of fried super-thin layers of dough that is fried with custard in between and on top. Great contrast of textures, and the cream has a light floral/fragrant flavor. Depending on which protein you prefer, I highly recommend either the chicken tagine or lamb tagine. The tagine refers to the clay pot in which the stew is cooked. The lamb tagine has dates and apricots that add a sweetness to a savory dish. The chicken tagine has olives (but for olive haters dont worry!! it's not olive-y at all!!) These tagines are served with bread on the side so you have something to sop up the leftover sauce. The salads are similar to mezze/mediterranean dishes. My favorite was the Zaalouk, which is a cold roasted eggplant + tomato dip eaten with bread. It's a nice app option that is quickly brought out to the table, but not necessary. I personally wasn't a big fan of the merguez platter, but this is the type of dish that is a good option for diners that are less experimental, since it includes a side salad and fries. read more

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First time i came here it was a Ramadan and could not get a table...came back and finally scored an outside table.on a chilly night...Started out with beef cigars was very good...Then unfortunately it wrnt down hill...I had the Royal Couscous it had big chunks of vegetables and little meat, personally i found it bland...maybe i ordered the wrong thing, i was thinking of getting the tagine...also we tried the beef sandwich with fries...it was tasty and a generous amount of meat but the beef and the fries were very over salted...Try the custard phyllo deseert would have nice but the custard had a mint flavour added to it which was very overpowering...I wanted to like this place...service was friendly and super slow, took 2 hours to get our food and 30 mins to get waters. read more

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Dar Lbahja is a halal Moroccan restaurant. I enjoyed the merguez platter and the zaalouk (eggplant and tomatoes). The platter comes with salad and fried potatoes which were delicious. The zaalouk comes with some bread which was like pita. I also had the lamb couscous with vegetables and the chicken tagine, but I thought they were lacking. The bread that came with the tagine was tough. The lamb couscous was fall off the bone tender but bland. The chicken tagine was more like roasted chicken and was not tender nor juicy at all. Would come back for the platters though. read more

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What can I say.... Just amazing food and service. Everything was spectacular... nothing to complain about... also BYOB... try it and you won't be disappointed read more

First time in my life I order a lunch to go for my family the food smells so good inside my car I couldn't wait to open the bag .... We started eating and so delicious, the TANJIA very special dish sooooo very tasted with other dishes like cigar, egg plants and Pastilla. The lady who took my order she was helpful and answered any questions regarding the spices .I will recommend this restaurant to any friends to try something different from Dar Lbahja. Thank you Mrs M....m read more

By far the best Moroccan restaurant in Astoria!!! Staff is attentive and friendly. Food is unbelievable I don't think I had one bad thing from here. The owner/chef also puts everything she has into making sure everything is perfect. I 100% recommend this restaurant and you will not regret eating here. You might regret the amount you eat because it's so good read more

Sorry, really wanted to make this place as you can see that it's family run but ultimately the dishes fell flat. The spiced carrot side came before either entree and was unevenly cooked for to the odd sizes of each slice cut. The bread that came with our lamb tagine was excellent, fluffy with a great crust but the single lamb shank was very small and nothing else in the tagine besides a handful of stewed prunes and almonds. The chicken is couscous was a piece of dry chicken breast. The couscous itself didn't have any flavoring and the entire dish lacked flavor. The table to our left has similar comments about their food and the table to the right barley touched theirs. Some of these things with seasoning can be fixed and I hope they do. read more

Both dishes we ordered are delicious. Had a hard time not ordering too many dishes. Both my friend and I love it here, will definitely come back soon read more

Dar Lbahja - Tanjia Grilled Lamb - Halal Near Me - Astoria, New York

The restaurant leaves you feeling full and satisfied. I've been to the restaurant twice now and have now failed twice to take photos of all the dishes I've eaten - I think that speaks to the deliciousness of the foods! Hence the review. I brought my parents this time and, as always, was not disappointed. What I like about the restaurant is that you leave it feeling comfortably full and nothing is over the top. We started off with Chicken Bastilla, a deceiving dessert full of chicken and grains, and Lentil Soup, a soup so soothing really not much else is needed. Then came the Lamb with Vegetable and Chicken Tagine, which are such delicacies. Highly recommended even on a truly hot summer day. If you follow them on the Instagram page, they'll also be kind enough to treat you to Moroccan tea as well. It's a taste that's truly irreplaceable especially after such a delicious meal. I will likely be back is an understatement! I hope you're encourage to try this wonderful restaurant as well :) read more

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So I'm conflicted about the this review since I know this a small mom and pop shop. I don't like being negative but it's been open for the past few months so I figured it would be enough to iron out kinks. But simply the food and the service weren't great. I ordered the chicken couscous which is a dish that's only available on the weekends so I know it takes time to make. I have no problem with waiting for food- but when i tasted it- it was pretty tasteless. The couscous was fluffy but not light. My problem was the chicken- it was sooooooooooooo dry. And there no sauce or anything to save it. It also needed seasoning. My husband ordered the lamb tagine which was tasty but the portion size was laughable. Server was nice but for some reason doesn't give water to any tables unless you asked multiple times. This location has had a lot of turnover of different restaurants so u was hopeful this place would be tasty. However im unlikely to recommend or try anything else since their signature dishes fell flat. read more

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Reasonable prices, good service and large potions but not my favorite. The chicken Tagine was good but the lamb couscous was underwhelming and the vegetables were not well seasoned. read more

the best Moroccan authentique food , the hospitalité, the place it's so cozy you feel your self at home. I recomended to every one read more

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This is one of the top 3 restaurants in the area, when it comes to food. And I'm saying this overall, considering all types of cuisines. Prices for the quality and flavor are unbeatable! Highly recommend. read more

Pretty amazed by this place. Delicious food. We went there for chicken bastilla which we love and it didn't disappoint. The harira soup was delicious as were all of the appetizers and the beef tagine with almonds plums and apricots. One of the few places I've found that serves tangia in the US so I'll have to come back and try that also. read more

$27 for a small to go plate of couscous. I went the other day to get couscous for my wife as a quick snack and the plate could not have been bigger than a side plate, such as to carry a side of salad. The guy at the register charged me $27 for the single plate even the lady behind me in line stated that the prices are absurd. The man working the registered claimed if we could not afford the price to just leave that there's no other couscous around. Save your money and walk 5 minutes to Steinway Little Morocco and have a bigger plate of couscous that tastes better for more than half the price. The prices are not only crazy but the workers are rude as well. read more

Amazing food. Ordered it in and the food was still hot and fresh out of the kitchen. Definitely worth trying read more

Dar Lbahja - Halal Near Me - Astoria, New York

This was my first time having Moroccan food, and I really enjoyed the flavors. I especially enjoyed the chicken bastilla, which had a nice combination of sweet and savory flavors. The more I ate it, the more I liked it . It also paired very well with the Harira soup, and combined with a salad, it would make a perfect meal. I would recommend this restaurant for authentic Moroccan food, which I found to be hearty and comforting read more

Came here for first time and though I am not a local I hope to return. The food was excellent with presentation that seemed to my unMorrocan trained eye to be very authentic. We ordered the Moroccan salad and chicken Bastilla as appetizers. They were made super fresh and tasted amazing. For main course we had the Tanjia which tasted great and was unlike other dishes I tried. We tried comparing it to something but it was a new flavor to my palette. It came out in a clay pot with a side of amazing bread. My wife had the Moroccan burrito which was very good but really American/mexican fair with a twist. The fries it came out with were homemade and really good. Moroccan tea was good (no coffee). Everything is made fresh to order so don't be in a rush, which is a plus in my book. Ambiance was ok with some nice music playing. The service was good seems like a mom and pop place which added to the nice vibe. read more

Dar Lbahja - Tanjia - Halal Near Me - Astoria, New York

one of the best Moroccan food in the five boroughs, from the Moroccan merguez sandwich to lamb tajin , good atmosphere and professional service . Finish your dinner with an excellent home made Moroccan tea that will make you forget about everything . read more

the best moroccan food in town, cozy place , the service was great , the moroccan chef was so friendly and welcoming, if you go please ask for youssef and touria , highly recommended read more

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Very good authentic Moroccan food , very flavors and has a very good touch considering spices and all I had a very good experience and will for sure go back again read more

Best moroccan food in the city. Period. Perfect ambience, great service, and the most authentic food you'll get.