Plates and Pours

Tagine Zhor is a traditional Moroccan restaurant nestled down a side street in Bath, owned by Mostafa Benjelloun. We headed there on a Sunday evening which meant the restaurant was largely quiet with just a few other diners.

Despite the subdued Sunday atmosphere, the restaurant had a warm feeling with dimmed, romantic lighting and walls adorned with moroccan styled mirrors and decor. You immediately felt as though you had been transported to Morocco, with the sights and smells of the restaurant adding to the atmosphere.

One of the more interesting features of this restaurant is the small shop/bazaar tucked away in the basement, en route to the bathroom, where you can purchase traditional tagine pots and other traditional paraphernalia.

Food at Tagine Zhor

The meal itself was reasonable quality for a fair price, with generous portion sizes and great service. Mostafa was happy to give recommendations, and the menu left us struggling to choose only one meal each. We easily could have ordered a whole variety of dishes!

After some deliberation, we ordered a Lalla Zhor Way (Confit Duck Tagine) and a B’stila D’jej. The duck tagine was delicious – sweet and rich with the deliciously fatty confit duck pairing nicely with the caramelised apricot. I ordered some rice with this, as recommended, to help soak up the juices.

It’s worth noting that you’ll need to remove the bones from the duck, but it’s a small price to pay for a dish that was so authentic and so full of flavour! I think “mmmmmm” was a constant state of being for me during that meal!

The B’stila D’jej was a sweet and savoury moroccan styled shredded chicken pie, complete with a crispy filo pastry topper and a generous portion of almonds adding nuttiness to the crispy crunch. Although very tasty, the chicken was slightly dry, so it wasn’t our favourite of the dishes. The pie was served with a good portion of sauce though which helped to coat the pie and add some moisture.

Naturally, the meal was finished with a sharing portion of Baklava, the perfect sugary pasty hit to end the meal on.

Overall we really enjoyed Tagine Zhor. We left feeling thoroughly satisfied, thoroughly looked after and as though we had experienced some really authentic food.

Drinks at The Hideout

An honorable mention should also be made for the next stop on our evening, The Hideout. This is a delightful little cocktail bar hidden away down some steps just next door to Tagine Zhor. They have an extensive stock of whiskeys and make a wider variety of cocktails, with friendly bar staff and a welcoming atmosphere.

We could have easily spent the evening working our way through some of their fine offerings – but being almost 30, we both needed an early night on a school night!