(212) 961-7507

137 E 55th
New York, NY 10022 40.7596 -73.9697

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Neighborhoods: Midtown Center, Midtown

Price:

$$$$

Last updated 2.10.10

Category:

Restaurants

Payment Methods:

American Express, Visa, MasterCard

Cuisine:

French, African, Middle Eastern

Editor's Tips

What People Are Saying About Azza

Featured Review

Contributor

Contributor

Swank lounge and restaurant in Midtown pairs Moroccan mezzes and main plates with a DJ soundtrack.

Editor's Tips

The Extras:
Check out the web site for upcoming events.
When to Go:
The lounge stays open a few hours later than the restaurant.
ambiance
100.0% positive
  1. “The decor is very nice.”
  2. “The decor is amazing, it really feels like you are getting in to a palace, add to that the music, and it's just”
  3. “The decor itself was beautiful and the waitresses even more so.”
  4. “The decor is gorgeous as other reviews have stated and the food/drinks were very good.”
  5. “exotic atmosphere, the savory and generous Moroccan food, and (in our case) gracious service?”
  6. “the ambiance, the service, the cocktails (bit pricey but so worth it) they use authentic products such as rose flower!”
  7. “great moroccan food, atmosphere, service and music.”
  8. “90% organic french moroccan in a beautiful, exotic atmosphere.”
  9. “Considering that we drove in, there was a parking deck close by, no line, and the service wasn't bad.”
  10. “The decor of this place is very nice.”
drinks
46.14999771118164% positive
  1. “The decor is gorgeous as other reviews have stated and the food/drinks were very good.”
  2. “the ambiance, the service, the cocktails (bit pricey but so worth it) they use authentic products such as rose flower!”
  3. “remember feeling bad for the folks waiting to get verbally abused by a overly self-important doorman and charged a ridiculous sum for cover only to inch their way around a packed lounge holding overpriced WEAK drinks.”
  4. “drinks were gross, clientelle was smelly, low class, and confusing.”
  5. “Overall beautiful place+beautiful people+great drinks= FABTASTIC TIME!”
  6. “The staff, crowd, and especially the drinks were horrible.”
  7. “The drinks were expensive (~$14), but that's to be expected, it's NYC.”
  8. “The place is not amazing and the drinks are not that tasty and definitely overpriced.”
  9. “So if you milfers are looking for such thing, this may be a place to stop by but don't expect anyone to be nice to you and don't expect good drinks.”
  10. “After a few minutes of them being rude (since when are bouncers rude to a HUGE group of girls ready to come in and drop a ton of money in their bar?”
  11. “The problem was that the drinks just weren't good.”
  12. “The female bartender made us two great drinks and got some guys to pay for them.”
  13. “I've never had anything more than bar food which is always great and the drinks are generally solid.”
food quality
91.66999816894531% positive
  1. “the ambiance, the service, the cocktails (bit pricey but so worth it) they use authentic products such as rose flower!”
  2. “The place is not amazing and the drinks are not that tasty and definitely overpriced.”
  3. “The decor is gorgeous as other reviews have stated and the food/drinks were very good.”
  4. “am french moroccan and desperate for a great trendy authentic moroccan restaurant and lounge!”
  5. “I've never had anything more than bar food which is always great and the drinks are generally solid.”
  6. “The food came out fast, every body enjoyed their plate.”
  7. “great moroccan food, atmosphere, service and music.”
  8. “All in all, a great venue where you can go eat great food and enjoy good music all under one roof.”
  9. “exotic atmosphere, the savory and generous Moroccan food, and (in our case) gracious service?”
  10. “Finally a moroccan place with authentic food.”
  11. “Azza plied us with wonderful (free) home-made pita and dipping oil, we split a mezze and 1 lamb ?”
  12. “and the food is amazing.”
menu variety
100.0% positive
  1. “Our waitress was very helpful in describing the menu and always timed her visit to our table perfectly.”
overall
100.0% positive
  1. “am french moroccan and desperate for a great trendy authentic moroccan restaurant and lounge!”
  2. “In either case, it's a great and convenient place for uptowners.”
service
72.22000122070312% positive
  1. “Considering that we drove in, there was a parking deck close by, no line, and the service wasn't bad.”
  2. “This place has the best door staff, are actual human beings and actually want you to have a good time at your own party!”
  3. “where she works out (p.s. this topic included her flirtatiously hounding our mutual elegant female server for her phone number so that they can ?”
  4. “If they replaced their horrible staff & actually got more than ~20 people inside then it'd have tremendous potential.”
  5. “have never been treated so poorly by stupid people who are clearly on a power trip.”
  6. “Great staff.”
  7. “We had a fantastic time, the music was great, and the service fantastic.”
  8. “In most nice clubs or bars, the wait staff has to wear revealing clothing.”
  9. “The staff/service is the worst I have ever experienced.”
  10. “The decor itself was beautiful and the waitresses even more so.”
  11. “After a few minutes of them being rude (since when are bouncers rude to a HUGE group of girls ready to come in and drop a ton of money in their bar?”
  12. “The female bartender made us two great drinks and got some guys to pay for them.”
  13. “The door manager, DANA, was very nice on the phone prior to the event, BUT did everything in her power to make the night extremely difficult during the actual party.”
  14. “exotic atmosphere, the savory and generous Moroccan food, and (in our case) gracious service?”
  15. “The staff, crowd, and especially the drinks were horrible.”
  16. “When I went to see what the problem was, it turned out the bouncer had freaked out on her, called her a not nice name and a gay friend with her another very rude term.”
  17. “the ambiance, the service, the cocktails (bit pricey but so worth it) they use authentic products such as rose flower!”
  18. “Overall beautiful place+beautiful people+great drinks= FABTASTIC TIME!”
  19. “there is an intimate Marocan restaurant on the street level, with excellent couscous and tagines, the manager Jamal is professional , upbeat and gracefull.”
  20. “Our waitress was very helpful in describing the menu and always timed her visit to our table perfectly.”
  21. “The bartenders and staff were very nice and h.”
  22. “really hope the management considers getting more friendly, service oriented staff.”
  23. “Great service.”
  24. “Nicely decorated (but so are a lot of other lounges in NYC) but terrible customer service”
  25. “beautiful people?”
  26. “The clothing the wait staff wore at this place was disgusting, and so revealing and tight, that it was not cute or attractive at all.”
  27. “great moroccan food, atmosphere, service and music.”
value
57.14000225067139% positive
  1. “the ambiance, the service, the cocktails (bit pricey but so worth it) they use authentic products such as rose flower!”
  2. “After a few minutes of them being rude (since when are bouncers rude to a HUGE group of girls ready to come in and drop a ton of money in their bar?”
  3. “The drinks were expensive (~$14), but that's to be expected, it's NYC.”
  4. “exotic atmosphere, the savory and generous Moroccan food, and (in our case) gracious service?”
  5. “When we finally left the place around 1AM, the place was packed and there was a huge line outside.”
  6. “remember feeling bad for the folks waiting to get verbally abused by a overly self-important doorman and charged a ridiculous sum for cover only to inch their way around a packed lounge holding overpriced WEAK drinks.”
  7. “The place is not amazing and the drinks are not that tasty and definitely overpriced.”
wait time
50.0% positive
  1. “After a few minutes of them being rude (since when are bouncers rude to a HUGE group of girls ready to come in and drop a ton of money in their bar?”
1 Star Rating: Poor

04/22/09

THIS PLACE IS ABSOLUTELY AWFUL!

by AmitSinghMehrotra at Citysearch

For my birthday I booked a room at Azza Lounge for 30 people. Initially I committed $1,000 for the night, and gave them a list of 30 people for the guest list.

The door manager, DANA, was very nice on the phone prior to the event, BUT did everything in her power to make the night extremely difficult during the actual party. During the party, I was given an ultimatum: buy more bottles or have my friends turned away at the door, even though they were on the guest list! In the end, I ended up paying $1,900, and the next day learned from several of my friends that as they waited in line, they were told: "if you're here for Amit's party, you're not getting in". I f-ing paid $2,000!

I was so furious that I followed up with 2 calls to Azza complaining about how rude, borderline evil, Dana was. This woman really needs to go. Folks, to make sure you have a good time, please avoid this place and instead go to Volstead on 54th btw Park & Lex. This place has the best door staff, are actual human beings and actually want you to have a good time at your own party!

Dana, if you're reading this, Karma is a b****, and one day, somewhere down the road, you'll get yours. And for Azza management: fire her. And I promise to spread the word to everyone I meet that Azza is one place you should avoid. Reading from other reviews, the rudeness I encountered doesn?t seem to be a unique experience.

  • Cons: management, door staff, everything!
1 Star Rating: Poor

03/24/09

I don't know how these people sleep at night

by hyeny at Citysearch

DONT GIVE THESE JERKS YOUR BUSINESS!! I recently hosted a fundraiser at Azza. The details discussed were that we would collect money from our guests at the door to raise money for a charity. When I arrived, the staff did not seem to know what I was talking about even though the event had been planned for weeks. When they finally figured it out, they refused to let me stand at the door with them as discussed and insisted that they would collect the money and give it to us at the end of the night. This meant that there was no way we could be sure how many people we had. I kept my own count as best I could. While I counted over 50, and that's just the people I personally knew and recognized, at the end of the night we was told that we had 30 people - A LIE so that they would not have to give us the money that was due to us!! REALLY? You're stealing from charity? I do these quite often and I will never bring any of my events to this place again.

  • Pros: music
  • Cons: incompetent staff, greedy management
1 Star Rating: Poor

01/13/09

Must be Too Cool for School

by nyclovesme at Citysearch

I can't acurrately rate Azza because they never called me back. After leaving 3 messages - even one to the executive chef and one to a person who assured me it would be passed on - regarding my hosting a series of 5 events there, they never returned my call with the information. If you're a good business person, revenue from 5 private parties shouldn't be trumped by an inflated ego due to the celebrity presence in your establishment.

1 Star Rating: Poor

12/14/08

No one seemed to be having any fun

by cozy531 at Citysearch

I can only assume that the positive reviews for this place were from people that work there.

Unlike other reviewers, my friends and I did not have that difficult of a time getting in. The problem was that once we were in, the club was just DEAD--on a Saturday night! The music was bad, very bad, and I should know--I've previously worked as a music critic. The drinks were expensive (~$14), but that's to be expected, it's NYC. The problem was that the drinks just weren't good. I bought a Gin&Tonic that was undrinkable.

Couldn't they get ANY attractive girls in the club? Pay go-go dancers or something. IT WAS SATURDAY NIGHT!

Finally, it was a VERY young crowd. By young I don't mean 24. I mean most of the kids there looked underage. I'm surprised that this place hasn't been busted yet.

Whether you're an experienced club goer or someone just out for a crazy night on the town, you can do so much better.

  • Cons: Unattractive patrons, poor music, poorly made drinks.
1 Star Rating: Poor

11/24/08

Awful Doorman

by claire124 at Citysearch

I was inside for a friends birthday when I got a phonecall from another friend that was meeting me telling me she had a problem outside. When I went to see what the problem was, it turned out the bouncer had freaked out on her, called her a not nice name and a gay friend with her another very rude term. The crowd inside was obnoxious and apparently the guy outside was even worse. Enjoy this place!

The Details on Azza

Place Categories:

  • beautiful place
  • not good weak drinks
  • great moroccan food
  • great gracious service
  • good music
  • best clubs
  • surprisingly awful crowd
  • very nice door staff
  • beautiful people
  • unique lounge experience
  • great drinks
  • very nice decor
  • professional manager jamal
  • beautiful exotic atmosphere
  • bad music
  • great energy
  • authentic lounge
  • very nice bartenders
  • awful experience
  • horrible staff
  • amazing azza
  • disgusting clothing
  • authentic trendy authentic moroccan restaurant
  • rude bouncers
  • beautiful waitress