Jour et Nuit

06/01/2008 Posted by anntrulove

My husband and I absolutely loved this restaurant. We have many Moroccan friends and are no strangers to Moroccan food. We brought our family including our 2 year old niece. so there were 7 of us. We thought the food and service were great. Don't let the bland entryway fool you.. The decor inside was artsy and authentic. We'll definitely go back often.

Cons: from the outside ..it doesn't look like anything special.

05/31/2008 Posted by mortmain

O, where to begin? Tried on basis of good reviews, should have followed instinct and left before the food arrived.... We were shown to table in nearly empty room around 8:30 on a Fri evening. Friendly waiter had difficulty understanding our requests whether given in English or French -- it could have been the loud Arabic pop music -- pointing at the menu seemed to help. Despite this, he brought a bottle of wine instead of the single glass we wanted, it took three requests of two different waiters to get water, our waiter finally brought bottles of Poland Springs (for which we were charged) although the table opposite had glasses, took still another request to get glasses to put it in. Same waiter seemed to have difficulties negotiating the furniture: he struggled twice with an empty chair at a neighboring table before banishing it to the edge of the room. Also dropped water bottle in transit. Despite lack of custom, food took some time to arrive. My daughter had half portions of the beet and cucumber salad, and I had Pastilla/eggrolls with chicken, neither distinguished. But the tajines we ordered, fish and lamb, were nearly inedible. The lamb was gristley, served in a bland, thin sauce with canned peas and chunks of potatoes. My husband took two bites of his fish tajine before setting it aside. Oddly, the staff, including the chef (owner?), was very solicitous, visiting the table to report being out of the soup, and asking how we liked the food. They should have had a clue when they saw our barely touched plates....my husband did not hold back his opinion when the chef asked again about the food as he was settling the bill at the front of the restaurant, to the great amusement of the waiters. A visit to the restaurant website posts "If you are not completely satisfied with our Couscous or Tajin, you don’t pay." No mention of this policy as we shelled out $43 for our 'meal'.... My advice: AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!

Pros: Friendly if inefficient waitstaff

Cons: Everything else

05/30/2008 Posted by cheezestar

This restaurant plays HORRIBLE music every friday and saturday night. I have been living in Astoria for 24 years and have never encountered an establishment that has absolutly NO REGARD for its neighbors. LOUD MUSIC FROM 12 AM to 3 AM?! It sounds like I have a live band in my living room, LITERALLY. Incase you didnt know there are people that go to work on the weekends. There are also a lot of elderly people and children that are having restless nights. Please keep in mind that is is still a residential neighborhood and that people actually live in sleep within the vicinity of your restaurant. Have some common decency and common courtesy for this lovely neighborhood. CLOSE YOUR WINDOW!!!

Cons: HORRIBLE

05/12/2008 Posted by Sunshine1234

terrible terrible service..took the owner (the only waiter as well) 20 mins to bring a can to sprite to me..then..no glass, no ice. food sucked except for the french fries (which is very hard to mess up)... refused to have everyone order thier own dishes cuz it was "too hard" to feed 20 ppl...(plz keep in mind that there was only us and and another table that already had thier food) only gave us the option of buffet style and then there was barely enough food for everyone! the owner send guest home becuz they couldnt fit at our table. the place was empty!!! there are many places around there that are alot better food, service and wont over charge....the only good thing bout this place was that there were sofa type seats with pillows.

Pros: Seating

Cons: Everything else

05/12/2008 Posted by ShaAhmed

The owner was just plain mean and rude. I had my birthday dinner there, and he had a nasty attitude with my guests. I even reserved the place for 30 people, on making reservation he was all kool but then it was just about him getting the money. He served only with 3 items and called it a "buffet". Overcharged us and then even failed to come to a negotiatoin.

Pros: Nice place

Cons: The owner.

05/11/2008 Posted by birthdaywoman

My dining companion offerred to treat me to "any restaurant you want" in Astoria for my birthday, probably thinking I'd chose our favorite. Instead, I chose a cuisine neither of us recall having tried before and we were very pleased! The food we chose was very flavorable but not overly spicey, very fresh, and had good portion sizes. The decor had us feeling we were on a mini-vacation - less than one mile from home! The service was attentive but not overbearing. The music added to the atmosphere. The prices were very reasonable. We would both definitely return. I asked about previous negative reviews on service and was told that it had to do with a prior waitress. We can't verify that but had no problem on our Sunday evening out. We were very happy and had a good time...a memorable birthday treat.

Pros: Too many to list!

Cons: none at our visit

04/19/2008 Posted by aronschor

There was music and it was a very cozy atmosphere. The wine was reasonably priced and for the someone who never had Moroccan food before, the Kafta Brochette was great. It was a unique dish. The portions, price and service were great. The hookahs were fun as well.

Pros: food, hookahs

Cons: they should have reminded me to get a mint tea, totally forgot to do that

03/09/2008 Posted by chorbap

The food is authentic and excellent. The lamb tagine is excellent as is the fish tagine and roasted fish entree. They can improve on service though. We went on a Saturday night, and they didnt have 3 of their 5 appetizers available, weird. We will take the pate canard "Dont have it", ok the pate maison "Dont have it", ok the shrimp pastilla "Dont have it" Hmmm what do you have? "Calamari, chicken pastilla, salad sampler" Keep in mind this was a SATURDAY night! It took about 25 minutes for the waitress to take our orders, and we never got our water or anything like that. When we arrived there were 3 other tables, so its not like she was swamped. Looking back on it, she was apparently stoned (it became indisputable when she poured wine into someones beer!!!) The food is excellent, the belly dancer was good too. We finished our plates and waited literally about 30 minutes for the plates to be cleared...cmon. The hookahs are excellent too. The sheesha is fresh and they have a nice assortment of flavors. It also took the waitress another 20 minutes to calculate our tab. Definitely stoned.

Pros: ambience, food, authentic grub

Cons: service service service

02/04/2008 Posted by WKeez

We've always had the thought of finding a nice Moroccan resturant to experience on the back burner. But last night, we bought the ticket and took the ride to Astoria. In short order, we found a wonderful, warm and cozy place on Steinway Ave. Jour et Nuit is the name of the resturant. We we were greeted by a friendly host who showed us to a lovely, candle lit table. The floor is beautiful Moroccan tile and the walls are adorned with tapestries. We started things off with nice portions of salads - one called, Shakshouka, was a mix of roasted mixed peppers, tomatoes, marinated in herbs, spices, olive oil, and a light vinegar. The second was called Barba salad - a refreshing mix of chopped beets, herbs and spices in a tangy vinagrette. Next we had Chicken and Lamb Tagine and TFay Couscous. When they arrived, all were wonderfully aromatic and nicely plated. Everything was delicious and perfectly cooked. One of the best things though is that you also get excellent, home made bread to wisk around the plate and sop up all the juices - a little secret that the host and server told us about when the feast arrived. Anyway, Jour et Nuit serves up some fantastic, authentic Moroccan fare. Besure to visit when you are in Astoria. Ask for Michelle. She helped us to understand the cuisine and made us feel very much at home.

09/12/2007 Posted by johnwgrant

I can't begin to say how great and authentic the cuisine is at this humble establishment. My wife and I spent time in Morocco recently, and have been on the hunt for a Real tagine and mint tea done properly. Well, we have found it. Bottom line, if you want to experience an authentic Moroccan meal, look no further. Make sure to order a Tagine as well as a few, if not All of the salads. The mint tea is a MUST! It's exactly the way they do it in Morocco. So what you waiting for??? p.s. parking in Astoria is usually a nightmare, so take the ol iron horse instead.

Pros: authentic cuisine

Cons: parking