Hot Spot - Pasha's Moroccan food on Broadway in San Francisco
Valerie Adams
Issue date: 9/28/06 Section: Entertainment
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My job is to educate the NDNU community to the common tourist attractions, and most importantly, the hole-in-the-wall restaurants and shops that make San Francisco what it is.
If you are looking for an evening equipped with fun, dancing, a little singing and chanting and, most importantly, fabulous food, Pasha's, an upscale Moroccan restaurant located on Broadway, is the place to be.
I must admit that I was very excited to be going to a restaurant with such a different environment and a little nervous about Moroccan food. However, I was blown away with the amazingly beautiful ambience when I walked in the room.
The restaurant looked as though you had gone back in time where Aladdin met his 40 thieves. The room is lined with expensive carpets and lush pillows. Golds, purples and reds danced across the room underneath the dim lighting. It looked like a sultan's palace.
Instead of a normal-sized table that we would all be used to sitting at when we go out to dinner, these tables were very low. We sat on very small ottomans and were cushioned with pillows all around us.
Not only did the ambience blow me away, but the entertainment on the small little stage is enchanting. Two men sit in front of the entire restaurant and play traditional Moroccan music and sing all night. But the best part is the interaction the men had with the audience.
The musicians would constantly ask random people to stand up and come up to the front of the room, to learn to shake your hips and belly dance, in front of the whole restaurant! No shyness allowed here!
Once the music started to play, and you started belly dancing, and some people really got into it, a real belly dancer would come out and take the spotlight.
Our party consisted of about 14 people, with a birthday girl right in the middle. If you are there for a birthday, the waiters make you wear a fez hat and get up on stage to learn how to dance.
After their solo, the musicians asked the whole entire party to come up onto the stage and dance and sing with the musicians. We were then led into a conga line and were taken all around the restaurant and even outside, dancing and singing to the Moroccan music.
This random dancing occurs all throughout the meal, you can get up and dance or just sit back enjoy the food or watch the belly dancers. It was like being at one of those really crazy weddings where everyone, including the great aunts and uncles, were dancing!
The food at Pasha's is traditional Moroccan and Indian. Ordering the food is best when you go with someone who knows how to read the menu, and what food is most commonly liked at your table. But if you are not a daredevil eater, there is still food for you.
You can stay at Pasha's for many hours after your meal, until closing at least, and just enjoy the company, the music and the environment.
Even though Pasha's is an upscale restaurant, it is definitely worth the extra money. I strongly recommend ordering family style so that everyone gets a little bit of something they like.
A typical cost for two people would be around $60-$80, but it is very worth it. When you go to Pasha's, you get the whole Moroccan feel with the music, the dancing, the singing, the ambience and the food.
Pasha's is open from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tuesday through Sunday and is located on Broadway St. between Van Ness and Polk. Dinner is served until midnight. For more information, visit their website at
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