Bold new cocktails and updated decor reflect a new “bejeweled palatial vibe.”
Sometimes, having a restaurant with no windows can work to your advantage. Yes, you can transport your customers to a faraway land without any outside distractions, but you can also lock the doors and throw some extremely private—and legendary—parties. From undeniably debaucherous annual gatherings for AVN’s Adult Entertainment Expo to ahead-of-its-time marijuana pairing dinners for High Times, Marrakech owner Tariq Ali has seen it all.
“I grew up at Marrakech,” says Ali, who bought a share of the restaurant at 24 after starting there as a busboy five years prior. To get the money, he convinced his parents to sell their home in his hometown in New Jersey. “I was very hungry at the time, very eager, and very anxious to have an ownership stake,” he said. Ali eventually became the sole owner in 2002.
Throughout his years there, Ali has entertained gangsters, celebrities, politicians, and more at the illustrious Las Vegas institution in the recently rebranded lifestyle destination The Collective at 3900 Paradise Road. Now, 45 years after the Moroccan Mediterranean restaurant’s opening in 1979, the charismatic frontman is ushering in a new era that includes an over-the-top cocktail program and redesigned space in cooperation with the new landlords.
For decades, the iconic interior and menu remained virtually unchanged. Guests could watch live belly dancers swing their hips under the billowy, cloth-tented ceiling while they enjoyed a six-course prix fixed menu. The pre-meal tableside hand rinse (where a server pours water high above your hands over a metal bowl) would kick off the experience before fan-favorite dishes—like garlicky shrimp scampi swimming in butter served with freshly baked bread; tender kabobs served on skewers pierced into the body of a whole pineapple; and fall-off-the-bone chicken served on a heap of vegetables and couscous—were placed on the table to be enjoyed family style.
Dancers performed nightly, and guests occasionally danced along and stuffed tips into their torso-baring costumes. The evening ended with a flaky pastry and hot mint tea dramatically aimed from almost three feet above into small glasses for an impressive photo moment.
“We’ve always been entertainment-based and a unique experience, but the atmosphere was just outdated,” said Ali.
So, after a one-year closure and temporary relocation to Hustler Club during renovations, the original space reopened last March with a modernized interpretation of its former self. The fabric ceiling was replaced with hanging clusters of Moroccan lanterns and shimmery beaded strings draped to reveal the exposed ducts above. The carpeted floor was swapped for custom Moroccan tiles. “A bejeweled palatial vibe is what I was after,” explained Ali.
As for the food, the $60 prix fixed menu remains intact with some recipe tweaks and spruced-up presentations. The pre-and post-dinner rituals, along with the belly dancing, haven’t changed either.
However, a boldly reimagined cocktail program designed by mixologist Nadine Medina (who also designed cocktails for Gatsby’s at Resorts World and several venues at Durango Resorts) has firmly planted the restaurant into the present day. One drink, The Magic Carpet Ride, is served in a golden chalice rotating on a lighted metal custom cart with smoking dry ice. The complex concoction, which contains mango puree, saffron, turmeric, rosewater simple syrup and more, went viral on social media.
The revamped restaurant also added a patio with plans for a hookah program, a la carte menu, a satellite bar and live DJs.
As for any windows at Marrakech, they still don’t have any, and Ali intends to keep it that way—to keep the ambiance entirely under his control.
“We’ve really leveled up our game in so many ways and the success that we’re having now is not by accident,” said Ali. “It was a lot of hard work, planning and great minds that came together to create this new and improved experience.”
3900 Paradise Road, Suite Y
Las Vegas NV 89169
702-737-5611
Open 7 Days a Week 5:30 PM – 11 PM
(Last seating at 10 PM)
