One of the things I enjoy about travelling is that you get to taste and experience new and exciting things. Well we were set for an adventure this night! After looking through the guide book and after wandering around some of the inner city areas we decided on a place called Comptoir Darna - just a short walk away from our hotel. The review in the book said good things... so off we set.

Now the thing about Marrakesh is that the street layout and the maps don't always match up! So after wandering around for a bit and getting hot (remember its about 38/40C during the day), we almost gave up and were deciding to head to another place just off the main road. BUT, we came across this place, with three VERY beefy body guards out the front... so I thought I would ask them if they knew where this restaurant was. Well yes, you can guess, it was the place we were looking for! D'oh. Very funny. Anyways, any place that has three guards out the front has got to be interesting right....

We were not disappointed. I'd suggest you check out the website as the images below are screen caps, and the colour is a bit funky. http://www.comptoirdarna.com/

The entrance...

The actual image is more brown... but you get the idea...

Now we hadn't booked... why should we... it was early, at the start of the week. Well, they were a little surprised we thought we could walk in... so they headed off to the courtyard for a drink.

Ohhh, ahhh.... this is a bit flash...

Next other people start to arrive. Now I didn't think we were too shabby, nice jeans, dress shirt... well... talk about glamour! This place was obviously one of the place the FABULOUS people come too. Tall, glamorous, gorgeous outfits... oh my. One of the groups that joins us in the garden are two younger women with a little 2 year old boy. Cutest kid, who just decides to leave his mum and friend and come and hang out with Paul and I. Had the cutest grin... he decided that he needed to share all his drinks and toys with us. Oh well... it was fun.

Eventually our table is ready.

We head upstairs, and the decor is just fab.

We have a seat near the main stairs, and get a good view across the entire restaurant and ability to watch the comings and goings of the place. The restaurant also has a bar upstairs, which is also fab.

So we order some salad and a couple of mains. Salad arrives first. Its seven courses! Its Moroccan salad - small tastes of the most divine flavours. Yummy. Actually when we eventually finish this we are full... but wait there is more. Now Paul ordered the fish, encrusted with olives, and I had the lamb targine. Now my sister warned me. Everything comes with olives and salt in Arab countries, well, she was right, the lamb, swimming in olives in a very salty sauce... oh well, it was yummy, and I swallowed a couple of diuretics (makes you pee out the salt)*!

So we are eating away, and the fabulous people have all arrived, and ordering, music is very funky, think Arabic lounge meets Buddha Bar. All of sudden the music stops, changes, the lights go down, and I see candle light coming up the stairs... ahhh I think... obiviously a birthday thing... oh no!

It was two belly dancers, not just any belly dancers. Two mature women dressed in white, with a large tray on their heads, tea pot in the middle of it, and candles all around the outside. These women (two upstairs, two downstairs) proceed to belly dance through the restaurant with these trays on their heads... very impressive! Music changes again, this time the more mature ladies are joined by four young lithe scantley clad women who also proceed to belly dance around the crowd/tables, much to the amusement of everyone their. Now as it turned out we where in the middle of the restaurant floor, so the women were constantly dancing around us as we were eating. There were a lot of Moroccan boys at the restaurant who were very envious of our position. All I will say is those girls hips swing a lot! Pretty gals.

A great night. Great food, more entertainment than we were expecting, and as we were leaving, the locals were just warming up and the DJ was getting started. Definitely a place to go whilst in Marrakech.

more to come...

* for those that don't know. I have a condition which means I have to have next to no salt in my diet... less salt in a day than you'd find in two slices of bread. So you can see this was a bit of a challenge! :D