Mascara

My boyfriend and I went to Mascara in the evening of Easter Sunday and were both left very impressed. The decor is great, typically North African with hanging rugs, burning lanterns, low copper tables and intricately beaded cushions. The waiter greeted us with a smile and immediately showed us to our seats.

We were offered the set menu for £10 which included two courses and a drink (I think it may have been an Easter special - such fantastic value!) or the a la carte, if we preferred it. We both settled for the set menu which offered plenty of choice for both meat eaters and vegetarians alike.

For starters, I chose the duo of dips. Much to my delight, when this came out they'd given me three - baba ghanoush (aubergine), hoummous, and a broad bean type. All delicious, seasoned to perfection, and served with warm pitta bread. My boyfriend had a chicken liver tagine which he loved and described as tender and beautifully fragranced.

Mains were equally as scrumptious. I had the vegetarian cous cous which was supposed to come with halloumi and smoked tofu. However, the waiter came to apologise to me just after we ordered to say that they had run out of halloumi but would include extra tasty things in the cous cous (perhaps why I also had three dips instead of two). The fella also had a cous cous, this time with spicy beef sausage. Both came served with a delicious vegetable broth, bursting with different tastes and flavours. The cous cous was buttery and light, the perfect partner for the accompanying food.

The wine, too, was great. I'm normally sceptical of drinks that come with a set menu but this delicious. We even got an extra drink at the end of the evening - it seemed the staff really were sorry that they'd run out of halloumi!

Overall, I would highly recommend Mascara and will definitely be going again. I've paid three times the price for the same dishes which have not tasted as good and definitely didn't have as good service. Excellent little place, top marks!
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Emma N
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Monday, April 25, 2011

People look no further for a fantastic place to eat..

My Partner and I went to the location on Sunday as we wanted to try something new.

The shop itself was closed but the door was open and we walked in and the owner had left the door open to quickly check on the place.

The owner stated that she didn’t really open till 1800 but was happy to open early if we wanted to eat. She was very friendly and showed us to our seats. The location is like little Africa with rugs on the ceiling and low level tables and chairs enough room for at least 30 people.

The owner showed us a menu and asked if we wanted any drinks. I asked her if she would suggest any dish as we were new to this type of food. And she pointed out her favs..

I went with the scallops and prawn for starters and my partner had hummus with lentil puree and some sort of salsa which all was GREAT.

Our main was cous cous with chicken Lamb and some sort of traditional sausage along with a MASSIVE pot of mixed vegetables in great natural tasting gravy,

I honestly can't recommend this place enough the customer service was fantastic the food was out of this world and the staff were super friendly and very welcoming.

We shall defo be visiting again prob every time we go to Brighton as it truly was a experience and taste we shall NEVER forget.

I don’t usually write review but this was worthy of a good right up and being a trained chef I know exactly how I enjoy my food. All I shall say is if you want great food great service and a great price get there it’s fantastic.

For both of us to have a starter main meal and drinks Inc wine came up to £48 all in...

To the Staff of Mascara THANK YOU we had a great time and shall be back soon :)
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Jay Geiles
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, April 04, 2011

We went to this restaurant last night and the food was amazing, atmosphere was amazing and the service was amazing!! really relaxed settings with a great menu and belly dancers on fri and sat nights...it is priced a little more than your average restaurant but worth every penny! highly recommend this to anyone who likes north African cuisine or someone who wants to try something different!! 5 Stars!!!
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Saturday, March 05, 2011

Excellent Restaurant overall, we had the "speciality" lamb shoulder with couscous, apart from the lamb portion being enough for 4 people while have a couscous portion not enough for one person it was great.

We had the belly dancer coming on the day we came, and they tried to make a musical entrance for her while ended in the most funny way by having the CD stuck because it was dirty! we and all the diners had a good laugh when the waiter started techno dancing instead.

Regarding the prices, they are a bit steep, but from sunday to thursday it is for 15£ ( the days when the dancer doesn't come) which is quite good.

overall, the restaurant is excellent, the only problem you might have as one reiewer said is the problem with the seating which is designed around average height slim people.
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Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Saturday, May 30, 2009

Absolutely disgusting, with the exception of the starter of greasy pigeon samosa, which was fairly good it was all horrible, and the waiter became very aggressive when we suggested a discount because we couldn't eat the vile couscous and grotesque confit. We actually felt scared towards the end.
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Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 2
Thursday, February 19, 2009