Patricia Talorico

The News Journal

The belly dancers and the multicourse meals are making a comeback.

Casablanca, the popular Moroccan restaurant near New Castle that has been closed for more than four years, plans to begin welcoming customers again on Friday.

Owner Riyad Albarouki said he is now taking reservations at the 4010 N. DuPont Highway eatery. Dinners will be served from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. The $25 seven-course meals, which begin with customers washing their hands with rose water, usually last 2 to 2½ hours. Walk-ins are welcome, but reservations are highly suggested, he said.

The restaurant has been closed since August 2012 when two fires, a day apart, occurred at Casablanca. No injuries were reported, but the building suffered substantial smoke and heat damage and never reopened.

Albarouki, who has run the Philadelphia Moroccan restaurant Marrakesh for 40 years, has been renovating the Delaware site for several months and added an outdoor hookah bar. The new Casablanca will have seating for about 200 to 250 people. The dining room is larger and is surrounded by Moroccan tile and Moroccan tapestries, he said, but it will still include banquette-type seating and pillows.

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Albarouki had initially hoped to reopen Casablanca last fall, but he said he ran into delays because of various building inspections.

"After four and half years, it's going to take some time to wake everyone up and say, 'Hey, we're back!" he said.

Albarouki said he has sent text messages to about 350 of his longtime customers to tell them about the return of the restaurant that had been a part of the Delaware restaurant landscape for 25 years.

"People have been, like, 'Wow. Are you really back?' I'm excited to start again, and I'll be glad to see my lovely customers again," he said.

Casablanca was once operated by Riyad and his brothers Ousamah, Bachar and Haitham Albarouki. (The brothers now own and run Ali Baba Middle Eastern restaurant in Newark.) Customers sat on couches with vibrantly colored pillows. Towels served as napkins. Seven courses, which include dishes like lamb with honey and almonds, were delivered to the tables.

Belly dancers provided entertainment. It was a lively restaurant for a special occasion, especially a birthday celebration.

Albarouki said the menu remains the same and includes a three-salad platter that includes a mix of cucumber, tomatoes and sweet peppers, a carrot salad as well as an eggplant salad. The next starter is b’stilla or a layered sweet-and-savory pie made with chicken; assorted nuts; and almonds, eggs, parsley and onions topped with confection sugar and traces of cinnamon.

Main courses include chicken with lemon and olives or spicy chicken in cumin sauce or chicken. The second main course choices are marinated beef shish kebabs or a tagine of lamb with almonds and honey. The third main course is couscous with vegetables, chickpeas and raisins. The meal will end with mint tea as well as fresh fruit and Casablanca’s pastries including its famed baklava topped with pistachios.

For reservations, call (302) 652-5344.

Contact Patricia Talorico at (302) 324-2861 or ptalorico@delawareonline.com and on Twitter @pattytalorico