Middle Eastern Dance:
Events - Restaurant Guide

Restaurant dancing (and restaurants too, for that matter) tends to come and go so the following info may be out-of-date; call the restaurants to double check, before going to see dancing.

Tucson, Arizona

Kasbah Restaurant
6350 E. Broadway Blvd.
520-750-8070

"Authentic Middle Eastern cuisine, specializing in lamb and vegeterian dishes. Belly dancing fridays and saturdays. Open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner; full bar; M/C and Visa."

Le Mediterranean
4955 N. Sabino Canyon
520-529-1330

"Restaurant and grocery, an assortment of Mediterranean Cuisine: kabobs (chicken, beef, lamb), seafood, steaks and various vegeterian dishes. Full bar, wine list. Reservations suggested; take-out and catering available. Open 7 days 5pm-10pm, accept major credit cards. Located in the Sabino Canyon Plaza, just north of Hidden Valley Inn". I understand that they only allow Egyptian style dance and music now.

Shish Kebab House of Tucson
5855 E. Broadway
520-745-5308

Mediterranean/Middle Eastern food. I understand their dancer recently moved out of town (summer 95); I don't know if they've replaced her yet.

Rest of Arizona

Byblos Restaurant
3332 S. Mill Ave.
Tempe, AZ
602-894-1945

(Excerpted their ad) "Authentic Middle Eastern Cuisine and Pastry; voted #1 in AZ Republic, New Times and Tempe Magazine. Charbroiled lamb and chicken kabobs and lamb chops, as well as homos, falafel, moussaka, steaks, and fresh seafood. Vegetarian dishes and homemade pastries available. Fine wine and cocktails. Monthly belly dance performances presented by Egyptian Cartouche, featuring local dancers."

Yasmina's Belly Dance Home Page

Yasmina's website includes a listing of restaurants in the Phoenix AZ area that feature bellydancing.

California

Armenian Cafe
3126 Carlsbad Blvd.
Carlsbad, CA USA

"Terrific food...[dancing Fri and Sat nights], 7-9pm best time."

Grecian Gardens
1020 W. San Marcos Blvd.
San Marcos CA USA

Marrakech
Fulton St.
Sacramento, CA

"I love to go to Marrakech on Fulton in Sacramento to see dancing. Great food too... Yummm... As far as an "open night", I'm not sure about that, but [there are regular dancers]." --Sydney

Mykonos
259 S. Oceanside Harbor Dr.
Oceanside, CA USA

"Recently lost their live music - dancers Wed thru Sun - schedule uncertain for right now."

Tony's Taverna
23410 Civic Center Way
Malibu, CA USA
phone: 310-317-9667

"There's a Greek Restaurant I visited a year ago in Malibu called Tony's Taverna that has belly dancing. I'm not sure what nights exactly, but definitely on Saturdays (I went on a Monday and there was no dancer that night). The waitresses also get patrons up to do Greek dancing and there is an enchanting musician playing Greek music & singing most of the time. Really good food & a lovely atmosphere. Lots of celebrities have been spotted there, including actor Pierce Brosnan. Price range is about $65-75/couple for a full course meal, including wine. They have vegetarian dishes as well. Quite reasonable and a very charming host who kissed my hand when I mentioned I was from Canada and complimented him on the atmosphere as I was leaving...I was quite tickled! Definitely one of the highlights of my trip!" --Emerald

Los Angeles Area

JJ's Place
Web Site

James Janner's Web page; lists belly dance clubs and restaurants in the Los Angeles area.

Al Amir
5750 Wilshire
Los Angeles, CA USA
phone: 213-931-8740

(From medance list) "I believe Ansuya is still dancing [there]...Souhael Kaspar, a top-rank drummer, performs there, too." "[Al Amir] is a classy place, figure about $100/couple easy. Had a very positive review (the restaurant, not the dancing, sigh) in [a recent] Sunday LA Times magazine section..."

Al Andalous Restaurant
Los Angeles, CA

Sabrina performs by reservation only.

Casablanca Bistro
Newport Beach, CA

Sabrina performs by resrvation only.

Marakesh Restaurant
Newport Beach, CA

Sabrina performs Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Menara Moroccan Restaurant
41 E. Gish Road
San Jose, CA 95112
408-453-1983

Menara Moroccan Restaurant Homepage - they claim to have "traditional belly dancing".

San Diego

Greektown
431 E. St., between 4th and 5th Ave
San Diego, CA USA

"Live music - some Greek, some Arabic - this place is somewhat small and gets real noisy real fast but has the best show with three dancers between 9pm and 2am - Marina, Vanessa and Julia (as of Jan 96)."

Sheik Cafe
5th Ave. and Nutmeg St.
San Diego, CA USA

"Early show!! 7:30pm Fri, Sat."

Troy's
10450 Friars Road
San Diego, CA USA

"...about 1 mile east of da 'Murph (that's Jack Murphy Stadium (Super Bowl XXXII site) for our non-ESPN literate folk)."

San Francisco Bay Area

Ali's
385 Colusa Avenue
Kensington (N. Berkeley), CA USA
510-526-1500

Owner: Ali Alyami. They serve Moroccan cuisine.

Amira Cafe
590 Valencia (at 17th)
San Francisco, CA USA
415-621-6213

Mary Ellen Donald plays [drums] there Fridays; Susu Pampanin of Cairo cats/Giza Club/Aswan Dancers drums there some Saturdays. Call to confirm and for reservations.

Andre's
1730 Shattuck Avenue
Berkeley, CA USA
510-644-1935

Owned by Sandy Guaglianone; they serve Eastern European cuisine.

Athens By Night
811 Valencia
San Francisco, CA USA
415-647-3744

Owned by Vicky Serveta; they serve Greek cuisine.

Cafe Istanbul
525 Valencia
San Francisco, CA USA
415-863-8854

Owned by Azzam Shibli; they serve Middle Eastern cuisine.

Cairo Cafe
411 Strawberry Village
Mill Valley, CA
415-389-1101

Owned by Attif Hassan; they serve Egyptian cuisine.

Cleopatra
1755 Noriega
San Francisco, CA
415-753-5005

Owned by Kamal Abdeen; they serve Jordanian cuisine. "...has an open dance night on Saturdays with a live band (keyboard, oud, dourbaka, and quite good),usualy start at 9pm or so, call Said, the gracious owner. And for Kira this is an Arab owned club..." --Imzahdi

El Mansour
3123 Clement St.
San Francisco, CA
415-751-2312

Owned by Jack and Hoda Tanvarakul; they serve Moroccan cuisine.

El Morocco
1311 Meadow Lane
Concord, CA
510-671-0132

Owned by Fadil Shahim; they serve Moroccan cuisine.

The Grapeleaf
4031 Balboa St.
San Francisco, CA
415-668-1515

Owned by Gabriel and Susan Michael; they serve Lebanese cuisine. Sausan is also responsible for publishing Clyde's Guide, a free belly dance resource guide. See Media section - Journals, for further details.

Kan Zaman
1793 Haight
San Francisco, CA
phone: 415-751-9656

Sunday-Thursday: open Noon-11pm; Friday-Saturday: open Noon-Midnight. Bar open Noon-?. Reservations for parties of 6 or more only. "It actually says noon - ? outside... I love that. Technically the bar is open till 2:00 AM but if you get into a conversation with Joe (the owner) and his freinds you may end up staying there well into the wee hours of the morning. They serve pan-Arabic cuisine mostly from Joe's mothers recipes. Very tasty, in fact they have the best baba ganoush I've ever had. You can also order such delicacies as spiced wine, arabic tea or coffee and an apple, apricot or honey tobacco hookah to indulge in after your meal.

"MAJOR ambiance...(They won the readers pick for Best Ambiance in the SF Bay Guardian's Best Of The Bay 95) They have a great sound system and the volume of the (mostly) arabic music goes up and down depending on how much Joe likes the song......and it is not uncommon for him to play along with the dumbeck he keeps behind the bar or for customers to start clapping along with the music... They have dancing on Friday and Saturday nights and sometimes on Wednesdays. Right now two former members of FatChance and their new troupe "Ultra Gypsy" perform there on one night and a solo artist named Michele dances on the other. Only down-side of this place is that sometimes it can take up to 2 hours to get a table on a Saturday night...the place is *always* packed..." --Rhiannon

Kasra
349 Clement St.
San Francisco, CA
415-752-1101

Owned by Mike Shiraze; they serve Persian cuisine.

Mamounia
4411 Balboa St.
San Francisco, CA
415-752-6566

Owned by Said Ziani; they serve Moroccan cuisine.

Marrakech
419 O'Farrell St.
San Francisco, CA
415-776-6717

Owned by Vashtu; they serve Moroccan cuisine.

The Pasha
1516 Broadway
San Francisco, CA
415-885-4477

Owned by Jalaleddin Takesh; they serve Moroccan cuisine.

Shaharazade
360 Oyster Point Blvd.
South San Francisco, CA
415-588-8209

Owned by Ghassan Khalif; they serve Lebanese cuisine.

Taverna Athena
201 Broadway
Oakland, CA
510-893-6000

Owned by Spiro Avlonitis; they serve Greek cuisine.

Santa Barbara/Ventura Area

Casbah
334 E. Ortega
Santa Barbara, CA
phone: 805-965-3599

"Moroccan cuisine. Beautiful decor. (unknown as to exact days and times for belly dancing)." --Amanda

Couscous Restaurant
1231 B State St.
Santa Barbara, CA
phone: 805-899-4780

"Excellent Moroccan cuisine served in a cozy atmosphere. Complete meals (without drinks) run $18-$25, although a al carte meals are available. Belly dancing nightly Tuesday through Sunday, usually around 8pm." --Amanda

The Greek
Ventura Harbor
Ventura, CA

"Very good Greek food in a large, beautiful venue. Patio seating viewing the harbor. Belly dancing on weekends, plus Greek dancing from the wait staff (and patrons, if they want to join in!)." --Amanda

Greek House Tavern
5782 Hollister Ave.
Goleta, CA
phone: 805-964-6463

"Good Greek fare, friendly hosts, and reasonable prices ($9-$16 for dinners). Belly dancing Saturday and Sunday nights, around 8pm. Greek folk dancing, too, when the patrons are so moved." --Amanda

Colorado

Cedar's Restaurant
1550 S. Federal Blvd.
Denver, CO
303-936-2980

Dancers by request only.

House of Kabob
2246 S. Colorado Blvd.
Denver, CO
303-756-0744

Various dancers on weekends, on alternating schedules.

It's Greek To Me
Restaurant and Bar
165 Steele
Denver CO
303-333-4553

Dancers Friday and Saturday nights.

Mataam Fez Moroccan Restaurant
2226 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 303-440-4167
3625 Colorado Ave. Colorado Springs CO 719-634-2101
4609 E. Colfax Ave. Denver CO, 303-399-9282
1000 Lionsridge Loop, Vail Run, Vail CO 303-476-1948

Boulder and Vail have variable dance schedules; Colorado Springs features dancing Fridays and Saturdays; Denver features dancing Fridays, Saturdays and possibly Sun--Thurs if there are enough reservations.

Pub: Shimmy Chronicles (see Publications-Newsletters/Journals subsection of Media page) has a restaurant column, listing restaurants and dancers.

District of Columbia

Dar Es Salam
3056 M St.
Washington, DC USA
phone: 202-337-6680

Moroccan cuisine, shows Friday and Saturday at 9pm.

Marrakesh
617 New York Ave NW
Washington, DC
phone: 202-393-9393

"Moroccan cuisine, dancers Sunday-Thursday at 8:30pm, Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm and 10:30pm." --Jaka

For more info:

See the WAMEDA Website, coming soon! - restaurants, dancers, events.

Illinois

Beirut Restaurant
5204 N. Clark St.
Chicago, IL USA
phone: 312-769-1250

"Live music and bellydancing on weekends.

Cafe Istanbul
2732 N. Clark
Chicago, IL USA
phone: 312-525-3091

Have had belly dancing.

Maryland

Sahib Indian Restaurant
18066 Georgia Ave.
Olney, MD USA
phone: 301-570-2000

"Indian cuisine, 7 course dinner. Dancers nightly at 8:30 pm." --Jaka "...has dancers most nights. I know a couple of them, and they're very good. If you get the chance to see Artemis, do."

For more info:

See the WAMEDA Website, coming soon! - restaurants, dancers, events.

Nevada

Mamounia
4632 S. Maryland Pkwy.
Las Vegas, NV
702-597-0092

(Courtesy of James Janner) "Maurice and Michelle run a very nice Moroccan restaurant, with the tent-like, etc. decor. The food is excellent, at about $25 per person (not including your choice of wine, including some fair Moroccan examples). Taped music, and a dancer appears several times over the course of the evening. A few weeks ago [fall 1996] Raquel was featured, a pleasant dancer."

New Mexico

Barry's Oasis Restaurant
5400 San Mateo NE
Albuquerque NM
505-884-2324

(Excerpted their ad) "Serving lunch and dinner since '79, liquor license, all major credit cards accepted. Live Entertainment (picture of Belly Dancer), Wed-Sat evenings. Specializing in the foods of France, Greece, Italy, Spain, and American favorites. Featuring lamb, chicken, pork, beef and unique seafood meals plus pasta and vegeterian entrees."

Oregon

Al Amir
223 SW Start
Portland, OR
503-274-0010

Owned by Ghassan Hawdad; they serve Lebanese cuisine.

Alexis
215 W. Burnside
Portland, OR
503-224-8577

Owned by Alexis Bakouros; they serve Greek cuisine.

Green Onion
15 SW 2nd
Portland, OR
503-227-2372

Owned by Sousan Brown; they serve Persian cuisine.

Kolbeh (Dave's Deli)
1110 SW 3rd
Portland, OR
503-222-5461

Owned by Mac Ganji; they serve Persian cuisine.

Plaka
Portland, OR USA

"Nemra Kahn...sponsors Wednesday dance nights at The Plaka in downtown Portland. Usually she has a local teacher bring several of their more advanced students to dance. The ability to play zills is almost a must. :-) A live Greek band plays for one or two dancers and the others dance to taped music. If you are interested in dancing or having your students dance please contact me for more information. If you are breezing through town or a regular we would love to see you and/or be seen by you! We are there every Wednesday at 9:00 PM." --Monique, MoniqueWS@msn.com

Touch of Athens
11525 SW Barnes Rd.
Portland, OR
503-646-6889

Owned by Denny and Helen Tzakis; they serve Greek/American cuisine.

Tennessee

Acropolis Greek Grill
Chattanooga, TN

Members of the Chattanooga Mid-Eastern Dance School perform regularly at the Acropolis Greek Grill every second Tuesday and fourth Thursday of every month, 6:30-7:30pm. The regular performers are as follows: Delilah, Alay'nya, Yasmeen, Luna, Alisha, Sonya, Lisa, Chara. "The food is excellent. I particularly like their Fried Cod, homemade bread and desserts. The owners really know how to cook, everything I've tried was superb. Many kudos to them." --Sue Moore

Utah

Robert's Deli-Market
1071 E. 900 S
Salt Lake City, UT
801-355-8141

(Excerpted their ad) "Specializing in Armenian, Lebanese, Middle-Eastern and Vegetarian cuisine. All natural foods, catering available, Belly Dance Friday and Saturday nights; formal dining, falafel, chawarma, gyro sandwiches, shish kabob. Vegetarian, chicken, beef, lamb. Mon-Thurs: 9:30-10, Fri and Sat: 9:30-11."

Virginia

Casablanca
1504 King St.
Old town Alexandria, VA
phone: 703-549-6464

"Moroccan and Mediterranean cuisine, 5-7 course dinner and dancers everynight at 8:30pm. Main dancers performing include: Adena, Nyla, Yasmin and Artemis." --Jaka "Another regular dancer, dancing there three nights a week for the last three years is Noor Jahan." --Nimeera

Taste of Casablanca
3211 N. Washington Blvd.
Arlington, VA
phone: 703-527-7468

Moroccan cuisine, entrees $8-10. Samra and Jazala perform there Friday and Saturday nights at 8:30pm; taped music.

For more info:

See the WAMEDA Website - restaurants, dancers, events.

Washington

The Caspian Grill
5517 University Way NE
Seattle, WA 98105
phone: 206-524-3434

"Dancing every Friday and Saturday night featuring either Tina (Tina Sargent, from the med-dance list), Elisa (Elisa Taylor, formerly from the list), or Sabura (not subscribed to the list, but darn it, she should be!). Live music by David Saee. Shows start around 11 PM, no cover!" --Hasani

Phoenician
14415 SW Mill Plan
Vancouver, WA
206-253-4789

Owned by Gud Gleak (pronounced Jud Jalook); they serve Lebanese cuisine.

The Seattle Belly Dance Page
Seattle, WA
Web Site

You can try checking this web site for Seattle WA/Pacific Northwest based belly dance info.

Wisconsin

Casablanca Restaurant
3468 N. Oakland Ave.
Milwaukee, WI USA
phone: 414-961-8810

"Middle Eastern cuisine. Bellydancing on weekends."

Nomad World Pub
1401 E. Brady St.
Milwaukee, WI USA
414-224-8111

"Call about monthly shows by Oasis band with bellydancers."

Canada

Al Khaima Dinner Theatre
767 Dovercourt Road (at Bloor)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

" Al Khaima Dinner Theatre offers an evening of live entertainment and authentic Arab cuisine every Saturday nights. There will be professional performances of both traditional Arabic dance ('belly dancing') and folkloric dance by the Arabian Sahara Dancers under the direction of professor Eddy Manneh as well as music by a Middle Eastern quartet. Al Kaima (meaning 'the tent') looks as if it had been lifted from an ancient Arab city hundreds of years ago. The restaurant is adorned with ancient brass Arabian lamps, century-old carpets, and traditional Arab Diwan style seating. The dining area is spaciously laid out and perfect for groups of friends. Attention to details and authenticity have been the most important aim at Al Khaima.

Al Kaima will seat over 200 people. Show and dinner start at 7:00 PM. Dinner tickets are $40 by reservation only. After 10:00 PM, a $20 general admission provides guests with live entertainment and a beverage. Group discounts available. For more information contact Eddy Manneh (416) 368-1797. For reservations contact Freddyıs Dance Academy: Toronto (416) 368-1797, Mississauga (905) 897-8927, North York (416) 224-8080."

Other Regional Web Site Guides

• Southeast Middle Eastern Dance - Calendar, Restaurant Guide and Teacher/Performer directory for the SE USA

Last Modified: 31 Jan 1998