Oh dear Jean H – I am sorry that you did not enjoy your meal with us (and I am also sad that your partner, John H, also chose to do a separate two star review of the same meal on the same day).
It is a slightly surprising review because 99% of our reviews say that the staff are delightful, attentive, unobtrusive, smiley (!), and generally excellent. We only had 8 people in for dinner on that Tuesday night and the other 6 all rated us as excellent on their small feedback form & said that they would happily recommend us. So I am unsure about why you felt that your service was so bad.
If you would like to email me directly, I would be happy to look into the problem further.

The timing of the meals has been refined over 2 years and many, many guests. We ask people to arrive between 7 & 8pm for canapés and cocktails on the lovely roof terrace, and dinner starts at 8. We have a 5 course tasting menu that finishes between 10 & 10.30 – that is 2 to 2.5 hours & that seems to suit most people perfectly. Very occasionally we get people that say service is a little too fast, or some saying it is a little too slow - this timing seems to work well for almost everybody. I am sorry that in your case, you felt it was too fast.

We always want everybody to enjoy their time at gastro mk & I am sorry that it was not what you were looking for. I am glad that you found other restaurants that fitted your requirements & hope you managed to have a good time in Marrakech.

Regards,
Paul (owner)

Hi John H – Sorry that you had such a bad time and that you felt it was a ‘w’rip off.. (Most of my reply can be read on the reply I sent to your partner, Jean H, who left us a 1 star rating on the same meal).
Specifically on the points you mention…I am happy that you have been able to eat at so many fine places globally but I am sad that you have not chosen to review any except ours. It would have been interesting to read your comments. Many of our guests are ‘foodies’ that eat at top restaurants around the world & that is why many say that we compare very well with Michelin starred restaurants (SIM986 wrote it just this week… “I would personally rate this restaurant as one michelin star quality. “ ). Its very kind of people to say that – its only their opinion, but its lovely to know people have enjoyed our food & service.
Thankyou for saying the food is good (even though most diners say it is excellent – like all the other tables on the night you dined with us).
Service is generally our strong point. As I wrote in response to your unhappy partner’s review, 99% of people say the staff are professional, unobtrusive, personable, and smiley. But I have to assume that their manner was not to your taste, so I am sad about that.
The decoration is a mixture of Moroccan & Western – we have hundreds of photos on the website and we also have photos of the food, we send you a copy of the menu, and we send you directions & also check for allergies – all before you arrive. Importantly, we also tell you the price & the fact that we can also take euros, pounds, dollars, and dirhams – all at better exchange rates than you would get at a bureau de change. Additionally we take credit cards, debit cards, and Amex cards with no additional charges at all for this. We price in euros for gastro mk, for our spa (spa mk) and for our hotel (maison mk) because we get visitors from all over the world & we need to find a convenient currency to use for pricing and also so that people can relate to what it is costing them. Very few people know what a dirham is worth, so we price in euros & then convert that at a great exchange rate into whatever currency people want to use to pay in – I thought that was a good service – sorry it did not suit you & your partner. I am not sure what people have to ‘watch out’ for ?? If you would like to contact me directly, I would be happy to explain further if that would help.
We maintain our tripadvisor rating by asking all clients to do reviews & give their honest feedback. We generally ask people a few days after their visit so they are back home & have cleared their huge holiday email backlog – however you and your partner were keen to get your reviews in before we had chance to ask. We always ask for feedback on the night (a little feedback form). Our chef comes out and chats to guests about cooking techniques, questions about ingredients, etc, etc. And we follow up a few days after your visit with a polite request for a review, if you would kindly spare the time. That is how we use feedback – but we maintain our rating by being good. If we were bad, people would give us bad reviews consistently!
So, in conclusion, I am sorry that you and your partner didn’t enjoy your evening. I hope this explanation shows that we do care about service & quality & feedback & I hope it helps to explain some of the questions / comments that you raised. I just am still puzzled about why you didn’t review any of the other great meals you say you had.

Regards,
Paul (Owner)