Bouga

Bouga is a great place in Crouch End for a fun meal with friends or a romantic dinner for two. A good value for authentic food and a beautiful wine selection. Stay later on Friday and Saturday evenings for the exciting entertainment of live belly dancing!

I booked at Bouga for my birthday last Saturday (19th November 2011) and after reading all these bad reviews I was really scared for the decision I had made and I was about to cancel , but having invited so many people over I decided to go through with the booking.
I must say that the bouga people must have read all these reviews, because what I experienced there was nothing like it was described from other diners.
The atmosphere was amazing, the decor superb, warm and cosy, the service the friendliest and most effective the food amazing and on top of that a little cake surprise for my birthday.
Thank you Bouga for an amazing night

Angel E

I am surprised about the bad reviews for this restaurant posted on this site as we had a great time last week on Thursday at Bouga with a bunch of friends…
The food is Moroccan with a large Lebanese influence as in most other similar restaurants in London.
We shared mezes to start with: baked aubergine, lamb sausages, grilled halloumi, tabbouleh, deep fried savoury vegetarian parcels, humus and freshly baked flat bread. All the dishes were tasty and freshly made.
I ordered a mixed grill (skewer of lamb and chicken fillets) with saffron rice which was truly delicious whilst my companions had couscous and lamb and prunes tajines which they were also very happy with. We skipped the desserts as by then we could not have anymore to eat…!
The restaurant itself is very atmospheric but remains cosy and although the service can be a bit patchy at times we were well looked after. We paid about £20/pers for starters+mains+drinks. Overall a place i am happy to recommend.

This is by far the worst restaurant I have ever eaten in. The decor entices you in and the smiles from the waitress encourage you to believe that the dining experience will be an enjoyable one. How misleading! My fiance and I went for dinner here on a quiet Sunday evening a month or so ago with another couple. We wanted to eat in St. James but it was closed so we decided to try Bouga.

We ordered our drinks and waited for our waitress to come back to take our food order. When she finally came over, we then had to wait over 30 minutes for our starters to arrive. I could see 2 plates of food sitting on the counter waiting to be served for at least 10 minutes whilst the waitress (who seemed to be the only one serving, despite there being at least 3 other members of staff milling around the restaurant) chatted and joked with another patron.
I decided that we had waited long enough and so I politely told the barman that we would like to pay for our drinks and leave because waiting so long for a hot and cold mezze starter was too long on such a quiet evening. However, just as I was requesting the bill the waitress decided to bring over the food. The food itself was fine. Nothing special, but certainly edible.

We then waited a further 30 minutes for our main courses. When they were served my dish was stone cold – I had ordered vegetable and rice. The rice was also stone cold for my fiance and one of our friends. My food was taken away (which I always dread as I'm not very good at complaining in person) and was brought back after about 10 minutes, by which time my friends had nearly finished eating.

Due to the slow service and the cold food the restaurant did very kindly leave the cost of the starter off of the bill but frankly I don't feel like they deserved any form of payment. We quietly paid and left and vowed never to return. It's a shame because the restaurant looks really lovely.

Needless to say we won't be visiting again or recommending to friends or colleagues.

This is probably the worst restaurant I have ever been to in London.

20 of us went on Saturday night. We were told to pre-order the week before, but upon arrival were told the menu had changed so would have to order again. When a couple of ordered Cobras beers did not arrive, we were told they had run out, but later in the evening saw one of the waiters walking around with two bottles. When questioned, the waiter just got angry with us. It took an hour for orders to be taken, two hours from arriving for starters to be served, and to top it off, one main was served instead of a starter, and several mains turned up 20mins after the mains. Some of the chicken meals were also completely cold and very stingy portions.

A belly dancer appeared in the middle of the meal, which was fine until she suddenly produced a live snake which she also draped around some guests shoulders. For half of us, this was plain terrifying and also unhygenic in a restaurant.

Seriously one to avoid. If you want good Moroccan food, go to Souk Medina in Covent Garden or Moro in Exmouth Market

This restaurant is well worth trying. We hadn’t eaten Moroccan food before so were pleased our waiter was willing and able to guide us through their extensive menu. We decided upon the ‘grill feast’, a four course meal, which allowed us to try lots of dishes. It was a good choice and washed down well with a couple of bottles of Moroccan beer. The restaurant wasn’t busy, probably because it was early, but we didn’t feel intimidated as the restaurant has a really warm, cosy, intimate feel. I wish they sold the crockery they use and lamps – would look cool in my flat.