5 Best Restaurants With Belly Dancing
Belly dancing takes talent, not to mention strong muscles and utter focus. See for yourself at one of the restaurants in NYC that serve great food and showcase belly dancers on a regular basis. It's dinner and a show, all wrapped up in one yummy package. By Jessica Allen.
Located where Brighton Beach meets Sheepshead Bay, 1001 Nights serves Middle Eastern food, with Russian, Afghan, Korean, Uzbeki, and Turkish influences. On Fridays and Saturdays, as you munch on chuchvara (pictured), or shurpa "Zeynab," a meat and vegetable soup that provides "an energy boost for the entire day," you'll be entertained by belly dancers. If you'd rather nosh privately, make a reservation for one of the tables towards the back, shielded with curtains and covered in cushions.
Arabesque, a North African and Middle Eastern in Midtown, is lovely every night of the week, decorated as it is with fabric-draped couches lined with cushions and arabesques ornamenting door frames and walls. On Saturdays, however, the restaurant invites belly dancers and live musicians to perform, and perform they do. As you watch, try the grilled citrus tuna, served with organic mixed greens, avocados, and tomatoes; the wild mushroom risotto; or the pan-roasted skate filet with charmoula sauce.
With a name like Casa La Femme, this West Village restaurant already evokes the bared midriffs and swaying hips of belly dancers. Its sensuous atmosphere, complete with a sunken firepit, white drapes, and grass floor, encourages diners to leave their cares at the door. The show takes place every night, so grab a table, sit back, and enjoy. What to eat? Casa La Femme specializes in Egyptian food like sogo (beef sausage) and felfel mahsch (baby peppers stuffed with fresh herbs, spices, and jasmine rice, smothered in house-made tomato sauce).
At Tagine, a Moroccan restaurant in Midtown, you can relax with a hookah while watching belly dancers perform five nights a week. Going beyond a sashay or hip thrust, the dancers include samba, hip hop, bhangra, and salsa, in their routines, making for a spirited time. A tagine is a savory stew, with meat, fish, or vegetables, often served with couscous, as well as the clay vessel in which the whole shebang is cooked. Order the gluten-free, vegan sweet potato (stewed sweet potatoes, carrots, and bell peppers) or the lamb Casablanca (stewed lamb with almonds and raisins).
Turkuaz takes you somewhere far, far away from its Upper West Side environs. You enter the dining area through thick, heavy drapes. The room itself is full of tables draped in white and lit with candles. Its chairs seem fit for royal bottoms, covered as they are in red velvet. As you dine on Turkish specialities like grilled lamb on eggplant puree, moist fish kebabs cooked in vine leaves, and lamb dumplings topped with tomato sauce and yogurt, you'll be regaled with live belly dancing (Fridays and Saturdays at 9:30). Make a reservation to get a good view.
