The Gateway to Morocco
For the thousands of Toronto commuters who weave past its stately stone columns each day, on their dash from home to work and back again, Union Station is just another train stop. But it could be so much more. With The Sultan’s Tent – a sophisticated Moroccan café with artful belly dancing exhibitions every evening – only moments away, a little imagination can turn boring old Union Station into the gateway to North Africa.

A Feast for All the Senses
One of the most luxurious aspects of traditional Moroccan dining is the lavish “diffa” – a feast of multiple courses served on cushions under a billowy tent. So it’s not surprising that, as their name would suggest, The Sultan’s Tent has worked hard to recreate that culinary experience. The back room is divided into nine dining lounges, each bathed in warm hues of burgundy and topaz and capable of seating 12 to 15 people. Shrouded with long flowing curtains, and accented with low light and Mediterranean flora, these lounges provide an intimate dining experience more appropriate to the streets of Casablanca than frosty Front Street.

Exotic French-Moroccan Cuisine
Moroccan culture has long been shaped and influenced by a French presence - politically, linguistically, and without a doubt gastronomically. Succulent lamb and buoyant couscous are mainstays of the dinner menu at The Sultan’s Tent (and of their in-house bar, Café Moroc, which offers lighter fare). The chefs offer a four-course prix fixe menu, which includes such exotic fare as Moroccan crab cakes garnished with frogs’ legs; rack of lamb glazed with thyme-infused honey and topped with candied ginger comfit; and b’stila - a light pastry dish stuffed with chicken, eggs and caramelized onions. And the loose-leaf mint tea, served in an ornate silver urn, is seemingly endless and makes for a refreshing pick-me-up at the meal’s end.