Morocco Guide
Marrakesh
Eating
1 Amandine cafe 177 Rue Mohammed el Bekal, Guéliz If you're on a diet, look away now, because this is a double whammy: a café-patisserie, stuffed full of scrumptious almond-filled Moroccan pastries and French-style cream cakes, and right next-door, a plush ice-cream parlour where you can sit and eat in comfort. You can have a coffee with your choice of sweetmeat in both halves, but the ice-cream section is more spacious.
2 Argana Overlooking Djemaa el Fna, Medina The closest vantage point over the Djemaa, right on top of the action, and not at all a bad place to eat. Menus are 90–150dh, and dishes include lamb tajine with prunes, and seafood pastilla, a new-fangled variation on the traditional Fassi dish.
3 Café du Grand Balcon Overlooking Djemaa el Fna, Medina This place has the fullest view over the Djemaa, taking it all in from a perfect vantage point, but it isn't as close-up as the Argana, and it serves only drinks (tea, coffee and sodas) – no food at all.
4 Chez Chegrouni Overlooking Djemaa el Fna, Medina Come at a quiet time if you want to bag one of the seats on the upstairs terrace that actually do overlook the square. Popular with tourists (you won't see a Moroccan in here), this place does decent couscous and tajines at moderate prices (mostly 50dh a throw), though the portions are on the small side.
5 Hôtel du Café de France Overlooking Djemaa el Fna, Medina The hotel itself is wretched but the restaurant and café are reliable and reasonably priced – with a view over the eastern side of the Djemaa.
6 Hôtel CTM Overlooking Djemaa el Fna, Medina The rooftop café here does a very good-value continental breakfast, but otherwise serves only drinks, and gives a view onto most of the square.
7 
Les Prémices Overlooking Djemaa el Fna, Medina Good Moroccan and European food including tasty gazpacho, well-prepared tajines, steaks, fish, pizzas and even crème brulée. It's on the very southeastern corner of the square, but close enough for a view of the action, and very moderately priced (you can eat pretty well for 100dh, very well for 150dh).
8 Terrasses de l'Alhambra Overlooking Djemaa el Fna, Medina Rather a tourist trap, and the food is overpriced and not consistently good, but it does have a great location overlooking the northeastern arm of the Djemaa, with two covered terraces, menus at 115dh and 130dh and lots of pizzas, pasta and salad.
9 El Bahja 24 Rue Bani Marine, Medina This place (whose patron has appeared on a British TV food programme) is popular with locals and knowing tourists alike. Don't miss the viande hachée and house yoghurt. Set menus 52–65dh.
10 Café des Épices Place Rahba Kedima, north side, Medina A small café offering refuge from the hubbub, with orange juice, mint tea, coffee in various permutations, including spiced with cinnamon, and views over the Rahba Kedima from the upper floor and the roof terrace.
11 Café-Restaurant el Badi Near Bab Berrima, Medina On a rooftop looking out over Pl des Ferblantiers and towards the Mellah, this is one place to get close to the storks nesting on the walls of the El Badi Palace. It serves a limited range of hot and soft drinks, and a modest 80dh set menu of soup, salad and couscous, with a Moroccan sweetmeat for afters.
12 Café Restaurant Maryland Rue Ibn Rachid, Medina Reasonably priced and very tasty Moroccan dishes, including wonderful tajines (the rabbit is especially delicious, with lemon and raisins, but watch out – it may include the head), with tables indoors or out front. Expect to pay around 50–80dh for a three-course meal.
13 Chez Bahia Rue Riad Zitoun el Kedim, 50m from Djemaa el Fna, medina A café-diner offering pastilla, wondeful tajines and low-priced snacks, plus breakfasts of bisara and harsha. You can eat well here for 50dh.
14 Grillade Chez Sbai 91 Rue Kassabine, Medina The tables are upstairs but you order downstairs at this tiny hole-in-the-wall eatery. It isn't much to look at, but the food is good, the portions are ample and the prices are low. Most customers go for the spit-roast chicken, but the best deal is a big plate of chicken shwarma with chips and salad, a snip at 22dh.
15 Patisserie Belkabir and Patisserie Duniya 63–65 Souk Smarine, by the corner of Traverse el Ksour, Medina Two shops, side by side, specializing in traditional Moroccan sweetmeats, stuffed with nuts and drenched in syrup, and particularly popular during the holy month of Ramadan, when of course they are eaten by night. A kilo of assorted sticky delights costs 100dh.
16 Pâtisserie des Princes 32 Rue Bab Agnaou. A sparkling patisserie with mouth-watering pastries at prices that are a little high by local standards but worth the extra. They also have treats like almond milk and ice cream. The salon de thé at the back is a very civilized place to take breakfast, morning coffee or afternoon tea.
17 Restaurant Oscar Progrès 20 Rue Bani Marine, Medina One of the best budget restaurants in town, with friendly service, excellent-value set menus, and lovely, fragrant couscous. You can fill up here for around 50dh, or be a real pig and go for the 80dh set menu.
18 Snack Café Toubkal Djemaa el Fna, Medina Best recognized by its backdrop of a dozen colourful carpets for sale. As well as fruit juices, home-made yoghurts, and patisseries, there are salads, tajines and couscous, and good-value breakfasts too.
19 Bougainvillea Café 33 Rue Mouassine. An upmarket café and quiet retreat in the middle of the Medina, handy for a break after a hard morning's shopping in the souks. There are salads, sandwiches, cakes, juices, coffee and tea – including tea flavoured with mountain herbs from the Atlas – but most of all it's a pleasant space to relax in, doubling as an art gallery, with exhibits by a different local painter each month, and live music Saturday evenings from 8pm.
20 Café Arabe 184 Rue Mouassine, Medina 
www.cafearabe.com A sophisticated bar and eatery in the heart of the Medina, very handy for the souks. As well as excellent Moroccan and European cooking, not to mention snappy service, there's a fine selection of alcoholic drinks including wines, plus juices, teas, cocktails and mocktails, served on the terrace, in the patio or in the salon. Expect to pay around 200dh plus drinks.
21 Café Restaurant Iceberg Av el Mouahidine, Medina Formerly an ice-cream parlour, hence its name, this place is central and popular with Marrakshis. Downstairs, it serves the best coffee in the Medina, and it also serves beer; upstairs there's a comfortable restaurant serving French and Moroccan food, with a 60dh set menu.
22 Dar Mima 9 Derb Zaouia el Khadiria, off Rue Riad Zitoun el Djedid, Medina 
024 38 52 52 www.ifrance.com/darmima A modest nineteenth-century townhouse converted into a simple but comfortable restaurant, open evenings only, from 8pm. The fine à la carte menu represents what guests might be served in the home of a well-to-do Marrakshi family. Expect to pay around 250dh per person plus wine, and be sure to book in advance (they may even arrange for somebody to meet you and show you the way).
23 Hôtel Ali Rue Moulay Ismail, Medina Justifiably popular restaurant with à la carte lunches, and a great-value buffet every evening, featuring, harira, salads, couscous and ten or more tajine-style dishes – buffet 70dh (residents 60dh).
24 Pizzeria Portofino 279 Av Mohammed V, Medina www.portofinomarrakech.com Quite a posh ambience, tablecloths and all, and wood-oven pizzas that are well cooked, but slightly bland, though this is easily remedied with a splash of the garlic-and-chilli olive oil they thoughtfully provide.
25 Pizzeria Venezia 279 Av Mohammed V, Medina Rooftop restaurant whose main attraction is its unparalleled view of the Koutoubia rather than its so-so pizzas, but it isn't a bad place for breakfast.
26 Dar Marjana 15 Derb Sidi Ali Tair, off Rue Bab Doukkala, Medina 024 38 51 10 Opening time: Daily except Tues from 8pmThis restaurant is housed in an early nineteenth-century palace, said by some to be the most beautiful in the Medina. Look for the sign above the entrance to a passageway diagonally across the street from the corner of the Dar el Glaoui; take the passage and look for the green door facing you before a right turn. The set menu costs 660dh. Advance booking only.
27 Palais Gharnata 5–6 Derb el Arsa, off Rue Riad Zitoun el Djedid, Medina 024 38 96 15 www.gharnata.com From the car park of the Dar Si Said Museum, take the gate to the right of the Préfecture de Marrakesh Medina and, after passing the Maison Tiskiwin on your right, look for signs to the restaurant. The sixteenth-century decor is magnificent, the central alabaster fountain is also sixteenth century and from Italy. The food, however, is rather mediocre, and individual diners play second fiddle to groups. Past diners (who presumably didn't get that sort of treatment) have included Jacqueline Kennedy and the Aga Khan, and scenes from The Return of the Pink Panther were shot here. Open evenings only, from 8pm (book before 5pm). Cost 500dh per head.
28 Le Pavillon 47 Derb Zaouia, Medina 024 38 70 40 Best approached from Rue Bab Doukkala, round the back of the Bab Doukkala mosque – look for the sign over the first archway on the right, head down the passage and it's the last door on the right. The restaurant is in a beautifully restored middle-class residence, with a tree-shaded patio and Berber wall hangings. Among the specialities whipped up by Michelin-starred French chef Laurent Tarridec are lobster ravioli and a Grand Marnier soufflé. At around 300–400dh à la carte, it's more than worth the price.
29 Restaurant el Bahia 1 Rue Riad Zitoun el Djedid, by the Bahia Palace, Medina 024 37 86 79 A beautifully restored palace, all finely carved stucco and painted wooden ceilings, with bargain-priced menus off-season (lunch 80dh, supper 120dh), or, in summer, a choice of pricier set menus based on the specialities of Marrakesh (350dh, with beef and prune tajine, seven-vegetable couscous and chakchouka), or of Fes (380dh, featuring pastilla, and chicken tajine with olive and lemon). Music and dancing in the evening if they have enough customers to make it worthwhile.
30 Restaurant Yacout 79 Sidi Ahmed Soussi, Medina 024 38 29 00 In a gorgeous old palace, with columns and fireplaces in super-smooth orange- and blue-striped tadelakt plaster, courtesy of American interior designer and Marrakesh resident Bill Willis. After a drink on the roof terrace, you move down into one of the intimate salons surrounding the courtyard for a selection of salads, followed by a tajine, then lamb couscous and (if you have room) dessert. The classic Moroccan tajine of chicken with preserved lemon and olive is a favourite here, but the fish tajine is also rated very highly. The cuisine has received Michelin plaudits in the past, though standards are beginning to slip as the tour groups move in. The menu costs 700dh per person.
31 Riad des Mers 411 Derb Sidi Messaoud, Medina 024 37 53 04 Opening time: Evenings from 8pm only; closed MonThey bring their own supplies in from the coast for this French fish and seafood restaurant in a patio garden (covered in winter), run by the proprietors of the neighbouring Riad Sindibad. You can start with oysters or razor shells, continue with sea bass, king prawns or monkfish brochettes, and finish with chocolate pudding.
32 La Rotunda 39 Derb Lamnabha, Kasbah 024 38 15 85 Two menus and two chefs, one Italian, one Moroccan, at this bi-national restaurant that's made a name for itself very quickly serving fine food from both countries amidst beautifully ornate decor from the owner's collection of fine Moroccan and Venetian antiques, or with a view of the Atlas should you care to eat on the roof terrace.
33 Le Tanjia 14 Derb Djedid, Hay Essalam/Mellah, near Pl des Ferblantiers, Medina 024 38 38 36 www.ilove-marrakesh.com/letanjia Very stylish bar restaurant billed as an "oriental brasserie" serving well-cooked Moroccan dishes, including vegetarian options, in an old mansion done out in modern decor, and not outrageously expensive by any means (count on around 300dh per head plus wine). On Sun they do a 190dh buffet brunch.
34 Le Tobsil 22 Derb Abdellah Ben Hessaien, near Bab Ksour, Medina 024 44 40 52 Opening time: Open evenings only (7–11pm) and closed TuesSumptuous Moroccan cuisine in an intimate riad, now considered by many to be the finest restaurant in town, though the wine (included in the price) doesn't match the quality of the food. Worth booking ahead; set menu 600dh.
35 Boule de Neige 20 Rue de Yougoslavie, close to Pl Abdelmoumen Ben Ali, Guéliz This lively patisserie serves continental and American breakfasts and all-day snacks, as well as good ice cream and coffee, and toast with amalou. On Sat and Sun evenings, there's live Moroccan pop music too.
36 Café des Negotiants Pl Abdelmoumen Ben Ali, Guéliz Slap bang on the busiest corner in Guéliz, this grand café is the place to sit out on the pavement and really feel that you're in the heart of modern Marrakesh. It's also an excellent venue in which to spend the morning over a coffee, with a choice of different croissants (plain, chocolate, almond), or even crêpes and fruit juice, to accompany your caffeine fix.
37 Nismaq Rue de l'Imam Ali, opposite the church, Guéliz It can be hard to find an honest-to-goodness cheap Moroccan eatery in the Ville Nouvelle, but this place serves tasty tajines at 15–25dh a shot, great value and very popular with workers on their lunch break.
38 Oliveri Av el Mansour Eddahbi, behind Hôtel Agdal, Guéliz Marrakesh branch of the long-established Casablanca firm. You can eat your scoop from a proper ice-cream goblet among elegant surroundings, accompanied, should you so desire, by coffee; or else you can take it away in a waffle cone.
39 Bagatelle 101 Rue de Yougoslavie, Guéliz 024 43 02 74 Opening time: Closed WedPhotos of Marrakesh in the 1950s deck the walls, and there's a lovely vine-shaded garden to eat in at this French-style restaurant which first opened its doors in 1949. You can start with an entrée such as pork and guinea fowl terrine, or pan-fried lamb's brain with capers, take in some Portuguese-style veal tongue, or duck confit with baked apple for your main course, and finish off with tart of the day or lemon and vodka sorbet. Throw in a coffee or a mint tea, and you'll pay around 200–250dh per head.
40 Le Cantanzaro 50 Rue Tarik Ibn Ziad, Guéliz 024 43 37 31 Opening time: Mon– Sat noon–2.30pm & 7.15–11pmOne of the city's most popular Italian restaurants, crowded at lunchtime with Marrakshis, expats and tourists. Specialities include saltimbocca alla romana and rabbit in mustard sauce, and there's crème brûlée or tiramisú to round it off with. You're strongly advised to book, but you can also just turn up and queue for a table.
41 Chez Jack'Line 63 Av Mohammed V, near Pl Abdelmoumen Ben Ali, Guéliz 024 44 75 47 Opening time: Daily noon–2.30pm & 7–11pmFrench, Italian and Moroccan dishes are all served here under the skilful direction of the indefatigable Jack'Line Pinguet and the beady eye (upstairs) of Ulysses, her parrot. You can eat splendidly for 150dh à la carte, plus wine – top choices are the steaks and pasta dishes, including superb cannelloni – or go for the 80dh set menu based on couscous or tajine.
42 Chez Pierre Rue Oum Rabia, next to the Diamant Noir nightclub, Guéliz Opening time: Daily 24hrSandwiches, omelettes, crêpes and pizzas, all served round the clock – very handy if you emerge from a night's clubbing with a ravenous hunger. The walls are decorated with 1960s black-and-white stills featuring personalities of the era from Brigitte Bardot to Jimi Hendrix, but it's the hours rather than the decor which most appeal. Daily 24hr
43 Le Dragon d'Or 82 Bd Mohammed Zerktouni, Guéliz 024 43 06 17 Vietnamese and Chinese cuisine, with bright and cheerful decor; it's popular with local families and there's a takeaway service. Prices are reasonable if a group of several people pick and mix.
44 Hôtel Farouk 66 Av Hassan II, Guéliz From noon the hotel restaurant offers an excellent-value 60dh set menu with soup, salad, couscous, tajine or brochettes, followed by fruit, ice cream or home-made yoghurt. Alternatively, tuck in to one of their excellent wood-oven pizzas (30–50dh).
45 Restaurant 33 Marrakech 33 Av Mohammed V, Guéliz Opening time: Daily noon–3pm & 7pm– midnightQuite smart for a mid-range place, with royal blue table cloths, and the usual favourites – tajine, couscous and tanjia – on the menu, along with a big choice of brochettes – lamb, veal, chicken, turkey, fish, kefta (minced lamb) and spicy merguez sausage. Wine is served, and there's a good-value 80dh menu.
46 Rôtisserie de la Paix 68 Rue de Yougoslavie, alongside the former cinema Lux-Palace, Guéliz 024 43 31 18 www.restaurant-diaffa.ma/rotisserie Opening time: Daily noon–3pm & 7–11pmAn open-air grill, established in 1949, specializing in mixed grills barbecued over wood, usually with a fish option for non-meat-eaters. It's all served either in a salon with a roaring fire in winter, or in the shaded garden in summer. Couscous served on Fridays only.
47 La Taverne 22 Bd Mohammed Zerktouni, Guéliz 024 44 61 26. Opening time: Daily 12.30–3pm & 7–10.30pmAs well as a drinking tavern, this is a pretty decent restaurant – in fact, it claims to be the oldest in town – where you can dine on French and Moroccan fare indoors or in a lovely tree-shaded garden. The 110dh four-course set menu is great value.
48 Le Comptoir Av Echouada, Hivernage 024 43 77 02 www.comptoirdarna.com Downstairs it's a restaurant serving reliably good Moroccan and international cuisine (with a specific choice of Moroccan or foreign dishes for each course). Upstairs it's a chic lounge bar, very popular with Marrakesh's young and rich, with cabaret entertainment.
49 Al Fassia 232 Av Mohammed V, Guéliz 024 43 40 60 Truly Moroccan – both in decor and cuisine – specializing in dishes from the country's culinary capital, Fes. Start with that great classic, pigeon pastilla, followed by a choice of four different lamb tajines, among other fine Fassi offerings. There's a lunchtime set menu for around 150dh, but dinner will cost twice that. The ambience and service are superb. Note that Al Fassia has had to change location in the recent past, and word is that it may have to again, so keep your ear to the ground.
50 Grand Café de la Poste Rue el Imam Malik, just off Av Mohammed V behind the post office, Guéliz 024 43 30 38. More grand than café, this is in fact quite a posh restaurant serving international cuisine (roast chicken with thyme and olives, for example, or even English-style roast beef). Main courses go for 100–150dh. Wash it down with a cup of Earl Grey, or a choice of rums, tequilas and fine brandies if you prefer something harder. Daily 8am–1am.
51 Le Jacaranda 32 Bd Mohammed Zerktouni, on Pl Abdelmoumen Ben Ali, Guéliz 024 44 72 15 www.lejacaranda.ma Reliable French and Moroccan cuisine, starting with the likes of locally renowned oysters from Oualidia on the coast, beef carpaccio, or snails in garlic butter, followed by duck confit with baked apples and wild mushrooms, or perhaps a fish trilogy tajine. À la carte eating will set you back around 300dh a head plus wine, or there are lunchtime set menus for 80–105dh. The restaurant doubles as an art gallery, with different exhibits on its walls each month.
52 Puerto Banus Rue Ibn Hanbal, opposite the police headquarters in the Royal Tennis Club, Guéliz 024 44 65 34 A Spanish fish restaurant – though French-managed – with specialities such as gazpacho, paella and Oualidia oysters. There's also a good selection of French and Moroccan dishes, including seafood pastilla. Count on 200dh per head without wine eating à la carte, though at lunchtimes there's a good-value 95dh buffet including a serve-yourself salad bar.
53 The Red House Bd el Yarmouk, opposite the Medina wall, Hivernage 024 43 70 40 www.theredhouse-marrakech.com You'll need to reserve ahead to eat at this palatial riad, beautifully decorated in stucco and zellij. There's a Moroccan set menu (450dh), featuring pigeon pastilla and lamb tajine with prunes and sesame, or you can dine à la carte on the likes of prawn and langouste ravioli or sashimi of trout and John Dory.
54 La Trattoria 179 Rue Mohammed el Bekal, Guéliz 024 43 26 41 www.latrattoriamarrakech.com Opening time: Daily 7–11.30pmThis place serves the best Italian food in town, with impeccable, friendly service and excellent cooking. The restaurant is located in a 1920s house decorated by the acclaimed American designer Bill Willis (as in the Hôtel Tichka). As well as freshly made pasta, steaks and escalopes, there are specialities like tagliata de boeuf – made with beef, capers and herbs from the Atlas mountains – plus a wonderful tiramisú to squeeze in for afters.
55 Vaudeville Rue de la Makhazine at Pl 16 Novembre, Guéliz 024 49 59 55 www.ilove-marrakesh.com/levaudeville Opening time: Closed MonFrench brasserie serving what passes in France for plain home-style cooking, with lots of meat dishes and red wine to accompany it. There's a lunchtime set menu for 150dh, and one in the evening for 250dh.
56 Villa Rosa 64 Av Hassan II, next to the Hôtel Farouk, Guéliz 024 43 08 32 French-owned restaurant with light wood, pastel shades, silk drapes, a French menu and faultless dishes. There's also a jazz bar and a courtyard of citrus trees. You can eat well for 450dh a head plus wine.