20 of the Best Restaurants in Marrakech, Morocco

When I think of destinations with the most interesting food, Morocco is one of the first places that comes to mind. It’s a fascinating blend of Berber, Mediterranean, and Andalusian cuisines with hints of European and sub-Saharan influences. Thanks to emblematic dishes like tagine and couscous, I’m like Pavlov’s dog – I can’t think about Moroccan food without salivating.

The food is incredible everywhere in Morocco but especially in the tourist capital of Marrakech. In fact, we took a cooking class in Marrakech and one of our instructors told us that she moved to this city specifically for its food!

Spend a couple of days exploring the many colorful souks in the medina and you’ll find dozens of Moroccan restaurants luring you in with their aromatic tagines, exotic spices, and bubbling hot pots of mint tea. With limited time and only a few meals to enjoy in Marrakesh, how do you find the best places to eat?

We travel for food so we spent a month and a half in Marrakesh looking for the best restaurants to find standout Moroccan dishes like lamb tagine, royal couscous, briouat, and mechoui. We visited over thirty restaurants but these twenty are our favorites.

MUST-VISIT RESTAURANTS FOR TRADITIONAL MOROCCAN CUISINE IN MARRAKECH

There are two main areas of interest in Marrakesh – the ancient medina and the upscale neighborhood of Gueliz. You’ll probably be spending time in both areas so I’ve organized this Marrakech restaurant guide into two sections.

MEDINA

1. Cafe des Epices

When I was doing research for the best restaurants in Marrakech, this cafe was on almost every list. I usually shy away from those places but everyone was waxing poetic about this cafe’s rooftop views so we went. As it turns out, everyone was right.

Cafe des Epices is a lovely cafe overlooking Place des Epices (spice square). They serve traditional Moroccan breakfast, sandwiches, salads, tajines, and dessert.

Pictured below is my delicious Moroccan breakfast consisting of an omelette, fruit salad, a basket of Moroccan bread, fresh orange juice, and either coffee or mint tea.

Morocco is known for many types of bread and you can try a few of them in this breakfast set. In this basket are msemen (Moroccan crepe), khobz, harcha, amlou, and barley bread. They come with four different types of dips and spreads – olive oil, honey, strawberry jam, and some type of peanut-based sauce.

We enjoyed this cafe so much that we wound up eating here twice, once for breakfast and another time for mint tea and dessert. Mint tea is an important part of Moroccan culture and something you’ll probably have often in Marrakesh.

When you see a dish or dessert with the restaurant’s name on it, then chances are, it’s going to be good. This is the Cafe des Epices cake made with Arabica coffee, Atlas walnuts, and noss noss icing. “Noss noss” refers to a Moroccan coffee drink made with equal parts coffee and milk.

As described, Cafe des Epices is located right next to the Place des Epices spice market.

This is the view from the second floor. The third-floor view looks pretty similar to this.

A good majority of restaurants in Marrakech offer rooftop seating. However, aside from the restaurants immediately surrounding Jemaa el-Fnaa, most don’t offer great views. This cafe does.

Here we are sitting on the rooftop. Marrakesh can get brutally hot so there are parasols to keep you shaded and a misting system to keep you nice and cool.

Cafe des Epices

Address: 75 Derb Rahba Lakdima, Marrakech 40000, Morocco
Operating Hours: 9AM-11PM, daily
What They Offer: Moroccan breakfast, sandwiches, traditional dishes

2. Henna Cafe

We wanted to visit Henna Art Cafe but we found this restaurant’s menu to be more interesting so we went here instead. As its name suggests, they offer henna tattoos but we were here strictly for the food.

Instead of serving a full Moroccan menu of traditional food, Henna Cafe offers just a handful of dishes that you can order in small or large plates. It’s like having a Spanish-inspired Moroccan tapas meal right here in Marrakesh!

We ordered all six dishes on their menu but they started us off with some khobz, olives, harissa (Moroccan chili paste), and yogurt sauce.

We’ve had falafel a few times in Morocco but the version at Hena Cafe was one of the most delicious. Served with a side salad of fresh tomatoes and onions, they had a slightly bouncy texture that reminded me a little bit of chewy bread like Colombian pandebono.

Pictured below is a plate of loubia or warm butter beans cooked in a spicy tomato sauce.

What you’re looking at here is the Henna Cafe house salad made with fresh shredded cabbage, sliced apples, and raisins.

I love hummus but this was easily my least favorite dish from today’s meal.

This veggie tortilla, on the other hand, was delicious. It’s basically Henna Cafe’s take on tortilla de patata, one of my favorite Spanish tapas.

People who like eating meat need to order this dish. It’s lamb kefta meatballs slow-cooked with egg and onions.

Unlike most cafes and restaurants in Marrakech that serve just one type of mint tea, Henna Cafe offers about seven different types of Amazigh tea. Aside from classic Moroccan spearmint, they make them with different ingredients like wormwood, wild thyme, and geranium leaves.

Henna Art Cafe is more popular but I’m happy to recommend Henna Cafe as well. The tapas concept was fun and not something we saw at any other restaurant in Marrakesh.

As described, we were here strictly for the food but every other table at the time was getting henna tattoos. Getting a plate of Moroccan tapas and tea is a great way to while away the time while getting your tattoo done.

Henna Cafe

Address: 144 Arset Aouzal Rd, Marrakesh 40000, Morocco
Operating Hours: 11AM-7PM, daily
What They Offer: Moroccan tapas

3. Mazel Cafe

Bahia Palace is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Marrakesh. The perfect time to go is early in the morning when there are fewer people, and a great place to have lunch after your visit is Mazel Cafe.

Located in Tinsmiths Square, about a 5-minute walk from Bahia Palace, Mazel Cafe offers elevated street food in a lovely cafe setting. They don’t advertise themselves as a healthy restaurant but you do get that sense from the dishes they offer and the fresh food they serve.

Pictured below is their Super Bowl made with falafel, hummus, red and white cabbage, cucumber, lentils, carrots, and tahini sauce. They serve food that tastes clean and not too heavy-handed on the seasoning.

Mazel Cafe serves a few pita sandwiches. Called pitanjia, this one was made with lamb shank slow-cooked with eggplant and onion and then served with a refreshing pea mint sauce.

This pita sandwich is called the pita kefta. It’s made with meatballs served with Moroccan tomato sauce, onions, tomatoes, fresh cheese, and eggplant.

French fries aren’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think of healthy eating but these were delicious. They were light and crisp without being oily or too salty.

Mazel Cafe is located in Tinsmiths Square, a lively square with lots of outdoor restaurants. Mazel is an excellent choice but there are many other restaurants here that you can check out after a visit to Bahia Palace.

Mazel Cafe

Address: 8 Place des Ferblontiers, Marrakesh 40000, Morocco
Operating Hours: 10AM-8:30PM, daily
What They Offer: Healthier Moroccan food

4. Snack Adam

You’ll find many of these Moroccan comfort food restaurants with the word “Snack” in the name. For lack of a better term, they’re basically casual restaurants that serve comfort food like sandwiches, hamburgers, pizza, and the Moroccan version of “tacos”. More on that later.

These snack restaurants were some of our favorite places to eat in Marrakesh. We went to many throughout the city but in the medina, our favorite was Snack Adam.

Pictured below is their version of salade Marocaine (Moroccan salad). Recipes vary but it’s a type of fresh salad made with diced tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and other ingredients dressed in a light vinaigrette.

If you love comfort food like I do, then you need to try these Moroccan tacos. I know they look nothing like American or Mexican tacos but they’re absolutely delicious and something I couldn’t get enough of in Marrakesh.

A taco in Morocco is basically a burrito or wrap filled with different types of meat, poultry, cubed potatoes or french fries, cheese, and some type of sauce like bechamel or a mixture of ketchup (or harissa), mayo, and mustard. The fillings are neatly wrapped in a tortilla before being lightly grilled and served with a side of fries.

I don’t know why they’re called “tacos” but the origin of this popular Moroccan fast food dish seems to point to a shop called Tacos de Lyon in southeastern France. Owned and operated by a pair of Moroccan siblings, they introduced the dish in the mid-2000s before moving their shop to Casablanca in 2011. Today, you’ll find a snack shop serving Moroccan tacos on nearly every block in Marrakesh.

Tacos aren’t the healthiest Moroccan dish but they’re absolutely delicious and something you need to try at least once in Marrakech.

Another interesting dish you may want to try in Marrakech is the pastilla. Also known as bastilla or b’stilla, it refers to a savory pie made with crispy warqa dough typically filled with either poultry or seafood.

What makes pastilla interesting is that the baked pie is usually dusted with powdered sugar and cinnamon before serving. Crunchy in texture thanks to the warqa dough, it’s sweet on the outside but savory on the inside which leads to quite a memorable taste experience.

Here’s what the filling of our pastilla looks like. It’s commonly made with chicken that’s first browned in butter and then simmered with onions, parsley, and a mix of spices.

Snack Adam serves some of the best tacos we had in Marrakech so I recommend trying it here.

Snack Adam

Address: Riad Zitoun kedim n 197, 50 m of, Avenue Jamaa El Fna، Marrakech 40000, Morocco
Operating Hours: 10AM-11PM, daily
What They Offer: Moroccan comfort food

5. Snack Grand Atlas

Snack Grand Atlas is another “snack-type” restaurant that we enjoyed in the medina. But instead of serving tacos, pizzas, and the usual Moroccan snack fare, they specialize in seafood.

Before we get into our seafood feast, they started us off with a basket of khobz and these delicious little plates of stewed lentils.

As previously mentioned, whenever we see the name of the restaurant on a dish, then we usually order it. What you’re looking at below is the Salad Grand Atlas. It’s a cold starter made with shrimp, squid, tuna, hard-boiled egg, vegetables, fruits, and cheese.

You can get different types of fried seafood or whole grilled fish at this restaurant but today, we felt like trying their fish tagine.

Here’s a closer look at those succulent chunks of fish swimming under all that tasty tomato sauce. This was delicious and a great tagine to try if you want something different from the usual lamb or chicken tagine.

These grilled fish kebabs were equally delicious. So moist and tender!

We’ve enjoyed fish brochettes in coastal cities like Tangier, Casablanca, and Essaouira and these were right up there. We’re definitely getting these again on our next trip back to Marrakech!

Snack Grand Atlas is conveniently located just a few minutes walk from Jemaa el-Fna so it shouldn’t be hard to find.

Snack Grand Atlas

Address: Rue ibn marine, Marrakesh 40000, Morocco
Operating Hours: 9:15AM-10:30PM, daily
What They Offer: Seafood dishes, Moroccan comfort food

6. Dabachi Chez Cherif

Dabachi Chez Cherif is a gem, especially if you’re traveling on a budget. They serve a full Moroccan menu of traditional dishes but we were here specifically for their set menus. At the time of our visit in May 2022, you can get one of two set menus for just MAD 60.

I ordered the chicken brochette set menu which started with this bowl of soup de legumes or vegetable soup.

How beautiful does this look? Both set menus come with salade mixte and olives so the spread you see below is good for two people. It was comprised of different types of Moroccan salads and side dishes, all of which were delicious.

These were my tasty chicken brochettes. To rehash, this set menu came with vegetable soup, Moroccan salads and side dishes, grilled chicken skewers, olives, bread, and a drink of your choice. All for just MAD 60!

My better half went with this equally delicious tajine kefta. It had all the same inclusions as the chicken brochette set menu except the bowl of vegetable soup.

We ate at many restaurants in Marrakech and these set menus at Dabachi Chez Cherif were among the best deals we could find. Don’t miss it!

Dabachi Chez Cherif is located in the heart of the medina. You can refer to the location map at the bottom of this article for its exact location.

Dabachi Chez Cherif

Address: Derb Dabachi Medina, Marrakech 40000 Morocco
Operating Hours: 10AM-11:30PM, Sat-Thurs (closed Fridays)
What They Offer: Set menus

7. Dar L’hssira

If you’d rather not wait till Friday to eat couscous, then you can go to one of the many great restaurants in the medina like Dar L’hssira. This highly-regarded restaurant offers a good selection of traditional dishes like tagine, tanjia, brochette, and couscous.

Before we get to the mains, we started with this delicious bowl of harira. It’s a traditional Moroccan soup made with lentils, chickpeas, tomatoes, herbs, spices, and other ingredients.

If you like Indian samosas, then you need to order this Moroccan appetizer called briouat. Made with the same warqa dough used to make pastilla, they’re fried triangular pastries stuffed with a variety of different ingredients like meat, onions, vermicelli noodles, cheese, herbs, and spices.

Here’s an inside look at the briouat’s stuffing. These are a popular street food in Marrakech and available at many food stalls throughout the medina.

You can get many different types of couscous dishes in Marrakech but the one couscous that rules them all is rightfully named royal couscous.

Unlike ordinary couscous dishes that contain just one type of meat, royal couscous is made with a combination of different proteins like lamb, beef, chicken, and sausages.

Dar L’hssira is located about a 5-minute walk from the House of Photography museum in the medina.

Cute dining room right? I just love the interiors of these Marrakesh restaurants.

Dar L’hssira

Address: 15-12 Rue Tachenbacht, Marrakech 40000, Morocco
Operating Hours: 11AM-5PM, 6-11PM, Wed-Mon (closed Tuesdays)
What They Offer: Traditional Moroccan dishes

8. Fine Mama

If you’d rather not get lost in the labyrinth of souks in the medina, then a good restaurant to go to is Fine Mama. It’s located just a short walk south of Jemaa el-Fna and offers a wide range of traditional dishes, mezzes, sandwiches, and Moroccan pastries.

What you’re looking at below is a mrouzia sandwich. Mrouzia is a savory-sweet lamb tagine made with raisins, almonds, honey, ras el hanout (spice mix), saffron, and other spices. It isn’t something you find at every Moroccan restaurant and Fine Mama was the only place we went to that served it in sandwich form.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure about Fine Mama at first. It seemed to be one of those touristy restaurants we tend to avoid but what drew us to it were their specials – like the mrouzia sandwich – and these mezze platters. The term mezze refers to a selection of starters commonly found in Turkey, the Levant, the Balkans, Greece, Egypt, the Caucasus, and the Middle East.

Fine Mama offers different types of mezze platters but we went with the mezze Marocain which came with briouates, zalouk (tomato eggplant dip), lentils, chickpeas, olives, beans, kefta and chicken skewers, and Moroccan salad. If you’d like to try many Moroccan specialties all at once, then this is a good platter to go for.

Fine Mama is located in a popular part of the medina with many shops and restaurants so it shouldn’t be hard to find.

We sat outside but they have a lovely dining room as well.

Here’s what their rooftop seating looks like. Like I said, nearly every restaurant in the medina will have something like this.

Fine Mama

Address: 89 Pass. Prince Moulay Rachid, Marrakech 40000, Morocco
Operating Hours: 9:30AM-12MN, daily
What They Offer: Traditional Moroccan cuisine, mezze platters

9. Dar Chef

Dar Chef is another great restaurant in the medina that offers a few less common dishes. They started us off with some olives and khobz before serving us our tangia and tagine.

Are you a fan of Turkish testi kebab from Cappadocia? If you are, then you’re probably going to enjoy tanjia as well. It refers to both the slow-cooked meat dish and the clay urn-like pot used to cook it.

Here’s our lamb tangia after it’s been transferred to a shallow clay pot. Tangia is cooked for several hours at a public oven so the meat is always fall-off-the-bone tender.

Tangia is a communal dish that’s traditionally associated with working Moroccan men.

Speaking of dishes that are harder to find, Dar Chef is a great restaurant to visit if you’d like to try mrouzia tagine and other Moroccan specialties like pigeon pastilla and camel tagine. Mrouzia is always readily available but the other two dishes need to be ordered in advance.

If you like lamb and don’t mind some sweetness in your food, then you should definitely try mrouzia.

Dar Chef is a hidden gem tucked away in the medina. It’s easy to miss unless you were looking for it so be sure to check our location map to see exactly where it is.

They weren’t conducting any that day but I believe Dar Chef offers cooking classes as well. That’s another thing you may want to do in Marrakech. We took a cooking class and aside from learning how to make tagine, we learned a lot about Moroccan culture and cuisine as well.

Dar Chef

Address: N°123 Bis Rue Kennaria, Marrakesh 40000, Morocco
Operating Hours: 9AM-11PM, daily
What They Offer: Moroccan dishes

10. Chef Lamine Hadi Mustapha

This was the very first restaurant we visited in Marrakech, and there was one reason for that – mechoui. It refers to a whole lamb or sheep that’s spit-roasted in an underground pit. It’s slow-cooked for several hours and results in some of the most meltingly tender meat that you can taste in Morocco. This is seriously delicious.

Mechoui is traditionally eaten by hand with khobz and a salt-cumin mix. If you like lamb, then you absolutely need to try mechoui in Marrakesh.

Of course, we needed fiber to help break down all that meaty mechoui goodness so we paired it with this vegetable tagine.

Chef Lamine Hadi Mustapha is a popular restaurant so it’s best to go early, shortly after they open.

They have another branch in Gueliz as well. We went to both and I can confirm that the food is the same. The restaurant in Gueliz will probably be less crowded.

Chef Lamine Hadi Mustapha

Address: Derb Semmarine, Marrakech 40000, Morocco
Operating Hours: 10AM-1AM, daily
What They Offer: Meshoui

11. Terrasse Bakchich

In our opinion, this hidden gem is one of the best restaurants in Marrakech. We loved it for its food, affordable prices, excellent service, and charming setting.

Terrasse Bakchich is a Moroccan restaurant that serves the usual dishes like tagine, couscous, brochette, and tangia. They serve different types of tagine but I read that the rabbit tagine is one of their specialties so that’s what we went for.

Cooked with tomatoes and onions and glistening with olive oil, it was absolutely delicious and one of the most enjoyable meals we’ve had in Morocco thus far.

We also tried their lamb tangia which was very good as well.

And like the mechoui from the previous restaurant, we needed some vegetable couscous to pair with all that meltingly tender meat.

Lastly, there’s no better drink to pair with your Moroccan meal than mint tea. I enjoy it so much that I’ve stopped ordering coffee altogether!

Terrasse Bakchich is tucked away in an alley in the medina so be sure to check our map for its location.

This is what the restaurant’s rooftop terrace looks like. It’s small and simple but charming.

Here’s a picture of my better half reading the article from The Guardian describing Terrasse Bakchich as one of the “10 best places to eat in Marrakech, Morocco”.

Terrasse Bakchich

Address: 294 rue Talâa, Marrakesh 40000, Morocco
Operating Hours: 10AM-10PM, daily
What They Offer: Rabbit tagine, traditional Moroccan cuisine

12. Fish House Al Aachabe

Fish House Al Aachabe is located just outside the medina, to the north near Jardin Majorelle. They offer an interesting fish-based set menu consisting of multiple starters, main dishes, and desserts.

At first, I assumed we had to choose what we wanted per course but they serve you everything pictured here for a flat fee of MAD 190 (August 2023). Come hungry because they give you a LOT of food here.

To begin, they’ll serve you these small plates filled with nuts, dried fruits, olives, and harissa.

They’ll then serve you a basket of wheat bread. These are quite dense and heavy and more substantial than your average khobz.

You don’t even need to order any drinks because your set meal will come with a glass of freshly pressed juice made with seasonal fruits. At the time of our visit, they served us sweet and tangy tamarind juice.

What you’re looking at here is a bowl of their delicious fish soup seasoned with local herbs. It’s made with shrimp and different types of fish.

For the first of your two main dishes, they’ll serve you this interesting tajine made with bakoula, shrimp, and grilled swordfish. Bakoula is the Moroccan word for the mallow plant, a type of hibiscus native to northern Africa and eastern Europe.

We spent over four months in Morocco and this was the only time I recall seeing bakoula on a restaurant’s menu. It’s a simple but tasty dish consisting of mallow leaves cooked with garlic, olive oil, and spices. When cooked like this, the mallow leaves have a soft texture similar to spinach or kale.

Next up was the star of the set menu and the reason why we made the trip to Fish House Al Aachabe. They give each diner a whole charcoal-grilled fish. I’m not sure what type of fish this was but I believe it may have been sea bream. The owner of the restaurant is from Tangier and sea bream was one of the more common fishes we found there.

Whatever it was, it was incredibly delicious – smokey, flakey, and perfectly cooked. In fact, we watched our server grill it just outside the restaurant.

For dessert, we were served a small plate of barley with honey and crushed almonds, along with some grapes and Moroccan mint tea. The barley dessert was tasty but super sweet.

Can you believe that they give you all this food for just MAD 190? If I remember correctly, they were offering us refills of the starters and juice as well. You can find many filling meals for less than MAD 190 but considering all that they give you, this has to be one of the best deals for food in Marrakech.

Fish House Al Aachabe is just around the corner from Jardin Majorelle. Jardin Majorelle is one of the top tourist attractions in Marrakesh so you’ll undoubtedly find yourself in the area at some point during your trip. I strongly recommend enjoying a meal here before or after your visit.

Here’s a look at the restaurant’s interior. We saw a few restaurants offering fish-based set menus like this in Tangier so it was nice to find one here in Marrakech.

Fish House Al Aachabe

Address: Angle allal el fassi et, Av. Yacoub El Mansour, Marrakech 40000, Morocco
Operating Hours: 12:30PM-12MN, daily
What They Offer: Fish-based set menus

GUELIZ

13. Amal Women’s Training Center

This place is interesting. Not only will you enjoy a delicious Moroccan meal for lunch, but you’ll be supporting a good cause as well.

Amal Women’s Training Center is a non-profit organization that uplifts disadvantaged women by giving them the necessary skills to find employment in the restaurant industry. Around 30-40 women are trained for 4-6 months every year to prepare Moroccan and international cuisine which you can enjoy at the center’s restaurant in Gueliz.

From what I understand, the menu at Amal changes daily. We went on a Friday so we had a good feeling what would be on the menu – couscous. Couscous dishes are traditionally eaten only on Fridays in Morocco. Friday is a holy Muslim day and is equivalent to Sundays in Christian cultures.

Couscous is the country’s national dish so there’s no better way to experience Moroccan flavors than with this dish. It’s served with seven different vegetables and some type of meat, in this case chicken and lamb.

I believe the drinks served at Amal change daily as well. If I remember correctly, the one in the foreground was made with watermelon while the one behind it was made with cucumber and lime.

The Amal Centre is only open for lunch from Monday till Saturday.

We didn’t make reservations but it may be a good idea to do so. We were the first people there so we were lucky to get the only table available.

Amal Women’s Training Center

Address: Rue Allal Ben Ahmed, Marrakesh 40000, Morocco
Operating Hours: 12NN-3:30PM, Mon-Sat (closed Sundays)
What They Offer: Daily Moroccan menu

14. Le Kilim

Located across the street from Carre Eden, Le Kilim was easily one of the best restaurants we visited in Marrakech. It’s a slightly more upscale restaurant that offers breakfast, Moroccan food, salads, sandwiches, and vegetarian dishes.

We ate at Le Kilim twice, once for breakfast and another time for lunch. Both meals, from start to end, were fantastic.

Pictured below was my tasty avocado and sprout toast topped with sunflower seeds, red cabbage, and soft-boiled eggs.

Nothing to see here, just a simple but well-made cheese omelette served with a mesclun salad.

To end our simple but delicious breakfast at Le Kilim, we ordered a plate of seasonal fruits…

…to enjoy with pots of herbal tea.

Breakfast at Le Kilim is good, but lunch and dinner are even better. We were so impressed with the food and service that we came back a few days later to try their starters and main dishes.

Most of the restaurants we went to in Marrakech gave us khobz at the beginning of our meal, but at Le Kilim, they started us off with this lovely onion tomato herb bread.

Aside from breakfast and Moroccan food, you’ll find a few vegetarian dishes on Le Kilim’s menu as well, including this delicious and well-plated roasted carrot salad. The slivers of roasted carrots were arranged like bonfire sticks with grilled croutons, fresh cheese, pistachios, and mint.

Aside from this roasted carrot salad, other vegetarian dishes include roasted cauliflower, hummus, arancini, and falafel with tahini.

For my main dish, I was choosing between the Agadir squid or grilled fish of the day. I obviously went with the latter which turned out to be the single best seafood dish I had in Marrakech.

I forgot to ask what type of fish they used today but it may have been sea bream. They gave me two fillets served on a bed of potato puree and lemon confit escalivada.

If you’re a fan of lamb, then you’ll definitely want to go for this roasted rack of lamb instead. They give you three chops served on a bed of smoked eggplant and roasted vegetables with yogurt and a minty pistachio sauce.

As side dish, we ordered this bowl of couscous with herbs. I believe this is available everyday at Le Kilim, not just on Fridays.

As described, Le Kilim is located just across the street from the Carre Eden shopping center so it’s a great place to have lunch or dinner after visiting the mall.

Here’s a look at the restaurant’s dining room. They offer outdoor seating as well.

Le Kilim

Address: N° 3 Rez-de-Chaussée, Immeuble Dani 36 Sis Angle Rue La Liberté et Rue Tarik Ben Ziad, Marrakesh 40000, Morocco
Operating Hours: 9AM-1AM, daily
What They Offer: Breakfast, traditional Moroccan dishes, vegetarian dishes

15. Chez Fatima

Chez Fatima isn’t as nice as Le Kilim but it offers just as memorable of a dining experience. They offer a traditional and more focused menu highlighting Moroccan flavors in sometimes surprising ways.

To begin, they served us something we’ve never been given anywhere else in Morocco – cucumber salad in a raita-like sauce with black sesame seeds.

This dish surprised us. We ordered our favorite Moroccan salad so we were surprised when we were served this whole tomato instead. Wait until you see what it looks like inside.

Slice the tomato open and ta-daa! You’ll find the Moroccan salad stuffed inside. We’ve had this popular Moroccan starter countless times throughout the country but never like this.

The zaalouk was presented more conventionally but it may have been one of the best versions we’ve had anywhere in Morocco.

This next dish was interesting and something curious eaters may want to try at Chez Fatima.

What’s about to be poured onto the ceramic plate is a tasty Moroccan dish called hargma or cow’s feet with chickpeas. On Chez Fatima’s menu, it’s listed in French as pieds de veau caramélisés.

Hargma wasn’t a dish that we saw too often in Morocco. We had it twice – in Tangier and Rabat – but this was easily the best version we tried. Fatty and gelatinous, the meat from the cow’s feet practically dissolved in your mouth the moment it landed on your tongue. It was so damn good.

It was a Friday when we had lunch at Chez Fatima so I couldn’t help but get the chicken couscous. Like most Marrakech restaurants, couscous is only available on Fridays at Chez Fatima.

Do you see that dark mound of onions on top? The best couscous dishes are always topped with tfaya – a sweet mixture of caramelized onions and raisins that’s often used as a garnish for Moroccan dishes like couscous and chicken tagine.

Now that’s what I call a fruit plate! We’ve ended many Moroccan meals with seasonal fruits but none with as much flair as this one.

For a slightly more indulgent dessert, we also tried these orange slices topped with whipped cream and slivers of almond.

There’s absolutely no better way to punctuate a terrific meal in Morocco than with freshly steeped pots of mint tea. Thank you for the fantastic meal Chez Fatima!

Chez Fatima was one of the best restaurants we visited in Marrakech. We went to many traditional Moroccan restaurants but this place really stood out.

Chez Fatima

Address: N, 50 Rue Mohammed el Beqal, Marrakech 40100, Morocco
Operating Hours: 12NN-1:30AM, Mon-Sat / 1-11PM, Sun
What They Offer: Traditional Moroccan dishes

16. Plats Haj Boujemaa

We went to a few good seafood restaurants in Gueliz but Plats Haj Boujemaa may have been our favorite. I walked by this restaurant several times and it was always packed with locals at peak meal times. A meal here was inevitable.

Plats Haj Boujemaa specializes in seafood but they do serve a good number of tajines, pasta dishes, and pizzas as well. Pictured below is a tasty trio of Moroccan appetizers – stewed lentils, zaalouk, and seasoned crushed tomatoes – with a basket of khobz.

There’s no better way to start a meal in Marrakesh than with one of our favorite starters – Moroccan salad.

Plats Haj Boujemaa offers many different types of fresh seafood that can be prepared in a number of ways – grilled, fried, cooked in a tagine, etc. Today, we tried their salmon brochette.

It was skewered with bell peppers and brushed with chermoula, a type of marinade or relish commonly used in Morocco and in other North African countries like Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia. We’ve enjoyed grilled salmon throughout Morocco but this has definitely been one of the best.

We asked our server for recommendations and he suggested we try the loupe de mer brochette. Also known as the Mediterranean sea bass, this slightly sweet and delicate white fish may have been even better than the salmon. Absolutely delicious.

I love all kinds of fish but cephalopods are probably my favorite type of seafood. This grilled squid brushed with chermoula was terrific as well – smokey, tender, and perfectly cooked.

As a side dish, our tasty brochettes were served with a platter of boiled vegetables, fried potatoes, and herbed white rice.

Plats Haj Boujemaa has two branches within walking distance of each other on Rue Mohammed el Beqal in Gueliz. We went to the one on 12 Rue Mohammed el Beqal.

As advised, Plats Haj Boujemaa is popular so we made sure to be there right when they opened at noon. The place was quick to fill up so I suggest doing the same or going at slightly off-peak hours. In our opinion, it’s one of the best restaurants for fresh seafood in Gueliz.

Plats Haj Boujemaa

Address: 12 Rue Mohammed el Beqal, Marrakech 40000, Morocco
Operating Hours: 12NN-11PM, daily
What They Offer: Seafood

17. PilPil

PilPil is another fine seafood restaurant along Rue Mohammed el Beqal. Like Plats Haj Boujemaa, they’re mainly a seafood restaurant but they do serve comfort food as well like pizzas, pasta dishes, burgers, and sandwiches.

They started us off with a basket of freshly made bread to enjoy with small plates of olives, zaalouk, and stewed Moroccan lentils.

This isn’t the most representative example of Moroccan cuisine but it’s a dish that you see quite often throughout Morocco – Salad Nicoise. It’s a well-known French salad made with tuna, hard-boiled eggs, potatoes, and different types of vegetables like lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, and more.

For our main course, we had the grilled St. Pierre or John Dory. This was delicious and perhaps one of the finer preparations of fish we’ve had anywhere in Morocco. It was prepared with a bit more finesse than the other seafood restaurants on this list.

We didn’t realize this until we left the restaurant but PilPil is located right next to the other branch of Plats Haj Boujemaa. Some of the best seafood restaurants in Marrakech seem to be congregated in this area in Gueliz.

PilPil

Address: 57 Rue Mohammed el Beqal, Marrakech 40000, Morocco
Operating Hours: 12NN-12:30AM, daily
What They Offer: Seafood

18. Bistro Fish

If you’re a fan of fish like we are, then you won’t be displeased to find another good seafood restaurant in Gueliz, this time a couple of blocks south of the Carre Eden shopping center. Bistro Fish is a casual restaurant that offers an extensive menu of fresh seafood dishes prepared in a number of ways.

To start, they served us these complimentary bowls of fish soup…

…to go with the usual Moroccan starters. On the table below are stewed lentils, zaalouk, tomato puree, and a basket of freshly baked khobz.

To whet our appetites, I started with this Salade Nicoise…

…while my better half went with the Salade Mixte. It’s hard to tell from all the dressing but it’s basically a seafood salad made with shrimp, tuna, octopus, and squid served over a medley of fresh greens and vegetables.

Don’t these salmon steaks look fantastic? Served with herbed rice and vegetables, they were cooked to perfection and absolutely delicious. There was so much fish here that I wound up bringing home one fillet to enjoy the next day!

The salmon pictured here was priced per kilo but you can get smaller portions of salmon and other types of fish for set prices.

Equally delicious was this gigantic fillet of grilled merlan or whiting. Like the salmon, they gave my wife way too big of a fillet to devour in one sitting, so she wound up taking home half to enjoy the following day.

If you don’t want them to serve you this much fish, then be sure to specify that you want the fillet at a fixed price (not per kilo). You’ll find them under the “Filet de Poisson” section of the menu.

As described, Bistro Fish is a casual restaurant that serves a good selection of seafood. If you don’t care too much about ambiance, then this is a great place to enjoy fresh fish and other seafood dishes in Gueliz.

Bistro Fish

Address: 73 Bd Moulay Rachid, Marrakech 40000, Morocco
Operating Hours: 9AM-3AM, daily
What They Offer: Seafood

19. Chez Ouazzani

On the corner of Rue Rahal Ben Ahmed and Rue Ibn Aicha in Gueliz, you’ll find a cluster of inexpensive Moroccan restaurants that attract a good number of local diners at peak meal times. They look so similar that you can hardly tell one from the next so we perused their online reviews to find the best. Based on what we read, this restaurant was the best.

Chez Ouazzani is a traditional Moroccan restaurant that serves typical Moroccan dishes like tajines and brochettes, but they do offer a handful of Middle Eastern dishes as well like hummus, baba ganoush, and shish tawook.

Before we get into the Middle Eastern dishes, here’s a shot of their simple but always satisfying Moroccan salad.

We love hummus so it was nice to find it here at Chez Ouazzani. We ate here several times and we always made sure to get a plate of their hummus as a starter. It’s delicious.

Chez Ouazzani offers three different types of chicken skewers on their menu – shish tawook, kabab poulet, and brochettes de poulet (pictured below). Their brochettes de poulet are decent but not the best type of chicken skewers you can order at this restaurant.

Instead of the brochettes de poulet, we recommend getting the shish tawook instead. They’re so much more flavorful!

To pair with our chicken skewers, we ordered this overflowing tagine of vegetables. They give you generous portions of food at Chez Ouazzani.

Chez Ouazzani serves good Middle Eastern and Moroccan food but they offer even better value for money. Eat here if you’re looking for a good but inexpensive restaurant in Gueliz.

Chez Ouazzani

Address: 12 bis Rue Ibn Aïcha, Marrakech 40000, Morocco
Operating Hours: 12NN-1AM, daily
What They Offer: Moroccan food, Middle Eastern dishes

20. Dar El Benna

Dar El Benna doesn’t have the word “Snack” in its name but it’s basically that type of restaurant. They offer comfort food like Moroccan tacos, pizza, sandwiches, and pasta dishes, but in a nicer space than the other snack restaurants we visited in the medina. This is Gueliz after all.

To start, they served us some green olives and a basket of freshly baked bread.

Just from looking at how this Moroccan salad was plated, it’s obvious that Dar El Benna is a more upscale type of “snack” restaurant.

To be honest, these comfort food restaurants aren’t my favorite places to visit in Morocco but we loved Dar El Benna because of these salads. They offer these customizable salads that you can get in small, medium, or large sizes with your choice of salad base, ingredients, toppings, and sauce.

Isn’t this salad with avocado and nectarine gorgeous?

Here’s another beautiful salad I put together, this time with mandarin oranges and grilled eggplant.

I’m a simple guy. If I see brochettes poulet on a Moroccan restaurant’s menu, then there’s a good chance I’ll order it.

Unfortunately, the chicken skewers at Dar El Benna weren’t as good as everything else we had. They were tasty but they were also a little tough and dry.

Though not an example of Moroccan food, Dar El Benna’s pizza is pretty good. They offer a half pizza / half salad (or pasta) combo for just MAD 69 (August 2023).

If you’re looking for delicious make-it-yourself salads in Gueliz, then Dar El Benna is a terrific place to visit. We ate here a couple of times and even got takeaway once.

Dar El Benna

Address: el baqqal, Bd Mohamed Zerktouni, Marrakesh 40000, Morocco
Operating Hours: 12NN-2AM, daily
What They Offer: Traditional Moroccan dishes, pizzas, pasta dishes, sandwiches

LOCATION MAP

To help you navigate to these restaurants in Marrakech, I’ve pinned them all on the map below. Click on the link for a live version of the map.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON THE BEST MARRAKESH RESTAURANTS

There’s much to love about Morocco and Marrakesh but for us, Moroccan food is one of the best reasons to visit this country on the northwestern tip of Africa.

Tagine and couscous are emblematic dishes that you can find pretty much anywhere in the medina. We hope this article helps you narrow down your restaurant choices and leads you to many memorable meals in Marrakech.

Aside from restaurants, Moroccan pastries and street food are delicious as well so I’ll probably write another article on our favorite food stalls in Marrakech. As already advised, cooking classes are a great way to learn about Moroccan cuisine so that’s something you may want to do as well.

Lastly, as enchanting as Marrakech can be, it can also be annoying. By that, I mean you may encounter a fair number of locals trying to scam you. They’ll either try to divert you to a shop or take you to the tanneries (not worth it).

So if someone stops and tells you there’s a mosque up ahead – meaning you supposedly can’t go that way – or offers their guide services, then just politely say no and keep walking.

In any case, thanks for reading this article on the best restaurants in Marrakech. Have a safe and amazing time in Morocco!

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