41 Best Restaurants in Marrakesh, Morocco

Serving some of the best à la carte Moroccan food in the city, the affordable menu here includes tasty tagines, tender brochettes with saffron rice, couscous topped with caramelized onions, succulent tangia, and sweet-savory pigeon pastilla. There's an extensive choice of Moroccan wines, too. The restaurant can be noisy and crowded with slow service if there are large party bookings. 

The Spanish-Moroccan chain, which has restaurants in Casablanca and Rabat, opened this location in 2016. Fresh fish is shipped in from Agadir or Casablanca each morning, and the authentic tapas selection includes classics such as tortillas, shrimp with garlic, patatas bravas, and the more adventurous Galician octopus. The well-chosen wine list includes mostly Moroccan and French wines, but there is a small selection of Marques de Riscal reds, whites, and rosés. There is a main restaurant, but the pleasant outdoor terrace has stools at the bar that are perfect for a quick informal tapas snack, and guests can drink alcohol on the terrace, which is unusual for Marrakesh. The atmosphere is lively and convivial in the evenings, but lunchtime is a more laid-back affair.

Not much English is spoken so come prepared with your phrase book.

This 1920s-style French café is a fabulous backdrop for salads, pastas, steaks, and seafood specials including oysters from Oualidia. It's long-standing favorite in the neighborhood, and a great place for a meal or a drink on the covered veranda. For an indulgent dessert try the gâteau chocolat coulant (chocolate cake).

The seasonal menu at +61 reflects the laid-back Australian lifestyle, and all the produce is organic and grown within 30 minutes of Marrakesh. Cocktails and wine are served on-site. Reservations on weekends a must. 

This modern terrace café at the edge of the Marrakesh Plaza, in the heart of Guéliz, is a popular lunch spot. The range of salads is imaginative, and even the half portion makes a satisfying meal; main dishes include chicken in mushroom sauce as well as several great pasta options. A kids' menu is available, as well as ice cream, delicious homemade pastries, and cakes.

Cheap and cheerful, this restaurant is possibly the best catch in town. This no-frills Moroccan street restaurant in the heart of Guéliz (near La Grande Poste) is packed at night with locals getting their fish fix. Choose from the sidewalk display of fresh seafood as you walk in, or simply ask for a mixed plate—sole, calamari, monkfish, prawns—all served with olives and wedges of lime. There are seafood salads, paella, and an array of grilled fish also to choose from.

There's no alcohol and it's cash only.

A nonprofit center established the restaurant to help women from difficult backgrounds learn culinary skills and earn an independent living and the result is this friendly, brightly furnished restaurant and garden terrace, which attracts locals and expats for its excellent Moroccan and international dishes. The menu changes weekly but always has a mix of traditional Moroccan and international choices. Friday is couscous day, but make a reservation in advance! No alcohol, but lots of freshly squeezed juices are served.

The shaded entryway of this pretty little restaurant gives way to a small dining area lovingly decorated with comfy seating areas and lots of plants. It's a local favorite, especially for brunch.  

The airy courtyard in the 1910 building that houses the Dar el Bacha Musée is all palm trees and colorful tiles: it's a perfect oases for a quick bite. There are over 100 types of coffee, from all over the world, and perfect pastries, as well as a selection of main dishes.

This Italian-owned three-story restaurant in the heart of the medina serves both Moroccan and Italian food. The trendy terrace, complete with a trickling fountain and relaxing music, is a good place to stop for drinks, while the ground-floor, shaded patio is better suited to a lunchtime visit.

The multilevel terraced seating area at this café on the square means there are several prime viewing opportunities. It's one of the fancier cafés on the square, having been completely rebuilt in 2017. Stop in for a drink or ice-cream treat to cool down from the Moroccan sun. They also serve meals throughout the day. 

An outpost of the popular Café Clock in Fez, this so-called cultural café combines a fun vibe with tasty contemporary Moroccan cuisine. Signature dishes include camel burgers, a blue cheese and fig salad, veggie platters, and homemade ice cream. There's also a menu of cultural activities: exhibitions, live traditional gnawa music, local bands, cooking classes, and al halqa (traditional storytelling). No alcohol is served.

In keeping with the name, this café in the medina's "spice square" offers spiced teas and coffees along with a range of freshly squeezed fruit juices, smoothies, and light snacks, salads, and sandwiches. Ever popular, it expanded into the neighboring property and teeters over three levels with a great rooftop view over the veiled women selling basketware and woolly hats below.

No alcohol is served.

Perennially popular, this homey Italian spot has a good selection of salads, pasta, and pizzas at prices that make them a fabulous value. Alcohol is served, and at reasonable prices for this part of town. Another plus? One side of the restaurant is reserved for nonsmokers.

It won't win prizes for design, but this cheap joint is perfect for a lunchtime or evening pit stop. Locals and visitors alike frequent this friendly little canteen just on the right before the road opens into Djemâa el Fna. Tagine pots stand two rows deep on the street stall outside, and a barbecue sizzles away. There are much more interesting specialties available on the menu than some of the other little snack-restaurants, including spiced aubergine tagine, sardine tagine, and pastillas. It's cash only and there's no alcohol.

Slightly more elegant than its hole-in-the-wall branch in the souks, Chez Lamine has a reputation for the best mechoui (whole roasted lamb) in town and couscous on Friday. Its street-side tables in Guéliz are regularly filled with Moroccan families on Friday and weekends; there's also inside seating. Apart from mouthwatering tagines, try the restaurant's other specialty, tangia marrakchia (lamb cooked very slowly for hours in earthenware jars). No alcohol.

An airy 16th-century riad turned café turned library turned art gallery, Dar Cherifa is wonderfully airy spot to take a break from shopping for a pot of mint tea. They also have the occasional cultural evening, including poetry readings, traditional music, and storytelling. 

You can dine on delicious adaptations of traditional dishes---such as tiny melt-in-the-mouth pastilla (sweet pigeon pie) filled with a vegetable puree---at this lovely restaurant with a reputation for nouvelle cuisine marocaine. Andalusian lutes and Gnaoua music accompany dinner, which is a fixed five-course tasting menu at 530 DH; lunch is à la carte, with a limited menu for children. Alcohol is served.

Vegetarians, vegans, and gluten-free diners may feel unloved in Marrakesh until they get to Earth Café, where they rule the roost. Generous portions are served all day at this wholesome little eatery that's tucked into a side alley near the main square. As you walk through to the seating areas out back you'll be tempted by the aromas swirling up from the open kitchen. Up the winding narrow stairs are cushioned seating alcoves with orange-painted walls and a balcony hung with tropical plants. A beetroot, ginger, and orange juice cocktail will perk you up, or try a satisfying flaky pastry stuffed with goat cheese, pumpkin, spinach, and apple. The only downside is that there isn't an open roof terrace, and as such it gets hot and rather claustrophobic. No alcohol is served, and it's cash only.

If you want to eat with the locals, this is the perfect spot, though be forewarned that the menu is meat-only. Everything is ordered by weight and you'll get side dishes of olives as well as a tomato and onion salad. Expect a crowd around meal times but service and dining are quick.

This tiny restaurant on a side street of central Guéliz is run by India-native John Jinendrom, who imports spices, like masala, directly from Europe. This means authentic-tasting Indian halal cuisine at local prices, which is a rarity in Marrakesh. The menu offers traditional dishes like butter-chicken curry, but the real house specialty is Masala Dosa, a huge stuffed pancake filled with dhal and your choice of vegetables, meat, or chicken. There are also homemade samosas, naan breads, and Indian ginger milk tea. The setting is very simple with small sidewalk tables perfect for warm weather dining; life-size Bollywood movie-star posters adorn the walls of the often hot and cramped restaurant interior.

It's cash only and there's no alcohol.

Perfectly positioned just opposite the entrance to the Saadian tombs, this Spanish-owned café is a welcome retreat for those who find themselves "kasbahed-out" at the end of a trek through the monuments of Marrakesh. The menu features Moroccan standards, as well as pizza, salads, and a cool gazpacho. An ornate Andalusian archway modeled on the mosque at Cordoba opens into a three-level restaurant finished with beige tadlak (a traditional, shiny, smooth effect) walls, wrought-iron balustrades, and bejmat tiling. The prices are steep (pizzas 90 DH, tagines 130 DH), but the food is fresh and well presented, and the shaded terrace has a great view across to the Moulay el Yazid mosque in this up-and-coming area.

Bistro meets resto in this popular, affordable French eatery at the edge of Guéliz where service is warm and welcoming. The three-course set lunch menus are an exceptional value at 120 DH. In true Parisian style, the menu favors carnivores: foie gras, beefsteaks, braised lamb chops, and confit of duck, for example; homey country dishes such as salade Niçoise or Provençal fish soup, as well as tempting grilled swordfish, red mullet, and tuna might please the rest. There's a good wine list that includes French and Moroccan wines at reasonable prices.

Choose the upstairs mezzanine dining area for a more intimate atmosphere; the downstairs bistro-style restaurant gets crowded.

Just off the Rehba Kdima ("Spice Souk"), L'Mida is a pleasant spot serving a fresh, modern take on Moroccan flavors. There are plenty of meaty options, but vegetables get the royal treatment in dishes like a seven-vegetable vegan couscous and Amazigh gnocchi with chestnut butter and garlic confit. 

Parisian Michael Gabbay has been in the bistro business since he was 17 years old. He's brought this expertise and hands-on approach to Marrakesh creating a distinctly urban-styled, modern restaurant that attracts crowds of young Marrakshis as well as tourists and expats. The menu is a carnivore's dream with rib steaks, T-bones, fillets, and Halal "'bacon"' burgers taking pride of place, but there are vegetarian options as well.

Check the "'blackboard specials'" as they change daily according to season and the whim of the chef.

The hip retro-style 1950s industrial decor together with the deliciously meaty menu and live music on Friday and Saturday evenings means the place is packed, so it's best to book a table; lunchtime is best for families. Alcohol is served.

Just beyond the fringes of Guéliz, this tiny Lebanese restaurant is a winner on all counts, serving tasty Lebanese food, with a warm welcome in a quirky, colorful setting. The fresh meze platters include hummus, tabbouleh, baba ghanoush, marinated chicken wings, stuffed Lebanese bread, and shawarma. 

In a tiny garden, off one of the medina's main shopping streets, the French owner serves a constantly changing menu derived from fresh local ingredients; think enormous main-course salads or pizzettas topped with anything from carrots and apples to raspberries, mint, and beetroot. Homemade cakes, fresh-brewed coffee, and freshly squeezed juices are served through the afternoon.

Come early as the main dish of the day usually sells out.

The tables at this ever-popular Italian spot are tightly packed around the pool area and reservations are recommended if you want to eat the hallmark homemade ravioli and seafood pasta variations. Tapas and pre-dinner drinks can be enjoyed in the lush terrace bar, with jungle foliage in danger of dipping into your aperitif and background music courtesy of the resident pianist. Alcohol is served.

This family-run and family-friendly eatery at the edge of Guéliz serves up tasty homemade French-style tarts and quiches, along with daily specials such as moussaka with salad. On Thursday the house special is English-style fish-and-chips, which are possibly the best in town. The French owners, Axel and Charlotte, are both delightful and you'll soon feel like part of the family. Fresh juices, and homemade cakes and desserts such as strawberry gâteau and lemon-meringue pie, are served in huge portions.

It's cash only and there's no alcohol.

Building on the success of his Café des Épices, Moroccan entrepreneur Kamal Laftimi opened this laid-back spot in the heart of the souks. The menu features classic Moroccan dishes, but there are plenty of options for vegetarians and pescaterians, as well as delicious desserts. Head to the terrace for comfortable seating. No alcohol is served.