Moroccan restaurants in Africa
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Café Maure
Nestled in the ochre walls of the sqala, an 18th-century fortified bastion, this lovely restaurant is a tranquil escape from the city. Choose to sit in the rustic interior or the lovely garden surrounded by flower-draped trellises and enjoy the wonderfully relaxed atmosphere and friendly service. The menu favours seafood and salads, although meat dishes are also available, and the exotic fruit juices are simply sublime.
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Tangia
Can a standard chicken tagine with olives and preserved lemons really be worth almost three times what you'd pay in the Djemaa? Tangia will quell any such doubt with aromatic herbed olives, caramelised sauce with a lemony tang but no bitterness, and plump chicken very different from the anorexic variety served elsewhere - and at the next table over, the editors of American and French Vogue also seemed to approve.
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Thami’s
Of the cluster of pavement restaurants leading from Bab Bou Jeloud to Talaa Seghira, this small corner place under a mulberry tree probably ranks as a favourite. The food is good and comes out bubbling hot, with filling kefta (spiced meatball) tajines, fried fish and bowls of stewed beans. Eat, then sit back and watch the medina parade pass before your eyes.
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Restaurant el-Bahia
Built into the outside of the medina walls and a good spot for people-watching, this laid-back restaurant has the locals lapping up hearty Moroccan fare. Sit on the pavement terrace, in the shaded courtyard or upstairs in the traditional salon.
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La Fibule
Subtle lighting, warm colours and an elegant decor give La Fibule an inviting atmosphere. The food is a mixture of well-prepared Moroccan and Lebanese, served at low tables overlooking the ocean through large windows.
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La Scala
Excellent Moroccan restaurant, popular with wealthy Moroccans, Arab tourists and Westerners, which makes for a pleasantly cosmopolitan atmosphere. The food is elegant and fresh, and beautifully presented.
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Al Fassia
Thank goodness Al Fassia is a la carte, if only to save gourmets from our own gluttony. The array of nine starters alone is a proper feast, with orange-flower water and wild herbs raising even the lowly carrot to a crowning achievement. But there's no resisting the legendary mains, cooked Middle Atlas style by an all-women team who present the dishes with a heartfelt b'saha to your health.
The generous helpings seem impossible to finish, but look around and you'll see glassy-eyed diners valiantly gripping morsels of bread, scraping the last savoury caramelized onion from what was once a Berber pumpkin and lamb tagine. The seasonal menu offers enough delights for two…
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Restaurant Dinarjat
Stylish and the most elegant of medina restaurants, Dinarjat is a favourite with well-heeled locals and visitors alike. It’s set in a superb 17th-century Andalusian-style house at the heart of the medina, and has been carefully restored and decorated in a contemporary style but in keeping with tradition. The restaurant is an ode to the Arab-Andalusian art of living with its sumptuous architecture, refined traditional food and peaceful oud (lute) music. The tajines, couscous and salads are prepared with the freshest ingredients, using little fat, and are surprisingly light. Book in advance.
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Dar Es-Salam
This restaurant was featured in Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much, and it still specialises in surprise endings. The unexpected twist comes around 21:00, when a woman in a spangled unitard emerges bearing a tray of lit candles on her head and proceeds to perform callisthenic dance manoeuvres like a pyromaniac Romanian gymnast. But the night's not over until the Berber band breaks into a rousing bar-mitzvah chorus of 'Hava Nagila'.
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Ksar Essaoussan
For seasonal fixed-price feasts and good values in an 18th-century riad, follow the lantern-carrier here from Rue Ksour. Meals start at around DH350, including an aperitif, wine and mint tea. Enjoy your aperitif by the rooftop fountain, almost eye-level with muezzins at neighbouring mosques. On weekdays you may have this romantic spot to yourself, but on Saturdays (reservations recommended) you'll get to know neighbouring tables intimately.
reviewed
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Restaurant Tissemlal
The restaurant inside the Casa Hassan is another sure-fire bet for a fine meal in enchanting surroundings. Always hospitable, this place is especially welcoming on a chilly evening, when a fire roars and warms the bones. The open kitchen is another draw, allowing guests to see the chefs at work. The menu includes the Moroccan standards with a few twists. Don't miss the fresh goat-cheese salad, a local Rif speciality.
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Palace Bouhlal
A sumptuous palace with plush couches, wall rugs, intimate dining spaces (especially upstairs), gurgling fountains and a grand Moorish arch complementing the usual four-course meal. Follow the lane north around the Grande Mosquée and look for signs directing you down a tiny alley. Be sure to duck into Les Secrets des Plantes first, on the right just before the entrance, where 670 spices line the walls.
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Chez Nada
West of Bab al-Kasbah, this is a quiet modern family-run place, famous for its excellent and good-value tajines, including one with pigeon. There’s a male-dominated café downstairs, and main dining room on the 1st-floor terrace with great views over the gardens. Food is home cooking and excellent. Pastilla (pie) and couscous (Dh60 to Dh95) should be ordered a couple of hours ahead.
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Casa Leon
Run by affable Frenchman Philippe and his Canarian partner José, this small restaurant shares its locale with a health-food shop and alternative-therapy centre. The cuisine is essentially Moroccan, with a few healthy international options; there is a generous buffet on Sunday. The ambience is laid-back and cosy with warm colours, Moroccan lamps and provocative artwork.
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Restaurant Zitouna
In the heart of the medina, this grand establishment offers the same palace restaurant style you'd find in Fès. Its ornate covered courtyard is done up with zellij and stucco, with several small salons for more restrained dining. Traditional Moroccan dishes are naturally the order of the day, with pastilla being something of a house speciality.
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Restaurant el-Korsan
One of Tangier’s top restaurants, this chic and classy place inside the El-Minzah offers a smaller, more intimate version of the palace restaurant theme – without the bus tours. Well-presented Moroccan classics are served to soft live music, and often traditional dancing. Reservations are necessary, including one day prior notice for lunch. Dress well.
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Le Petit Beur – Dar Tajine
This modest little place is renowned for its excellent Moroccan food, from succulent tajines and heavenly couscous to one of the best pastillas in town. It’s a little sombre at lunchtime but livens up at night when the waiters double as musicians and play oud music to accompany your meal. Book ahead or get there early as it fills up quickly.
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Restaurante Les Alizés
This popular place, run by a charming Moroccan couple in a 19th-century house, has delicious Moroccan dishes, particularly the couscous with fish and the tajine of boulettes de sardines (sardine balls). You’ll get a very friendly welcome. Book well ahead as it fills up every night, both with Moroccans and visitors. It’s above Pension Smar.
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Restaurant El-Bahdja
One of Nouakchott's best choices, this cosy eatery continues to win plaudits for its excellent Moroccan-inspired menu at very reasonable prices. You can't really go wrong - everything's pretty good - but if you want a recommendation, go for a tajine (Moroccan stew featuring meat or poultry simmered with vegetables and olives).
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Marhaba Palace
Tangier's medina may be small, but it can still manage palace restaurants like the best of them. This garden house is lovingly decorated in traditional style, with music and folkloric shows thrown into the cost of your meal. Set meals follow the classic pattern of soup, salad, tajine or couscous plus dessert, cooked and presented well.
reviewed
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Tajine wa Tanja
Down-to-earth Moroccan dishes are the speciality at this small, friendly restaurant near the train station. Choose from a range of wood-fired grills or tajines prepared to traditional recipes, or make a special outing for the magnificent Friday couscous. It’s a fairly quiet spot, and not so intimidating for women travelling alone.
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Mamounia Palace
Although the salon's decoration is textbook Morocco, 'palace' seems too grand a title for this restaurant, just inside the Grand Socco entrance to the medina. Set menus are the order of the day, and those traditional musicians continue to strum their ouds for added dining ambience. A hefty 15% service charge is added to all bills.
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Restaurant Zagora
Just off the southern end of Mohammed V, this classy restaurant is popular with tour groups and locals alike. The wine list is probably the most extensive in the ville nouvelle and the menu is equally broad, although the pleasant setting (complete with oud player) means that both food and drink attract a sizeable surcharge.
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Hamadi
This is one of the best ‘palace restaurants’ offering multicourse local cuisine, uniformed staff, live music and perhaps belly-dancing, all of it aimed at the next tour bus. But the price is right, the decor bright and the location pleasant. Avoid the rush hour at lunch, when they try to move tables at 25-minute intervals.
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Dar Sultana
Also going under the name Sweet Sultana, this is a small but charming restaurant in a converted medina house. The tent canopy over the courtyard gives an intimate, even romantic, atmosphere, set off by walls painted with henna designs and bright fabrics. The spread of cooked Moroccan salads is a big highlight of the menu.
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