Entertainment in Morocco
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Mamounia Casino
As if drinking OJ from re-used glasses in the Djemaa el-Fna weren't enough of a gamble, just down the street is the Mamounia Casino. There are many places in Marrakesh that look like a Vegas version of Morocco, but the casino makes good on the comparison with blackjack, poker, baccarat, roulette and slot machines. Dress to pass the doorman's once-over - sorry, even high rollers don't get by in jeans.
reviewed
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Taros Café
One of the most atmospheric terraces in Essaouira, and the only real bar, is at the Taros Café, where you can sip your drinks under giant lamps and huddle round your table to fend off the wind whipping up from the sea. The restaurant (mains Dh70 to Dh120) is a bit hit-and-miss for food, but it has live music and belly dancing most nights.
reviewed
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So
The hippest club in Agadir and one of the most expensive. So is laid out on several levels and includes a champagne bar, vodka bar, live-music stage, restaurant, dance floor and chill-out area. Guest DJs appear on Thursdays. Agadir swingers save this one for the climax of the evening’s entertainment.
reviewed
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Tanger Inn
Tangier was once a gay destination, but that scene has long since departed for Marrakesh, leaving no establishments behind. Concierges report that the Tanger Inn and some of the bars along the beach attract gay clientele, particularly late on weekends.
reviewed
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Café Hafa
With its stadium seating overlooking the strait, you could easily lose an afternoon lazing in this open-air café, but you need good weather. Locals hang out here to enjoy a game of backgammon.
reviewed
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Bar Oum-Rabiá
While it’s easy to find kif in Chefchaouen, it’s hard to find a beer. One freestanding, and very masculine, option is Bar Oum-Rabiá.
reviewed
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Café Restaurant Bab Laachour
To warm up for an evening out, you could try the terrace at the Café Restaurant Bab Laachour.
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Théâtre Royal
Twenty-five years in the making, the Théâtre Royal is a sore subject for Marrakshis still waiting for a completed interior - apparently the work wasn't done to specifications, the money's gone, and the whole legal ordeal's become a monumental embarrassment. Meanwhile regular performances are held in a Carthage-style outdoor amphitheatre with hard seats but terrific acoustics.
Tunisian architect Charles Boccara's Maghrebi monument features Egyptian Art Deco papyrus pillars, a Sahara sand-coloured portico, and showstopping Moroccan exposed brickwork in the domed foyer.
reviewed
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Café Du Grand Balcon
The best spot to catch all the action in the Djemaa, with permanent crowds on the front patio to prove it. Older gents hang out inside to avoid the patio jostling and panhandling on the patio, but only families and clandestine lovers actually go upstairs to the quiet 'grand balcon', where service is erratic at best. The OJ here is not freshly squeezed, but there are mean espressos, frothy cappuccinos, and proper tea with mint or steamed milk.
Technically this place serves ice cream, but there's far better around the corner at Ice Legend.
reviewed
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Soukara
To kill time in style while waiting for a performance at the nearby Théâtre Royal - or train or Supratour bus around the corner - enjoy mint tea on the patio or a little something stiffer on the terrace. The combination of trendy Moroccan Zen décor and better prices than most Nouvelle Ville bars lures in the young Marrakshi set, who slyly check each other out at afternoon meetings of thinly disguised 'study groups' and make their moves over happy hour.
reviewed
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Actor's
Black, white, and always ready to make a scene, Actor's was recently launched at the Marrakesh International Film Festival to give crowds a place to bask in reflected red-carpet glory. The wall-sized black-and-white photos of pale models with enormous sunglasses, Sofia Loren hats and red lipstick set a kitschy '80s vibe. Midweek it's you and the DJ, but on weekends clubbers descend from Casablanca to revive the last days of disco.
reviewed
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Joya
The beachfront suburb of Aïn Diab is the place to go for late night drinking and dancing in Casa. However, hanging out with Casablanca's beautiful people for a night on the town doesn't come cheap. Expect to pay at least around DH100 to get in and as much again for drinks. Heavy-set bouncers guard the doors and practise tough crowd control - if you don't look the part you won't be getting in. Joya is a popular haunt.
reviewed
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Lawrence Bar
One of two bars in the sprawling 350-room Sofitel, this advertises 'exclusive drinks' - meaning, what, your cocktail may be refused entry to your gullet if it's not properly attired? In reality this place is a freeloader's paradise, with access to a decent tapas buffet with a drink, and free bubbly if you cosy up to that diplomat splashing out the Dom Perignon rosé and don't mind the Cuban cigar smoke.
reviewed
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Bô Zin
Ostensibly a restaurant with Thai touches, Bô Zin's real appeal is eye candy, Asian-Moroccan architectural razzle-dazzle, and break-out performances by diners including the likes of Salma Hayek. Go late and on weekends, when it's packed; otherwise, this enormous place is a party desperately waiting to happen. It's not that far from Pacha Marrakesh if you really want to make a night/morning of it.
reviewed
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Aïn Diab
The beachfront suburb of Aïn Diab is the place to go for late night drinking and dancing in Casa. However, hanging out with Casablanca's beautiful people for a night on the town doesn't come cheap. Expect to pay at least around DH100 to get in and as much again for drinks. Heavy-set bouncers guard the doors and practise tough crowd control - if you don't look the part you won't be getting in.
reviewed
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K
Café Des Épices
Grab a prime spot above the healers and potion-dealers of the Rahba Qedima and watch the magic happen as you sip a reviving caffeinated beverage. The young Marrakshi staff are hip and easygoing, there's free wifi, and if you linger over mint tea long enough, the rooftop terrace offers a sunset view of the souqs. Salads and sandwiches are fresh but bland - all the more reason to skip to the sweets.
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Le Marocain
The rear bar of this decidedly louche nightspot is where the city’s working girls tout for trade; their male colleagues are usually found preening in the front bar. The band and resident chanteuse aren’t likely to be appearing in a concert hall near you in the near future, but they’re fun to listen to before you take to the dance floor. Well-priced drinks (beers Dh15) come with tapas-like snacks.
reviewed
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Hotel Batha
There are a couple of options for drinks in this handily located medina hotel. Inside the hotel proper, the bar by the pool catches the overspill from the Churchill Bar, and in winter even features a log fire to warm yourself by. At the back of the hotel (side entrance), the outside Consul Bar is a more relaxed place for late-night drinks, and has its own disco until midnight (closed Monday).
reviewed
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Bar du Soleil
Wild raves for the Mamounia's gardens are a credit to its legions of gardeners but also the bartender at Bar du Soleil, who pours drinks extra strong on the patio at sunset to set that idyllic Mamounia mood. This occasion calls for a cognac or a top-shelf Mamounia cocktail of Grand Marnier, rum, juice and champagne, which, at around DH240, gives a double meaning to the term stiff drink.
reviewed
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La Petite Roche
With stunning views across to the Hassan II Mosque, this is another favourite Casa hangout. Littered with pillows thrown across low-level seating and lit by an army of candles, this place has a laid-back but exotic atmosphere. The clientele is not quite as self-consciously cool, or as unruly, as at La Bodéga and the restaurant downstairs serves good tapas, paella and seafood.
reviewed
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La Casa
Where else will you witness restaurant patrons deliver such a heart-rending, quasi-English rendition of an Usher R&B ballad, followed by double-jointed hip shaking to Jamaican dancehall and Egyptopop? Two-for-one specials on Red Bull and vodka from 19:00 to 22:00 get the dancing started before dinner ends, and give the neon Berber glyphs on the wall a hallucinatory glow.
reviewed
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O
Beach Club 555
You pass through airport-like security run by SWAT team guards, and find yourself on a faux tropical lagoon, replete with bridge and tiki huts. Inside, waiters dressed in white satin and fake afros serve visiting mafiosi. Unlike most anywhere in Tangier, the place is crawling with young women, known locally as geishas, who work freelance for the house.
reviewed
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Nejjarine Museum Café
On the roof terrace of the museum, this café serves drinks only (everything around DH10) and is a great place for gazing out over the rooftops of the nearby Kairaouine and Moulay Idriss Zawiya. Sit outside, or in an air-conditioned room. Not cheap with the museum entrance fee as well, but it's worth it for the friendly service and clean toilets.
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Le Paradise
The dance floor here doubles as a runway for Marrakesh's jet set, and it's taken such a relentless pounding over the years that it recently had to be redone. Now the redesigned two-story club has a snazzy new look, some trippy new light effects, and a 1st-floor bar called Le Before where you can summon some liquid courage before entering the fray.
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Caid’s Bar
Welcome to Rick’s Café, or at least the real model for the bar in Casablanca. Long the establishment’s drinking hole of choice, this el-Minzah landmark is a classy relic of the grand days of international Tangier, and photos of the famous and infamous adorn the walls. Women are more than welcome, and the adjacent wine bar is equally good.
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