Showing 1-12 of 12 results
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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.
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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 , 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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Haj Mustapha
As dusk approaches, several stalls that serve mechoui (slow-roasted lamb) at lunchtime feature a Marrakshi speciality: paper-sealed crockpots of tangia, lamb traditionally slow-cooked all day in the ashes of a hammam fire. This 'bachelor's stew' is a bit messy as a takeaway order, but Haj Mustapha offers the cleanest seating despite dire bachelor décor (think faded photos in shattered picture frames).
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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.
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La Maison Du Couscous
With its marble fountain shaped like a conical couscous, '80s-era love of mirrors, and arctic air conditioning, this place seems like a tourist trap - but the couscous is fluffy and properly infused with fragrant smen (seasoned clarified butter). The Atlas chicken is sweet-savoury with onions, and at the risk of inflaming local rivalries, the sneakily spicy Tunisian with Merguez sausage and meatballs, is even better.
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Plats Haj Boujemaa
While daredevil carnivores gnaw on dubious Djemaa grills atop rickety stools, local foodie connoisseurs calmly enjoy their scrumptious sheep's brain under sidewalk umbrellas at Haj Boujemaa. Check out the fresh meat at the refrigerated counter, and just point at whatever parts strike your fancy - you can trust the Haj to cook it to perfection. The chips are fantastic.
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Restaurant Foucauld
This stucco-bedecked, dimly lit restaurant has seen many a Moroccan wedding in its day - which was at least 30 years ago, judging from copper relief landscapes from the 1970s and Bureau of Tourism posters from the French Protectorate. But this place is definitely set for a comeback with succulent lamb with figs and sesame, fresh, crusty bread, and tangy harira (soup), all for around DH100 .
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Restaurant Place des Ferblantiers
For a quick, tasty tagine served bubbling hot right off the burner, look no more at touristy palace restaurants with plodding service. Plop down on a plastic chair in the courtyard, and have whatever's freshest that day - the meat and produce come from the Mellah Market across the street, and you can see the cook whipping up tagines right in front of you.
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Ryad Jana
Finally, a family-run riad restaurant that serves a la carte lunches at realistic prices, with generous helpings of Moroccan hospitality. Enjoy your lamb tagine with prunes and almonds in the restful garden for only slightly more than you'd pay to dine on a skimpy version in the dusty Djemaa, and win huge accolades for trying even a few words of Moroccan Arabic.
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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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Tobsil
Dar Moha and Al Fassia have the edge for a la carte menus, but Tobsil is still top-notch for prix-fixe feasts in an intimate riad. As Gnaoua musicians play in the courtyard, up to 50 guests (no tour groups here) indulge in button-popping five-course menus with aperitifs and wine pairings for around DH550 .
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Villa Flore
Some come for meltingly tender lamb and duck; some for the relaxed black-and-white riad setting that's snazzy as a tuxedo and comfy as a djellaba ; and others, it must be admitted, for that blindingly handsome maitre d'. But the best draw is the Moroccan salad, three perfect circles of Moroccan meze that elevate lowly aubergines and peppers to major sensations with aromatic ras al-hanout spice.
Showing 1-12 of 12 results
