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Africa
An unpretentious place on a side road leading up to the Grand Socco, Africa dishes up good Moroccan standards quickly and without fuss. Alcohol is served.
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Agadir
The interior is thoroughly unassuming, but the checked tablecloths, red wine and Gallic crooning in the background give this place more than a hint of French bistro. Meals are good and hearty, with the free use of fresh herbs raising the succulent tajines to a level above the usual fare.
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Al Mountazah
You can't beat this rooftop perch for observing the activity on the Grand Socco: sip your morning coffee and watch the square come alive from the great terrace. The whole place was under renovation when we most recently visited.
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Anna e Paolo
You might think you are in Roma when you are seated at a tiny candlelit table with a red-checked cloth, sipping your rosso . It's both quaint and very romantic, with Italian fare as good as your mamma makes it.
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Café Andalus
Much more of a local's place, the tiny Andalus dishes out cheap and tasty plates of fish, brochettes and bowls of soup. Definitely not a palace, but none the worse for it.
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Café Champs Élysées
If Porte du Nord is elegant, this café is downright sumptuous, complete with chandeliers and red velour. The lack of a dress code is the big surprise. Great sticky pastries.
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Casa de España
Buzzing with Spanish expats, local businessmen and the occasional tourist, this joint is as lively as they come. Snappily dressed waiters serve up classic Spanish dishes, with some wonderful specials like lamb with summer fruits. Wash it down with a bottle of wine; it's good value even with extra tax added to all bills.
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Dolcy's Café
At the southern tip of Blvd Pasteur, this is a large café popular with both men and women, with clean, modern décor and friendly service. A good choice for breakfast, before the heat of the sun scorches the outside seating area.
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Fast Food Brahim Abdelmalik
You can't go wrong here with half a baguette filled with kefta (seasoned minced lamb) and salad to eat on the hoof.
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Fried Fish Stalls
Several cheap hole-in-the-wall places huddle here looking onto the Grand Socco. They're as basic as can be, but serve out generous portions of fried sardines and the like with chips, salad, a hunk of bread and a squeeze of lemon. Quick, filling and exceedingly tasty. Similar stalls sit near the steps at Rue Dar Dbagh
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Hamadi
Another traditionally styled place just outside the medina walls. The surroundings are sumptuous, and live music accompanies your Moroccan meal (the pastilla is good). However, you might struggle to hear the musicians when the place is overwhelmed by tour groups at lunchtimes - come back in the evening when the day-trippers have gone back to Spain. Prices exclude 10% tax.
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La Giralda
While huge windows give fantastic views over the Terrasse des Paresseux and to the sea, they are double-glazed to keep out the noise of the street, lending an air of calm elegance. The plush furniture and intricately carved ceiling add to the luxury. Young, rich and beautiful Tangerines adore this chic café.
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Le Pagode
If you're tired of tajines and pasta, this place might just refresh your palate. The menu is familiar from Chinese takeaways the world over, with plenty of noodles, sweet and sour, and black-bean sauce on offer. It makes a nice change, but the ambience is a little lacking.
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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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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.
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Mix Max
One of the newer and trendier fast-food joints, with burgers and the like served with generous portions of chips and salad.
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Pâtisserie La Española
A heavily mirrored tea room, this café simultaneously manages to be quiet and dainty - perhaps it's the pretty arrangements of cakes and pastries tempting people off the street. Everyone seems to come here - locals and foreigners, businessmen and courting couples.
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Porte du Nord
A grand and classy patisserie, this place works hard to maintain its airs and graces. Ideal for an elegantly poured mint tea, and other refined pastimes.
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Restaurant el-Korsan
One of Tangier's top restaurants, a chic and classy place inside the El-Minzah. You might want to dress a little smarter than normal when eating here. Well-presented Moroccan classics are served to the soft playing of live musicians, and often traditional dancing later in the evening. It's not cheap, but the ambience is worth it.
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Restaurant Le Kasbah
Another decent local dining hall, very much in the hole-in-the-wall vein. Soups, tajines, brochettes, fish - they're all there, in good portions and simple surroundings.
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Restaurant Populaire Saveur
This attractive and welcoming little fish restaurant down the steps from Rue de la Liberté serves excellent, filling set menus. It's as rustic as you could imagine: quaint decoration and rough-hewn wooden cutlery. The food is delicious though, with steaming fish soup, and plenty of grilled fish. Dessert is typically sticky seffa (sweet couscous), all washed down with the house fruit-juice cocktail - your glass continually refreshed. Not just a meal, a whole experience.
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Restaurant Valencia
This excellent spot just off the waterfront is a perennial favourite, and always seems busy. The décor hints at the captain's table, and the menus are suitably seafaring. Have a look at the catch of the day on offer in the chiller as you walk in, then enjoy a cold beer while waiting for your meal.
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Rubis Grill
This bar and grill is heavy on the meat and fish in good, tasty portions. If you only want a quick bite, you can sit at the bar and enjoy tapas over a cold beer.
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Safarine
A bright, clean fast-food joint popular with couples. The pizzas and shwarma are good, or you might linger longer over the lasagne and pasta.
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Salon de Thé Liberté
Neatly decorated in dark wood, with a garden at the back, this place is also a restaurant serving up reliable Moroccan and international dishes. It excels as a café though, with its wide front windows opening to let the air in, where you can sit and watch the street at work and play.
