30 Best Restaurants in Medina, Marrakesh

The airy courtyard in the 1910 building that houses the Dar Bacha Museum is all orange 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. Prepare to arrive early, as wait times can be up to three hours in the afternoon.

This wonderful local shop specializes in Turkish coffee heated and made over sand. It's absolutely mesmerizing to watch the process and the friendly owner will take his time to explain the entire process. It's one of the most affordable yet enjoyable experiences you can have in the medina.

Located just a five-minute walk from Marrakesh's bustling main square Jemaa el-Fnaa, Dardar is a stylish restaurant and bar that boasts a lively atmosphere and some of the best views the medina has to offer. The menu features a variety of Moroccan, European, and Asian dishes. (The shrimp pil pil is great for garlic and chili lovers.) Cocktails, beer, and wine are also served. Dardar fills up quickly, so you absolutely must book ahead of time if you want to secure a reservation, particularly at sunset.

One of the few jazz bars and restaurants in the medina that's packed every night, Le Bistro Arabe has a local house band and serves Moroccan food with a Mediterranean twist. The service and cocktails are also fantastic. Tables are limited (particularly if you want to be seated by the band), so it's essential you make a reservation in advance. Live jazz sessions start every night at 8 pm.

This artisanal ice-cream shop in the medina specializes in flavors with a Moroccan twist like orange cinnamon and rose sorbet. The most popular flavor is chebakia; a staple during Ramadan, chebakia is a Moroccan sesame cookie that's fried and drenched in honey. All the flavors at Sweet & Sook are unique and delicious, and the friendly staff are always happy to let you sample before you buy yourself a treat. 

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.

An outpost of Fez's popular Cafe Clock, 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.

Though it's a bit past its prime, Cafe de France is a local institution and a great place for people-watching from morning till night. On the ground floor there's a tiny snack restaurant with bright plastic tables, serving sandwiches and quick bites until closing time; but it's best to skip the food, order a drink, and stay for the atmosphere.

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.

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.

Although the row of severed lambs' heads out front may not be everyone's idea of culinary heaven, Marrakshis love Chez Lamine Hadj Mustapha, and you'd be missing out not to try it. English TV chef Jamie Oliver chose this spit-and-sawdust street restaurant in a filming trip for a gutsy example of Moroccan roast lamb specialty, mechoui—it's served as a simple sandwich or as a laden plateful priced by weight.

An airy 16th-century riad turned café turned library turned art gallery, Dar Cherifa is wonderful spot to take a break from shopping for a pot of mint tea. They also have occasional cultural evenings, 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 650 DH; lunch is à la carte, with a limited menu for children. Alcohol is served.

Come hungry for the five-course traditional Moroccan feast served at this restaurant located deep in the medina. Aperitifs are taken on the rooftop, which has stunning panoramic views of the Koutoubia Mosque, and then you can choose to dine beside the pool on the lanterned terrace, in a vaulted upstairs room, or in the lush, cushion-filled main salon. Dinner, including drinks, costs 700 DH and courteous, discreet waiters in white djellabas and red fezzes scurry about to fulfill your every need. This is an exotic experience in a magical setting.

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.

The menu at the English-owned Gastro MK features exceptionally fine modern-Moroccan cuisine. The menu is a balance of Moroccan and European influences aiming to be light and subtle to tempt those who are "tagined out'"; dishes include cauliflower couscous with raisins and capers or a deconstructed tagine of beef fillet with herb mash and zucchini. A five-course tasting menu (650 DH per person) is available upon request. Complimentary canapés are served 30 minutes before dinner and after-dinner digestifs, cigars, or sheesha pipes can be requested. Arrive early for pre-dinner cocktails on the gorgeous terrace.

The Gastro MK is in such high demand that advance bookings and payment of a deposit are essential.

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.

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 definitely for tourists (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.

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 pastilla with chickpeas. Be sure to book a table if you want to sit on the terrace and take advantage of the great views. 

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. Make a reservation and come early as the main dish of the day usually sells out.

The prestigious Royal Mansour hotel is home to four restaurants, each with a different vibe, but La Grande Table Marocaine, which serves classic Moroccan dishes with a modern twist, is the one worth a splurge. You can order à la carte but the prix-fixe menu with seasonal variations is the best bet. Alcohol is served and reservations are essential.

To the south of the square, this is a top choice for catching the sunset, but you'll have to compete for elbow room with all the amateur photographers who throng the best spot. Service is slow and soft drinks overpriced—but that's not unexpected for this bird's-eye view. 

With zellij walls, painted cedar ceilings, and white tile floors, this old palace serves up reliable Moroccan cuisine to mostly a non-Moroccan clientele. You can choose from the à la carte menu or one of the set menus, which begin at 280 DH. However, it's the views over Djemâa el Fna's nightly 'circus' that are the main draw; reserve in advance for a table on the top floor with a panoramic view of the square. Indoors there's a floor show with belly dancers thrown in (nightly around 9 pm). Service can be surly, and prices are rather high, but alcohol is served.

This stylish restaurant is a good bet for a special night out, with traditional Moroccan cuisine and live acoustic North African and Arabian music. Try the tanjia, a traditional, slow-cooked meat dish specific to Marrakesh. The three-tiered restaurant is centered on a rose-filled fountain of the inner patio where the musicians play from early evening. The covered terrace overlooking a busy souk is the perfect spot for lunch (order one of the Moroccan salads) or dinner and a glass of wine while marveling at the shimmying belly dancers. 

Helmed by Mexican-Canadian chef Clarisse Jolicœur, this restaurant offers gussied up versions of comfort food like lobster beignets and burrata-herb spaghetti. If you're craving tacos, try what's proudly touted on the menu as "Clarisse's famous shrimp tacos." They're the best in town. During the day, Les Jardins Du Lotus is laid-back and perfect for a leisurely lunch. By night, there's a DJ and a more festive crowd that's keen on sampling as many cocktails as tacos.

This lovely, small café caters to vegetarians, vegans, and gluten-free diners as well as meat-eaters, with options that range from Moroccan classics like harira soup and vegetarian couscous to fusion dishes such as a tabbouleh couscous or falafel sandwiches with taktouka, a cooked salad of tomatoes, bell peppers, garlic, toasted paprika, and olive oil. Fill your stomach and then book in for a henna tattoo if it's on your Marrakesh wishlist—the henna here is 100% safe and organic. 

Tucked into a side street off the so-called Spice Square in the souks, Nomad has become a local favorite for modern Moroccan cuisine in a quirky outdoor setting, with cushioned benches and festoons of woven lanterns that light up in the evenings. The menu offers takes on traditional Moroccan dishes as well as lighter options such as a lentil salad with goat cheese and peppermint vinaigrette. The desserts are especially delicious. 

Serving simple, old-school Moroccan street-eats, Snack Grand Atlas reels in the pescatarians with its wide menu of grilled, fried, skewered, or baked fresh fish and seafood. Menu offerings depend on the recent catches from Agadir, but may include fish pastilla, swordfish kebab, fish tagine, seafood pastas, or grilled sea bass. Aside from the fish options, there are plenty of tajines, pastas, and salads available.

After a hectic few hours in the souks, this café is a welcome respite for the frazzled traveler. Just beyond the Souk Cherifa and Souk Semmarine, you can relax in the stylish lounge of this converted old family house and admire your purchases. Colorful textiles, leather pouffes, African artifacts, and old photos adorn the walls; from the small terrace you can gaze over the surrounding rooftops. A satisfying Moroccan menu is served until 11 pm or you can just call in for mint tea, coffee, or a fresh fruit smoothie. Cash only, and no alcohol is served.

On a rooftop hidden deep within the northern quarter of the souks, this all-day (and evening) restaurant is a popular spot for expats, tourists, and trendy locals. The menu mixes Moroccan and international cuisine, with everything from fish tagine and tanjia (slow-cooked beef or lamb) to pasta dishes and steaks. The contemporary variations on a Moroccan theme extend also to the decor—intimate cushioned booths are lit by woven lampshades and decorated with modern artwork. It's a good place for families who want a little space out of the mayhem of the souks where tired kids can sprawl on the benches. In the evening, the lantern-lit terrace provides the perfect ambience for cocktails and music. Alcohol is served.