233 Best Restaurants in Morocco

With its beautiful stained-glass ceiling, marble floors, sparkling chandeliers, white linen tablecloths, and sumptuous red-velvet chairs, an evening at the Hôtel Le Doge’s fine-dining Moroccan restaurant is like stepping back into the opulence of the Art Deco era. Perfectly prepared dishes include lamb shank with prunes and almonds and a sinful pastilla drenched with honey and served with orange-blossom ice cream. 

With decor featuring a long leather banquette, retro-style chairs, and a wall of family-style photos and old plates, this homey spot run by two sisters, Zineb and Malika, is a wonderful find, though easy to miss: it's up a few steps in a lovely old house. The French menu is limited but exquisite, featuring lots of fish.

Another offering in the buzzing district of Gauthier, Le Rossignol is billed as a French restaurant but has all sorts of interesting dishes thanks to a chef who has worked all over the world. You'll find Lebanese meze and chorizo mac 'n' cheese, excellent salads, fish dishes, and a very upscale burger, not to mention great breakfast options. 

At this iconic, cash-only restaurant, the menu and the price are fixed, so just sit down and prepare to enjoy four courses, designed to be shared by the table. The main event is always the catch of the day—perhaps St. Pierre, dorado, or sole. The dessert might be strawberries (in season) with almonds, smothered in local honey. You'll be served special fruit juice, infused with flowers, cloves, and other secret ingredients, and a souvenir earthenware dish is usually part of the price.

Sliding glass windows run the length of this restaurant, and open onto the beach between Temara and Skhirat. The inventive menu features Oualidia oysters, fish or prawn carpaccio, and plenty of fresh fish, as well as some Spanish dishes such as paella and fish fiduea (sort of a paella made with noodles instead of rice). There's a tapas bar, too---more rustic than the main restaurant---serving cocktails to the after-work crowd.

Located in Tamraght, a small surf village 15 km (9 miles) north of Agadir, this oasis of mostly plant-based and wellness-oriented foods is a somewhat unconventional experience for Morocco. The bright space is decorated with traditional artifacts and plants, and the menu consists of vegan breakfasts, gluten-free pancakes and pizzas, rice bowls, and vegan and fish tacos with homemade harissa. 

The setting at Lily's is quite magnificent, with carved wood screens, butterflies on the ceiling, bamboo growing through the wooden floors, and spectacular sea views through every window. The food is pretty spectacular, too, featuring Japanese, Thai, Korean, and Vietnamese dishes.

A meal at this Cantonese restaurant in the Mandarin Oriental is one of the finest dining experiences in Marrakesh. Service is impeccable and the wasabi tiger prawns are to die for. You can't go wrong with any of the cocktails. On warmer evenings opt for a table on the terrace for views of the pool garden, which is magically lit by lanterns that silhouette the surrounding palm trees. 

Run by an Icelandic-Moroccan family, this cozy café focuses on sustainability. All dishes are made using local produce and fish (the only type of meat served) always comes from the town's fishermen. The coffee is also fair trade. The brunch is the best in town and, in a nod to the owners' fusion of cultures, features dishes like Icelandic oat pancakes served with seasonal fruit and orange blossom honey.

The menu features Mediterranean-influenced fare such as steak tartare and gnocchi with truffle cream, and Moroccan favorites including pigeon pastilla, all backed up with an impressive wine list. One of the city’s most stylish eateries, the minimalist design channels industrial chic with rough-hewn stone walls, slate floors, and floor-to-ceiling windows, complemented by sleek contemporary furniture.

This traditional Spanish restaurant serves up time-honored treats, including Pata Negra ham, beef croquettes in Pedro Ximénez sauce, and mouthwatering meats fresh from the grill–T-bones and other cuts are sold by the kilo. Dine inside the stone-walled restaurant, with its tiled floors, dark-beamed ceilings, and white linen tablecloths, or on the shaded terrace.

The first African outpost of Morimoto—the contemporary Japanese restaurant chain from Iron Chef star Masaharu Morimoto—is perfect for an evening on the town and a glimpse at the fast-developing luxury market in Taghazout. The braised black cod, grilled spicy lobster, and cocktails are excellent, and so is the service. The outdoor patio overlooks the water and is popular at sunset, so you'll want to book a table in advance. There's a DJ later in the evenings and the atmosphere gets progressively livelier.

Overlooking the Bay of Tangier, chef-owner Nora Larini’s eclectic menu mixes up Moroccan, Mediterranean, and Asian flavors to great effect. Expect dishes such as Dakhla oysters, magret de canard, seafood paella, and sushi rolls; carnivores can tuck into succulent charcoal-grilled steak. The decor is contemporary and neutral; think white marble, pale wood, and polished concrete, while floor-to-ceiling windows make the most of the views. During the day it has a beach-chic vibe—it's particularly gorgeous at golden hour, while after dark candlelight and a DJ sets the mood until late.

A branch of the popular French café, bakery, and restaurant group, this Paul location is in the beautiful Modernist Villa Zevaco, with a fabulous garden. The milk shakes and desserts are decadent, and the rustic breads are beloved throughout the city; for something more substantial, the pastas, burgers, steaks, and fish are all good, too. 

This light, bright ocean-facing restaurant serves up delicious fish and seafood, perhaps squid, swordfish, or oysters from Oualidia. It’s a 10-minute walk from the medina but worth it for the expertly prepared dishes, such as clams in white wine sauce, seafood linguine, and grilled sole (steaks and burgers are also an option). This cool space is filled with contemporary art; there's a jazz soundtrack, too. 

The passion in the name of this sophisticated restaurant is for Mediterranean-style food made from fresh, local produce. This means lots of seafood and pasta dishes, but also steak and stunning desserts. The experience starts with a generous plate of bread, dips, and an amuse-bouche and is further flavored with an extensive list of local and foreign wines. You can choose a cozy corner in the interior, or sit in the covered outside terrace with views over the marina. They'll even send a free shuttle to pick you up from your hotel.

The sophisticated restaurant in The Repose riad is a destination in its own right, whether you dine in the courtyard or on the plant-filled roof terrace. The chef uses local ingredients to prepare an entirely vegetarian menu (rare in Morocco); there's a daily-changing, prix-fixe, five-course menu (250 DH), and lighter meals available. Reservations required for nonguests.

Indulging in a long, leisurely lunch looking down on the sacred city of Moulay Idriss and the plains of Meknès is certainly something to savor, especially when it’s served on the terrace at Scorpion House. Private groups—from 2 to 40 people at a time—can enjoy a menu personalized in advance (all dietary requirements are catered for) and including grilled meats, fish, and seasonal Moroccan salads, rounded off with fruit and sweet treats. Advance reservations are essential.

One of the city’s best fine-dining eateries is in the strikingly beautiful courtyard of hotel Dar Roumana, where Moroccan chef Youness Toumi creates two- and three-course fixed-price Franco-Moroccan fusion menus. The menu makes the most of seasonal produce from top local producers in creative salads, such as figs with crispy pancetta, goat cheese, and date dressing, and a meat or fish dish like a perfectly cooked veal T-bone or pan-fried John Dory. Desserts are sumptuous, like vacherin and black cherries or Sephardic bitter orange and almond cake. There’s an excellent wine list, too.

This boat-shape fish restaurant next to the port is the most famous place to eat in town. The splendid food isn’t cheap, but it’s worth every last dirham because the chef insists on using top-quality ingredients and each dish is crafted with imagination and sophistication. If you’ve got room after sumptuous starters and mains, don’t miss the heavenly desserts. 

You can't travel all the way to the desert and not try medfouna, a dish that's also known as "Berber pizza."  Although traditionally baked in the Sahara sands, medfouna (which is really more like a savory pie that's cut into slices) can now be found in cafés across this region. One of the most popular is Restaurant Nora, which caters to tourists and even offers a vegetarian version of its traditional dish. Everything is made fresh, so be prepared to wait for your order. It's worth it. 

The tiled dining room in this Spanish-run hotel is one of the city's best dining options. The  Moroccan-Mediterranean menu includes chicken pastilla and lamb couscous, as well as Spanish fish croquettes and garlic shrimp. And you can wash your meal down with Moroccan wine or a cold beer. Eat on the roof terrace for panoramic views over the city, or enjoy a predinner drink at sunset.

Taroudant's oldest family-run riad prides itself on its restaurant for good reason. While Habib greets the guests, his wife, Latifa, works wonders in the kitchen to produce a spread of salads, pastilla, tagines, or couscous fit for a king, not to mention the best pastilla du lait (a dessert of fine, crispy phyllo pastry layered with pastry crème) in town. Book in advance for lunch or dinner.

Set in the romantic remains of a ruined riad associated with Riad Idrissy, this casual alfresco restaurant comes complete with crumbling mosaic floors, fountains, and lush foliage. The à la carte menu and daily specials focus on street food–style dishes prepared using fresh produce from the souk. Think salads such as zaalouk and sardines marinated in chermoula (a marinade including herbs, oil, and lemon juice) with a polenta batter and mini maakouda (potato cakes in tomato sauce). Moroccan tapas are on the menu at lunchtime, and tea and cakes are served all day, as well as healthy juices and smoothies, like date milk and orange-blossom water. You can also preorder the delicious Fassi specialties, such as pigeon pastilla and slow-cooked mechoui lamb, a day in advance. Take the Moroccan bread, pastries, or vegetarian cooking classes, and watch couscous being hand-rolled every Friday lunchtime.

A long-standing favorite among locals, expats, and tourists, this authentic Italian restaurant serves the best crispy pizzas in the medina, straight from a wood-fired oven. The menu also features home-cooked pasta dishes. Diners eat in an eclectically decorated dining room or upstairs on the enclosed terrace. Wines and other alcoholic drinks are available.

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. 

Set among verdant gardens, this enchanting eatery offers a menu that encapsulates the Brittany region of France: think luscious salads and buckwheat crepes oozing with all you can imagine, as long as it's (mostly) French. The experience is made even better by the fantastic service and the pleasant, knowledgeable staff. Alcohol is served, and if you're looking for picnic fare, there's a wonderful array of charcuterie and cheeses on your way into the restaurant.

Tucked away along the skala, this chic restaurant is a real treat, offering a daily changing menu—prepared in an open kitchen—that blends seasonal and local ingredients with French savoir faire. The airy restaurant draws in a clientele of expats and tourists with its muted dove grays, glossy white furniture, and quirky art touches, such as a gorgeous Gnaoua mural. Be sure to try the goat cheese from a women's co-op in nearby Meskala; you also can't miss the chocolate fondant with salted caramel ice cream.