18 Best Restaurants in Rabat, Casablanca, and the North Atlantic Coast, Morocco

A place to see and be seen, this stylish restaurant-bar-club, perched on a clifftop beneath the El Hank Lighthouse, comes with spectacular ocean views. The modern Mediterranean menu puts the focus on fresh fish, and quality is high, with a lively tapas bar that draws a cocktail- and champagne-loving crowd until the early hours. Book ahead to request a table on the terrace or next to a panoramic window.

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. 

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.

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.

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. 

One of the swanky restaurants in Salé's modern marina, Al Marsa—meaning "port" in Arabic—serves Spanish food with a Moroccan twist in a glass-enclosed dining room with an expansive terrace overlooking the Bou Regreg River. The menu revolves around fish and seafood—perhaps paella, octopus, or a platter of fruits des mer. Produce is fresh, and the dishes imaginative. 

Casablanca's most cherished Moroccan restaurant has been serving up delicious fare since 1958. Its dining rooms have a quintessential Moroccan style and there's a lovely patio where you can dine under a centuries-old tree. The excellent cooking has a refined touch; the salads are delectable, and the tagines bubble away with the most sensational aromas. It serves great cocktails, too. 

For a supreme culinary experience, head to Brasserie la Bavaroise where the menu is awash with delectable French favorites, sumptuous steaks, sophisticated fish dishes, and beguiling desserts. The restaurant has a contemporary look that's elegant without being stuffy, and an atmosphere to match.

Between Skhirat and Bouznika, this excellent place to eat, drink, and disconnect serves an excellent menu of mostly fish-based options, with salads and proper desserts thrown in. The location is fabulous—right on the beach, with two pools, and areas for eating and relaxing separated by rustic bamboo canes. There’s a beach volleyball area, a petanque ground and a surf school, too. The atmosphere is gentle; families, surfers, sporty types, and sun lovers will all be at home here. There are DJs and often live music as the sun sets. Alcohol is served. Note that while it's officially only open from April to November, groups can (and often do) reserve off-season.

If you're yearning for Japanese food, the stylish Iloli is widely regarded as one of the best places to go. Choose to sit on the airy terrace, inside at tables or at the counter to watch the sushi chefs in action, or upstairs on the mezzanine with sofas and armchairs. The menu has plenty of sushi and sashimi, as well as hot dishes and creative cocktails. 

A top choice in the well-heeled Gauthier district, little Cantine de Gauthier oozes as much French chic as a Parisian bistro. It's a casual spot that serves delicious French meat and fish dishes, though the well-priced sharing plates of charcuterie and cheese attract the after-work crowd for an aperitif.

This place prides itself on fine wines, treating customers to a fantastic range of options from France and beyond. There's a proper bistro ambience in the dining area, which offers reasonable prix-fixe menus for both lunch and dinner, while the mezzanine bar serves French-style tapas, including a very respectable cheese board.

There's a bit of everything at this multilevel space, starting with a buzzy bar area on the ground floor that serves wine and tapas and is popular with the after-work crowd. Head upstairs for dinner at the restaurant, which has a French-inspired menu that's known for its market-fresh produce and excellent steaks. Later in the evening the music gets louder, with a DJ or live performers, and the atmosphere really gets going. There's a sports screen, too, for major events.

The menu at Ostrea II features various types of seafood, but most people come for the oysters—which can be accompanied with wine chosen from a respectable list and followed by a classic French dessert. Just after entering town, a sign for the restaurant points toward the lagoon. Head down the twisty road, then grab a table inside overlooking the oyster farm or out on the lagoon-side terrace.

This friendly Mediterranean-style restaurant offers "cuisine du marché," or cooking from the market. It serves a broad selection of fish, meat, and pasta dishes in a charming setting. White linens top the tables in the cheery dining room, and the beautiful airy garden, where intimate tables snuggle amid the greenery, is a delight. Alcohol is served.

Set in an exquisite Art Deco villa, this restaurant focuses on refined French classics. Alfresco diners can choose a seat on the swish yet sunny garden patio; inside, the dining rooms stretch out with French poise. The wine list is excellent and service is immaculate.

Befitting its name, this elegant restaurant is right on a park, in a 1950s building with a dining terrace. As is often the case in Mohammedia, the menu bears a distinct fish and seafood theme, so your choices will largely depend on what’s been caught that day, though there is also a good selection of salads and meat dishes, plus some Moroccan fare and French-influenced desserts. Alcohol is not available. Be sure to book at weekends as Moroccan families flock here.

Within the walls of a restored medina riad, Rick's Café evokes, of course, the romantic Casablanca of the classic 1942 Humphrey Bogart film—which was actually shot in Hollywood. The pianist, Issam, plays jazz nightly and also organizes jazz jams next to the bar. Service is efficient and the restaurant menu blends American, French, and local dishes. You can dine while sitting atop a high stool at the bar or settle in at one of the intimate tables. The cocktails are perfectly crafted and there's a comprehensive wine list.