Where and what to eat in Marrakech, Morocco’s historic imperial city

Most unmissable street-food?

The best pick-me-up on Marrakech’s streets does not – ironically – originate from the city. B’stilla, a small pie consisting of paper-thin pastry stuffed with everything from pigeon meat to chicken or fish (filled with ground almonds, eggs, and spices) are a speciality of Fes, but it is in Marrakech that they find a truly happy home (we feel). Costing little, and packing a real punch, their simultaneously sweet and salty taste and flaky texture make them the ideal companion between proper pit-stops at the city’s more traditional sit-down restaurants.

 

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Still sunny in January at @lejardinmarrakech #lejardinmarrakech #marrakech #maroc #morocco

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Most unusual place to eat

Heading back to the streets, one unmissable aspect of Moroccan cuisine belongs to the (slightly unnerving) whole sheep’s heads you’ll see hanging from certain market stalls or propped up on dinner tables. Some vendors will offer mixed plates of offal, tongue, and head. It is a bold move. But, in fact, quite rewarding – if you can get around the body-horror situation itself. Wait for it – the cheek meat is particularly delicious (after all, the lamb has been slowly cooked in a fragrant, roasting subterranean oven). Some restaurants, even those close to the city’s main food market, Jemaa el-Fnaa, will offer this experience in a full sit-down setting. Flavour favours the bold! Sometimes.

For tradition head to

We’re here to talk tagine – aren’t we? This is perhaps the most easily identifiable ‘Moroccan’ dish you can hope to find, and the one that is literally unavoidable in the great former imperial stronghold of Marrakech. But where to go exactly? Areas such as Rue Mohamed el Bekal are a haven for grilled meats, which has a particularly Mediterranean feel (meaning that Moroccan dishes have been combined with those from the warm seas to the north). Very few tourists make it to this strip of restaurants, if you’re looking for where the locals eat.

Best rooftop restaurant in Marrakech

When we create trips for clients, we’re often asked about rooftop restaurants – that most quintessentially Moroccan way to take a meal. Think: soft seating, shady palms, and trailing greenery, with heaped plates of grilled meat and delicately-spiced vegetables brought to your table (not to mention the addictive taste of traditional bread – khobz). For us, the ultimate rooftop restaurant in Marrakech has to be the highly Instagrammable outpost of Nomad, offering up fantastic views over the city and modern riffs on traditional Moroccan dishes, including roast chicken with chermoula and sardine tart.

Happy Eid to everyone who celebrates it today! #nomadmarrakech #modernmoroccan #marrakech

A post shared by NOMAD (@nomadmarrakech) on Aug 21, 2018 at 7:46am PDT

Overall, best restaurant in Marrakech?

Of course, everyone has their favourite, yet our luxury tours to the city always circle back to a handful of the best, most unmissable eateries in the city. Personally, we always enjoy Le Gardin – naturally, given the name, it has a sumptuous and jade-green courtyard area. Screened by trees and offering proper loungers, the restaurant offers some of the best tagine in the city, sirloin, lamb, and octopus. It’s an undeniable client favourite, and one of our’s too.