Travel bucket list idea:
Marrakech, Marrakech-Safi, Morocco
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Moroccan cuisine is best known for its slow-cooked tajines – richly flavoured stews, cooked on traditional platters with conical lids – and heaped platters of couscous topped with seven vegetables.
More traditional meals usually start with a tray of meze – fresh salads that might include honeyed carrot salad, humous, roasted aubergine and yoghurt with mint and garlic. Lamb is the most popular meat, while seafood, such as sardines, are plucked straight from the Atlantic in Essaouira.
Mint tea is another obligatory Moroccan ritual drunk at any time of the day, often taken with a plate of sugar-topped biscuits, or syrup-drenched pastries. Moroccans have an extremely sweet tooth, and there are excellent patisseries dotted around the Ville Nouvelle – a legacy of the French Colonial era.
Must-try local specialties include tanjia (slow-cooked lamb or beef), sfenj (donuts), bissara (broad bean soup), mechaoui (roasted lamb) and pastilla – a moreish traditional pigeon pie with filo pastry, spices and egg, topped with sugar. Locally-produced Moroccan wine – from its 14 producing regions – is surprisingly drinkable.
Also see our round-up of traditional Moroccan foods you must try in Morocco.
Marrakech offers two very different dining experiences; in the contemporary, European style restaurants in the Ville Nouvelle, and the more traditional, atmospheric eateries in the streets of the medieval medina.
Every visitor to Marrakech should eat in a palace restaurant at least once, although you do go for the exquisite decor – intricate stuccowork and mosaic tiling – as much as for the food. For something more intimate, many riads have rooftop restaurants that are open to non-residents, although reservations must be made in advance.
Marrakech, Marrakech-Safi, Morocco
Bustling with fishmongers and butchers, street vendors selling in-season fruit and veg, bread fresh from the local oven, and more. In between, small kitchens serve street food specialties through the morning and afternoon.
Best for ages 18+
Marrakech, Marrakech-Safi, Morocco
This non-profit organisation offers culinary and restaurant training to disempowered women – and is the place to be for Friday couscous topped with seven vegetables, hiding a bed of beef or chicken underneath.
Adult price: £4
Best for ages 18+
Marrakech, Marrakech-Safi, Morocco
Famed chef Haj Lamine’s restaurant is the place to go for Marrakechi specialty meat dish tanjia (typically beef or lamb), slow-cooked in a terracotta pot on the coals that heat the hammam.
Best for ages 18+
Marrakech, Marrakech-Safi, Morocco
Whole lamb slow-roasted underground is served to a hungry lunchtime crowd from a busy stall in this bustling alleyway. Sprinkle cumin and salt on the meat and add a cup of sugary tea to make the flavours pop.
Best for ages 18+
Marrakech, Marrakech-Safi, Morocco
Smoky grills and lively stalls serve up mouth-watering delicacies including seafood, snails, offal and bowls of harira soup nightly from 6 pm – just pull up a stool and point at what you want. Standards vary hugely though; a good rule of thumb is to go to whichever is busiest – or check out local foodie blogs to find which are recommended.
Best for ages 13+
There are numerous atmospheric restaurants in the Medina, although only a few are licensed to serve alcohol. The smartest of these are riad-style restaurants. The Gueliz district is home to a large number of more European-style bars, some highly-regarded Moroccan, French and Italian restaurants, cafés and nightclubs. Tasting Marrakech offers half-day food and cultural tours in both the medina and Gueliz, mixing historical sightseeing with tastings amongst locals.
The ultimate Marrakech foodie experience is to eat in the Jemaa el Fna, at one of the twenty or so food stalls that pop up at dusk. Hygiene standards vary wildly, so check out a local blog or website to see which are recommended (each stall is numbered).
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Destination guides including or relevant to this experience
Marrakech-Safi, Morocco
An exotic time capsule of ancient streets and souks, blending Arab culture and French colonial heritage. Soak it all up in the wonderfully evocative atmosphere of the Jemaa el-Fnaa.
