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Last updated: 07 November, 2022
Expert travel writer: Mandy Sinclair

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.

What to try

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.

The dining scene

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.

Recommended itineraries by our writers that include this experience

Price: Free
Minimum age: Any
Age suitable: 13+
When: All year around
Duration: Variable

Getting there & doing it

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).

Moroccan bread for sale in a shop in Marrakech
Experience

Bab Doukkala Market

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+ | Free

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Close-up of vegetables on cous-cous served in a clay tagine
Experience

Friday couscous at the Amal Centre

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.

Best for ages: 18+ | £4

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Meat tajne in a clay dish
Experience

Haj Lamine

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+ | Free

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Close up of lamb tangia in a clay pot
Experience

Mechoui Alley

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+ | Free

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Our selection of the best Viator tours of this attraction or activity

Moroccan Cooking Workshops in Marrakech

Moroccan Cooking Workshops in Marrakech

Marrakech

Our pioneering spirit at La Maison Arabe led us to open the first cooking school in the Kingdom of Morocco in 2001. Food lovers staying in M...

€30 | Rating 4.96 / 5 [316 ratings]

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Farmhouse Cooking Class from Marrakech

Farmhouse Cooking Class from Marrakech

Marrakech

Create a delicious homemade Moroccan meal with this 6-hour cooking class. Take part in the popular "Guess the Spices" test before ...

€30 | Rating 4.96 / 5 [276 ratings]

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Moroccan Cooking Class With Chef Najlae, Argan Oil

Moroccan Cooking Class With Chef Najlae, Argan Oil

Marrakech

welcome to my cooking class, you will have a memorable and wonderful personal cooking experience. I have written a général itinerary of wh...

€34 | Rating 4.98 / 5 [256 ratings]

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Moroccan cooking lessons in the Medina of Marrakech

Moroccan cooking lessons in the Medina of Marrakech

Marrakech

We are a riad, the old moroccan familiar home in the medina. Walking inside a riad it's like a flashback in the moroccan tradition. Thanks ...

€40 | Rating 4.94 / 5 [67 ratings]

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Our writer’s picks of the best places to stay near this experience, closest first

Dar Ayniwen Hotel

Marrakech, Marrakech-Safi, Morocco

One of the Palmerie’s most popular hotels, beloved for its pool and gardens. Great for families.

Official star rating:

Hotel du Tresor

Marrakech, Marrakech-Safi, Morocco

Idiosyncratically decorated in vintage mid-century furniture, this little treasure is Marrakech’s best budget riad.

Official star rating:

Kasbah Bab Ourika

Ourika Valley , Marrakech-Safi, Morocco

A Kasbah-style hotel in the Ourika Valley offering an authentic get-away-from-it-all stay surrounded by vistas of the snow-capped Atlas Mountains.

Official star rating:

Kasbah Tamadot

Asni, Marrakech-Safi, Morocco

Richard Branson’s sumptuous Moroccan kasbah-style retreat offers tranquillity, relaxation and Atlas Mountain views.

Official star rating:

Destination guides including or relevant to this experience