18 Best Restaurants in Marrakesh, Morocco

Cheap and cheerful, this restaurant is possibly the best catch in town. This no-frills Moroccan street restaurant in the heart of Guéliz (near La Grande Poste) is packed at night with locals getting their fish fix. Choose from the sidewalk display of fresh seafood as you walk in, or simply ask for a mixed plate—sole, calamari, monkfish, prawns—all served with olives and wedges of lime. There are seafood salads, paella, and an array of grilled fish also to choose from.

There's no alcohol and it's cash only.

A nonprofit center established the restaurant to help women from difficult backgrounds learn culinary skills and earn an independent living and the result is this friendly, brightly furnished restaurant and garden terrace, which attracts locals and expats for its excellent Moroccan and international dishes. The menu changes weekly but always has a mix of traditional Moroccan and international choices. Friday is couscous day, but make a reservation in advance! No alcohol, but lots of freshly squeezed juices are served.

If you're looking for light, healthy meals or snacks Ayaso functions as both a restaurant and a specialty food store catering to vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free diets. The fresh juices and smoothies are worth the stop alone.

The multilevel terraced seating area at this café on the square means there are several prime viewing opportunities. It's one of the fancier cafés on the square, having been completely rebuilt in 2017. Stop in for a drink or ice-cream treat to cool down from the Moroccan sun. They also serve meals throughout the day. 

An outpost of the popular Café Clock in Fez, this so-called cultural café combines a fun vibe with tasty contemporary Moroccan cuisine. Signature dishes include camel burgers, a blue cheese and fig salad, veggie platters, and homemade ice cream. There's also a menu of cultural activities: exhibitions, live traditional gnawa music, local bands, cooking classes, and al halqa (traditional storytelling). No alcohol is served.

Though it's a bit past its prime, Café de France is a local institution and a great place for people-watching from morning till night. On the ground floor there's a tiny snack restaurant with bright plastic tables, serving sandwiches and quick bites until closing time. 

In keeping with the name, this café in the medina's "spice square" offers spiced teas and coffees along with a range of freshly squeezed fruit juices, smoothies, and light snacks, salads, and sandwiches. Ever popular, it expanded into the neighboring property and teeters over three levels with a great rooftop view over the veiled women selling basketware and woolly hats below.

No alcohol is served.

It won't win prizes for design, but this cheap joint is perfect for a lunchtime or evening pit stop. Locals and visitors alike frequent this friendly little canteen just on the right before the road opens into Djemâa el Fna. Tagine pots stand two rows deep on the street stall outside, and a barbecue sizzles away. There are much more interesting specialties available on the menu than some of the other little snack-restaurants, including spiced aubergine tagine, sardine tagine, and pastillas. It's cash only and there's no alcohol.

Slightly more elegant than its hole-in-the-wall branch in the souks, Chez Lamine has a reputation for the best mechoui (whole roasted lamb) in town and couscous on Friday. Its street-side tables in Guéliz are regularly filled with Moroccan families on Friday and weekends; there's also inside seating. Apart from mouthwatering tagines, try the restaurant's other specialty, tangia marrakchia (lamb cooked very slowly for hours in earthenware jars). No alcohol.

Although the row of severed lambs' heads out front may not be everyone's idea of culinary heaven, Marrakshis love Chez Lamine Hadj Mustapha, and you'd be missing out not to try it. English TV chef Jamie Oliver chose this spit-and-sawdust street restaurant in a filming trip for a gutsy example of Moroccan roast lamb specialty, mechoui—it's served as a simple sandwich or as a laden plateful priced by weight.

Cash only.

Vegetarians, vegans, and gluten-free diners may feel unloved in Marrakesh until they get to Earth Café, where they rule the roost. Generous portions are served all day at this wholesome little eatery that's tucked into a side alley near the main square. As you walk through to the seating areas out back you'll be tempted by the aromas swirling up from the open kitchen. Up the winding narrow stairs are cushioned seating alcoves with orange-painted walls and a balcony hung with tropical plants. A beetroot, ginger, and orange juice cocktail will perk you up, or try a satisfying flaky pastry stuffed with goat cheese, pumpkin, spinach, and apple. The only downside is that there isn't an open roof terrace, and as such it gets hot and rather claustrophobic. No alcohol is served, and it's cash only.

To the south of the square, this is a top choice for catching the sunset, but you'll have to compete for elbow room with all the amateur photographers who throng the best spot. Service is slow and soft drinks overpriced—but that's not unexpected for this bird's-eye view. 

If you want to eat with the locals, this is the perfect spot, though be forewarned that the menu is meat-only. Everything is ordered by weight and you'll get side dishes of olives as well as a tomato and onion salad. Expect a crowd around meal times but service and dining are quick.

This tiny restaurant on a side street of central Guéliz is run by India-native John Jinendrom, who imports spices, like masala, directly from Europe. This means authentic-tasting Indian halal cuisine at local prices, which is a rarity in Marrakesh. The menu offers traditional dishes like butter-chicken curry, but the real house specialty is Masala Dosa, a huge stuffed pancake filled with dhal and your choice of vegetables, meat, or chicken. There are also homemade samosas, naan breads, and Indian ginger milk tea. The setting is very simple with small sidewalk tables perfect for warm weather dining; life-size Bollywood movie-star posters adorn the walls of the often hot and cramped restaurant interior.

It's cash only and there's no alcohol.

This family-run and family-friendly eatery at the edge of Guéliz serves up tasty homemade French-style tarts and quiches, along with daily specials such as moussaka with salad. On Thursday the house special is English-style fish-and-chips, which are possibly the best in town. The French owners, Axel and Charlotte, are both delightful and you'll soon feel like part of the family. Fresh juices, and homemade cakes and desserts such as strawberry gâteau and lemon-meringue pie, are served in huge portions.

It's cash only and there's no alcohol.

This lovely, small café caters to vegetarians, vegans, and gluten-free diners as well as meat-eaters, with options that range from Moroccan classics like harira soup and vegetarian couscous to fusion dishes such as a tabbouleh couscous or falafel sandwiches with taktouka, a cooked salad of tomatoes, bell peppers, garlic, toasted paprika, and olive oil. 

They aim to be inclusive to these dietary needs and have menu options that range from Moroccan classics like meatball tagine in tomato sauce to fusion dishes such as enchiladas wrapped in msemmen, a flaky Moroccan flatbread or chicken and couscous with peanut sauce. Fill your stomach and then book in for a henna tattoo if it's on your Marrakesh wishlist—the henna here is 100% safe and organic. 

This ice-cream parlor and café is at the very far end of Guéliz, but well worth the journey. The ice cream and sorbet (possibly the best in Morocco) are made with all-natural ingredients and no additives, and flavors vary every month. In summer choose from fig, banana, watermelon, peach, even ginger with lavender. In autumn you'll find spiced chocolate, orange with cinnamon, date, and saffron flavors. There's a comfortable indoors eating area and an outdoor terrace where you can scoop your whipped-cream-topped sundae on any Sunday.

After a hectic few hours in the souks, this café is a welcome respite for the frazzled traveler. Just beyond the Souk Cherifa and Souk Semmarine, you can relax in the stylish lounge of this converted old family house and admire your purchases. Colorful textiles, leather pouffes, African artifacts, and old photos adorn the walls; from the small terrace you can gaze over the surrounding rooftops. A satisfying Moroccan menu is served until 11 pm or you can just call in for mint tea, coffee, or a fresh fruit smoothie. Cash only, and no alcohol is served.