Marrakech is one of Morocco's largest cities, located in the central southern region. It is home to one of the busiest squares in the Arab world: Jemaa El Fna, the heart of trade, the meeting of cultures and, of course, cuisine.
In Marrakech's markets and restaurants it is a riot of colourful spices and intense aromas, Moroccan cuisine is an experience of flavours that are both strong and simple. And a trip to Marrakech must definitely include a tour of discovery of gastronomic traditions!
So let's discover together 10 things to eat in Marrakech in Morocco and where.
1 - Tanija
This recipe is the typical dish of Marrakech, and hides a legend: it is said to have originated from an argument between a husband and wife, during which the wife accused her husband of not even being able to cook something for himself, so that he could not be without her. The husband, in response, put some ingredients in an earthenware jar (called, precisely, tanja) and took it to be cooked in the ashes of the wood-burning oven that heats the Moroccan hammam (a spa complex). Thus was born this dish made with lamb, cumin, saffron, butter, oil and candied lemon.
Recommended: lunch, dinner
Average cost: from €8.00
Main ingredients: lamb, butter, oil, candied lemon, saffron
2 - Couscous
Although Morocco is not all about couscous, you cannot go to Marrakech and not eat it, because it really is the symbol of this country. Couscous is made by finely kneading semolina and water until a grainy mixture is obtained, which is served together with vegetables, among which onion and garlic stand out first of all, but also tomatoes, courgettes, chickpeas and the famous 30-spice non-spicy mixture called Ras el Hanout.
Of course, the versions of couscous are endless and can also include lamb or chicken, but always cooked in the special earthenware couscous pot.
Recommended for: lunch, dinner
Average cost: from €5.00
Main ingredients: semolina, vegetables, spices, meat if the menu calls for it
3 - Baghrir
If you think that, with all the use of spices and meat, there are no sweets in Moroccan cuisine, you will soon change your mind. The Baghrir is the Moroccan breakfast par excellence: they are a cross between crepes and pancakes, with many small holes on their surface ideal for 'scooping' honey and jam.
Made very simply with flour, semolina, water and yeast, Baghrir is usually served with orange juice or Moroccan tea, a very tasty breakfast.
Recommended for: breakfast
Average cost: from €4.00
Main ingredients: flour and semolina, topped with butter, jam, honey
4 - Tajine
To say Tajine actually means to refer to many different dishes. Tajine is, in fact, the name of the typical cone-shaped earthenware vessel in which the dish, usually meat-based, is cooked, slowly and over low heat, in a sauce of spices, vegetables, dried fruit and meat cooking liquid that makes it very tender and juicy.
The iconic Moroccan tajine is certainly the one with lamb, almonds and plums, with a sweet and intense flavour. Another version with lamb involves tomatoes and onions, or courgettes and mint. But there is also the tajine with chicken, lemon and olives: each restaurant will offer variations for you to discover.
Recommended for: lunch, dinner
Average cost: from €8.00
Main ingredients: vegetables, spices, dried fruit, lamb, chicken or beef
5 - Mèchoui
This is lamb meat and is most easily found for sale in the numerous stalls of the Mèchoui alley (yes, it has a street all to itself), north of the famous Jemaa El Fna square.
Strictly recommended for lamb lovers only, Mèchoui is a street food consisting of roasted lamb meat served with bread, cumin and salt. You can order a rubb (a 250-gram slice) or a nuss (500 grams). Once in the street, the intense roast aroma will only charm you and whet your appetite.
Recommended: lunch, dinner, snack
Average cost: from €5.00
Main ingredients: lamb, bread, cumin
6 - Harira Soup
This is the Moroccan soup that symbolises Ramadan: in fact, it is cooked every one of the 30 days, the length of Muslim Ramadan.
It is a soup based on different meats, spices, pulses, vegetables, but, like any self-respecting traditional dish, everyone cooks it as they see fit, with typical family recipes, so you will never eat one harira soup the same as another. Of course, the element that unites all soups is the intense flavour given by the mix of spices that pervade Moroccan cuisine. Due to the variety of ingredients, it constitutes a unique dish.
Recommended for: lunch, dinner
Average cost: from €6.00
Main ingredients: meat, vegetables, spices, pulses
7 - Pastilla
A real treat for those who love those special dishes, far from our traditions, that combine sweet and savoury flavours.
It is a thin puff pastry, sautéed very quickly in butter, filled with: meat, onions, almonds, cinnamon, saffron, coriander, all served with icing sugar. The meat is usually chicken or pigeon. So, in case you want to avoid the latter, always ask what the ingredients are.
Recommended: lunch, dinner, snack
Average cost: from €6.00
Main ingredients: chicken or pigeon meat, almonds, cinnamon, coriander, saffron, sugar, puff pastry butter
8 - Katban
A meat dish for a change. As you may have guessed, Moroccan cuisine features numerous lamb specialities.
You can enjoy this skewer at the street food stalls of the markets in Marrakech. Before being skewered, the pieces of meat are marinated for a long time in a sauce made with paprika, onions, parsley, salt, cumin and oil, giving it a strong, spicy flavour that is very tasty.
Recommended for: lunch, dinner, snack
Average cost: from €5.00
Main ingredients: lamb, paprika marinade, onion, mixed spices, parsley
9 - Gazelle horns
The sweets you can find in Marrakech are many and very good. These are small filled sweets that are usually served in riads as a sign of welcome along with the traditional mint tea.
They are made from a stuffed pastry in the shape of gazelle horns. Inside there is a base of ground almonds, a very important ingredient in Moroccan cuisine, hazelnuts, cinnamon and orange blossom; they are very sweet and delicate.
Recommended for: breakfast, snack
Average cost: from €1.00
Main ingredients: pastry, almonds, hazelnuts, cinnamon, orange blossom
10 - Briouats
We end this tour with another typical street food dish, of which Moroccan cuisine literally abounds.
These are triangle-shaped rolls of very thin puff pastry, the so-called warka, filled with meat or fish, or even rice. The same warka, which is actually sold in the souks (markets) of Marrakech, is also sold stuffed with sweets and dried fruit. So the advice is: wander around the stalls, smell and taste everything!
Recommended for: snacking
Average cost: from €2.00
Main ingredients: puff pastry, meat, fish, rice
Where to eat: best restaurants, typical places and street food
In Marrakech, the choice is truly vast: you can eat anywhere and at any time.
In the souks of Marrakech, there is an endless variety of stalls offering street food of all kinds; it is the type of food that is all the rage in the city, especially among the locals.
In the huge market in the Jemaa El Fna square you can really get lost: here you can taste everything. In the city, on the other hand, there are of course many typical restaurants, cafés, pastry shops, where you can drink the typical mint tea in coloured glasses and taste the sweets.
Let's take a look at some of the places where you can eat real Marrakech cuisine:
1 - Alley of the Mèchoui
Description: a street north of the Jemaa El Fna square, where you can taste exclusively Mèchoui, roast lamb served with bread
Speciality: Mèchoui
Average price: from €5.00 per person
Address: Mèchoui, Souk, Marrakech - Get directions
2 - Jemaa El Fna
Description: the large central square; during the day it hosts all kinds of stalls, spices and Moroccan street food, also excellent fresh fruit juices; at night it becomes an open-air restaurant
Speciality: street food, but also couscous and tajines
Average price: from €5.00 per person
Address: Jemaa El Fna, Marrakech - Get directions
3 - La Patisserie des Princes
Description: patisserie offering typical Marrakech sweets to be eaten with mint tea
Speciality: gazelle horns
Average price: from €2.00 per person
Address: Passage Prince Moulay Rachid, Marrakech - Get directions / Tel. +212 5244430334
4 - Souk Kafè
Description: typical restaurant with a beautiful terrace overlooking the medina of Marrakech, its old quarter; excellent to taste the specialties of Moroccan cuisine
Speciality: tanjia
Average price: from €8.00 per person
Address: Derb Sidi Abd El Aziz, Marrakech - Get directions / Tel. +212 664172456
5 - Le Tanjia
Description: typical restaurant with traditional dishes; nice and intimate ambience, perfect to immerse yourself in the typical Moroccan atmosphere
Speciality: tajine
Average price: from €20,00 per person
Address: Place des Ferblantiers, Marrakech - Get directions / Tel. +212 5243836
6 - Jemaa El Fna Boutique Hotel & Riad
Description: typical restaurant, live music, indoor hammam with pools, medium-high standard
Speciality: tajine, couscous
Average price: from €80.00 per person
Address: N 42 rue Zaari Rue des Banques, Marrakesh - Get directions / Tel. +212 524381305
7 - Chez Lamine Hadj Mustapha
Description: small restaurant frequented mainly by locals, very friendly staff and mouth-watering stews
Speciality: tangia
Average price: from €15.00 per person
Address: J2G6+QV5, Derb Semmarine - Get directions / Tel. +212 661833805
8 - Terrasse Des Epices
Description: in the heart of the Medina of Marrakech, a chic little place that has become a must for those visiting Marrakech
Speciality: Tanjia Marrakchia, Pastilla au chocolat
Average price: from €30.00 per person
Address: Sidi Abdel Aziz، 15 souk cherifia - Get directions / Tel. +212 524375904
