During our Morocco travel adventures and our stay in Marrakech we were fortunate enough to have a housekeeper who insisted on cooking for us most days. The food was fresh and delicious and varied; we were spoilt!
We often didn’t think it worthwhile going out for dinner but over the five weeks we lived there, we did venture to a few restaurants in Marrakech to see what the eating out scene is like in this city that is considered to be one of the most multi-cultural and cosmopolitan in North Africa.
Here are three restaurants we really enjoyed in Marrakech.
1. Al-Fassia
With two locations in Marrakech – one in the Medina and another on the outskirts of Marrakech, close to a number of resorts and hotels in an area known as Aguedal – Al Fassia has become a Marrakech institution and regularly ranks in the top restaurants in the city.
The buildings their restaurants occupy are also boutique hotels offering a luxurious riad experience and the Al-Fassia name has become famous because they are run and managed only by women. We loved how elaborate and luxurious the Aguedal restaurant was with its own courtyard and a butler in traditional dress to meet you at the entrance. The warm service continued inside as we were shown to a small round table in a corner.
The wine list features Moroccan wine and the menu is uncomplicated offering a range of tagines, cous-cous and brochette based dishes. The slow cooked lamb for two kept us quiet and happy on one occasion and on another visit I enjoyed more vegetable cous-cous than I could finish and my partner enjoyed a flavour-full lamb and aubergine tagine.
Al-Fassia is an expensive restaurants by Moroccan standards so you may find the majority of fellow guests are tourists and I would also add that though the food and dining experience is special and yes, romantic, the food didn’t compare to the homemade dishes made by our housekeeper.
2. La Trattoria
Okay this is a bit of a wildcard entry, and not somewhere you will see on most top places to eat in Marrakesh lists.
One day after weeks of yummy Moroccan food I woke up craving Italian food, so that evening we headed into Gueliz and enjoyed dinner at Trattoria, an upmarket and lavish Italian restaurant with more staff than you can count and a number of dining areas including by the side of an inviting looking swimming pool that I assume you’re not allowed to jump into.
The menu is impressively Italian, insofar as it features a number of more unusual dishes as well as the traditional favourites. This is probably due to the fact that the restaurant is run by an Italian family as opposed to a Moroccan team who fancied their chances impersonating Italian food.
There is one important thing missing, however, pizza, which my partner was disappointed by. However, a simple but delicious spaghetti and pomodoro sauce made up for it.
3. Le Crystal Restaurant
When we saw that the super club Pacha had a presence in Marrakech we didn’t know what to think, but then we found out that there presence included a luxury designer hotel and a number of restaurants our curiosity got the better of us. So we headed to Crystal Restaurant, part of the striking Crystal Hotel, for a very special lunch!
By some small miracle, even though it was still February the sun came out in full force and we sat outside at the terrace by the swimming pool and once my champagne cocktail had arrived I realised the food was irrelevant – it was already perfect.
But luckily I wasn’t to be disappointed by the food that landed in front of me. Champagne and great tasting Moroccan food; the perfect lunch!
View more tips on my Morocco travel guide.
