Photo: hichamaarkoubi · CC0Restaurants
A local guide to the best restaurants in Marrakech, covering traditional tagine and couscous, rooftop dining, fine dining, street food, romantic tables and where to eat in the Medina and Gueliz.
Marrakech is one of the great eating cities of North Africa, and the pleasure of it lies in the range. In a single day you can graze on grilled skewers in the Jemaa el-Fnaa, sip mint tea on a rooftop above the souks, and sit down to a slow, ceremonial dinner in a candlelit riad. The food moves between the deeply traditional, tagines sealed over coals, couscous served only on certain days, pastilla dusted with sugar and cinnamon, and a newer, lighter kitchen led by places like Nomad and Le Jardin.
This guide is organised so you can find what you actually want tonight. The top list gathers the standout tables across every style and price point, from the palace dining rooms of La Mamounia to the plastic stools of Cafe des Epices. Below that, sections break the city down by cuisine, by traditional Moroccan cooking, by rooftop views, by fine dining, by street food and cafes, by romance, and by the two neighbourhoods most visitors spend their time in: the Medina and Gueliz.
A few practical notes. Menus and opening times change often in Marrakech, and many places inside the Medina are hard to find, so it is worth confirming hours and booking ahead for the bigger names, especially for dinner and for rooftops at sunset. Many restaurants in the historic centre do not serve alcohol; the ville nouvelle and the hotels are where you will reliably find a wine list.
📍 Medina (Rahba Kedima)
A modern Moroccan rooftop overlooking the spice square, serving lighter, contemporary takes on local ingredients. One of the city's most reliable tables for a stylish lunch or an early dinner with a view.
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📍 Medina (souks)
A green, tiled courtyard hidden deep in the souks, all banana trees and turtles underfoot. The kitchen leans fresh and Moroccan-modern, and the garden setting makes it a cool retreat from the lanes.
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📍 Medina (Rahba Kedima)
The original people-watching cafe on the spice and apothecary square, with a rooftop looking over the stalls. Come for mint tea, simple salads, sandwiches and a front-row seat on medina life.
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📍 Medina (Bab Doukkala)
A grand, theatrical riad dinner: a rooftop aperitif followed by a set Moroccan feast in lantern-lit salons. This is the classic special-occasion Marrakech experience.
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📍 Gueliz
A famous women-run restaurant known for its Fassi home cooking, particularly its slow-cooked lamb and its several styles of couscous. A benchmark for authentic Moroccan flavour outside the Medina.
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📍 Medina (near Ben Youssef)
An elegant restored caravanserai with a beautiful staircase and a candlelit rooftop, serving both Moroccan and French-leaning dishes. Atmospheric and central to the northern souks.
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📍 Medina (Bab Doukkala)
A historic riad hotel with a refined Moroccan restaurant and live oud music, plus a well-known cooking school. Polished, traditional and good for a calmer evening.
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📍 Medina (souks)
A large open-air rooftop with private alcoves, popular for both lunch and dinner among the souks. Moroccan and international plates in a relaxed, design-forward setting.
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📍 Hivernage
The legendary palace hotel, home to several restaurants including its Moroccan dining room. Worth it for the gardens, the grandeur and a drink even if you are not staying.
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📍 Hivernage
A long-running dinner-and-show institution with Moroccan cooking and nightly performances. Lively, glamorous and geared to a night out rather than a quiet meal.
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📍 Kasbah
A cultural cafe near the Kasbah known for its camel burger, storytelling nights and live music. Casual, creative and popular with a younger crowd.
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📍 Medina
A stylish riad restaurant with a leafy courtyard, offering a modern Moroccan menu. A dependable choice for a well-executed sit-down dinner in the old city.
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📍 Medina (Riad Zitoun)
A rare Levantine restaurant in the Medina, serving mezze and Lebanese dishes. A welcome change of pace when you want something other than tagine.
📍 View on Google Maps →📍 Medina (souks)
A courtyard and rooftop spot serving both Moroccan and Italian food, with a bar. Handy in the heart of the souks and a reliable place for a drink with dinner.
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📍 Gueliz
A colonial-era brasserie in the ville nouvelle, all ceiling fans and old-world atmosphere. French bistro cooking and a proper apertif in the new town.
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📍 Jemaa el-Fnaa
A no-frills institution on the edge of the main square, serving straightforward tagines and couscous. Simple, affordable and perfectly placed for people-watching.
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📍 Gueliz
A non-profit restaurant training disadvantaged women in the culinary trade, serving honest home-style Moroccan food. A feel-good lunch with genuinely good couscous days.
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📍 Gueliz
A contemporary, Australian-influenced restaurant with an open kitchen and a modern Mediterranean menu. A change of register for diners tired of the tourist track.
📍 View on Google Maps →📍 Gueliz
A long-established Italian restaurant with a garden and pool setting, considered one of the city's best for pasta and a glass of wine.
📍 View on Google Maps →Marrakech is far more than tagine and couscous, even if those remain its heart. Alongside traditional Moroccan kitchens you will find Italian trattorias, French brasseries, Lebanese mezze, and a wave of modern, lighter cooking. This section is a quick map by cuisine so you can match your mood, whether that is a deeply local feast or a plate of pasta and a glass of red.
Fassi home cooking at its most authentic, celebrated for its lamb and its range of couscous. The reference point for classic Moroccan flavour.
Contemporary, lighter Moroccan dishes on a rooftop above the spice square. The city's flagship for the new local kitchen.
Mezze, grills and Levantine sweets in the Medina, a genuine alternative when you want something outside Moroccan tradition.
A long-loved Italian in Gueliz with a garden setting, pasta done properly and a real wine list.
A romantic riad near the Bahia straddling Italian and Moroccan menus, with a courtyard pool.
Colonial-era brasserie cooking in the new town, the place for steak, wine and old-world atmosphere.
An Australian-influenced kitchen in Gueliz with an open pass and a fresh, seasonal menu.
A dual menu in the souks with a bar and rooftop, useful when a group cannot agree on a cuisine.
Camel burgers, salads and cross-cultural events near the Kasbah, casual and creative.
A polished menu bridging Moroccan and French in a beautiful restored caravanserai.
This is the food most people come to Marrakech for: tagines cooked low and slow over charcoal, fluffy hand-rolled couscous traditionally served on Fridays, savoury-sweet pastilla, harira soup and mechoui slow-roast lamb. The places below range from grand riad feasts to humble local canteens, but all take the classics seriously.
The benchmark for Fassi cooking, with several couscous styles and famously tender lamb, run entirely by women.
A set-menu riad banquet that walks you through the classics in grand, lantern-lit style.
Refined traditional cooking with live oud, from a riad that also runs a respected cooking school.
Simple, honest tagines and couscous beside the Jemaa el-Fnaa, easy on the wallet.
Home-style Moroccan food with couscous days, cooked by women training in the trade.
An intimate, long-running riad known for its multi-course traditional Moroccan menu.
A well-known riad restaurant offering a more inventive take on Moroccan classics by a celebrated chef.
A friendly Medina restaurant serving generous traditional dishes with occasional live music.
A modern riad kitchen that still delivers the essential tagines in a leafy courtyard.
Palace-level traditional cooking in an opulent setting for a true special occasion.
Rooftops are one of the great joys of eating in Marrakech, lifting you above the maze of the Medina to the sound of the call to prayer and, on clear evenings, the distant Atlas Mountains. Sunset tables go fast, so book ahead. These terraces range from casual mint-tea perches to full candlelit dinners under the stars.
A tiered rooftop over the spice square, ideal at golden hour for modern Moroccan plates.
A sprawling open-air terrace with private booths, good for both long lunches and dinner.
A laid-back roof above Rahba Kedima, perfect for mint tea and people-watching.
A romantic candlelit rooftop crowning a restored caravanserai in the northern souks.
A relaxed roof terrace with a bar, handy deep in the shopping lanes.
A terrace near the Bahia and the spice market known for its storks nesting on nearby walls.
A central rooftop and dining room near the main square with a lively evening buzz.
A friendly multi-level rooftop in the souks, good value for tagines with a view.
A rooftop near the Kasbah with music nights and a young, creative crowd.
A stylish rooftop option for those wanting sunset drinks alongside dinner.
For an anniversary, a milestone or simply a night to remember, Marrakech turns on real theatre. The city's high-end tables span palace dining rooms, gastronomic riads and destination restaurants set among gardens outside the walls. Expect elegant service, considered wine lists where alcohol is served, and settings that are often as memorable as the food.
The storied palace hotel, whose restaurants and gardens define grand Marrakech dining.
The Royal Mansour's dining rooms are among the most lavish and refined in the country.
A ceremonial riad feast with rooftop aperitifs and a procession of Moroccan courses.
A refined Moroccan and French menu in one of the Medina's most beautiful spaces.
Elegant traditional dining with live music in a historic riad hotel.
A contemporary, chef-driven restaurant in Gueliz for modern, produce-led cooking.
An intimate riad delivering a considered multi-course Moroccan tasting experience.
Inventive Moroccan gastronomy by a well-known chef in a poolside riad setting.
A stylish modern Medina restaurant with a rooftop, popular for design-led dinners.
A serene garden estate outside the walls, lovely for a leisurely destination lunch or dinner.
Some of the most memorable eating in Marrakech costs almost nothing. As night falls, the Jemaa el-Fnaa fills with smoke and food stalls, and the city's cafes keep the mint tea and fresh orange juice flowing all day. This is the Marrakech of grilled skewers, snail soup, msemen pancakes and long afternoons watching the crowd go by.
The nightly open-air food market, from grilled meats and merguez to snail broth. Pick a busy stall and point at what you want.
A cluster of pit stalls near the square selling slow-roast lamb by weight, served with bread and cumin.
A budget-friendly Medina classic for tagines right on the main square.
The go-to cafe on the spice square for tea, juice and simple plates.
A small non-profit cafe near the square with vegetarian-friendly bites and henna.
Casual all-day eating near the Kasbah, from camel burgers to salads.
A popular spot for a cooling gelato break between the sights.
A grand palace-turned-coffee-house for a memorable, if pricier, coffee ritual.
A relaxed juice and snack stop handy for wandering the souks.
Look for morning griddle stalls selling flaky msemen pancakes and bowls of harira soup.
Marrakech was made for romance: candlelit courtyards, rose petals on tiled floors, rooftops under a wide desert sky and gardens scented with orange blossom. Whether you want a hushed riad for two or a starlit terrace, these are the tables to book when the evening matters.
Lantern light, rooftop aperitifs and a grand feast make this the classic romantic splurge.
A candlelit rooftop and a sweeping staircase set a genuinely swoon-worthy scene.
A courtyard pool near the Bahia, gentle lighting and a mix of Italian and Moroccan dishes.
Soft oud music and an elegant riad setting for an unhurried dinner for two.
A lush, leafy courtyard hidden in the souks, cool and green and intimate.
A rooftop sunset with the spice square below, best at a quiet corner table.
A tranquil garden estate outside the walls for a private, unhurried escape.
Palace gardens and grand rooms for a truly special anniversary evening.
A design-led rooftop with mood lighting, stylish and intimate after dark.
A terrace at dusk near the Bahia, relaxed and atmospheric for two.
The Medina, the walled old city, is where most visitors sleep and wander, and it hides an extraordinary density of good eating behind unmarked doors. Addresses can be genuinely hard to find, so allow extra time and do not be shy about asking. These are the standouts within the walls, from souk rooftops to riad feasts.
Modern Moroccan on a rooftop above Rahba Kedima, central and reliably good.
A green garden hideaway tucked into the souks, a cool lunch stop.
The essential spice-square cafe for tea and simple food.
A large terrace among the souks for both lunch and dinner.
A beautiful restored caravanserai near Ben Youssef with a romantic rooftop.
A courtyard and roof with a bar and a dual Italian-Moroccan menu.
Lebanese mezze on Riad Zitoun, a change from the tagine circuit.
A grand riad banquet near Bab Doukkala for a big night out.
Refined traditional dining with music near Bab Doukkala.
A budget classic right on the Jemaa el-Fnaa.
Gueliz, the French-built new town, is where Marrakech feels most contemporary: tree-lined boulevards, pavement cafes, wine lists and a cosmopolitan mix of restaurants. It is where locals go for an Italian dinner or a proper brasserie lunch, and where you will find some of the city's most interesting modern kitchens. It is a short taxi ride from the Medina.
The famous women-run Moroccan restaurant, a must for authentic Fassi cooking.
A colonial brasserie with ceiling fans, French classics and a real bar.
A modern, open-kitchen restaurant with a fresh Mediterranean menu.
A garden Italian with poolside tables, long considered among the city's best.
A non-profit lunch spot with honest home cooking and couscous days.
A relaxed Gueliz bistro-style spot popular for meat dishes and a casual dinner.
A design-forward cafe and restaurant with a rooftop, good for lunch or drinks.
A book-lined cafe near the medina edge for coffee, salads and a quiet break.
A Lebanese restaurant with music and mezze for a livelier evening in the new town.
A sibling casual outlet from the +61 team for a lighter, contemporary bite.
Marrakech is known for slow-cooked tagines, hand-rolled couscous traditionally served on Fridays, savoury-sweet chicken or pigeon pastilla, harira soup, mechoui slow-roast lamb, and the grilled street food of the Jemaa el-Fnaa. Mint tea and fresh orange juice are everywhere.
After dark the square fills with numbered food stalls serving grilled meats, merguez, brochettes, snail soup and more. Choose a stall that is busy with locals and point at what looks good. Nearby Mechoui Alley is the spot for slow-roast lamb sold by weight. For a sit-down meal on the square, Chez Chegrouni is a simple, long-standing choice.
Many restaurants inside the Medina do not serve alcohol, in keeping with local custom. You will reliably find wine, beer and cocktails in the hotels and in Gueliz and Hivernage, at places such as Grand Cafe de la Poste, La Trattoria and Cafe Arabe. It is always worth checking in advance if a drink matters to you.
For a grand, ceremonial evening, riad feasts like Dar Yacout are hard to beat, while palace settings such as La Mamounia offer real luxury. Le Foundouk and La Maison Arabe pair beautiful rooms with polished cooking, and for a modern chef-driven meal, +61 in Gueliz stands out. Book ahead for all of these.
Yes. Vegetable tagines, couscous, salads, lentils, and dishes like zaalouk aubergine dip are widely available, and modern places such as Nomad, Le Jardin and Cafe Clock cater well to vegetarians. Naranj offers plenty of meat-free mezze. Always confirm that stocks and sauces are vegetarian if that is important to you.
For the popular rooftops at sunset and for the bigger riad restaurants and fine-dining rooms, booking ahead is strongly recommended, especially in high season. Casual cafes and street stalls do not take reservations. Because many Medina addresses are tucked down unmarked lanes, it also helps to ask the restaurant for directions or arrange a meeting point when you book.
