Marrakech Food and Travel Guide
Marrakech is a feast for every sense, and its food sits right at the center of the experience. Inside the red walls of the medina, the smell of grilling meat, simmering spice and orange blossom drifts through narrow lanes that have fed travelers for centuries.
What to Eat
Moroccan cooking balances sweet and savory in a way that surprises first-timers, so be ready for cinnamon and dried fruit turning up in places you would not expect.
- Tagine — slow-cooked stew named for its conical clay pot, classic with lamb and prune or chicken with preserved lemon and olives.
- Couscous — steamed semolina topped with tender vegetables and meat, traditionally the Friday meal.
- Harira — a hearty tomato, lentil and chickpea soup, especially beloved at sundown.
- Pastilla — a flaky pie of pigeon or chicken dusted with sugar and cinnamon, sweet and savory at once.
- Mint tea — sweet green tea poured from a height, offered everywhere as a sign of welcome.
Where to Go
The souks are the obvious draw, a maze of stalls selling lanterns, leather, spices and slippers. Wandering is half the fun, but keep a rough landmark in mind so you can find your way back out.
As night falls, head to Jemaa el-Fnaa, the great central square, where dozens of food stalls fire up grills for skewers, snails, sausages and freshly squeezed juice. Pick a stall that is busy with locals, ask the price before you sit, and don't be shy about bargaining in the souks themselves, where the first quote is only an opening offer.
Menus across the medina are often written only in Arabic or French, and many stalls have no printed list at all, so photographing the menu to translate it makes it far easier to order the dish you want and understand what you are paying for.