Three seats at a table. A dish is placed down at each. A glance left, and then right. A small nod. There will be no staged photos of the table for this meal. It’s dinner time, and this one feels sacred. The top of the tajine comes off, and the scent of warm spices and oils rises to my nose. Inside the ceramic dish is a beautiful leg of lamb. It’s our last meal in the country and the one I have been dreaming of the whole time. We clink glasses and tuck in. Behind us belly dancers emerge ready to start a show. The music begins to soar. Hello and goodnight, Casablanca.
It’s hard to believe but the iconic lamb tajine, which I had on my final night, was the only one I ordered during a mad two-week sprint across Morocco. It was also the main course I enjoyed a few weeks earlier at Moltaqa, Vancouver’s very own Michelin-recommended Moroccan establishment, which I chose to prepare my palate for the adventure upon which I was soon to embark. The lamb wasn’t my first tajine but the trip had been dominated by a full gamut of Moroccan delicacies: kefta meatballs (and lots), khobz and msemen (also lots), pastilla, harira, brochettes, chebakia and mint tea (lots). There may have also been a pasta or a pizza in there too, but we’re not going to talk about that.
So, Morocco, what’s the deal?
A few observations:
Moroccans love a medina rooftop and we are all about that (Vancouver: please take note).
If you can imagine a European style of service (relaxed, casual, not in a hurry) then turn that dial up to 11.
Morocco is a hot country. The heat can take the edge off your appetite. It certainly did ours. We were probably on a 1.5 meals a day pace.
Drink the mint tea daily (and do yourself a favour and take it with a little sugar).
Bread with every dish is standard, welcomed, and somehow doesn’t contain calories (at least that’s what the scale tells me).
Morocco is an Islamic country and so a vast majority of places are dry (which is to say, no alcohol service). Places that are not dry: Marrakesh, Casablanca, the Rabat Airport.
Okay, that’s good and all, but what’s Morocco about?
Morocco has long been alongside Egypt when it comes to the jewels of North African travel. Where Egypt is a hit for its ancient history, Morocco offers the experience of a sprawling country hosting an impressive diversity of culture and experience. It combines Berber roots and Arab influence, Islamic formalities, French colonial dependencies, and Spanish intimacies. The landscape undulates through desert, sea (two different ones), mountains, and rolling Tuscan-adjacent pastures. There’s even a town that feels like you might just be in Switzerland.
Enjoying Morocco really means taking advantage of all the different locales and environments and for that you need time. We rushed it in 14 days, but you could spend weeks. Our journey started in Rabat, progressed to Fez, then down into the Merzouga Desert, over to Marrakesh and concluded in Casablanca. It was quick, hectic, and amazing.
What we discovered early on, however, is that the very route we intricately plotted using motorcoach buses, private vans, and even camels, was apparently not nearly as original as we had thought. As it turns out (with some minor alterations) that’s just the way you do Morocco! Like a grand circuit. And it carries my hearty recommendation.
But let’s talk about the food. Morocco has a rich diversity of cuisine which we were excited to sample. Here’s how we ate and drank:
Rabat
As any journey should begin, on the first night we went authentic AND big at Restaurant Ziryab in the Rabat Medina. Rabat is the capital city of Morocco. Decided by the French imperial regime in 1912, the capital stayed in Rabat after Moroccan independence in 1956. Built upon a seaside kasbah, Rabat is a city with a storied history, but it’s also modernizing quickly.
We stayed in the medina, and like many restaurants packed therein, Restaurant Ziryab is easy to miss. But finding it is its own reward. A winding staircase opens onto a gorgeous room, a rooftop, accompanied by live music and stunning two-storey art. Before we’d even tasted the food the experience was exactly what we wanted to set the tone for an immersive Moroccan adventure. When the food hit the table it was bold and memorable. Technically it was four courses but it felt like six or seven. Salads, briwates, tajine, couscous, pastilla, soup. It was way too much food (in the best way). We even tried cow brain (but you don’t have to). As Morocco is a dry country we did the mint tea to pair (it goes with pretty much everything).
This was an indulgence and a fine one at that. You won’t be saving money at Ziryab but with many cheaper meals to enjoy elsewhere this is one worth splurging on.
The next day we did a 180 at Rabat Beach. By the seaside at the edge of the kasbah, the promenade features a row of European style cafes and restaurants (Delizio Caffè Waterfront, Cibo d’Oro, Relais Marin) and also surf schools. Having already zigged we decided to zag and the result was an eminently comfortable spot to pitch up and enjoy the midday sun under an umbrella with great views of the harbour. This was holiday action. I should have brought my swimsuit.
Chefchaouen
Morocco’s Blue Pearl. A dazzling city that combines the narrow, twisting streets of Andalusian hillsides with an iconic coat of city-wide blue paint. The city is truly a spectacle and a fantastic stop for some of the most striking rooftop vistas, including two of our favourites.
In the medina along the Plaza Uta el Hamman we visited the tallest building we could find, our eyes set on a sunny rooftop for a mid-afternoon siesta and snack. Our destination: The Magic Lamp House of Aladin. Spread over six floors and with well over 100 seats the Magic Lamp offers a little bit of just about everything from tajine and kefta, to pizzas and burgers. However you choose to dine make sure to head over here and set up on any of the floors for lunch or dinner and take advantage of the multiple vistas over the plaza and medina. You’ll get one of your defining memories of the city from whichever of the six floors you choose to set up on.
From the rooftop at Magic Lamp you could look up the hillside and see our other rooftop favourite. A twenty-minute walk up the hill and through the narrow cobbled streets, at the top of a hotel and spa, is the Restaurant at Taj Chefchaouen. Okay, now this one is a little bougie… but hear me out. When sunset descends over the mountains, and at that special moment the city’s dozen minarets all light up in neon blue, it’s truly a sight to behold. With an elegant rooftop ambience, live music, and an unbeatable view over Chefchaouen below, there’s a lot to love. Not feeling too hungry we had some nibbles, a couple glasses of mint tea, and just soaked it in.
Fez
When in Morocco (or any other Islamic country, for that matter), make sure to comprehend that Friday is the weekly day of rest. Fez is one of the oldest and most traditional cities in the country meaning its adherence to Islamic faith is with conviction. We didn’t appreciate that fact as we should have and it meant our Friday night was spent toing and froing across the medina, wandering from one closed restaurant to the next. Don’t make the same mistake we did.
Or do, because as scripts like these tend to go, it was that night, in Fez, we found one of our favourite meals of the whole trip.
The Restaurant Fez Lounge is a modest family restaurant. Just a step down off Rue Talaa Kebira it opens into a small square room with tables along the edges and corners and a mirrored pillar in the middle of the room. It’s exactly what you are looking for on a trip to a Moroccan medina; a place proud of its hospitality doing creating an authentic experience without frills. The ambience is intimate and comfortable. The food is delicious. The service is prompt (a huge improvement over elsewhere). It’s undoubtedly a hidden gem.
The menu was small and ordering was easy. We had mint tea, mezze, kefta meatballs, tajine, and even the chicken steak and fries (which might have actually been the best dish). The chebakia at the end had us talking for days.
The bill could have been twice as expensive and we wouldn’t have cared. But at $15 CAD per person it was easily a meal worth coming back for.
Merzouga
If you’re heading to Merzouga like we did then it means you are probably staying a night in the desert at the one of the camps. This is the quintessential Moroccan experience, the one your friends think of when you tell them you are going to Morocco.
It’s not small trek to get from Fez or Marrakesh down to Merzouga (think hours on buses in and out) but when the sun has retreated to rest, far beyond the dunes, and you’re sitting by a roaring fire, with tribal drums pounding, and staring up into a cloudless sky, revealing a galaxy full of stars... it’s the makings of a core memory. So make sure to do it.
We booked at the Ultimate Luxury Camp and despite its name it was actually one of the more affordable options. Our meal that night was included in the price of our accommodation. We arrived at the camp after a 90-minute camel trek across the desert and dinner service began at 7:30, just a few minutes after we arrived. Dinner was served family style and the meal defied expectations. Avocado tartare, fried eggplant with tomato and cheese, kefta meatballs, and cookies and banana to finish. Each dish was thoughtful, well-prepared, and perfectly balanced. Some of the other groups with us had brought bottles of wine with them into the desert. And that was a good idea.
Shortly after dinner, we were invited to the firepit for stargazing and a drum circle. It was eminently memorable.
Our trip in the desert was designed as a good time, not a long time. Not even 12 hours later, we were gone.
Ouarzazate
Ouarzazate is an arid town that has come to be dominated by the Moroccan film industry: the Hollywood of Morocco, if not quite so glamorous. Nearby you can visit sets and settings from Lawrence of Arabia to Gladiator, The Mummy, Babel and more. You can scale the historic kasbah at Aït Benhaddou and imagine yourself like Daenerys Targaryen atop the city of Yunkai, commanding armies of Unsullied, with fantastic 360-degree views.
We made only a small stop in Ouarzazate and enjoyed a dinner at The Full Sun on the Avenue Moulay Rachid. The Full Sun is a deep, two-storey restaurant with seats and tables spilling out onto the promenade. Well lit, open to the street, and proofed with a few TVs to watch live football matches, it operates as a modern come-one, come-all affair with pizzas and pastas on the menu alongside traditional Moroccan dishes.
Marrakesh
Along with Casablanca (made eminently popular by the 1942 film), Marrakesh is the most renowned city in Morocco. Where one of the other ancient cities, Fez, has adopted more of an Arab identity over the centuries, Marrakesh remains built on Berber roots. Thus it is a city that has exposed itself more liberally to a melting pot of local and foreign influence. Culture lives large here, as evidenced by the presence of so many cocktail bars and nightclubs that they may match the number of mosques in the city… (okay, maybe not THAT many).
Rooftops are once again a fixture here and La Pergola at Riad Monceau stands up as one of the heavyweights.
There are two ways to get a spot at La Pergola, the jungle-themed rooftop jazz bar. Make a reservation a few days out. Or show up early to get on the waitlist.
La Pergola is a large, multi-storey restaurant and bar that, in a typical Moroccan style, overlooks its own central courtyard and the riad’s swimming pool. The energy here changes from afternoon to night. In the afternoon it’s cool, casual, and funky, but after night falls and the jazz band comes on at 8 PM it becomes a real vibe. What happens at La Pergola….probably ends up on Instagram, but as you can’t see La Pergola from the outside, while you are there it takes the spirit of an speakeasy-oasis, in the heart of the city, just steps away from the Jemaa el-Fna square.
We ordered a combination of happy hour hummuses and snacks and then pizzas and burgers for dinner. But here’s the thing, you’re not coming to La Pergola for a dining experience. You’re coming for a fun night that changes the pace of your Moroccan adventure. After days of dining at local greasy spoons, at roadside stalls, and in the desert, this was an exciting departure. Our first drinks in over a week, we ordered multiple rounds of cocktails and a pitcher of Blue Majorelle (great idea by the way). It was packed. The people watching was fantastic, the food and drinks flowed, and the nightlife flair was nothing less than enchanting. What started as a casual happy hour on a vibey rooftop ended feeling like we’d entered a Gatsby-infused alternate dimension of what the Moroccan experience may have at one point been, or could yet still become.
And on the topic of rooftops, a shoutout to Ben Jamil where we enjoyed a great Lebanese meal in a much more relaxed and refined setting, also located close to the urban hub of Jemaa el-Fna.
The one meal we had planned for in Marrakesh was Le Petit Cornichon, the #21 ranked restaurant in Middle East/North Africa (MENA) in 2026 according to The 50 (formerly The 50 Best). A French affair on Rue Moulay Ali, it’s one of several restaurants and nightlife spots in one of the city’s more modern neighbourhoods. We dined after dark on the patio and the meal was a remarkable departure from most of what we’ve had before. The restaurant’s design was elegant and modern. The service was quick and attentive. The drinks were refined. The food was well served, well plated and delicious. The Beef Wellington stole the show. It was exactly as good as you’d expect.
Is it weird that there’s not more to say?
I suppose there’s nothing here that needs convincing or defining. It’s an experience - at a high level - that you’d find elsewhere they pride elevated hospitality. It runs up a bill at a similar rate that you’d expect in Canada. I’d certainly give it a recommendation but it didn’t embellish Morocco like many of the other spots.
Ourika Valley
From Marrakesh, do yourself a favour and take a day trip to the Ourika Valley in the Atlas Mountains. If you’re there after the glacial melt has waned and the rivers have receded (September to April) you’ll have the chance for a truly memorable meal. After a hike to one of the impressive local waterfalls, during which you’ll see Barbary macaques clambering with their babies over rooftops and local artisans inviting you to appreciate their wares, you will come to rest by a spectacular riverside.
The river itself runs quick and cool but it’s not by itself much to write home about. What makes the setting truly iconic is the dozen or more restaurants, lined up one after the other, each pressed up against the last, that sit right along both banks of the river. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that the river runs through each restaurant. Every restaurant is much like the last, so which restaurant you end up at doesn’t really matter, but make sure to grab a cushioned seat right at a low-set table right by the water’s edge. You’ll be so close to the water you can literally reach in your hands to flick drops at your friends or dip your feet for a refreshing splash. The food will be good but sitting under the sun (or in our case, a torrential rainstorm) with fresh water rushing by and waving across the river to your other tourmates on the other side is a rare experience you won’t get elsewhere. Surrounded by high mountains on each side it’s a perfect photo op and one you’ll remember for more than just the pics you’ll show your friends and family back home.
Essaouira
In the seaside town of Essaouira, a surfer’s paradise and home to a famous and vibrant wet market, we stumbled into lunch at Ombu Restaurant & Cafe, underneath Morocco’s oldest Ombu tree. The space is iconic. A courtyard built around this sprawling giant of an arbor. It filters a welcome amount of light through its lofty branches and keeps the courtyard pleasantly cool, with the brine of the sea just streets away faintly tickling your nose. The energy is one of a spa or health club and the limited but impactful tapas-style menu doesn’t disagree. Hummuses, grilled carrots and roasted cauliflowers, salads, tapenades and sweet potato fries. It felt more like home than we had been expecting but it also felt sort of perfect in such a far away land, tucked down a lost alley.
Casablanca
We were in Casablanca for all of 14 hours. So what’s there to say?
Well, our apartment was right outside the towering Hassan II Mosque, the largest mosque in Morocco. My recommendation: just go. Walk out onto the plaza, right up against the Atlantic Ocean, and see how small you feel in its shadow.
As for food and drink… we return to where we started. Three seats at a table. A dish placed down at each. A look each to the left and then to the right. A small nod.
Our final meal of the trip was at the magnificent Dar Dada in Casablanca. Hidden behind a large wooden door in a residential neighbourhood, Dar Dada is an elegant and spectacular venue imbued with Moroccan style and iconography. Tables are spread across two floors overlooking a central courtyard, in the style of a riad. We sit beneath the balconies at the edge of the courtyard, with a view of the whole room. A glance around the room reveals impressive artwork, private rooms, plentiful staff all wearing fezes and vests, like bellboys at a grand hotel. On the other side of the courtyard musicians play, steps away from a gorgeous prohibition-era bar.
It may have been that we saved the best for last. Here was the lamb tajine I had been plotting for two weeks and it was exactly as tender and flavourful as I expected. With a few drinks blending the peripheries of the experience, it all came to feel very much like a dream that night.
Was it the best? I’m happy to leave that open.
It was a high point to end on after two weeks of medina meals, desert dining, rooftop bars, and the occasional high-end restaurant.
Morocco gave us a little of everything from the authentic to the elevated (quite literally). We may have had the occasional pizza, just to see how it measured up, but we dipped out toes and tastebuds into every part of Moroccan cuisine (okay, not actually our toes) and it left a bold and immersive memories.
We’ll be back.
AUTHOR: Connor Nechelput
For more food stories like this, check out our weekly newsletter.
