The fusion of Occidental and African cooking styles imparts a distinct and spicy flavour to Moroccan cuisine.
Meals, especially dinner, may last for hours, typically beginning with a vegetable salad or b'stilla (meat and almond filled pastry cooked with onions and covered in a sweet glaze).
The dining event traditionally consists of numerous specialty plates. Meat mixed with sweet ingredients, is a very important element of Moroccan cuisine. Beef skewers are common and often served with a pepper hot sauce called harissa . Cous cous is served in many different ways, though traditionally with vegetables and mutton. Moroccans usually eat cous cous on Friday, their Holy day, but it is almost always served at some point during a meal.
Tagine, or tangia, is a specialty dish originally made popular by workers who would stew meat or fish mixed with sweet fruits in terra cotta dishes buried in hot ashes. Tagines are made of meat, fowl, or seafood, and fresh seasonal vegetables or fruit, and flavoured with exotic herbs and spices. Tender cubes of lamb or beef are simmered to melting point with prunes, honey and sesame seeds in a sauce lightly tinged with cinnamon. Tagines are served from a communal dish set in the middle of the table, and chunks of warm 'kesra' are used to mop up the sauces.
Mechoui is lamb roasted slowly over a wood fire until tender. Other typical specialities include: harira, a rich soup, and pastilla, a pigeon-meat pastry made from dozens of different layers of thick flaky dough.
Of the numerous varieties of Moroccan dessert pastries, some of the most popular include kaab el ghzal, and griouch. Also briouates prepared with honey and almonds are not to be missed. The ghoriba variety is covered in almonds or sesame seeds and mhanncha is sprinkled with cinnamon.
Most Moroccan meals end with trays of fresh, seasonal fruit. In December, Morocco's famed tangerines (named from the city of Tangier) appear on every table. In the spring they are replaced with peaches, pears, and cherries grown in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. In summer, nothing beats slices of sweet, vine-ripened watermelons.
The national drink is mint tea made with green tea, fresh mint and sugar. It is very refreshing and its consumption is an integral part of Moroccan social courtesy. Coffee is made very strong, except at breakfast.
Bars can have either waiter or counter service. Laws on alcohol are fairly liberal (for non-Muslim visitors) and bars in most tourist areas stay open late. Wines, beers and spirits are widely available. Locally produced wines, beers and mineral waters are excellent and good value, but imported drinks tend to be expensive.
Recommended Restaurants
Up to €15 - Nid' Cigogne
60 Place des Tombeaux Saadiennes, Medina. Tel 024 382 092
An unprepossessing place from the outside, Nid' Cigogne is a godsend, offering shaded respite and a good menu when the going gets hot down in the Kasbah. It's handily located opposite the Saadian tombs and set over several terraces and levels. The menu is surprisingly extensive and inexpensive.
Up to €30 - Grand Caf De La Poste
127 Avenue Mohammed V. Tel 024 433 038
By far the trendiest place to lunch in Marrakech, the Grand Caf De La Poste is a direct emulation of a classic Twenties French bistro, complete with rattan chairs, charming outdoor terrace and an elegant, spacious interior. The terrace is the most popular place to hang out - it's here where many of the city's well-to-do converge to take advantage of the sophisticated menu, impeccable service and congenial atmosphere.
Up to €50 - Dar Moha
81 Rue Dar El Bacha, Medina. Tel 024 386 400
This former royal riad is now an ultra-romantic establishment that is considered by many to be the premier dining spot in town. The cuisine here - traditional Moroccan with a Moha twist-is flawlessly fantastic and healthy. If it's warm try to dine outside, where tables surround a gorgeously luminescent pool and create a beautifully romantic ambience.
