Local Cuisine, Marrakesh

We had drinks and coffee on the roof terrace and in one of the lounges in Yacout, which is one of the most spectacular-looking restaurants I've ever seen. It's contained in a palazzo-style house on a very unassuming pedestrian side street in the medina. After you walk through the door in the wall to get into the restaurant, you can see why this is one of the most celebrated places in Marrakesh. Even if you don't go to eat there, try to get in for drinks just so you can wander around its four floors and roof terrace, all of which are filled with gorgeous furniture and fountains.

If you take the time to find this restaurant you will be rewarded. The minute you are seated in your cushion strewn booth, either out of the sun or away from a chilly evening air, you can relax and lap up the atmosphere. We visited in February so the cloaked staff gave us a heater and additional blankets to keep warm once the sun went down. The menu, written on 2 large blackboards, was brought to our table and explained very competently in English. Service was slick and the meal wonderful. The fact that this was an alcohol free experience made no difference to us. At the end of the night the staff made sure we knew how to find our way back to the square and were quite willing to show us the way. Admittedly this was not one of their busiest nights but we thought it was a nice touch.
Read the menu for yourself at website below.

Favorite Dish: Read the menu for yourself, at website below, everything tasted great. Duo chocolate & candied apple dessert wonderful.

Usually, I like to find places to eat that are busy. If lots are people are eating there, it must be ok is my logic. I had read about this place and it sounded good. This place probably had the slowest servive I have ever seen. Not that we had anywhere special to go, but when you are ready to eat....you are ready to eat.
There was only one other table occupied until we arrived, which makes you think....hmm..we will probably be served fairly quickly. Big mistake. Maybe 45 minutes after ordering we were served, which was almost ok, as we sat outside and could watch the world go by.
Three out of four of us were quite happy with our meal. Steak au poivre, veal and chicken were good, but the carbonara was very bland.

Favorite Dish: I can only speak as I find, and the steak with peppar sauce was good. slightly on the neuvo cuisine side of 'size wise', but very good.

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This place wasn't just a restaurant. If you enjoy the culture and the music, it gave you so much. The balance was right for the tourist experience and an authentic taste of Morocco, both in food and live entertainment.
It's very easy to overlook the the architecture of a restaurant, but this used to be a palace. The attention to detail on the tiles and carving is worth a visit in its own rights.
The service was superb.
This is not the cheapest night out you can find, with set menus between 390-500MD, but it is well worth it.
Our starter of Moroccan salad (and i am not even a salad eater) was the best I had ever had), I post a photo of the simple yet tasty options. Followed by a meat dish and then fruit dessert.
Drinks were typical prices for hotels/restaurants, small beers for 35MD, vodka at 55MD.
Entertainment was good. There were three groups singing/playing traditional Moroccan/Berber music, belly dancers and a lady dancing with a tray of lit candles on her head, (and by the way you, you can smoke in there).
Well worth the price for the entertainment alone.

Favorite Dish: Moroccan salad. I hate salad, but it is a feast of choice, so many dishes including several dips. As a starter, I could eat it all night.

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I have to admit that I'm nervous about this dinner. I've arranged a reservation at Al Baraka Restaurant sight-unseen over the Internet for my travel group. Planning a fancy meal for people at a place you've never personally been is always sketchy at best. I spoke to the manager through e-mails and established a firm price of 25 Euros ($33 USD) per head for a set menu plus the cost of drinks. I told him there would be 15 of us, but after cancellations, there are now only 9. That worries me as well because the price could change as a result of our party shrinking. Also concerning me is that folks may have a hard time finding this restaurant. Although just steps away from the Djemma el-Fna and visible from it, people can get distracted in the plaza's evening chaos and easily miss a doorway. I made sure to send everyone a map in advance. Anyway, I hope it's nice.
Walking downstairs into the restaurant I see a beautiful Moroccan rug on the floor leading to a large open-air courtyard containing palm trees, flowers, a gorgeous tiled fountain, tables with linen, lit candles, hanging ornamental lamps, sofas with pillows. Whoa, it's an oasis is here! I exhale a huge sigh of relief. A maitre'd greets me and I tell him I have reservations. "One moment," he says. He departs briefly and returns with the manager. The big, smiling man shakes my hand firmly, "Ah, Mr. Edward--welcome! We have been expecting you!" He leads me and my three friends to a corner table--tucked away, private and cozy. "The rest of our part is still coming," I tell the man, "but I'm sorry--there's only 9 of us now, not 15." He chuckles, "This is no problem. No problem at all! ...Drinks?"
As the rest of my group trickles in, everyone has the same comment, "Wow Ed, this is nice!!" I beam with pride, pretending I knew what I was doing all along.
Over the next 4 hours, we are served a veritable feast fit for a sultan! ...Moroccan salads, pickles, olives, bread, beets, lemon tangine chicken, beef-almond-date tangine, fresh fruits of all varieties, wine, mint tea, pastries, cookies. Food just keeps coming and coming and we begin laughing at the extravagance and quantity of it it all. It's all very good but my favourite has to be these really salty pickled green peppers; I've never tasted anything quite like them.
Traditional Moroccan music has been playing all night by two live musicians and I enjoy it tremendously (with the exception of one annoying instrument which makes a crashing sound--luckily it was only used for two songs.) As we're enjoying desert, a dark-haired belly-dancer with sultry eyes comes to our table and performs. She is as scrumptious to look at as the food was to eat! As she dances, and flexes her stomach, my friend Allan can't help but exclaim aloud, "Oh my God!," every now and then.
As the night comes to a close, I can tell we're all in drowsy-dreamlike states--hypnotized by the music, bellies full, heads warm and fuzzy with wine... The manager asks how everything was and everyone compliments him and shakes his hand. He charges us exactly what we'd agreed on--25 Euros per person plus extra for the four bottles of wine. We leave him with a generous tip for the staff and the nine of us venture happily out into the moonlight Marrakeshian night.

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Restaurant Chez Chegrouni is another place with terraces overlooking the square. The food was excellent at budget prices. Our meal of lamb chops, for my wife, and beef kebabs for me, both with chips, rice, and olives, plus a yoghurt and a glass of sprite, came to 95 dirhams (about £8) for everything. The menu also included tajines , couscous, and a number of other Moroccan dishes. The waiter brings you a small piece of headed paper on which you write what you want from the menu, this then serves as your bill. The view of the square was maybe not quite as close as the Argana, but the food was a bit better we felt, and better priced.

Friendly staff and a range of Moroccan dishes await the visitor to this café. The best thing about it is the absolutely fantastic view you get from the tables on the terraces. At night you get the full effect of the Jemaa-el-Fna, the smoke, colour, and noise. We both had a chicken and lemon tajine for our main course and enjoyed it. The cost of our meal was 144 dirhams. Of the 2 cafes we had meals in on Jemaa-el-Fna, we thought that Chez Chegrouni had slightly better food, and lower prices, and the view was almost as good.

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If you find yourself in the Bab Doukkala area, possibly returning from a visit to the Majorelle Gardens, La Maison Arabe Hotel is a perfect place to stop for tea. We had already noted this place as it had been recommended by Vter Sue Stone. Although expensive by Marrakech standards, mint tea for two was only 77 Dirhams (about £6.25 at the time) including service. As well as the tea there was a plate of 10 small cakes. We sat on the terrace by the swimming pool. A very relaxing experience in elegant surroundings.