In this blogpost you will find a list of our absolutely favourite places to eat in Marrakech, both for lunch and dinner. Some places in the list will serve traditional Moroccan dishes, while others are more Moroccan fusion and there’s even one or two European-style restaurants for those who are bored of having tagines and couscous twice a day. Definitely also check out our top list of places to visit while in Marrakech for some serious wanderlust.
Comptoir Darna 
Le Palace
1. Comptoir Darna
Starting with an absolute banger, Comptoir Darna is without a doubt one of Marrakech’s hotspots since more than 20 years. It’s the perfect place if you have something to celebrate. We recommend starting your evening with a delicious cocktail in the beautiful patio, before heading inside for a meal and a party.
For those who want a more traditional meal we can highly recommend the assortment of 7 Moroccan salads and a Tajine. If you’re more on the fusion side, the Gyoza-style lobster ravioli is to die for as well as the legendary weeping tiger (sliced beef with mashed potatoes and homemade tiger sauce).
Finish your evening with some Moroccan pastries while watching the oriental live show with bellydancers! An absolute must!
Tip: non-smokers should request a non-smoking table downstairs. A lot of people smoke in restaurants in Marrakech, even inside!
2. Nomad
Our favourite lunchspot in Marrakech is perfectly situated at the famous Rahba Lakdima spice square (place des épices) in the Medina and serves modern Moroccan cuisine. It’s sometimes difficult to find vegetarian or vegan food in Marrakech, but not at Nomad. We love to come here after spending a couple hours walking around in the souks in the morning and have a healthy and refreshing lunch.
We always take a gazpacho to start and cool down from the heat before eating something light like cauliflower roasted in chermoula (delicious!) or for those who want something more substantial the lamb chops or the nomad burger!
Nomad is one of the most famous places to eat in Marrakech and for a good reason. You can’t really go wrong here.
Tip: request a table on the bottom terrace (3rd floor) if you’re going for lunch as you will find most of the shade there but ask for a table on the top terrace (4th floor) if you’re going for dinner for an even better view!
3. Café des Épices
On the other side of the spice square you’ll find a similar type of restaurant as Nomad, albeit a bit more simple. While at Nomad you’ll find heavy tables and metal design chairs, here you’ll find small wooden tables and basic stools. The dishes are also a bit more straightforward, but luckily prices reflect that too.
Le Café des Épices is a great spot to grab a quick bite to eat such as a sandwich or a salad and escape the madness of the medina. The terrace on the top floor is quiet and has a nice view of the roofs of Marrakech. For a healthy choice we would recommend the lentil salad, and for the less healthy choice the kefta sandwich (ground beef)!
Tip: the coffee with cinnamon is excuisite and will give you enough energy to head right back to the souks and shop until you drop.
4. Al Aïn @ Fairmont Royal Palm
Located a 25 minute drive outside Marrakech at the Fairmont Royal Palm hotel, you’ll find their Al Aïn Moroccan restaurant overlooking the golf course and the Atlas mountains. If you’re going for a romantic dinner while in Marrakech, this is the place you should go to!
We’d recommend booking a late afternoon tee time at the golf course, taking a shower at the clubhouse afterwards (trust us, the dressing rooms alone are worth it) and then taking a buggy to the hotel bar for a signature cocktail or two at Le Bar, before heading upstairs to Al Aïn for an indulging meal.
While we haven’t tried all the dishes personally, we’ve talked to many people who ate their the same week we did and everyone loved what they had. Special shoutout to the briouates refreshed, the veggie tagine and the mixed grill, which we found absolutely delicious!
Tip: arrange your own transport as the hotel car to the city centre is more than double the price of a regular taxi. A regular taxi should be no more than 150 MAD, while the hotel car will set you back 350 MAD.
5. Le Palace
Should you get tired of Moroccan cuisine and want to eat some finger-licking good European food while in Marrakech, then Le Palace is the place to be and one of our favourite places to eat in Marrakech. The decor of the place is beautiful and the service is better than any other restaurant in Marrakech.
We shared a mix of starters to begin with which included tomato with buffalo mozarella, seabass carpaccio, veggie springrolls, beef tartare, salmon tartare and beef carpaccio with parmiggiano. Needless to say we were quite full after this but still managed to fit in a delicious lobster spaghetti and equally amazing ravioli with langoustine and foie gras.
Le Palace has a ‘see and be seen’ vibe to it, so if you like to do some people-watching this is the ultimate place to be in Marrakech!
Tip: try the Marrakech mule, a variation on the Moscow mule: divine!
6. Le Grand Café de la Poste
Looking for a lunch spot in Guéliz, the new town? Look no further! Le Grand Café de la Poste is a buzzing place with a French menu in a colonial setting. Particularly popular with expats and tourists, you’ll find a lot of really French food such as escargots, foie gras and a feuilleté of camembert (does it get any more French than this?).
The food is cooked to perfection and the chef makes sure everyone is enjoying their meal by coming out of his kitchen during service and checking in on guests. Not only the food is French, prices are similar to Parisian brasseries, too!
Tip: leave some room for a dessert, as the chocolate moelleux is from another planet!
7. Patisserie Al Jawda
Not really a place to go and eat out, but a place to buy delicious pastries, so we thought we’d include it in our list, too. Located in the new part of town, this little patisserie sells the absolutely best Moroccan pastries and is just the cutest place with the nicest people.
The interior reminds us a bit of a pharmacy, with all the products displayed behind glass and the staff wearing all-white outfits. You can find both sweet and savoury pastries here for a very reasonable price and you’ll have a hard time not eating everything you bought the same day!
Tip: go there towards the end of your Marrakech trip and buy a box to take home. The pastries stay fresh for about two weeks and you can easily take them on the plane in your carry-on.
BE Marrakech rooftop 
BE Marrakech pool
8. BE Marrakech
This isn’t the place to come to for the best food or the most attentive service, but it’s definitely the most instagrammable place to have lunch in Marrakech. This little riad is one of the most photogenic places in Marrakech and for those who don’t sleep here, you can still come and take pictures here by going for lunch.
You can choose to have lunch on the beautiful rooftop, or downstairs at the pool (we’d recommend the pool when it’s hot outside).
Tip: check out our Instagram to get some inspiration of pictures you can take here and don’t forget to empty your sd-card before coming here!
9. La Maison Arabe
Looking for a more refined dining experience surrounded by lights? To be honest it’s been more than 3 years since we last ate here, but we still have beautiful memories of the elegant setting and the food.
The menu and the vibe is strictly Moroccan, but while Moroccan food can sometimes be heavy, the food here definitely is not. The menu isn’t very long and you won’t find much else than Moroccan salads and pastillas as starters and tagines and couscous as mains, but when it’s cooked as well as it is at La Maison Arabe, there’s nothing more to wish for.
Tip: ask for a table by the pool if you want a really romantic dinner
10. Private dining @ Les Deux Tours
Les Deux Tours in the Palmeraie is one of our favourite hotels and also one of our favourite places to eat in Marrakech. It’s a place we always come back to time and time again. The food here is always delicious and reasonably priced (although prices have gone up the last couple of years) and you’ll find many hotel guests staying in to eat at the restaurant.
Lately they have come up with a private dining experience in the gardens, which is amazing. They light hundreds of candles for your solitary table only. If you want to surprise the love of your life with a very romantic dinner, or have something to celebrate with a small group (max 8 people), this should be on top of your list.
There’s only a set menu available, so make sure to liaise with the chef in advance. It’s important he knows about your dietary restrictions and allergies so he can make something fitting.
Tip: the private dining is only available for one table per evening, so reservations should be made well beforehand.
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