The best of Marrakech.
Getting to that point in the Springtime when you're fed up the sun hasn't appeared yet? I've got the perfect place.
Marrakech has my heart. So much so that I was loitering around real estate offices on the last day of my recent trip working out just how feasible it would be to buy a riad and run it as a guesthouse (the answer? Not feasible but a girl can dream). The city has a very exciting food scene right now, with new modern eateries opening all the time to complement the plethora of traditional fast service and no-frills options dotted throughout the medina (the narrow winding lanes that make up Marrakesh’s original fortified citadel). You’re spoilt for choice when it comes to accommodation options and you’ll be surprised how luxurious you can be for a relatively small cost per night. Just make sure you’re booking excess luggage for your flight home to account for all the homeware you’ll have accrued from the souks. It really is an interior-lover’s dream.
Before we kick off the recs though, here are my headline top tips for how to have a great experience —
Get a local SIM card at the airport for ease of access to mobile data but don’t rely on Google Maps. Just trust it might take you a little longer to get to places but you can enjoy getting a bit lost. 20GB of data will cost you 20eur cash from one of the stands by the airport exit after baggage reclaim.
Most places don’t accept card and the Moroccan Dirham is a closed currency that you can only access when you’re in the country. You can find cashpoints outside the medina but there are a few at the post office in Jemaa el Fna (but they run out of cash later in the day!!)
However delicious the fruits on the carts look, don’t risk it. We passed by many carts with huge, juicy strawberries and freshly squeezed pomegranate juice which smelt incredible. However, when you’re only in town for a few days, you don’t want to spend them with a sore tummy. My general rule of thumb for any ‘street food’ is seeing where the locals are getting their food from and going there.
Be wary of accepting any and all offers of help. Now, Moroccans are some of the most kind hearted and generous folk you could meet but there are definitely some hustlers out there. Just keep your wits about you and walk on if someone says a street ahead is closed and they can take you an alternative route.
Bartering is part of the culture. It can be pretty exhausting but make sure you are agreeing costs before you embark on anything. This certainly goes for taxi rides (you can find info online about the maximum you should be paying for trips from the car-free medina to other places in the city). You may even end up like me and be asked if you have Berber ancestry thanks to your knack for haggling.
Eat & Drink
This wasn’t even on my radar ahead of our most recent trip (which just goes to show leaving room on your itinerary for somewhere you happen upon or is recommended to you is a must!), but as I was having a flick through the NYT’s recent 36 hours in Marrakech I saw this bar and restaurant in the Gueliz neighbourhood (Marrakech’s more modern district which feels like worlds apart from the hectic medina) came recommended and we liked it so much on our first visit we went again on our final night. Yes, as the name suggests it even has a petanque court. Side note — I've decided 2024 is the year the petanque becomes cool. Anyone want to make up an Edinburgh team? I reckon we can make the area where Stockbridge Market goes work as a court. Serious applicants only. It’s from the same team as the popular spots Nomad, Le Jardin and Café des Epices (all of which I’ve been to and can recommend, except Nomad which I haven’t got round to visiting yet. One for our next visit). We only sampled the cocktails here but I saw a neighbouring tables’ food arriving and the pizzas in particular looked very good.
If you’re after something authentic and hectic this is your place (but — disclaimer — if you’re vegetarian I’d pass on it). I’m not going to pretend this restaurant in the street known as Mechoui Alley (named after the very dish they’re cooking up) is some sort of hidden gem — you’ll find it recommended in a lot of city guides and it has photos of famous patrons including Gordon Ramsay and Phil Rosenthal adorning the walls — but don’t let the fact that this is a popular place for fellow tourists put you off. Their speciality is mechoui lamb, slow roasted in underground clay ovens overnight for at least 12 hours, served alongside local bread and cumin salt. The meat is cut up and weighed downstairs (if you tip your server after your meal, they’ll take you over to the ovens and prep area where you can watch the whole process which is mildly alarming, fascinating and very chaotic in the best way) so you’ll never be sure exactly what part of the animal you’re served but you can be certain it’ll be tender, juicy and rich with all the slow roasted fat. The cumin salt on top makes for the most glorious bite. Make sure you arrive early — we got there at around 12.30pm and were seated at a table on the rooftop terrace overlooking Jemaa El Fnaa but by the time we left at 1.15pm there was a queue down the street. They’re also known to sell out around 3pm. Oh, and bring some hand wipes with you! There is a bathroom to wash your hands after but if you’ve done it right you’ll be leaving gloriously greasy.
The rooftop to be seen in at sunset. I was woo’ed away from El Fenn’s classic charm by the Nobu rooftop on one evening of our trip (I thought I’d go big to celebrate reaching 100k Instagram followers!) and I majorly came to regret it as it was impossible to get the servers attention to take our order and the cocktails were overpriced and lacklustre. Take my advice — don’t bother. El Fenn is a much better choice. A great drinks list featuring cocktails and Moroccan wines, a selection of different seating areas, excellent service and a delicious selection of nibbles to snack on brought to your table for you to enjoy with your drinks. They don’t take reservations for couples for drinks so I’d recommend arriving an hour or so before sunset to guarantee you a seat for golden hour.