The Moroccan dishes to try first are tagine, Friday couscous, pastilla, harira soup, slow-cooked tanjia in Marrakech and mechoui roast lamb, followed by mint tea. Most meals are eaten with bread instead of cutlery, lunch is the main meal, and pork is absent because the country is Muslim.
The essential dishes
| Dish | What it is | Where and when |
|---|---|---|
| Tagine | Stew cooked slowly in a conical clay pot of the same name | Everywhere, every day |
| Couscous | Steamed semolina with vegetables, chickpeas and meat | Traditionally Friday lunch |
| Pastilla (bastilla) | Thin crisp pastry filled with pigeon or chicken, almonds, egg and cinnamon, dusted with sugar | A Fes speciality; seafood version on the coast |
| Harira | Tomato soup with lentils, chickpeas, herbs and a little meat | Evenings, and to break the fast in Ramadan |
| Tanjia | Beef or lamb with preserved lemon and cumin, cooked for hours in a clay urn in the embers of a hammam furnace | Marrakech |
| Mechoui | Whole lamb roasted in a pit oven, sold by weight with salt and cumin | Marrakech medina at lunchtime, and at celebrations |
| Rfissa | Shredded flatbread with chicken, lentils and fenugreek | Home cooking, family occasions |
Tagine is a method, so the name on the menu tells you the filling. The three you will meet most are chicken with preserved lemon and green olives, lamb or beef with prunes and almonds, and kefta, which is meatballs in tomato sauce with an egg cracked on top. A vegetable tagine is available almost everywhere.
Bread, salads and small plates
Round flat loaves called khobz come with every meal and serve as your fork. In villages you may get tafarnout, baked in a clay oven, which is worth asking for.
A meal in a riad or family home often starts with several cooked salads served together:
- Zaalouk: smoky mashed aubergine with tomato, garlic and cumin.
- Taktouka: roasted green peppers and tomato.
- Carrot salad: cooked carrots with cumin, garlic and parsley.
- Bissara: thick dried broad bean soup with olive oil and cumin, a cheap winter breakfast, especially in the north.
Street food worth trying
Street food is where prices are lowest and turnover highest. A simple rule is to eat where local families are queuing and where food is cooked in front of you.
- Msemen and harcha: square layered pancakes and semolina griddle cakes, eaten with honey or soft cheese at breakfast.
- Brochettes: small skewers of beef, chicken or liver grilled over charcoal and stuffed into bread.
- Grilled sardines: Morocco is one of the world's largest sardine producers; try them in Essaouira or along the Atlantic coast.
- Maakouda: fried potato cakes, often sold in a sandwich.
- Snail soup: small snails in a peppery herbal broth, sold from carts in the evening.
- Sfenj: unsweetened ring doughnuts, fried to order in the morning.
The evening food stalls on Jemaa el-Fna are the best-known place to try several of these at once. Our Marrakech travel guide explains how the square works and what else to see nearby.
Regional specialities along the tour routes
Food changes as you cross the country, which is one of the pleasures of travelling overland.
- Marrakech: tanjia and mechoui.
- Fes: pastilla, and a refined cooking style with sweet and savoury combinations.
- Atlantic coast: grilled fish, fish tagine with chermoula marinade, oysters at Oualidia.
- High Atlas villages: Berber omelette cooked in a tagine with tomato and spices, barley bread, walnuts.
- Rissani and Merzouga: medfouna, a stuffed flatbread filled with spiced meat, onion and herbs, often called Berber pizza.
- Souss region, around Agadir and Taroudant: argan oil, and amlou, a spread of almonds, argan oil and honey.
On a Sahara desert tour from Marrakech you typically eat tagine or grilled meat at roadside restaurants for lunch and a set dinner at the hotel or camp. A private day trip to Essaouira is the easy way to add a fresh fish lunch at the port.
Sweets and drinks
Mint tea is green tea brewed with fresh spearmint and a generous amount of sugar, poured from a height to make a light foam. It is offered as a welcome in homes, shops and camps, and accepting a glass is polite. You can ask for it with less sugar.
Fresh orange juice is cheap and good in season. Avocado and almond milkshakes are sold at juice bars. Coffee is usually espresso or "nous nous", half coffee and half milk.
Desserts are often just seasonal fruit. Pastries come with tea: gazelle horns filled with almond paste, ghriba biscuits, and chebakia, a sesame and honey pastry associated with Ramadan.
Alcohol is sold in licensed restaurants, hotels and some supermarkets, not in ordinary cafés. Morocco produces its own wine, mainly around Meknes.
Table manners and practical tips
- Shared dishes are eaten from the section in front of you, using the right hand and a piece of bread.
- Wash your hands before eating; in traditional homes a jug and basin are brought round.
- Lunch is served from about 12:30 to 15:00. Dinner is late, often after 20:00.
- A tip of around 10 percent is appreciated in restaurants. Carry small notes and coins; see our Morocco currency and money guide.
- Drink bottled or filtered water if your stomach is sensitive, and be cautious with salads washed in tap water at very basic places.
- If you have a food allergy, write it down in French and Arabic and show it; nuts, sesame and wheat are widely used.
Vegetarian, vegan and halal
All meat served in ordinary Moroccan restaurants is halal. Vegetarians eat well on vegetable tagine, couscous with seven vegetables, salads, bissara, lentils and white beans (loubia). Do ask whether couscous or soup was cooked in meat stock, as it often is. Vegans should also check for butter, egg and honey. On a private tour, tell your driver-guide on day one so hotels and camps can be informed ahead.
Frequently asked questions
Is Moroccan food spicy?
It is aromatic more than hot. Cumin, ginger, turmeric, paprika, saffron and cinnamon dominate, and chilli paste (harissa) is served on the side.
What is ras el hanout?
A spice blend whose name means "head of the shop", the seller's best mixture. Recipes vary and can include more than a dozen spices.
Can I take a cooking class?
Yes. Classes in Marrakech and Fes usually start with a market visit and end with eating the tagine you made, lasting about half a day.
What is a typical Moroccan breakfast?
Bread, msemen, olive oil, honey, jam, olives, eggs and soft cheese, with mint tea, coffee and orange juice.
Ask Discover Morocco Tour for a route with the food stops you care about through the contact page; the custom quote is free and comes within 24 hours.