Morocco Traveler’s Recommendations of the Best Places to Dine in Fes. LA MAISON BLEUE La Maison Bleue is one of Fes’ oldest and most stylish traditional Moroccan Fasis restaurants. Couscous, Sheep Brains, Fasis Salads and Pastilla with Powered Sugar are offered at pre fix or ala carte while you sit surrounded by zellij tile, vaulted ceilings and are serenaded by Gnaoua Music.
Address: 2, Place de l’Istiqlal
Phone:+ 212-5-35-74-18-43 RIAD FES L’AMBRE Located in Riad Fes, a five-star Moroccan Modern Hotel in the old medina, L’Ambre offers a gastronomic Fasis experience and a sophisticated take on Moroccan cuisine. The food there is refresh contrast from the homestyle cooking and presentation offered by other local Moroccan restaurants. The setting is beautiful and expensive relative to other restaurants in the old city. The ambiance, food and service are excellent as is the cuisine. Address: Derb Ben Slimane, Zerbtana
Phone: +212-535-947-610 LA MAISON BLANCHE This Fasis French restaurant wins guests over on extremely chic and sophisticated food and décor. The menu changes with the seasons and is overseen by French chef, Julien Louis. It features a smallish range of fusion food from the Mediterranean and Morocco which is beautifully presented.
From Linguini Foie Gras as a starter to a prawn dish and entrecote steaks one cannot go wrong. Another of their specialties is the tempura vegetables. To escape a night of Moroccan cuisine and go Mediterannean Le Maison Blanche is the best choice. They also boast a complete wine list with excellent selections of Moroccan and French wines plus champagnes and some new world’s wines. Fresh, delicious and nouvelle would best describe the overall experience.
Address: 12 Rue Ahmed Chaouki, Fes Ville Nouvelle (opposite Hotel Jnan Palace). THE RUINED GARDEN This new restaurant is attached to Riad Idrissy and set in the romantic remains of a crumbling riad, with mosaic floors, fountains and exotic foliage. After 7 years of restoration, it is like stepping back in history with modern touches.
Stop by for lunch for a fresh Moroccan style salad such as zaalouk (smoky aubergine, tomato and paprika puree) and street food such as sardines marinated in chermoula, and makuda, spiced battered potato cakes, all cooked to order in the garden. Afternoon tea is a blend of English and Moroccan, including tea made from homegrown mint and wormwood. After 7pm, the garden is open for dinner by prior booking only, offering mechoui lamb (anything from a leg to a whole animal) cooked for seven hours over charcoal, and Roman style banquets. Address: 3 Derb Idrissy, Sidi Ahmed Chaoui, Siaj 30110, Medina Phone: +212-649 19 14 10 PALAIS DAR TAZI Palais De Fes serves authentic Moroccan cuisine, considered among the best of the best in Fes. Located in the heart of the medina, the restaurants terrace offers stunning views of the winding streets. A must is this restaurants pastilla (pigeon pie) which is a tender meat soaked in aromatic sauce and layered with vegetables, raisns and local spices beneath a pastry crust sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar.
Address: 5 Makhfia Ech Cif
Phone: +212-55-761-590 DAR ROUMANA Dar Roumana means House of Pomegranate. This Riad and restaurant offers creative Moroccan cuisine by a French-trained chef who is an American, Jennifer Smith. The restaurant is located in a beautiful Riad and Smith offers a combination of Fassis and Modern Moroccan cuisine with French twist. Reservations are required. Address: 30 Derb el Amer, Zkak Roumane
Phone: 212-35-741-637 RESTAURANT NUMERO 7 Stepping into Restaurant Numero 7, is like waking up on a different continent. In contrast to the medinas’ chaotic winding alleyways, the design is chic/modern done up in black and white with touches of silver. To take the edge off the stark color scheme, a tranquil fountain bubbles and fish glide along in a pond as classic tunes hum along in the background.
The menu serves up clean, French – Mediterranean cuisine influenced by the local Moroccan market offerings. Bruno, chef and co-owner, shops daily for ingredients for dishes ranging from beef tenderloin to fish to fresh pasta. Patrons constantly rave about the desserts, apparently the lemon meringue pie is the tallest pie ever! This is also one of the only places that serve wine inside the medina. Address: 7 Zkak Rouah
Phone: +212-679 44 25 22 RESTAURANT NEJJARINE Opened in 2006, Jalil Laghmri’s restaurant is the perfect spot for an authentic Moroccan feast in the medina for lunch or for dinner. As the name suggests, this 100-year-old building is located just steps from the Nejjarine Museum of Wooden Arts & Crafts. Guests can dine in either a covered courtyard of Fassi zellij and intricately carved and painted cedar, or in any of the three large salons surrounding the courtyard, furnished with Moroccan-style lounges and silk cushions. The four-course meals include a delicious meze of Moroccan salads, tagines, or chicken or pigeon pastilla, accompanied with couscous and followed by fresh fruits and mint tea. For a breath of fresh air, head up to the rooftop terrace for a fantastic medina view. Classy ambience and great food! Address: Nejarine, Medina Phone: 06-25-90-52 CAFE CLOCK Café Clock ticks to the rhythms to multiplying metronomes. Mike Richardson, the man behind Clock’s mechanics restored a 250 year old courtyard house and brought to Fes a cultural zone that many are desperate to set their watches to. This eclectic café-cum-restaurant offers delicious breakfast, lunch and dinner. Stop for tea and scrumptious homemade cakes (especially the lemon tart) on the roof terrace with its stunning view of the Bou Inania minaret, browse in the book exchange and view the art-filled walls. Try the crunchy salads, camel burgers or fresh fish. Cafe Clock also boasts a wonderful cooking school. Address: 7 Derb el-Margana The Medina Phone: 061-183-264 KAI TAI Opposite the Hotel Jnan Palace in Fes is a new direction for the former Kiotori. The fusion of Thaï cuisine and Japanese dishes is reflected in a Zen, tranquil and linear decor and the spaciousness of its many salons. KaÏ TaÏ now offers superb Thai cuisine alongside its Japanese specialities: sushi, maki, sashimi and California rolls. An excellent alternative as a change from Moroccan cuisine. Address: 12, rue Ahmed Chaouki
Phone: +212-535-65- 700 FEZ CAFE – LES JARDINS DES BIEHN The Fez Cafe is at the new guesthouse, Le Jardin des Biehn and is open to non-guests and offers attentive service amidst a warm ambience. The restaurant is quirky and fun it feels like you one has just stepped into Alices” Wonderland – bright colors, unmatched seating and interesting adornments surrounding you from around the world. For fine weather days or evenings, there are tables outside looking onto the beautiful garden.
There are two menus – a four-course offering including meat or fish, and a simpler one of three courses featuring a pasta dish. At lunch time, there are also salads. The chef, Hicham, has an interesting repertoire: Pasta dressed with a light, creamy sauce of preserved lemons, tender leg of lamb stuffed with a duxelles and served with mashed potatoes with peas are favorites and you can also choose from an a la carte menu. Address: 13 Akbat Sbaa Douh, Medina Phone: +212-664 64 76 79 FES EST GESTES This tea house, restaurant and art gallery offers a charming place to relax for lunch, brunch or dinner in their garden, salon or library. Set in a colonial house and garden, Fes Est Gestes hosts cultural events, exhibitions of painters and events concerts throughout the years. The staff is attentive and the service good. There is a range of several course dinners offered along with a la carte. This is also the perfect place for tea and biscuits / cookies while exploring the medina, Fes El Bali with a historical guide or on your own. Address: 39 Arsat El Hamoumi – Zita Phone: +212-535-638-532 RIAD PALAIS AMANI A former palace, Palais Amani is an Art Deco dream. Spectacular gardens encompass the patio area where guests can sit down at one of the tables surrounding a bubbling fountain in the courtyard to a cosmopolitan lunch or enjoy an evening of the 3 course set menu.
Known for excellent high class Moroccan cuisine preparing traditional yet inventive dishes with a modern flair and presentation, reservations must be made ahead of time. A rooftop bar with sweeping views of the Medina is a perfect place for an apres dinner cocktail. Address: 12 Derb el Miter, Oued Zhoune, Medina
Phone: +212-535 63 32 09
PALAIS MNEBHI The Mnebhi Palace is an ancient monument in Imperial in Fes. The best Moroccan craftsmen and artists spent fifteen years to build this magnificent work of art. The palace has been converted into a restaurant that serves up a fabulous variety of Moroccan salads as an entree, then for the main course, a hearty meal of couscous and lamb, chicken to follow and orange cannelle for desert. Palais Mebhi was originally the home of former vizier Mnebhi (former vizier of Sultan 17th century). Address: 15 rue Souiket Ben Safi
Phone: Not Listed
Category: Best Of, Restaurants: Where to Eat in Morocco
