54 Best Restaurants in Rabat and Casablanca, Morocco

Loved by locals and visitors alike, Dar Naji is one of the city's most authentically Moroccan, medina-based restaurants and features interesting dishes more often found in Moroccan homes. Look for trid (soft layers of pastry layered with a meaty sauce) and medfouna (a rustic stuffed bread). Prices are reasonable, and the salads, tagines, and couscous dishes are top quality. 

In the stylish Hotel L'Iglesia, La Capitainerie has tables that spill out onto the esplanade as well as a lovely dining room that highlights local tradition by displaying numerous period objects. The menu revolves around seafood with a Moroccan edge; you can order à la carte or choose a fixed-price menu; both change daily. There's a decent wine list as well as a bar area for evening drinks.

Even if you're not staying at La Sultana, you can indulge in a leisurely lunch at its shaded wooden terrace right on the sand. The restaurant specializes in fresh shellfish from local suppliers; the oysters, clams and spider crabs are delicious, so is the just-caught fish and organic veggies plucked from their own garden. There's a great wine list, too.

A place to see and be seen, this stylish restaurant-bar-club, perched on a clifftop beneath the El Hank Lighthouse, comes with spectacular ocean views. The modern Mediterranean menu puts the focus on fresh fish, and quality is high, with a lively tapas bar that draws a cocktail- and champagne-loving crowd until the early hours. Book ahead to request a table on the terrace or next to a panoramic window.

With its beautiful stained-glass ceiling, marble floors, sparkling chandeliers, white linen tablecloths, and sumptuous red-velvet chairs, an evening at the Hôtel Le Doge’s fine-dining Moroccan restaurant is like stepping back into the opulence of the Art Deco era. Perfectly prepared dishes include lamb shank with prunes and almonds and a sinful pastilla drenched with honey and served with orange-blossom ice cream. 

With decor featuring a long leather banquette, retro-style chairs, and a wall of family-style photos and old plates, this homey spot run by two sisters, Zineb and Malika, is a wonderful find, though easy to miss: it's up a few steps in a lovely old house. The French menu is limited but exquisite, featuring lots of fish.

Another offering in the buzzing district of Gauthier, Le Rossignol is billed as a French restaurant but has all sorts of interesting dishes thanks to a chef who has worked all over the world. You'll find Lebanese meze and chorizo mac 'n' cheese, excellent salads, fish dishes, and a very upscale burger, not to mention great breakfast options. 

Sliding glass windows run the length of this restaurant, and open onto the beach between Temara and Skhirat. The inventive menu features Oualidia oysters, fish or prawn carpaccio, and plenty of fresh fish, as well as some Spanish dishes such as paella and fish fiduea (sort of a paella made with noodles instead of rice). There's a tapas bar, too---more rustic than the main restaurant---serving cocktails to the after-work crowd.

The setting at Lily's is quite magnificent, with carved wood screens, butterflies on the ceiling, bamboo growing through the wooden floors, and spectacular sea views through every window. The food is pretty spectacular, too, featuring Japanese, Thai, Korean, and Vietnamese dishes.

A branch of the popular French café, bakery, and restaurant group, this Paul location is in the beautiful Modernist Villa Zevaco, with a fabulous garden. The milk shakes and desserts are decadent, and the rustic breads are beloved throughout the city; for something more substantial, the pastas, burgers, steaks, and fish are all good, too. 

The sophisticated restaurant in The Repose riad is a destination in its own right, whether you dine in the courtyard or on the plant-filled roof terrace. The chef uses local ingredients to prepare an entirely vegetarian menu (rare in Morocco); there's a daily-changing, prix-fixe, five-course menu (250 DH), and lighter meals available. Reservations required for nonguests.

This boat-shape fish restaurant next to the port is the most famous place to eat in town. The splendid food isn’t cheap, but it’s worth every last dirham because the chef insists on using top-quality ingredients and each dish is crafted with imagination and sophistication. If you’ve got room after sumptuous starters and mains, don’t miss the heavenly desserts. 

Set among verdant gardens, this enchanting eatery offers a menu that encapsulates the Brittany region of France: think luscious salads and buckwheat crepes oozing with all you can imagine, as long as it's (mostly) French. The experience is made even better by the fantastic service and the pleasant, knowledgeable staff. Alcohol is served, and if you're looking for picnic fare, there's a wonderful array of charcuterie and cheeses on your way into the restaurant.

One of the swanky restaurants in Salé's modern marina, Al Marsa—meaning "port" in Arabic—serves Spanish food with a Moroccan twist in a glass-enclosed dining room with an expansive terrace overlooking the Bou Regreg River. The menu revolves around fish and seafood—perhaps paella, octopus, or a platter of fruits des mer. Produce is fresh, and the dishes imaginative. 

Casablanca's most cherished Moroccan restaurant has been serving up delicious fare since 1958. Its dining rooms have a quintessential Moroccan style and there's a lovely patio where you can dine under a centuries-old tree. The excellent cooking has a refined touch; the salads are delectable, and the tagines bubble away with the most sensational aromas. It serves great cocktails, too. 

Imported 100% Arabica specialty coffee beans and top-notch baristas make this Australian and Moroccan-owned spot a good place to settle in for a coffee and cake, alongside the all-day breakfast or any of the inventive salads, sandwiches, and pastas. The service is efficient and the vibe is laid-back.

For a supreme culinary experience, head to Brasserie la Bavaroise where the menu is awash with delectable French favorites, sumptuous steaks, sophisticated fish dishes, and beguiling desserts. The restaurant has a contemporary look that's elegant without being stuffy, and an atmosphere to match.

Spread over several floors, this cute café serves tasty Breton-inspired buckwheat crepes, good quality coffee, and refreshing fresh juices that are just the ticket on hot days. You can spoil yourself with some divine Moroccan pastries, too.

The Café Maure is a charming place in the Andalusian Gardens of the Kasbah des Oudayas to pause for an alfresco glass of mint tea and local pastries. The shaded terrace is decorated with mosaic tilework and looks across the river to Salé.

This upscale Spanish tapas restaurant is a favorite among residents and always abuzz with diners and drinkers---which makes it a great place to meet true Casablancans. Products are local and fish is supplied daily, with typical options including calamari and patatas bravas; for those missing pork, there’s even real chorizo and jamón, all accompanied by a selection of wines and beers. 

Between Skhirat and Bouznika, this excellent place to eat, drink, and disconnect serves an excellent menu of mostly fish-based options, with salads and proper desserts thrown in. The location is fabulous—right on the beach, with two pools, and areas for eating and relaxing separated by rustic bamboo canes. There’s a beach volleyball area, a petanque ground and a surf school, too. The atmosphere is gentle; families, surfers, sporty types, and sun lovers will all be at home here. There are DJs and often live music as the sun sets. Alcohol is served. Note that while it's officially only open from April to November, groups can (and often do) reserve off-season.

If you need a break from tagines, Golden China is just the place. The red-and-gold decor, dark wood furniture, and softly played Asian music sets the tone, while the authentic menu offers a wide variety of poultry, seafood, meat, vegetarian, and noodle dishes. Alcohol is available. 

If you're yearning for Japanese food, the stylish Iloli is widely regarded as one of the best places to go. Choose to sit on the airy terrace, inside at tables or at the counter to watch the sushi chefs in action, or upstairs on the mezzanine with sofas and armchairs. The menu has plenty of sushi and sashimi, as well as hot dishes and creative cocktails. 

This unpretentious, family-friendly spot looks out over the beach and lagoon. Not surprisingly, the menu is seafood-oriented—lobster, of course, is the priciest item listed, but it's superb—and there are other options like omelets and salads, plus a small selection of desserts.

Every night is fiesta night at La Bodega, opposite the Central Market: come for tapas and a drink or stay for a full meal from the typically Spanish menu—think jambon serrano (thinly sliced, dry-cured ham) and paella. The restaurant has a fun atmosphere, with themed live music each evening and popular dance floor: Tuesday, for instance, is salsa time, and a pro will give tips if you feel like improving your moves. 

A top choice in the well-heeled Gauthier district, little Cantine de Gauthier oozes as much French chic as a Parisian bistro. It's a casual spot that serves delicious French meat and fish dishes, though the well-priced sharing plates of charcuterie and cheese attract the after-work crowd for an aperitif.

On the 23rd floor of the Royal Mansour, dining in this exquisite, intimate restaurant is a singular experience, especially around sunset, when the mirrors, gold, and onyx, catch the light and there are stellar views over the city to the Hassan II Mosque from the floor-to-ceiling windows. The restaurant expertly delivers Moroccan specialties such as the sweet-and-savory royal pigeon and almond pastilla, or veal tagine. There’s also a fine wine list and creative cocktails, and local musicians strumming their ouds.