Eating in Marrakech

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The main Carlie at Djemaa El-Fna is definitely worth a visit and the food is priced on menus. In little back streets the ambiance is more quiet, although the price is higher and the quality may vary a lot. Touts for Djemaa huts can be among the most persistent in Marrakech. Don't make them any promises you don't intend on keeping or they'll get mean and call you a liar. The line 'we already ate' seems to work well to get them to stop.

In the square itself there are some locals such as:

• Cafe Agrana. On the edge of Djemaa El-Fna. Try the pastilla - a sweet/savory pie (either chicken or, for the adventurous, pigeon) that melts in your mouth. The Kefta (ground beef and egg) tagine is superb and definitely worth a try.

• Cafe Alhamra, Pl. Djemaa El-Fna, opposite Café de France. +212 65.04.74.11. On the edge of the square, it serves up salads, pizza, and pasta as well as a tagine of the day. Their rooftop is a good place to have a late night coffee and pastry while watching the events in the square below.

• Cafe Mabrouk (off Djemaa El-Fna) serves the same standard fare as everywhere else in a little courtyard or terrace.

• Chez Chegrouni, near the main entrance to the market. Maybe the best cheap restaurant in the square. Their vegetarian couscous (DH 30) is supposedly the only true vegetarian couscous in town; it's also bland but they give you plenty of it. Prices go up if you sit on the terrace. Usually packed full of good-time tourists.

• Chez El Bahia is 50m away from Djemaa El-Fna on Rue Riad Zitoune (the street that starts at Wafa Restaurant). It has excellent and well priced food in a quiet place. Try the chicken and olives tajine as well as the prune, almonds, and mutton tajine for about DH 45 each. Also try the Moroccan salad while they cook the rest of the food.

• Earth Cafe situated in the Medina is vegetarian-friendly. Number 2, Derb Zawak, Riad Zitoun Kedim, +212 60.54.49.92 or +212 61.28.94.02. Also available are vegan alternatives and plenty of options for fruit and vegetable-based drinks.

• La Makarechi is opposite the market and adjacent to the newspaper stand. With two main courses and wine running at around DH 300, this is one of the poshest restaurants in the square. The food is not necessarily better than elsewhere, but it is one of the few restaurants that serves alcohol. It also has a completely enclosed upstairs terrace, which is ideal for views of the square when the weather is bad.

Take care eating the offered food on the main market place Djemaa El-Fna and the other cheap restaurants. Many of the dishes, including goat heads and bowls of local snails (hot and tasty) may seem too adventurous for the Western palate, but the main problems are salads, which can cause diarrhea.

Vegetarians will find that there are few options outside the ubiquitous Tagine avec Legumes.

For more upscale eateries (and especially for non-Moroccan cuisine) you generally must go outside the Medina to Ville Nouvelle. However, Diaffa (Rue Jbel El Akhdar just off Av. Mohammed V, across from Club Med), is an upscale restaurant in one of the oldest buildings in the Medina, and offers excellent Moroccan cuisine in an ambiance that recalls the Orient at the height of its magic and glory. The food, building (whether the tables around the central courtyard and fountain or the second-level balcony), and tactful and tasteful entertainment are all not to be missed.

• Cafe Arabe, 184 mouassine (medina near dar el bacha), ☎ Tél. : +212 (0) 24 42 97 28, www.cafearabe.com. is in the medina. They have a Moroccan and an Italian cook, so there are two menus to choose from. There is beautiful seating on three floors including the downstairs courtyard which is lovely for lunch. The top floor terrace has fantastic views over the medina and is great at sunset. You can lounge on their sofas whilst sipping a cocktail and watching the sun go down over the medina.

• www.cafearabe.com