Street food & casual
Pastry Shops in Marrakech: Moroccan Sweets and French Patisserie
Moroccan pastry is a world of almonds, honey, sesame and orange-blossom water — delicate, fragrant and often intricately shaped — and Marrakech, with its French colonial layer, adds fine European patisserie on top. From boxes of assorted Moroccan sweets bought by weight to a flawless mille-feuille, the city's pastry shops are a delicious rabbit hole worth falling down.
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- 7 min
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- Street food & casual
- Updated
- 19 July 2026
At a glance
- Moroccan sweets centre on almond, honey, sesame and orange-blossom.
- The classics are kaab el ghazal, chebakia, ghriba, briouat and sellou.
- Sweets are usually sold by weight — buy an assorted box to sample widely.
- Marrakech also has excellent French-style patisserie in Gueliz.
Two pastry traditions in one city
Marrakech pastry splits into the Moroccan and the French. The Moroccan tradition is ancient and tied to hospitality and celebration — sweets served with mint tea to guests, piled high at weddings, and made in vast quantities for Ramadan. They lean on ground almonds, honey, sesame, dates and orange-blossom or rose water, and many are fried or baked then soaked in honey. The French tradition, inherited from the Protectorate era, gives the city smart patisseries turning out croissants, tarts, éclairs and gateaux to a high standard, especially in Gueliz.
You can and should sample both. A box of assorted Moroccan sweets to nibble with tea, and a stop at a good patisserie for a coffee and a tart, cover the full sweet spectrum of the city.
The Moroccan classics to know
Moroccan sweets can look bewildering behind the glass, so it helps to recognise the icons.
- Kaab el ghazal: gazelle horns — crescent pastries filled with almond paste and orange-blossom, the queen of Moroccan sweets.
- Chebakia: sesame-coated, flower-shaped fried dough soaked in honey, the essential Ramadan sweet.
- Ghriba: crumbly shortbread-like biscuits, made with almond, coconut or semolina.
- Briouat: little filo triangles stuffed with almond paste and dipped in honey (also made savoury).
- Sellou (sfouf): a rich, unbaked mix of toasted flour, almonds, sesame and honey, eaten by the spoonful.
How to buy and where
Moroccan sweets are sold by weight, so the smart move is to point at a selection and build a mixed box (a quarter or half kilo) to taste widely — they keep well and make a good gift. Prices are reasonable, though the intricate almond sweets cost more than the simpler biscuits, reflecting the labour. Buy from a busy shop with fresh stock and high turnover for the best quality; sweets that have sat too long lose their fragrance and go stale.
For French patisserie, head to the Gueliz cafés and pâtisseries, where a coffee and a fresh pastry is a lovely mid-morning pause. To learn to fold briouat or shape kaab el ghazal, a pastry-focused cooking class is a rewarding, hands-on way in, and a food tour often includes a sweet stop.
Frequently asked questions
What are the classic Moroccan pastries to try in Marrakech?
Kaab el ghazal (gazelle horns filled with almond paste and orange-blossom), chebakia (honey-soaked sesame fried dough), ghriba (crumbly almond or semolina biscuits), briouat (honey-dipped filo triangles) and sellou (a rich toasted-flour, almond and honey mixture). These almond, honey and orange-blossom sweets are the heart of the tradition.
How are Moroccan sweets sold?
By weight. The best approach is to point at a selection and build a mixed box of a quarter or half kilo to taste widely. They keep well and make a good gift. Buy from a busy shop with fresh, high-turnover stock, as sweets that sit too long lose their fragrance and go stale.
Does Marrakech have French patisserie too?
Yes. Thanks to the French colonial legacy, Marrakech has smart patisseries, especially in Gueliz, turning out croissants, tarts, eclairs and gateaux to a high standard. A coffee and a fresh French pastry there is a lovely counterpoint to the honey-and-almond Moroccan sweets found in the medina.
What is chebakia?
Chebakia is a flower-shaped fried dough coated in sesame seeds and soaked in honey, fragrant with orange-blossom or rose water. It is the essential sweet of Ramadan, traditionally eaten with harira soup to break the fast, and is available year-round in Marrakech pastry shops.