Budgeting
How to Eat Street Food in Fes for Under 50 MAD a Day
Fes is one of the cheapest cities in the world to eat well, if you eat where the medina eats. Away from the terraced tourist restaurants, a day's food — breakfast, a filling lunch, snacks and something sweet — can genuinely come in under 50 dirhams, roughly the price of a single coffee back home. Here is how the medina's street food adds up to a full, satisfying day on a shoestring.
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- 8 min
- Guide
- Budgeting
- Updated
- 20 July 2026
At a glance
- The Fes medina's street food is among the cheapest good eating anywhere.
- Bissara, bread and snack-counter staples do the heavy lifting.
- Eat where the locals queue; the tourist terraces cost several times more.
Breakfast for a few dirhams
Start where Fassi workers start: a bowl of bissara, the thick fava-bean soup poured from a vat, dressed with olive oil, cumin and chilli and eaten with fresh bread, for just a handful of dirhams near the medina gates. It is warm, filling and genuinely nourishing, and it sets you up for hours of walking. Add a glass of mint tea and you have breakfast for the price of a snack.
Alternatively, the morning sfenj man frying doughnuts to order, or a piece of msemen from a griddle with a smear of honey, costs almost nothing and eats beautifully on the move. These are the true breakfasts of the medina, and they leave the day's tiny budget almost untouched.
Lunch at the snack counters
Lunch is where value peaks. The medina's snack counters and cook-shops sell filling plates and sandwiches to workers for a fraction of restaurant prices — a bowl of the day, a plate of lentils or beans, or a stuffed sardine or kefta sandwich. Follow the queue of locals to a busy counter and you will eat a proper, hot lunch for well under 20 dirhams.
Ordering the plat du jour, whatever is cooking that day, is the cheapest and freshest route, since it is made in volume and turns over fast. This is also the safest way to eat cheaply, as high turnover means fresh food — the same logic our food safety guide sets out. A round of bread and a few olives can bulk out any counter meal for pennies.
Snacks, sweets and doing the sums
Between meals, the medina offers endless cheap grazing: a bag of chickpea karan, roasted nuts, seasonal fruit from a barrow, or a single pastry from a bakery. A fresh orange juice or a mint tea costs a few dirhams and doubles as a rest stop. None of this dents the budget if you buy from the everyday stalls rather than the tourist-facing cafés.
Do the sums and it adds up: bissara and tea for breakfast, a snack-counter lunch, fruit and a pastry, all comfortably under 50 dirhams. The trick throughout is simply to eat where Fassis eat and avoid the terraces with photo menus and touts. Eat this way and Fes proves that a tiny budget and superb food are not opposites here.
Frequently asked questions
Can you really eat for under 50 MAD a day in Fes?
Yes, comfortably, if you eat street food and snack-counter meals where locals do rather than at tourist terraces. A bissara breakfast, a plat-du-jour lunch, fruit and a pastry all fit within that budget with room to spare. The key is avoiding the photo-menu restaurants, which charge several times more for similar food.
What is the cheapest filling meal in the Fes medina?
A bowl of bissara, the thick fava-bean soup, with bread is one of the cheapest and most filling options, costing only a few dirhams near the medina gates. Snack-counter plates of the day and bean or lentil dishes are similarly cheap and satisfying. All are eaten by local workers and priced accordingly.
Is cheap street food in Fes safe to eat?
Generally yes, provided you follow the same rule as anywhere: eat where it is busy and cooked hot to order. High turnover at the snack counters means fresh food, which is the best hygiene safeguard. Choosing the plat du jour, made in volume and served fast, is both the cheapest and one of the safest ways to eat.
Where should I avoid eating in Fes to save money?
Steer clear of the terraced restaurants with photo menus, touts and prime medina views, which charge tourist prices for standard food. The value lies in the plain snack counters and cook-shops where local workers queue. Following the locals rather than the touts is the single biggest money-saver in the medina.