Moroccan breakfast
Best Breakfast in Marrakech — Moroccan Morning Food
A Moroccan breakfast is a spread, not a single plate: griddle breads, honey, olive oil, amlou, soft cheese and glasses of mint tea and coffee. In Marrakech you can eat it in a rooftop riad, at a Gueliz café or standing at a medina griddle cart.
- City
- Marrakech
- Cuisine
- Moroccan breakfast
- Typical price
- 20-90 MAD
The heart of a Marrakech breakfast is the bread basket. Msemmen (flaky, layered square pancakes) and harcha (a semolina griddle bread with a cornbread-like crumb) come with pots of honey, jam, soft cheese and — the local treasure — amlou, a nutty spread of ground almonds, argan oil and honey. Alongside these you will often get baghrir, the spongy thousand-hole pancake that soaks up melted butter and honey, plus khobz with olive oil and olives.
Riad breakfasts, usually served on the roof terrace, are the classic traveller's start to the day: a slow, generous table with fresh orange juice, eggs cooked to order, the full bread spread and mint tea, eaten as the medina wakes below. Many riads include it in the room rate, and it is one of the quiet pleasures of staying inside the old city.
For a more local morning, head to a café in Gueliz or Guéliz-adjacent Hivernage, where Marrakchis start the day with strong coffee — nous-nous (half espresso, half milk) is the order to know — and a plate of pastries. Or eat like a worker: a bowl of bissara or harira from a medina stall, or sfenj doughnuts bought hot from a fryer and dipped in sugar. These are the cheapest and most authentic breakfasts in town.
Whatever you choose, mint tea is the constant. Poured long from a height to aerate it, sweet and hot, it is the drink that opens every Moroccan day — and refusing a second glass is nearly impossible.
How to eat well
- 1
Order amlou with your bread at least once — the argan-almond-honey spread is a Souss-region speciality you rarely find outside Morocco.
- 2
A nous-nous (half coffee, half milk) is the classic Marrakech café coffee order.
- 3
Riad rooftop breakfasts are best early, before the day heats up and the medina fills.
- 4
For a cheap local start, buy sfenj doughnuts hot from a street fryer in the morning.
- 5
Baghrir pancakes should be eaten fresh and warm so the butter and honey soak into the holes.
Frequently asked questions
What is a typical Moroccan breakfast?
A spread of griddle breads (msemmen, harcha, baghrir) with honey, jam, olive oil, soft cheese and amlou, plus eggs, olives, fresh juice and mint tea or coffee. It is meant to be grazed, not eaten as one plate.
Where do locals eat breakfast in Marrakech?
At neighbourhood cafés, especially in Gueliz, and at medina griddle carts and soup stalls. Workers often grab msemmen, sfenj or a bowl of bissara on the way to the souks.
What is amlou?
Amlou is a rich spread made from ground roasted almonds, argan oil and honey, native to Morocco's Souss region. It has a texture like nut butter and is eaten with bread at breakfast.