Best Medina Restaurants in Essaouira — Eating Inside the Ramparts

Unlike the labyrinths of Fes or Marrakech, Essaouira's medina is a walkable grid laid out by an 18th-century French engineer, which makes finding a restaurant easy and wandering a pleasure. Within the ramparts you will find the full range: traditional Moroccan restaurants serving tagine, seafood and couscous; artsy little cafés and bistros reflecting the town's creative, expatriate community; rooftop terraces looking out over the medina and the sea; and simple canteens for a cheap daily plate. The main squares — Place Moulay Hassan chief among them — and the streets between the two main gates are the eating hubs.

Seafood, unsurprisingly, dominates: fish tagine with chermoula, calamari, prawns, and the day's grilled catch appear everywhere, alongside the meat tagines and vegetable dishes of the wider Moroccan repertoire. Essaouira's bohemian, laid-back atmosphere — shaped by gnawa music, artists and a long-standing foreign community — gives its restaurants a more relaxed, cosmopolitan feel than most Moroccan medinas, with more vegetarian options, more fusion and a gentler pace.

To eat well, use Place Moulay Hassan as your anchor, wander the surrounding lanes to compare menus and terraces, and choose rooftop tables for the breeze and the view. Book ahead for the popular courtyard restaurants in high season, when the town fills with visitors. Between the seafood, the relaxed cafés and the ease of getting around, the Essaouira medina is one of the most pleasant places to eat on the Moroccan coast.