Seafood
Best Seafood in Fes — Fresh Fish in a Landlocked Imperial City
Fes sits far inland with no coast of its own, yet good fish reaches the city daily from the Atlantic ports and appears on Fassi tables and in the fish market. Knowing where it comes from — and how it is cooked here — is the key to eating it well.
- City
- Fes
- Cuisine
- Seafood
- Typical price
- 50-220 MAD
Fes has no sea, so its fish is trucked in on ice from Atlantic ports such as Kenitra, Rabat and Casablanca, arriving in the city's markets and restaurants each morning. This means the smart way to eat seafood in Fes is to prioritise the busiest fishmongers and restaurants with high turnover, where the stock moves fast and the catch is freshest. The medina's produce markets and the fish stalls of the Ville Nouvelle are the places to gauge what is good on any given day.
Fassi cooks treat fish the Moroccan way: whiting, sea bream and sole are fried in a light coating or grilled, calamari is simmered in tomato, and fish is baked into a chermoula tagine with coriander, garlic, cumin, paprika and preserved lemon. In the Ville Nouvelle you will also find more modern fish restaurants and fried-fish counters that plate a friture of small fish and calamari with lemon and bread. Given the distance from the coast, freshwater options and imported frozen shellfish also feature, so ask what is fresh.
Set your expectations sensibly: for the very freshest fish you are better on the coast, but Fes eats fish perfectly well if you choose carefully. Go where locals queue, prefer whatever the fishmonger says landed that morning, and lean on the chermoula-baked and simply grilled preparations. A chermoula fish tagine in Fes is a genuinely good dish and a change from the city's meat-heavy repertoire.
How to eat well
- 1
Choose the busiest fishmongers and restaurants — turnover matters most in an inland city.
- 2
Ask specifically what landed that morning, since all Fes fish arrives on ice from the coast.
- 3
Order a chermoula fish tagine — the Moroccan-spiced bake suits fish that has travelled.
- 4
The Ville Nouvelle has the more modern fish restaurants and fried-fish counters.
- 5
Set expectations: for the freshest catch, save serious seafood for a coastal city.
Frequently asked questions
Can you get good seafood in Fes?
Yes, though Fes is landlocked. Fish arrives daily on ice from Atlantic ports like Kenitra, Rabat and Casablanca, so choose busy fishmongers and high-turnover restaurants and ask what came in that morning.
How is fish cooked in Fes?
The Moroccan way — fried or grilled whole, calamari simmered in tomato, and fish baked into a chermoula tagine with coriander, garlic, cumin, paprika and preserved lemon. The chermoula tagine is the standout.
Is Fes a good place for seafood?
It is fine if you choose carefully, but as an inland imperial city Fes is stronger on meat, pastilla and tagine. For the freshest fish, a coastal city like Essaouira or Casablanca is a better bet.