Best Street Food in Fes — Eating Through the Medina

Fes el-Bali is one of the great street-food cities of Morocco precisely because the medina is a working neighbourhood, not a set piece. The morning belongs to sfenj — light, chewy doughnuts fried in bubbling oil and sold hot, sometimes threaded on a strand of palm — and to bowls of bissara, the fava-bean soup poured thick and finished with olive oil and cumin. These are the workers' breakfasts, cheap and everywhere along Talaa Kebira and around the gates.

As the day goes on, the carts turn to savoury snacks: maakouda (spiced potato cakes) fried and tucked into bread with harissa, merguez and kefta skewers over charcoal, and bowls of babbouche (snails) in an aromatic broth that Fassis prize as a warming remedy. Look too for the Fassi speciality of khlii scrambled into eggs, and for sellou/sfouf, a dense, sweet, toasted flour-and-almond paste eaten by the spoonful for energy, especially in Ramadan.

The medina's food markets — around R'cif, near the Attarine (spice) souk and along the main artery of Talaa Kebira — are where produce, olives, dates, nuts, fresh bread and grilled meats crowd together. Grazing here is the best way to eat: a handful of olives, a wedge of fresh khobz, a skewer, some dates, a doughnut. Follow the students and workers to the busiest stalls.

Prices are low and the food is honest. Agree the price before you order at a cart, keep small coins ready, and eat where the queue is local. In Fes, the street is the restaurant, and it is one of the most rewarding places in Morocco to eat on your feet.