Street food
Best Street Food in Tetouan — Medina Snacks with a Spanish Accent
Tetouan's street food blends Moroccan classics with an Andalusian twist: grilled fish and skewers, snails, and Spanish-influenced treats in one of Morocco's most beautiful and least-touristy medinas. Grazing here is authentic, cheap and full of character.
- City
- Tetouan
- Cuisine
- Street food
- Typical price
- 8-45 MAD
The whitewashed medina of Tetouan — a UNESCO site and one of the most atmospheric in Morocco — is the setting for the city's street food. Its lanes and food souks are lined with grills turning out skewers and fresh fish from the nearby Mediterranean coast, snail (babbouche) carts, soup stalls ladling bissara and harira, and sandwich counters. Because the city sits close to the sea, grilled and fried fish feature more here than in inland medinas, and it is superbly fresh.
Tetouan's strong Andalusian and Spanish heritage adds a distinctive accent to its snacks and sweets. The city is famous for its Hispano-Moorish pastries and sweets — delicate, almond-rich confections that reflect the Andalusian tradition — sold in the medina's confectioners and market stalls. You will also find griddle carts making msemmen and harcha, morning sfenj fryers, and stalls selling the excellent local produce, olives and cheeses of the fertile Rif hinterland.
Grazing the Tetouan medina is a pleasure precisely because it is so untouristy: the food souks serve locals rather than visitors, prices are honest, and the beautiful, well-preserved lanes make wandering a joy. The market brings down fresh produce, herbs and cheese from the surrounding countryside, and the coastal proximity keeps the fish fresh.
Follow the local crowds to the busy grills and soup stalls, try the fresh fish and the Andalusian sweets, and agree prices before ordering. Cheap, authentic and touched by two cultures, Tetouan's street food is one of northern Morocco's underrated pleasures.
How to eat well
- 1
Try the fresh grilled and fried fish — Tetouan's Mediterranean proximity keeps it superbly fresh.
- 2
Seek out the city's famous Andalusian-influenced almond pastries and sweets in the medina.
- 3
Graze the untouristy UNESCO medina, where food souks serve locals at honest prices.
- 4
Bissara and harira soups, snails and griddle breads are the cheap medina staples.
- 5
The market has excellent produce, olives and cheese from the surrounding Rif countryside.
Frequently asked questions
What street food is Tetouan known for?
Fresh grilled and fried Mediterranean fish, skewers, snails and soups, plus a distinctive line of Andalusian-influenced almond pastries and sweets that reflect the city's Hispano-Moorish heritage.
Is Tetouan good for street food?
Yes — its beautiful, well-preserved UNESCO medina is one of the least touristy in Morocco, so the food souks serve locals at honest prices, with fresh coastal fish and Andalusian sweets as highlights.
What sweets is Tetouan famous for?
Hispano-Moorish pastries — delicate, almond-rich confections descended from the Andalusian tradition brought by Spanish refugees — sold in the medina's confectioners and market stalls.