Cheap Eats in Kenitra — Best Budget Food in the Gharb

The backbone of cheap eating in Kenitra is the sandwich. Counters across the centre stuff baguettes with maakouda (potato fritters), grilled kefta, merguez, tuna or fried fish, piled with chips, salad, olives and harissa for 20-40 MAD — a full meal in bread. The city's youthful, student population keeps these spots busy, cheap and fast, especially around the market and the university and commercial districts.

Soups keep costs lower still. Harira (tomato, lentil and chickpea) and bissara (fava bean) are ladled out at small stalls for around 10-15 MAD with bread, filling and nourishing. Small canteens (gargotes) serve a plate of the day — tagine, lentils, beans, or kefta with an egg — with bread and salad for 30-45 MAD, aimed squarely at workers and students rather than visitors.

The Gharb plain makes fruit and vegetables cheap and abundant here, so market produce, seasonal fruit and fresh juice stretch a budget further than in many cities. And with the coast close by, a plate of fried fish or grilled sardines gives you fresh seafood for a modest price — a rare budget luxury. Fresh bread from a local bakery with olives and cheese is a near-free meal in itself.

To eat cheaply and well, stick to the sandwich counters, soup stalls and canteens where locals eat, buy fruit and juice from the market, agree prices before ordering, and pay in small notes. Kenitra rewards the traveller who eats like a student — fast, fresh and very cheap.