Budget Moroccan
Cheap Eats in Marrakech — Best Budget Food Under 50 MAD
You can eat superbly in Marrakech for the price of a coffee back home. The medina's workers' canteens, sandwich carts and soup vendors serve honest, filling Moroccan food for a fraction of what the riad restaurants charge.
- City
- Marrakech
- Cuisine
- Budget Moroccan
- Typical price
- 10-45 MAD
The cheapest good meal in Marrakech is a bowl of bissara — a thick fava-bean or split-pea purée finished with olive oil, cumin and a dusting of paprika — eaten with fresh bread at a hole-in-the-wall in the medina. It rarely costs more than 10-15 MAD and keeps you going for hours. Harira soup is similarly cheap and filling, often served with dates and chebakia sweets. These soups are working breakfasts and lunches, so they are freshest in the morning and midday.
For a bigger fill, follow office workers and shopkeepers to the small canteens (locally called gargotes) around Bab Doukkala, the Mellah and the streets off Rue Riad Zitoun Jdid. A plate of the day — tagine, lentils, or kefta with an egg — with bread and a salad typically lands around 30-45 MAD. Sandwich carts do a brisk trade in grilled kefta, merguez or ma'akouda stuffed into half a baguette with harissa, chips and salad for 20-35 MAD.
Snacks keep the budget even lower. Msemmen and harcha from a griddle cart, a bag of roasted chickpeas or sunflower seeds, a bowl of snails, or a slice of sfenj (Moroccan doughnut) fried fresh in the morning all cost a few dirhams each. A glass of fresh orange juice on Jemaa el-Fna is one of the best-value drinks in Morocco.
Eat where the menu is in Arabic and the clientele is local, pay in small notes, and don't be shy about pointing at what looks good. The rule that serves you best in Marrakech: the humbler the room, the better the value — and often the better the cooking.
How to eat well
- 1
Look for gargotes (small canteens) around Bab Doukkala and the Mellah where a full plate with bread costs under 45 MAD.
- 2
Bissara and harira soups are the cheapest filling meals — best eaten in the morning or at midday when freshest.
- 3
A kefta or merguez sandwich from a cart with chips and salad is a satisfying meal for 20-35 MAD.
- 4
Sfenj (fresh doughnuts) are fried in the early morning — grab them warm from a street fryer for a few dirhams.
- 5
Menus in Arabic with a mostly-local crowd are the sign of a genuine budget spot with fair prices.
Frequently asked questions
How cheaply can I eat in Marrakech?
Comfortably for 40-60 MAD a day if you stick to soups, sandwiches and local canteens. A single filling meal — a plate of the day with bread — can be had for 30-45 MAD.
What is the cheapest local dish in Marrakech?
Bissara, a fava-bean or split-pea purée eaten with bread, is often the cheapest at around 10-15 MAD, followed closely by harira soup. Both are hearty and genuinely local.
Are cheap eats in Marrakech hygienic?
Busy canteens and carts with fast turnover are generally fine. Choose places full of locals, where food is cooked or ladled fresh in front of you, and you will eat well and cheaply.