My top 3 restaurant experiences in Fes are based on the food: taste, quality and value; as well as the overall experience including the atmosphere and traditional authenticity.
Dining out in Fes can be very hit or miss. I ate in a wide variety of eateries and most were pretty disappointing, especially when stoned with a case of the munchies from all the local hashish. There are a lot of tourist focused restaurants just inside the Medina’s famous Blue Gate. These restaurants tend to have decent crowds because of the location but no locals are eating here and because of the low quality food. Overcooked and under seasoned tangines with very little meat. No thanks! But the few great meals I found were absolutely delicious, satisfied my case of the munchies and brought all the authentic local flavor I was expecting. I based my ratings for the best 3 restaurants in Fes, Morocco on the food: taste, quality and value; as well as the overall experience including the atmosphere and traditional authenticity.
#3: A Qotban Grill in the Medina Market
Probably the most authentic meal we had in Fes was at a small market stall in the heart of the Medina. The market of Fes is a huge labyrinth of over 9000 interwoven alleyways of various vendors making up this huge UNESCO World Heritage site. Our uninvited guide, Mohammed, was wearing us through the Medina and took us to a man offering multiple kebab style meat skewers grilled over charcoal known as Qotban. We ate the smokey spiced goat and chicken skewers served with a traditional whole wheat bread round known as Khobz and some local olive oil. We found the meat very tasty, the bread a bit dry and the olive oil nice and fruity. Mohammed informed us our lunch was very traditional and common among locals. Lunch cost just a few dollars each, extremely affordable.
#2: Fez Medina Rooftop Restaurant
Despite the generic touristy sounding name, the Fes Medina Rooftop Restaurant & Lounge was a fantastic experience. The highlight of this meal was actually the restaurant’s atmosphere and the views. Brightly colored tables cover an open rooftop courtyard and an enclosed section with massive windows overlook beautiful 360 degree views of the Medina and the mountains beyond. The menu is a bit odd with nods to Greece, Mexico and Italy, but we stuck to the traditional Moroccan dishes and found them delicious. I recommend the baba ganoush, a smokey eggplant dip and the chicken pastilla, a classic savory and sweet meat pie dish of shredded chicken with cinnamon, almonds and sugar in a thin flaky pasty dough. Dinner here was around $20-$25 per person.
#1: Le Tarbouche
Le Tarbouche was by far our favorite dining spot in Fes. Once we discovered this place we ended up returning for most of our remaining meals, a total of 4 separate visits. This place had the tastiest food, extremely affordable prices and very authentic menu options. While the mint tea is delicious here I recommend trying the unique Berber tea, a blend of green tea with local herbs like thyme, sage, lemon verbena, rosemary and wormwood. It’s very tasty when lightly sweetened. I ate a lot of different things here but my favorites for starters were the fresh Shiada Salad and the Moroccan Taboule. The Shiada is very similar to a greek salad but using all local ingredients. Tomatoes, olives, cucumbers, onions and fresh cheese all local to Fes dressed with lemon and good olive oil.
he Tabloule is like a classic middle eastern tabouleh using quality semolina cous cous with tomato, mint, parsley and preserved lemon dressed with fruity olive oil. For the main course I recommend the Chicken Pastilla, Merguez sausage Tagine with preserved lemon or the Crispy Beef in a spicy citrus sauce with fresh parsley over saffron rice. All packed with traditional flavors and absolutely delicious! A meal here with tea, a starter and a main dish is around $10-$15.
