Best Restaurants in Essaouira

Best Restaurants in Essaouira

After a few nights in Marrakesh, we made our way to the seaside town of Essaouira. It has its charms but perhaps one night is all you need. We spent a lot of time researching food before we visited, so here is our take on the best restaurants in Essaouira.

Things to Do in Essaouira: Lunch at Val d’Argan

Domaine du Val d’Argan

An old article by Janice Robinson led us to the Domaine du Val d’Argan winery on the road to Essaouira. (Not too far outside Essaouira and closer to Essaouira than Marrakesh.) Boy was I glad we booked this. We sat poolside under the trees, next to a table of SERVE YOURSELF (!!!) Moroccan wines. The food just never stopped coming, and the presentation was beautiful. There was a small language barrier with the staff when it came to vegetarian offerings but service overall was sweet and friendly. Life doesn’t get much better than this, kids. (But keep reading because it might just.) I highly recommend a visit to Domaine du Val d’Argan. It’s a wonderful way to kickoff a weekend in Essaouira. Visit Domaine du Val d’Argan.

Where to Eat in Essaouira: La Table by Madada

La Table by Madada

We swung a last minute table at La Table which appears on many of the “Best Restaurants in Essaouira”  lists and got a bit of a bonus — excellent live music. We started off with a platter of massive oysters. Then I did my thing and ordered the spaghetti vongole. (So predictable.) Great staff, great atmosphere, good food. This was fun. Visit La Table by Madada.

Where to Eat in Essaouira: L’Heure Bleue Palais Photo Credit: L’Heure Bleue Palais

Heure Bleue Palais Rooftop

I forget which afternoon we did this but we wandered over here for lunch one day and the setting was lovely — a rooftop at the front of the media– if hot. Perhaps unintentionally — or perhaps intentionally — we polished off two bottles of Moroccan rose amongst the three of us. This is one of those places where you’re paying more for the atmosphere and the view than anything else. But it’s also one of those places where you kinda just think to yourself,, “Life is pretty good right now.” Note we stayed in an Airbnb (one I would not recommend so I’m not posting it here) but it’s worth looking at staying at Heure Bleue Palais. The public areas are gorgeous. Reserve a room at Heure Bleue Palais.

Table at La Fromagerie

Our Cheese Plate

Le Menu at La Fromagerie

La Fromagerie

Saving what I think is one of the best restaurants in Essaouira for last. On our way out of Essouira, we stopped here for lunch before our flight back to London. I didn’t think it was possible, but this place was even more beautiful than Val d’Argan. Outbuildings painted in the whitest of white, decorated simply and beautifully. Strangely empty so we had the service all to ourselves. The cheese just kept coming as did the wine. We had a nice chat with one of the owners, an enviably elegant Frenchwoman. We were sad to leave so took as much cheese as we could with us when we left.  This was a wonderful way to end a weekend in Essaouira — really some of the best food we had. Visit La Fromagerie.

Shopping in Essouira: La Comptoir Oriental

Shopping in Essaouira: Le Comptoir Oriental by Madada

I admired the napkin rings at dinner at La Table and our server told us that the shop sold them. Shop?? What shop? I could not figure out where this shop was anywhere, but the next day, Instagram helped me. Through an unmarked door and up a flight of stairs, into a lovely space artfully littered with Moroccan treasures. I wanted to buy it all. Instead, I kept myself to the napkin holders and a water bottle container.  You should go here. It’s a great shopping stop during a weekend in Essaouira. Buy me everything. Visit Le Comptoir Oriental by Madada.

Is Essaouira Worth Visiting?

Definitey, Essouira is worth visiting. It’s a cute little place. You will not go hungry in Essaouira, that’s for sure. Probably best for a short visit though. I think we saw it all fairly quickly. If you’re not doing any surfing, the best idea would be to drive to Essaouira (don’t forget to purchase travel insurance ahead of your trip) and have lunch at Val d’Argan, stay the night in Essaourra and have lunch at La Fromagerie the next day. Also, drink all the Moroccan rose while you’re at it. If there’s any left.

Tours in Essaouira

The post Best Restaurants in Essaouira, Morocco first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

My Tips for a Weekend in Marrakesh

My Top Marrakesh Tips

Let’s get this out of the way. Marrakesh is crazy.  Haggling with taxi drivers is NOT FUN. The main square — Jemma-el-Fnna —  is NOT my kind of place. Monkeys, snakes. (Least favorite animals.) Thousands of people. There’s just a lot of chaos that comes with a weekend in Marrakesh.

But then — Marrakesh and Morocco in general is astoundingly beautiful. What is the Pantone color of the country, the rosy pinkish orange that everything is painted in? (I tried to Google this but was unsuccessful.) The color is stunning all day long but especially in the evening light when everything becomes just a little more rose-goldy. Plus, the tile work! The light fixtures! The door hardware! (This country really likes an externally mounted door bolt.) The fabrics! All so so beautiful. I wanted to buy it all.

And I haven’t even gotten to the food yet. The food is fresh and flavorful and served in extremely large portions. I’d like a platter of mixed Moroccan salads served before every meal, please.  You will not go hungry during a weekend in Marrakesh, that much is certain.

How to Prepare for Marrakesh

1. Check the weather and plan accordingly.  It’s HOT. We thought it would be cooler in May but we were wrong. Bring hats and plenty of sunscreen. Also, hydrate.
2. Be prepared to negotiate with taxi drivers. Ask your hotel or riad what a taxi should approximately cost and stand firm, respectfully.
3. Be ready to negotiate the price of anything you buy. A good rule of thumb is that the price is basically about 1/3 of what they are asking.
4. Have small change available when paying for anything. (Are you sensing a theme here?) Seriously, this is a country where no one has any small change. (You can read into that what you’d like.)
5. Research riads and book your stay in a riad! There are so many in the city and they have so much character.
6. Get ready to get lost. This is one of my top Marrakesh tips! On our way to dinner one night, we got hopelessly lost in the medina and it seemed like absolutely no one knew where we were going! It’s not that hard once you get used to it but definitely be prepared to get lost and a little frustrated. Just keep asking for help! Someone will show you the way!
7. Plan your outfits wisely. Cover your shoulders, don’t wear short shorts. Marrakesh is pretty used to Western tourism, but don’t be that person.

Marrakesh Tips: Shopping

Here are a few places I’d recommend should you find yourself in Marrakesh…

Souk Cherifa: After doing a ton of research, we knew this was the one shopping place we definitely wanted to visit. We had a little trouble getting our taxi driver to understand where we wanted to go, but eventually it all worked out. This is a small (quite small actually)  u-shaped shopping complex with a mix of higher-end clothing, housewares, fabric and beauty products. We picked up a bit of everything here. Recommended if you’re in the area.

One of my top Marrakesh Tips: Pick up some Argan Oil at Arganino

Arganino: Argan oil is the thing to buy in Morocco and there are all sorts of warnings online about making sure you buy the real thing. At Souk Cherifa, we ran into Moad, who told us all about his partner’s Argan products. I was sold and bought it all. Just kidding. I bought one container of facial oil and then Moad gave me some free argan butter. Very small shop but worth a visit if you want the real deal. (Apparently, the argan oil comes’s from Moad’s partner’s grandmother.) I’ve been using the oil pretty religiously since our visit and I definitely feel like it has positively impacted the texture of my skin.

Route Sidi Abdelaziz: I really liked the street that Souf Cherifa was on. The shops seemed a bit higher end than what we saw in the market and it was a LOT less manic and with more upscale shops. it’s a nice pedestrian area too so worth a stroll if you are nearby. I would go back here and in fact, if I planned another weekend in Marrakesh again, I’d try to stay around this area so I can do more SHOPPING.

Buy all the things at Mustapha Blaoui

Mustapha Blaoui: All the guides say you should go to this place and while we had a lot of trouble finding the entrance, once we made it in, I kinda wished I needed a carpet. It perhaps wasn’t as large as I was expecting it to be — or maybe we missed a floor or something — but interesting to visit nonetheless. Yup. Now I want a carpet.

Marraskesh Tip: Have dinner on the rooftop at Nomad

Marrakesh Tips: Restaurants

NOMAD: All the internets talk about this place and it was nice. The positives: great views of the city if you have dinner on the rooftop. The negatives: Lots of stairs and man do I have a new appreciation for US and UK building codes. Also, NO BOOZE. This was a bit of a downer, but booze and stairs are probably a bad combination anyhow. Service was professional but not overly friendly.  The food here was good overall, but we were spoiled by the food at the riad we had rented.

Al Fassia: We were attracted to Al Fassia because it’s run by all women. I’m glad we went because in this day and age, the world needs more girl power. This is good hearty simple food. (But again, I think we were spoiled by the great food at our riad.) Worth a visit as I very much admire what they’re doing.

Enjoying cocktails at Barometre Marrakesh is one of my top Marrakesh tips.

Marrakesh Tips: Bars

Barometre Marrakesh: Before dinner at Al Fassia, we dropped into this basement cocktail bar and had the place to ourselves. Service was super friendly and gave us all the necessary insights into Marrakesh taxi drivers. (Yes, they even try to rip off the locals.) I can imagine the bar is not fun when it’s crowded so get there early, especially on a weekend in Marrakesh. The bar itself is not very big. The restaurant next door looks pretty cool.

Terrasse des espices…don’t forget your hat!

Terrasse des espices: After shopping our hearts out, we headed up to the roof of Souk Cherifa for some drinks. Water misters help beat the heat, there’s free wifi, and the service is pretty friendly. Also, they have hats that you can wear to protect yourself from the sun! This was a nice little pause.

Top Marrakesh Tip: Rent a riad!

Where to Stay in Marrakesh

Our Riad: We rented Dar 118 through Villanovo and LOVED IT. Really, words cannot express how much I loved this place. And the food! And the staff that came with the villa! (Airbnb seriously needs a way to search for properties that come with staff.) If I plan another weekend in Marrakesh, I would definitely rent Dar 118 again. The only challenge is that we did to take a lot of taxis but really, the medina wasn’t too far.

Uh if you notice, we didn’t do much cultur-ing while we were in town. Reason to return! Especially now that the Yves Saint Laurent museum is open. Seriously, I loved Marrakesh and would love to go back. (And yes, I felt safe. Even with the taxi drivers.)

What are your top Marrakesh tips?

Marrakesh Tours

The post Marrakesh Tips for a Quick Weekend Trip first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.