MAISON D’HÔTELOCALFUSIONMediterranean meals, deluxe hammam treatments (Dh1450 for four hours) and poolside
cocktails.
Riad Bledna $
( 0661 18 20 90; www.riadbledna.com; 2km on Rte de Ouarzazate; d incl breakfast
Dh600-800; ) Welcome home to the garden villa of the Moroccan-British Nour family, who
pamper visitors like favourite house guests, urging them to relax by the filtered pool, enjoy more
quail and apricot tajine, and sip more fresh-squeezed juice (made with organic fruit from their 4-
acre gardens). Airport transfers and daily transit to/from the medina are included in the rates,
and your hosts can arrange babysitting, desert trips, mountain eco-excursions, and hands-on
Moroccan crafts workshops for adults and kids alike.
Eating
Slow-roasted lamb cooked in a hammam, roasted-eggplant caviar, hearty white bean soup...
Marrakesh’s traditional specialities are mouth-watering. The least thrilling part of the Marrakesh
dining experience is the arrival of the bill. Marrakshis don’t eat out often, and with Dh65-80 for a
scrawny chicken tajine on the Djemaa and set-price restaurant menus starting at Dh300-plus,
you can see why.
Good-value restaurants can be found, especially in the ville nouvelle, but if you’re staying at a
riad, home cooking is an attractive option. Many riad chefs are dadas who once cooked for
Marrakesh’s high society, so the meals you enjoy on your riad terrace may be truly royal.
MEDINA
Mechoui Alley $
Offline map Google map ( east side of Souq Ablueh; 0.25kg lamb with bread Dh30-50;
11am-2pm) Just before noon, the vendors at this row of stalls start carving up steaming sides
of mechoui (slow-roasted lamb), as though expecting King Henry VIII for lunch. Point to the
best-looking cut of meat, and ask for a nuss (half) or rubb (quarter) kilo. The cook will hack off
falling-off-the-bone lamb and hand it to you with fresh-baked bread, cumin, salt and olives in a
takeaway baggie, or serve it to you on paper in a nearby stall – no linens necessary to make
this a proper feast.
Mama Tilee $$
Offline map Google map ( 0524 38 17 52; www.mamatilee.blogspot.com; 13 DerbLaarsa; 3-course prix fixe Dh220; 7.30-11pm Mon-Sat) The restaurant every chef dreams
of opening is tucked around the corner from Dar Si Said, off Riad Zitoun el-Jedid, in Marrakesh.
Chef Cecile’s intimate riad restaurant seats 22 on three floors artfully arranged with red
cushions, custom leather carpets and bistro tables. Each course features local, organic
ingredients and offers one choice: mango gazpacho or foie gras with fig? Sole roulade with
kaffir lime or steak rubbed with High Atlas herbs? Passionfruit crème brûlée or Moroccan mint
and chocolate macaroons? Reserve by phone in the afternoon; cash only, alcohol licence
pending.