Moroccan Food Tour in Marrakesh Morocco Ultimate Guide

Between their flavor-packed tagines, mouth-watering sweets, and comforting couscous, Morocco's food scene is certainly one of the most delicious and noteworthy in the world. Traditional Moroccan food is a rich fusion of Berber, Arab, Andalusian, and French influences, creating an aromatic variety of dishes unlike any other. There are slow-cooked meals with deep, complex flavors, and lip-smacking street foods that won't cost you much. And of course, everywhere you go, you'll be offered lots of hot mint tea, For the next 24 hours, we'll be running all around Marrakech, trying as much traditional Moroccan food as we possibly can. But before we head out there, we're going to bring you guys downstairs with us as we try another delicious Riyadh breakfast. So hospitality is a very big part of the culture here in Morocco, and so anytime you stay at a guesthouse like this, you'll be able to enjoy an included breakfast. So that's what we're going to go do, and I'm excited to see what they have on the menu today. Just look at this table spread. I love waking up and just devouring a number of different breads. So in this basket, we have a flatbread of some sort. We have some pain au chocolat. And then over here, we have two pretty traditional Moroccan flatbreads for breakfast. So we first have semen, which I'm actually going to show you and talk about a little bit later in this video when we see it made from scratch. But this right here, this has got to be Chad's favorite pancake. This is baguette, and it is also known as the 1,000 hole pancake. As you can see, there are just so many little holes on the top of the pancake, probably from air bubbles when they're making it. But it is just so chewy, so soft. And if you put a little bit of jam or a little bit of honey on it, oh my goodness, such a great way to start the day. You can just see how stretchy the pancake is just by me pulling it apart. So the outside of the pancake is almost a little bit crispy, so you've got that crunch on the outside. Delicious. We have now hit up the streets of Marrakech. And something I did want to note, because as I always do, I will include the prices of everything we eat in this video. I want to say, I don't know if that's just the tourist price or it's just the price that they gave to us. Haggling is such a big part of the culture here in Morocco. So sometimes we're getting a different price than what the locals are getting. We might also be getting a different price from other tourists. So the prices you see are the ones that we got as Chad and Claire. And if you come, you might also get a different price. And that's just what it's like here. You're serving us food? I guess so. We have just wandered over to Chez Lamin, which is a very famous restaurant here in Marrakech. And we've ordered the meshoui, which is the thing that they are most known for. This is a whole lamb roasted in an underground oven. And it just is roasted and roasted until the meat is fall off the bone tender. And it typically comes with this salt and cumin mixture over here. That way you can season each bite to perfection. And it also has two pieces of bread. But I must say, this place is just pure madness. Chad was downstairs getting a shot of them making the meshoui. He said that an old woman ran over his foot with her wheelchair probably four times. But it's gonna be worth it because this thing looks so, so good. And my hands are already oily. I haven't even touched it. It's just the ambiance of the place. The tables have a little bit of oil left over from the last people who are here. I've joined Claire on this side of the table. And I went downstairs and got a pork and knife just because it's gonna be a lot easier to operate the camera. With a little bit cleaner of hands. But wow, we got several different parts of the lamb. I believe this is like almost the foot. You can tell? Yeah, he made sure to like chop different pieces off. Oh cool. So I was watching him do it. I was not able to go and see what parts of the lamb they were chopping up because I had to hold our table. Oh my gosh. How is it? Really tender. You didn't get the salt and cumin? Oh great. All right. I have the salt and cumin on mine. Wait, I want some. Oh. Gotta say, people are going wild for this meshweed downstairs. Like it was quite the experience. They had two different tables. Like I don't think you call them butchers, but the people that are carving the meshweed going on. And they use this golden scale with weights to weigh out each piece of place setting, I guess. A golden scale? Yeah, they have different weights for the portion that you're getting. So I got a portion for one, which this is a lot for one person. And it costs less than a portion for two, obviously. And I used different weights because he switched them out depending on who was ordering or what they were ordering. If you want to dine here, you've got to be aggressive though. Like you gotta go in there and say table for two. Demand it. And then march right behind them and come and order immediately. I'll judge, we didn't eat the fat because we have a lot of other food we have to eat today. But I'm sure it would have tasted great. I just didn't want to eat a whole handful of fat. Claire's just trying to people please right now. I think we did a great job. We ate a lot of the meat. And I think it's time for our next stop. Wow. With the honey. Moroccan. Very good. We've made it to Hamid's Moroccan diner. And the first thing we have on the table is salmon. And this is a square-shaped layered flatbread that's pan-fried. And it's very flaky and chewy. The locals highly recommend that it's eaten with either jam or honey. Here we have it drizzled over with honey. And he wrapped it up for us, chopped it up too. Just like looking at it, there are just pieces of it flaking off. It really reminds me of the Taiwanese scallion pancakes. But without the scallions. You hear that crunch? It is so warm. And we actually got to watch the lady make it completely fresh. It's hot off the grill. Oh my goodness. It can't get better than this. So we've had this at our Riyadh every single morning. But I have to say, having a fresh one with the honey right off the grill. Oh, it's so good. Next up, we have couscous, which is Morocco's national dish. Traditionally, it's eaten on Fridays. And it's basically a steamed semolina that's topped with a very tender meat. Either chicken or lamb. There's also chickpeas, root vegetables, and a light broth that's kind of drenched over the entire thing. Just look at it. It is a burst of color visually. There's yellows, there are greens, oranges. I love that it's shaped kind of like a volcano. Everything is at a point. This is the finest couscous I've ever seen. Like the ones they sell in the States. It looks so different. Yeah, this is very, very small. This couscous is just so light and airy. And the only thing I can really even compare it to is the artificial snow that I would play with as a kid. You know, like that powder that you mix with some water and then it just magically turns into a fake snow. Like it is just as light and airy as that. What I love about the texture of the couscous, and actually the flavor as well, because it's so light, it actually allows the vegetables and these roots to stand out. Like when you eat the carrot, you're like, wow, the flavor of that carrot is so good because the couscous isn't taking away from it at all. Oh man. One, two, three. Oh, it's bubbling. I will not be picking up this tagine because you saw that thing. It was boiling hot. This is the last dish that we have on the table. It's tagine. Everyone knows about tagine, or at least most people do when they come visit Morocco. It is a slow cooked stew with either lamb or chicken. There are just so many variations. You can also get it with just vegetables. It always comes in that very distinctly shaped vessel. It has that little cone on the top. They whip off the cone and they're like, oh la la. Then you see the boiling goodness underneath, but it is so aromatic. Honestly, I want to kind of peek under there. We decided to get ours with lamb just because we've heard great things about the lamb here in Morocco. And here it is. There's the lamb. They really love their root vegetables here. It's always root vegetables everywhere we go. Very important to blow it and make sure it doesn't burn my entire tongue because we have so many other things we need to try today. Oh, wonderful. Very comforting. And there's actually a bit of a sweetness to that lamb. They kind of look like lamb meatballs. So that was hands down the best meal I've had in Morocco so far. I feel amazing after having all those vegetables, the couscous, a little bit of meat. It's well balanced and the owner is super friendly. So if you're ever in the main square, definitely look for it. It's not too far, but it's like, oh, it's a little oasis in there. I was so worried about coming to Morocco because I've always heard like there won't be many veggie options. But what are they talking about? They're veggies left and right. You just have to order it, honestly. Oh, that was so tasty. Yes. So originally we were supposed to go on with the food tour, go to our next spot. But we started to realize that the times that they say they're open in Google Maps are not very accurate. This has happened maybe, what, like three times now? Yeah, I'm pretty sure they do like a lunch service and then like a dinner service or maybe like a breakfast and then dinner specifically at the next spot we were going to go to. But we whipped out our Google Translate and asked him a question. Basically, it sounds like they're gonna be open tonight at 6 p.m. So we're gonna go back later. And for now, we're gonna be reading our books up on the rooftop of our Riyadh. I think it's actually good. It'll give us time to digest everything that we've eaten so far and open our appetites right back up for round two later today. All right. I would like my book, please. Can you get my book? Mint tea is here. Thank you. He's just got the actual mint tea. Next up, we have some Spenge, which is the Moroccan donut. It is crispy on the outside, very airy on the inside. It's dusted over with either sugar or drizzled over with honey. And it's actually very commonly eaten alongside a mint tea. So this here is the Moroccan mint tea. And something that I did not know is that there's actually green tea in here. It's green tea that's steeped with fresh mint and loads and loads of sugar. And so it's very sweet and known to be the cornerstone of Moroccan hospitality. A lot of the times, you'll see them pouring it from very high heights, all the way up from the sky, to make sure that there's a layer of foam that's covering the top. And when there is that foam, you know that it's ready to be drink. Drink it. It's ready for you to consume. I also think it's kind of funny because they call it the Moroccan whiskey, even though there's no alcohol in there. Maybe it's the color, but everyone is always drinking it. And from like a young, young age, they just crave it all the time. And I can see why. Like we had a little bit as a welcome drink at our Rihad. And I've been looking left and right for it ever since we've had that sip. Oh yeah, baby. Oh my gosh. This is the doughiest donut I've ever felt. It's so moist. I feel like a lot of times when I break open donuts, it's just dry on the inside, maybe because it's sitting out. But this is like fresh from the fryer. Wow. It is so chewy. And there's the crunch from not only the outside of the donut, but also the sugar. Svenge time. I must get my svenge. Revenge. Oh my goodness. Okay, the texture is like the inside of a pretzel. Oh, fantastic. This is like the cousin to the picarone, which is over in Peru. One other thing I wanted to say actually about the Moroccan mint tea. We actually learned from our guide yesterday when we were making our babushas that apparently the tradition of making the foam in the tea actually comes from the Berber people. When they're out in the desert, they would pour the tea from such great heights in order to make that foam for there to not be sand in their drink, is what our guide was saying. And so they would scoop out the foam, they could drink it, and then there'd be no sand in their drink. But I love the history of that. And now it's more of like a hospitality thing. Just the higher you pour, the more hospitable you are. Oh, so fresh. I love the sugar. It's actually like bringing me back to my roots with a sweet tea, like here in the south, but instead it's here in Morocco. I just want to show you guys how much mint they put in a single glass. And this is a pretty small glass of tea. It is so minty. Next up, we have harira, which is a tomato-based soup. And it's enriched with chickpeas, lentils, rice, and usually a meat of some kind, typically lamb or beef. We were actually advised to eat it with something else on my list, which is tabakia, but they just ran out of them. So we're gonna have to find it at another street vendor in the souk. So we'll just eat it on its own this time. But a local was saying that they love mixing the savory flavors of the soup with the sweetness of the tabakia or with dates. So we won't get the pleasure of going back and forth between savory and sweet this time. But next time. It's like a very hearty tomato soup. Like you really taste the sweetness and the fruitiness of the tomato. But then you've got just all those warm flavors from the spices, but also from the rice and the meat. Super comforting. Debating whether or not to get another sponge. They were so, so good. And I think this might be our last chance. Whoa, it's very hot. Very, oh, very hot. I need a moment. Truly, truly, truly a wonderful experience at that donut place. If you do come to Marrakesh, I highly recommend going. I'm very certain we got a tourist price, but I'm not even upset about the tourist price. It was about 50 cents US or 5 dirham. For one donut. But I was watching the locals and they were getting about 7 donuts or so for 10 dirham. So definitely a value deal there. I tried to haggle for the price of this shabakia just because I thought it was a little bit pricey. But here is the shabakia. These are flower-shaped pastries that are often eaten during Ramadan. But you can actually find it at the markets year-round. They are made of fried dough and then soaked in honey. So they are very sticky, very sweet. Typically, they have sesame seeds on them, but ours is sesame seedless. Oh, actually, I just saw one sesame seed. My lucky day. Give us a little jig. Do a dance for us. I don't think it needs a jig for just one sesame seed. Biting into it, I thought it was gonna be really hard for some reason. It just looks hard on the outside. But it's actually a very crumbly pastry. Like a brown little bird's nest. Dragon's nest. What's the word I'm looking for? It's much more pasty. Pasty? Yeah. Kind of disintegrates in your mouth. Crumbly, perhaps? The texture is more like candy, for sure. Candy? Like a pasty candy. Pasty? Yeah, I'm saying pasty. I think that's the word that I want to use. I don't know a better word. I know it doesn't make it sound appetizing, but... See, the thing is, a lot of the times on these food tours, we have very, very different thoughts on the food that we're eating. I'm not getting pasty vibes. It kind of sticks to your feet. It's like caramel-y. Sticks to your feet? I mean, your teeth, not feet. It probably would stick to your feet as well. Oh, well, I think you guys need to come to Marrakech and try the Chebakia and let us know your thoughts. And try to get it for less than 10 dirham like us. We couldn't get it for all that. This dish is truly a work of art. Here I have pastia, which is a sweet and savory pie made from layers of filo dough. And it also has like spiced shredded chicken on the inside, some almonds, and also cinnamon sugar. There's something about the sweetness from the cinnamon sugar and the savoriness from that shredded chicken that just makes it taste super, super good. But that's a very interesting mix of ingredients. And just look at how beautifully it's been plated. Oh, wow. Oh, I agree. There is something very addicting about the combination of sugar with this meat that almost tastes like a curry of some kind. Sweet and savory. I've actually noticed that to be a common theme across a lot of dishes here in Morocco. They like the combo of saltiness and sweetness at the same time. And I'm such a fan too because it's actually pretty common in the Taiwanese cuisine. So I grew up eating a lot of like savory sweet dishes. So this is fitting my palate quite well. The next thing we have on the table is tangia. And this is a Marrakesh specialty. Originally, it was eaten by a lot of unmarried men. And that is why it has the nickname bachelor stew. But this is like the essence of slow cooking. Basically, you put this meat into a clay pot and you bury it underneath hot ashes and cook it for several hours. And it comes out just being the most delicious meat you could ever imagine. And of course, there's so many spices in there like cumin and saffron. Oh wow, really fantastic. I can see why all the unmarried men were just eating this whole clay pot of meat. Berry filling, I'm sure. Great protein. After having a bunch of meat for lunch, you'd think I would be tired of meat. But I'm not. I'm very excited to have a little bit more because this is different. Slow cooked in ashes. So I don't know if the juices from the meat made the juices that are in this plate or if it's like oil that they added. I assume it's from the meat. It's very flavorful and I can see why you get the bread to dip it in there. Not even breaking a sweat. Yeah, so impressive. Basaha or in good health as they say here. That's kind of like the equivalent of cheers. And here we have another round of Moroccan mint tea. We've got the sugar in there. And we actually got to watch the demonstration of him pouring it from very, very, very high. That had to have been like five feet. Right there in the front. He put our sticker on his award sign. How kind of him. Something I forgot to mention earlier is it's called Atai here. That's what the Moroccans call it. So delicious. And it's got a little bit of that caffeine in there. So hopefully it wakes me up from the jet lag that's quickly putting me to sleep. I can't think of a more pleasant experience to end our food tour. The, what do you call himself? Captain. The captain of the restaurant. I guess he's like the manager of the restaurant. Was just so nice. So friendly. Gave us that mint tea on the house. Also some Moroccan pastries, which were very tasty. Definitely a good spot. They've only been open for about a year. And he's really passionate about making sure that the food is authentic to Morocco. And they did a great job. Crossing the street. Thank you, Claire. Thank you. And he's also very passionate about telling the story behind every single dish. And so it feels like you're being seated at a table with a storyteller. I just love the passion. We were able to try at least 11 Moroccan foods. And probably a little bit more just because we were getting lots of free goodies. It's true. And we are carrying all of that in our stomachs right now. I feel like we're going to sleep great. But something I just really wanted to stress is how wonderful, wonderful the hospitality in Morocco has been. And I'm just so excited to experience more of it as we continue to travel around the country. Yeah, yeah. And something else I wanted to add. Just a little tip for anyone traveling to Morocco. I highly recommend booking your accommodation ahead of time. Get the best location, best reviews. Because having a good place to rest in between your time out in the Medina, especially in Marrakesh, because it's a more popular destination that I think a lot of Europeans do weekend trips to. We have loved where we've stayed. We'll link it down in the description box below. But there's a lot of other amazing accommodations as well. So unfortunately, we are supposed to eat one more thing. We were supposed to try babouche, which is a snail soup that's incredibly popular here in Marrakesh. But I think we are filled beyond the brim. And for the sake of our health, I don't think we should eat anything else tonight. Yeah, next time. Next time though. If you are feeling something, you know, adventurous, try the snail soup. We've heard great things about it. But maybe later on in Morocco. But anyways, thank you so much for joining us on this Moroccan food tour. If you'd like to follow along as we continue to explore Morocco and travel to 50 countries around the world, hit subscribe. With all of that, catch y'all next time. Bye!