by Marrakech may not have a huge nightlife scene, but in recent years there has been a (small) flurry of trendy bar openings in the Medina and Gueliz. Highlights include an industrial-chic wine bar, a soaring rooftop terrace with views of the medina, and a few slick spots for sophisticated cocktails. In the medina – the most traditional part of the city – alcohol licenses are restricted and only a handful of restaurants and riads have proper bars licensed to serve alcohol, but most riads sell beer and wine to guests in the privacy of their courtyards internal.
Read on for our expert tips, and for more inspiration, here’s our guide to Marrakech’s best restaurants, attractions, shopping and hotels, as well as how to spend a weekend in the city.
Maiden
La Mamounia
Ever since the Netflix broadcast Anna composed, a 2022 series about New York artist and influence Anna Delvey (who stayed at La Mamounia when she was on the run), the hotel and bar is the place to be seen and seen. A slick new makeover by Parisian interiors firm Jouin Manku has upped the ante further with silken sage green banquettes under a glorious Majorelle green and yellow ceiling and inviting ‘islands’ of tables on the outdoor viewing terrace out on the wonderful garden. The service is impeccable, if sometimes eccentric, cocktails are perfectly mixed and the wine list is encyclopedic. Dress to impress.
Contact: mamounia.com
Prices: £££
Cabana
A tropical rooftop beach bar, Marrakech really does have it all. Kabana is the brainchild of music entrepreneur Kudo Fahkredine, and the manager, Diego, is the founder of Rak Electronik. Although there’s a lot of food – a sushi bar and creative tapas – it’s the music and the bar that really matter here. There are live DJs and bands on weekends, and dedicated jazz, soul, disco and salsa nights (follow their social media for updates). The stunning rooftop terrace, decorated in tropical prints and large potted plants, feels like it could be at home in L.A. It attracts a cosmopolitan crowd to sip on travel-inspired cocktails like the CopaKabana Saffron, which combines cachaça ( infused with saffron from. Talouine) with green lemon and cane sugar.
Contact: kabana-marrakech.com
Prices: ££
Top Down DarDar
A restaurant bar with a friendly personality and amazing views over the dizzying roof to the Koutoubia and even the High Atlas in winter. Most people come for the sunset cocktails and stay for a hearty dinner of gourmet burgers, steaks and spicy prawns. If you want to sit on the roof terrace, which is suspended with brass lanterns cut into the atmosphere, you will need to book in advance. But seats in the smart restaurant on the first floor with its large picture windows are still very pleasant. There is often live music and the service is fast and professional.
Contact: rooftopdardar.com
Prices: ££
Café Arabe
The rooftop terrace of Café Arabe is a good place for Medina drinks, located in the upper Mouassine of the market. Downstairs, the tables sit snugly in a decorative tiled courtyard, and upstairs curvaceous beige sofas surround the shaded terrace, which is magically illuminated by candlelight at night. It attracts a fun crowd, who come here for well-priced bottles of Siroua S. pepper, glasses of rosé and passable cocktails. A Moroccan-Italian dinner menu is available, although the food is a bit bland. Better to come here for a snack and go on to dinner elsewhere.
Contact: cafearabe.com
Prices: £
Gueliz
Pétanque Social Club
Built in 1912, the Gueliz neighborhood has a modern heart and a lot of beautiful Art Deco architecture that is more appreciated. However, many buildings are lost to the march of progress so Kamal Laftimi’s rescue of the nearly perfect 1930s pétanque club is an act of social heroism. He enlisted Ibiza-based architecture studio Diego & Alexeja to revive it, filling it with vintage finds and furniture, creating tables from old shutters and filling a library with old books and nostalgic photos of the original pétanque team. Best of all, however, is the huge garden shaded by giant rubber trees and hung with giant wicker lanterns. Come for a great brunch at the weekend or a spritz of Sahara on a summer evening, stay there for Medi-Moroccan tasting plates (including a great gourmet pizza) and a good-natured game of boule, of course.
Contact: pscmarkech.com
Prices: ££
With Palace
The clubby lounge downstairs at Le Palace restaurant is reminiscent of a 1920s speakeasy. The mahogany walls and unlit, elegant, inlaid mahogany chandeliers set the stage for grown-up drinks and after-dinner treats. Most clients start the evening in the fine French restaurant and work their way through plates of tiger prawns and foie gras before settling down for nightcaps and cigars accompanied by a loud soundtrack of international DJ tracks. The wine menu showcases some excellent Moroccan wines, and the crowd comes to party.
Contact: le-palacemarrakech.com
Prices: £££
The Royal Mansour Bar
With a healthy dose of glamor and a rather fine cocktail, head to the beautiful bar i Royal Mansour. The massive marble bar takes center stage and is framed by walls of delicately etched mirrors in rose gold leaf, while a handcrafted silver ceiling glows in the low overhead lighting. It’s quite dazzling and the accompanying drinks are just as good: there’s a wine list fit for a Moroccan king (his guests regularly stay here) and expertly mixed cocktails, including a rather smooth Manhattan. For truants looking for a cozier atmosphere, slink across the courtyard to the Chimney Lounge where you can sink into the shadows of a cedar-paneled room and listen to the resident pianist.
Contact: royalmansour.com
Prices: £££
Le Grand Café de la Poste
This Art Deco colonial bistro has a fascinating history as the favorite café of the controversial Pasha Glaoui, and still attracts the city’s movers and shakers to its shady terrace and palm-fringed, 1930s interior. While the food is a fine mix of French-Moroccan dishes, it’s the 6pm-8pm happy hour that really draws the crowds. That’s when you pair your chilled glass of Moroccan gris (‘grey’, a very light rose) with a parade of delicious flavors and spicy olives, and keep an eye on the latest Marrakshi events. Smokers congregate on the terrace so if you want to avoid this take a window table inside.
Contact: grandcafedelaposte.restaurant
Prices: ££
Marrakesh barometer
Baromètre is somewhere between an underground prohibition bar and the mad professor’s laboratory with its pipework and crystal apothecary jars. It is the most serious cocktail bar in Marrakech and the cocktails (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) come with unique homemade macerations and bitters and can be customized to taste, so don’t be afraid to discuss your preferences with the bartender. . The Jimi Hendrix is a refreshing summertime blend of gin and cucumber, which you can sip alongside plates of fusion tapas. The atmosphere is sexy and sophisticated and the bar staff are friendly and passionate about mixology.
Contact: lebarometer.net
Prices: ££
Bar point
Located away from the main drag, Pointbar offers a more relaxed atmosphere than most Marrakshi bars. The unassuming slate gray entrance and the long, narrow bar, covered in bamboo, lead to a large interior patio with low-level sofas and poufs. In summer, the retractable roof is pulled back for stellar summer drinking. Although primarily a wine bar, beer and cocktails are served, along with a Mediterranean menu. The place fills up at weekends when DJs spin tracks and during major sporting events and football matches, which are broadcast live on huge screens in the bar.
Contact: pointbar-restaurant.com
Prices: ££
L’Envers
Watch emerging Moroccan DJs spin electronic tracks on the mezzanine level of L’Envers, a sleek bar with a hipster vibe, complete with filament bulbs. Bare walls are hung with local street art and artfully graffitied Arabic calligraphy and the competitively priced drinks menu lasts a long time with Moroccan and European wines, draft beers and champagne-based cocktails. Dedicated to underground culture, the bar hosts DJs at least four nights a week – you can expect some impressive talent here – and despite the narrow confines of the bar, dancers throw some serious shapes.
Contact: 00 212 662 552 478; facebook.com/lenversmarrakech
Prices: £
How we choose
Every bar, venue or experience on this curated list has been tried and tested by our destination expert, who has visited to provide you with their insider perspective. We cover a range of budgets and styles, from casual pubs to exquisite cocktail bars – to best suit every type of traveler – and consider service, drinks, atmosphere and price in our recommendations. We update this list regularly to keep up with the latest openings and provide up-to-date recommendations.
