A Food Lover's Road Trip in Morocco: the Best Roadside Tajine and Grill Stops
Real Moroccan cooking is not confined to hotel dining rooms. It lives along the national roads, in the roadhouses where tajines have been simmering over charcoal since dawn and where the butcher shapes your kefta in front of you. Here are the food stops worth a detour, and what to know before you pull over.
Contents
1. The butcher-grills of Berrechid and Settat (Casablanca - Marrakech road)
2. The tajines at the Tichka pass roadhouses
3. Oualidia oysters and Atlantic coast fish
4. Fruit stalls, season by season
1. The butcher-grills of Berrechid and Settat (Casablanca - Marrakech road)
On the old road between Casablanca and Marrakech, the towns of Berrechid and Settat are known across the country for their butcher-and-grill counters.
The system is simple and hard to beat: you pick your meat straight from the display - lamb chops, beef skewers, kefta (minced meat seasoned with coriander, onion and cumin) - and the griller puts it on the coals there and then. It arrives on paper with a round loaf fresh from the oven, grilled onions and mint tea. Expect a few dozen dirhams per person depending on how much meat is weighed out, since that is how everything is billed.
2. The tajines at the Tichka pass roadhouses
As the N9 climbs towards Ouarzazate, the mountain stops at Taddert and near the pass line up dozens of earthenware tajines over braziers that are never allowed to go out.
Lamb simmered for hours with prunes, almonds and vegetables takes on a rustic depth that the thin mountain air suits well. It is also the natural break before or after the twistiest stretch of the road - use it to split the drive rather than take the hairpins in one go.
3. Oualidia oysters and Atlantic coast fish
If you follow the coast between El Jadida and Safi, stop above the Oualidia lagoon: it is the oyster capital of the kingdom.
On the beach or in the fishermen's huts, order a dozen oysters shucked to order with a squeeze of lemon, then grilled sea bream or sea bass with a Moroccan salad of tomato, onion and cucumber. Further south, Essaouira offers the same freshness at the grill stalls by the harbour.
4. Fruit stalls, season by season
One of the pleasures of driving in Morocco is pulling over at the growers set up along country roads. The calendar changes everything:
In summer, fragrant melons cut open in front of you by the seller, and watermelons from the south.
In autumn, fresh dates from the Draa valley - Mejhoul are harvested from October to November - and pomegranates.
In spring, strawberries from the Larache region; Sefrou cherries, on the other hand, are picked in early summer, around the festival held in their honour.
Frequently asked questions
Is it safe to eat at a roadside stop?
Apply the lorry drivers' rule: stop where there is a crowd. A busy place sells its meat within the day rather than keeping it. Choose grills cooked in front of you over a dish that has been sitting, and wash your hands before eating with bread.
Can you pay by card at roadside restaurants?
Rarely. Small traditional roadhouses work in cash. Always keep dirhams on you, all the more so as cash machines thin out between towns.
Is the tap water drinkable in these places?
Urban mains water is treated, but for a traveller passing through it remains safer to buy sealed bottled mineral water, which every small shop sells.
Further reading
rent a car in Marrakech for the Tichka road
rent a car in Casablanca to head south
the budget city cars made for a road trip
our route ideas across Morocco
Written by the Loccor editorial team, the platform connecting travellers with car rental agencies in Morocco.