What to eat in Casablanca: seafood, tagines and pastries

As Morocco’s biggest city and a working Atlantic port, Casablanca draws cooks and ingredients from the whole country. Here are the dishes to look out for.

Seafood

This is the city’s speciality. Head to the restaurants at the Central Market for grilled sardines, prawns and fried fish, or to the Corniche for a more formal seafood dinner. Oysters from Oualidia are a local treat.

Tagines

A tagine is a slow-cooked stew, named after the clay pot with a cone-shaped lid. Classic combinations include chicken with preserved lemon and olives, and lamb with prunes and almonds. Want to learn how? Try a cooking class.

Couscous

Couscous is traditionally eaten on Fridays after midday prayers, when many restaurants and families serve it heaped with vegetables and meat.

Pastilla

This is a sweet and savoury pie of thin pastry, often filled with pigeon or chicken and almonds and dusted with cinnamon and sugar. A seafood version is also popular on the coast.

Street food

Look out for msemen (layered flatbread), harira (a rich soup, especially popular during Ramadan), grilled kefta and fresh orange juice.

Pastries and mint tea

The Quartier Habous is famous for its almond pastries, particularly gazelle horns (kaab el ghazal), and is the place to buy a box to take home. Everywhere you go, you will be offered sweet mint tea, poured from a height into small glasses.

Tips

• Choose busy places where the food is cooked fresh.
• Eating with your right hand is the custom when sharing a dish.
• During Ramadan, many places close by day, but evenings are wonderful for food.
• Alcohol is only served in licensed restaurants and bars, so check first if you want a drink with dinner.