You've seen the Meknes Bar Report compiled by our fellow blogger at the Morocco Report - well now she has compiled a restaurant report.I suppose you have no idea where to eat in Meknes! Sadly, Meknes is not the restaurant mecca that its larger sisters Marrakech and Rabat purport to be, but she holds her own compared to Fez at least. So without further ado, I bring you...
The Meknes Restaurant Report
Le Pub (Allal ben Abdellah) - My personal favorite, for the sheer fact that salmon roleaux are on the menu. Their steak is so juicy, it's probably not halal, and they have a full wine list and bar. The downstairs "club" of sorts is a bit rowdy, with a live band, noise which occasionally assaults your ears in the dining area, but it's of no matter - the lasagne quatre fromages or the cotelete avec champignons make it worth it.
Palais Didi (medina) - My favorite of the medina choices (though I admit that I have not yet eaten at Ryad Bahia). The food isn't even that spectacular, but this renovated guesthouse-riad has the best atmosphere and the best views from the rooftop. If you order the tajine for your whole party, it will be fantastic, but the other choices weren't so stellar.
Les Colliers de la Colombe (medina) - Another incredible view, but this time it overlooks the dry Oued Boufekrane and Meknes' ville nouvelle (Hamrya). The steaks were too fatty, but try the b'stila - to die for. The best part is that this fancy restaurant is nowhere near as overpriced as the palace restaurants of Fez.
Grilladiere - Moving into the next class of restaurants, Grilladiere is Morocco's equivalent of say, TGI Friday's. Clean, somewhat out of the way (I don't recall the street name), but with a delicious menu of brochettes, Frenchy salads, pizza, and even a "poissonerie," Grilladiere is a good bet, particularly with family or for lunch. They also deliver!
Pizzeria Le Four (near the Amir Abdelkader train station) - Styled with Italian woodworking, low ceilings, and a fake rose on table, the pizza here is delicious and I believe they have draught beer. Quite tasty onion soup as well, and good prices.
Quik (Route de Fez, Kumbata) - A bit out of the way, but a great stop if you've got a car and are heading in the direction of Fez. The specialties are pizza and Vietnamese. You heard me right. Try the Vietnamese soups and the Jardiniere pizza.
Serenity (Ave. Mohammed V) Another of my favorites. This place is bright and sunny, the servers are highly competent, and they serve pizza, pasta, tajines, panini, crepes - you name it. The salads and desserts are the best in Meknes, and in the summer, their rooftop patio is absolutely lovely day or night.
Label' Gallery - Why am I mentioning fast food? Because if you're in Meknes for quite some time, you might start craving it and McDonald's is atrocious just like everywhere in the world. And because it's the only really "foreign" food in town - there's Petit Libanais (excellent), Bangkok Cafe (delicious) and Nachos y Tacos Tex Mex (um, only the fajitas are edible). We get delivery from Bangkok frequently - the salade Vietnamienne is so good I can't resist it.
Midway Pizza - Delicious pizza but virtually no seating area. There's one in Fez as well.
I give each and every one of those the seal of approval. There are a few other nice places, but I haven't tried them out yet. Restaurant Bellevue is one, but it's only open for lunch and has a bar, so I'm waiting for a long day off to really try it out. Another is some new hotel out by Marjane, but without a car, it's pointless, as taxis don't often run after Marjane closes. I'll keep you posted.
Our thanks to The Morocco Report
Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news
