Moroccan Food & Drink

Dishes to seek out in Tangier

Tangier's table reflects its history as a meeting point of Morocco, Spain and the wider Mediterranean. Beyond the national classics, the city's seafood and Andalusian heritage stand out.

• Pescado frito — fresh fish and prawns fried Andalusian-style, a Tangier port staple from the old Spanish era.
• Tagine — slow-cooked stews; on the coast look for fish tagine with chermoula, tomato and peppers.
• Couscous — traditionally the Friday family meal, steamed with seven vegetables.
• Pastilla — a sweet-savoury pie of pigeon or chicken under crisp warqa pastry and icing sugar; Tangier also does a fish version.
• Street food — grilled sardines and seafood by the port, msemen pancakes, bissara fava-bean soup, and the spiced bocadillos sold near the Grand Socco.

The tea ritual and the café tradition

Mint tea — green tea, fresh mint and plenty of sugar, poured from height — is the thread running through Moroccan hospitality, and Tangier has made an art of the café. From the clifftop terraces of Café Hafa, where Paul Bowles and the Beat writers once sat, to the bustling Petit Socco, the slow glass of tea over conversation is part of the city's literary soul.

Eating well and safely

Morocco is largely Muslim, so pork is rare and alcohol is served mainly in hotels, licensed restaurants and a handful of Tangier's historic bars rather than everywhere. Tap water is best avoided for drinking — choose bottled. For seafood, the busy grills near the port with high turnover are the freshest and safest bet. Vegetarians do well: salads, vegetable tagines, bissara and couscous are everywhere.

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