Food · Fes · Morocco
What to eat in Fes
The dishes, drinks and food experiences that define Fes, and where locals actually eat them.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: This Photo was taken by Timothy A. Gonsalves . Feel free to use my photos, but please ment, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
Start with Pastilla, Bissara and Khlii. Many riads and cooking schools start with a trip to the souq to buy ingredients, then teach you to make tagine, salads and bread, followed by lunch on the roof terrace. Alcohol is rarely served in the medina; it is available in some hotels, a few riads and Ville Nouvelle bars.
Key facts
- Signature dish
- Pastilla
- Vegetarian-friendly picks
- 5
- Tipping
- Leave about 10% in restaurants, small coins for porters and handcart drivers who carry…
- Food experiences
- 3
10 foods to try
Dish
1.Pastilla (B'stilla)
Fes's celebrated festive pie: layers of thin warqa pastry filled with spiced pigeon or chicken, eggs and almonds, dusted with cinnamon and icing sugar. A seafood version is also common.
Where: Riad restaurants and traditional dining rooms in the medina; often ordered in advance.
Breakfast · Vegetarian
2.Bissara
A thick soup of dried split fava beans, finished with olive oil, cumin and chilli, eaten with bread; a cheap, warming breakfast for medina workers.
Where: Small bissara stalls in the medina lanes, mainly in the morning and in winter.
Breakfast
3.Khlii
Strips of beef preserved with spices, dried in the sun and stored in fat, a Fes speciality traditionally fried with eggs for breakfast.
Where: Butchers and breakfast cafés in the medina; ask your riad for a khlii and eggs breakfast.
Dish
4.Harira
Tomato, lentil and chickpea soup with herbs and sometimes meat, served with dates and chebakia; the dish that breaks the fast in Ramadan and a cheap meal year-round.
Where: Soup stalls and simple restaurants around the medina, especially at dusk in Ramadan.
Dish
5.Tagine
Slow-cooked stews named after their conical clay pots, such as chicken with preserved lemon and olives, lamb with prunes and almonds, or kefta meatballs with eggs.
Where: Riads, medina restaurants and simple eateries by the Blue Gate.
Dish
6.Couscous
Steamed semolina piled with vegetables and meat, traditionally eaten by Moroccan families on Fridays after midday prayers.
Where: Restaurants and riads, with many local places serving it on Fridays.
Breakfast · Vegetarian
7.Msemen and baghrir
Msemen are flaky, square folded pancakes and baghrir spongy semolina 'thousand-hole' pancakes, both eaten warm with honey and butter.
Where: Breakfast stalls and bakeries in the medina, and on riad breakfast tables.
Drink · Vegetarian
8.Mint tea (Atay)
Green gunpowder tea brewed with fresh spearmint and sugar, poured from a height into small glasses to make a froth; offered as welcome in every riad and shop.
Where: Cafés, riads and carpet shops; ask for 'bla sukkar' for less sugar.
Dessert · Vegetarian
9.Moroccan pastries
Kaab el ghazal (almond-filled 'gazelle horns'), honey-soaked sesame chebakia and briouats filled with almond paste are staples of the city's pastry shops.
Where: Pastry shops along Talaa Kebira and in the Ville Nouvelle.
Street food · Vegetarian
10.Sfenj
Ring doughnuts fried to order, crisp outside and chewy inside, threaded on a palm frond or eaten with sugar.
Where: Morning stalls in the medina and Fes el-Jdid.
Food experiences
Cooking class in a riad
Many riads and cooking schools start with a trip to the souq to buy ingredients, then teach you to make tagine, salads and bread, followed by lunch on the roof terrace.
Medina street-food walk
Guided food walks cover bissara, khlii, msemen, olives, nougat and sfenj around Talaa Kebira, with stops that are hard to find alone.
Riad dinner
A multi-course Fassi dinner of salads, pastilla, tagine and pastries in a riad courtyard is the classic Fes evening.
Quick bites and street food
- Bissara — Small bissara stalls in the medina lanes, mainly in the morning and in winter.
- Khlii — Butchers and breakfast cafés in the medina; ask your riad for a khlii and eggs breakfast.
- Msemen and baghrir — Breakfast stalls and bakeries in the medina, and on riad breakfast tables.
- Sfenj — Morning stalls in the medina and Fes el-Jdid.
Vegetarian options
Of the 10 foods in this guide, 5 are usually vegetarian: Bissara, Msemen and baghrir, Mint tea, Moroccan pastries and Sfenj. Check preparation with staff, as stocks and fats vary.
Eating out: tips and etiquette
- Alcohol is rarely served in the medina; it is available in some hotels, a few riads and Ville Nouvelle bars.
- Riads often cook dinner for guests if you order in the morning; pastilla usually needs advance notice.
- Friday is couscous day, and some medina shops close on Friday afternoons.
- During Ramadan, many medina cafés close in daytime and the streets fill after sunset for harira and pastries.
- Agree prices at street stalls before ordering and keep small change ready.
Tipping
Leave about 10% in restaurants, small coins for porters and handcart drivers who carry luggage, and a tip for licensed guides at the end of a tour.
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Salam alaykum | Hello (peace be upon you) |
| Shukran | Thank you |
| La, shukran | No, thank you |
| Bshhal? | How much? |
| Balak! | Watch out! |
| Bslama | Goodbye |
Questions travellers ask
+What food is Fes famous for?
Pastilla, Bissara, Khlii and Harira. Fes's celebrated festive pie: layers of thin warqa pastry filled with spiced pigeon or chicken, eggs and almonds, dusted with cinnamon and icing sugar.
+Is Fes good for vegetarians?
Several local staples are meat-free, including Bissara, Msemen and baghrir and Mint tea.
+Do you tip in restaurants in Fes?
Leave about 10% in restaurants, small coins for porters and handcart drivers who carry luggage, and a tip for licensed guides at the end of a tour.