Casablanca’s dining scene revolves around flashy waterfront restaurants, where locals and visitors tuck into fresh seafood, sip cocktails and listen to live music. Since our trip was during the week (and in the off-season), we missed out on the fun. But we enjoyed plenty of other memorable meals, most notably at the Royal Mansour.

La Sqala

The concierge at the Royal Mansour also set us up with a reservation at La Sqala, a traditional café in the medina. Though the restaurant is adjacent to Boulevard des Almohades and easily accessible by car, we opted to walk there on our own, taking an hour to wind our way through the medina’s alleys, passing through the warren of clothing stores, electronics shops and fruit carts and shopping for treasures at Al Makane, a collective of artisans, before ending up at La Sqala. We sat at a beautiful tiled table in the lovely courtyard, where we dined on a light lunch of salads and harira, a warmly spiced tomato soup with legumes. We accompanied our meal with a plate of briouates, puff pastries filled with stewed chicken and topped, in Moroccan fashion, with cinnamon. Though La Sqala is open for dinner, it’s best for breakfast or lunch, especially since it doesn’t serve alcohol.

La Sqala
Boulevard des Almohades. Tel. (212) 522-260-960