Marrakech · Kasbah & Mellah
Cafés in Kasbah & Mellah
Bab Agnaou, the Saadian Tombs and the Mellah, with Kasbah Café's terrace facing the tombs and storytelling nights at Cafe Clock.
Photo: Domenico Bertazzo, Pexels License
The Kasbah was the royal citadel on the medina's southern side. Its public entrance was Bab Agnaou, a carved stone gate finished around 1188–1190 under the Almohad caliph Yaqub al-Mansur, and the Kasbah Mosque he built in the late 12th century still overlooks Place Moulay Yazid.12 The Royal Palace inside the Kasbah is still an official residence of the king.2
Behind the mosque are the Saadian Tombs, a 16th-century royal necropolis that the protectorate's fine-arts service rediscovered in 1917.3 The Mellah, the Jewish quarter, was built outside the walls of the El Badi Palace; in 2016 King Mohammed VI ordered its old name, El Mellah, restored, and funded the repair of its houses, streets and synagogues.4 Until the French arrived in 1912, Jews could not own property outside the Mellah; it still has the Slat al-Azama Synagogue and the largest Jewish cemetery in Morocco.2
At a glance
8Cafés listed
2With opening hours
07:00Earliest opening
23:00Latest closing
- Opens earliest: Boughaz Coffee, from 07:00 (Daily 07:00–23:00).
- Closes latest: Kasbah Cafe, until 23:00 (Daily 08:00–23:00).
- Most listed streets: Avenue Houman El Fetouaki (2).
- Most common features: open late (25%), wi-fi (13%), outdoor seating (13%).
Cafe Clock
Café Dar Touareg
Zeitoun Café Kasbah
Boughaz Coffee
- Outdoor seating
- Open late
La Terrasse Du Marché
مول السفنج
Place De Saveurs
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Terraces facing the Saadian Tombs
Kasbah Café, at No. 47 Boutouil, opposite the Saadian Tombs, has a panoramic terrace and serves lunch, dinner and juices daily 08:00–23:00.5 Zeitoun Café Kasbah gives its address as 417 Bab Agnaou, and Boughaz Coffee, with outdoor tables, opens at 07:00, the earliest posted start in the area, and closes at 23:00.
The tombs hold the Saadian sultans Muhammad al-Shaykh, Abdallah al-Ghalib and Ahmad al-Mansur.2 They closed for repairs after the September 2023 earthquake and reopened that October; visitors enter through a narrow passage on the west side.3
Cafe Clock and storytelling
Cafe Clock, at 224 Derb Chtouka, mixes Arabic calligraphy, Berber cushions and stenciled street art, and runs concerts, film screenings, cooking and pastry classes, calligraphy and oud lessons.6 Its storytelling night is free, every Thursday at 19:00: apprentices of the late master storyteller Haj Ahmed Ezzarghani tell tales in Darija and English.7
The hikayat (storytelling) tradition goes back almost 1,000 years, and Jemaa el-Fna is one of the last places in Morocco where it survives, and Cafe Clock gives young Moroccans a place to train in it.7 Café Dar Touareg on Rue Tougma has Wi-Fi.
Sfenj on Avenue Houman El Fetouaki
A stall signed مول السفنج (Moul Sfenj, the sfenj seller) works at 117 Avenue Houman El Fetouaki, the same address as La Terrasse Du Marché. Sfenj is a ring of dough first set on the edge of a tilted fryer so the bottom cooks and puffs, then slid into the hot oil; it is eaten plain, with sugar or soaked in honey, in the early morning or late afternoon with tea or coffee.8 Place De Saveurs is close by.
A rooftop above El Badi
The garden café on the roof of the Musée des Parures, at 39–40 Ksibat Nhass, has sun and shade among a lot of plants and looks over the storks' nests on the El Badi Palace and the Saadian Tombs; you can only reach it by visiting the museum.6
Sources
- Bab Agnaou, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
- Marrakesh, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
- Saadian Tombs, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
- Mellah of Marrakesh, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
- Kasbah Café & Restaurant, Kasbah Café Marrakech, accessed October 2026
- Cafés à Marrakech : arty, culturel, Art déco ou rétro, Vanupied (Maciej Poltorak, updated May 26, 2024), accessed October 2026
- Moroccan Storytelling, Cafe Clock, accessed October 2026
- Sfenj, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
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FAQ
Kasbah & Mellah cafés: questions
Which café faces the Saadian Tombs in Marrakech?
Kasbah Café, at No. 47 Boutouil in the Kasbah, sits opposite the Saadian Tombs and has a panoramic terrace, open daily 08:00–23:00 for lunch, dinner and juices. The tombs, a 16th-century royal necropolis rediscovered in 1917, reopened in October 2023 after earthquake repairs; you enter through a narrow passage on the west side.
When is storytelling at Cafe Clock in Marrakech?
Cafe Clock, at 224 Derb Chtouka in the Kasbah, holds free storytelling every Thursday at 19:00. Apprentices of the late master storyteller Haj Ahmed Ezzarghani tell traditional tales in Darija and English. The café also runs concerts, film screenings, cooking and pastry classes, calligraphy and oud lessons.
What is sfenj and where do you find it in the Marrakech Mellah?
Sfenj is a spongy ring of dough fried in oil, first set on the edge of a tilted fryer so it puffs, then cooked in the oil. It is eaten plain, sugared or soaked in honey, early in the morning or late in the afternoon with tea or coffee. A stall signed Moul Sfenj works at 117 Avenue Houman El Fetouaki.
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