We have selected 15 restaurants, which we have divided into five categories: Gastronomic, Business, Trendy, Budget and Personal Recommendations. The restaurants are listed alphabetically within these different categories, which serve as guidelines rather than absolute definitions of the establishments.

Restaurant prices are subject to 19% VAT (Value Added Tax). In the upmarket restaurants service charges of 10-15% are added to the bill; if not a tip of this amount is expected. Price ranges indicated below represent a three-course meal; wine is not available in many Marrakech eateries.

$$$$ (over Dh350)
$$$ (Dh250 to Dh350)
$$ (Dh100 to Dh250)
$ (under Dh100)

Al Fassia
Al Fassia has become a local legend for hearty yet elegant dishes from the Middle Atlas and Fez, Morocco's culinary capital. The restaurant is run by a group of sisters who recreate their own family recipes with top-notch ingredients and a sharp all-female staff. The menu is à la carte and the décor plush modern Moroccan. A wide selection of savoury meat dishes, tagines and couscous are on offer, but the array of nine salads alone is enough to satisfy a vegetarian. Alcohol is served.

55 Boulevard Zerktouni (at end of pedestrian passage), Guéliz
Tel: (024) 434 060.
Price: $$

Dar Moha
The culinary star of Marrakech has set new standards for Moroccan fusion cuisine, with combinations dreamed up daily from the souks and the imagination of Chef Mohammed Fedal. The menu is à la carte for dinner, but lunchtime means great value for sumptuous fix-priced feasts. The best seats in this former family home are around the petal-strewn pool in the garden, where musicians play in the evenings and a grill house emits tantalising aromas by day. But take what you can get; reservations are necessary, especially at dinner. Alcohol is served.

81 Rue Dar el-Bacha
Tel: (024) 386 4000.
Website: www.darmoha.ma
Price: $$$

Jnane Tamsna
With an inspired Moroccan-Mediterranean menu created daily with ingredients grown in the organic gardens of this villa estate, a fine selection of wines and meals served in the archway-lined courtyard or luxurious dining room, this guest house offers a delectable dining experience set in the heart of the exclusive Palmeraie.

Douar Abiad, Palmeraie
Tel: (024) 329 423.
Website: www.tamsna.com
Price: $$$$

Pavilion
Near La Maison Arabe and a little harder to find, but worth the effort: just follow the lantern-carrier across from the Bab Doukkala Mosque. Pavilion offers high quality French cuisine with a setting to match, if a somewhat sub-par wine list. Tables are shaded by the boughs of a huge tree in the courtyard of this elegant old house, with additional tables clustered inside in small alcoves for more intimate dining.

47 Derb Zaouia, Bab Doukkala
Tel: (024) 387 040.
Price: $$$

Jardin des Arts
A five-minute taxi ride from Guéliz, this is a bit out of the way for the majority of visitors to Marrakech, but well worth the effort. Serving French food, including pork dishes (not generally served in Muslim countries) and a selection of seafood, Jardin des Arts also has a decent wine list. The restaurant itself is in a modern villa elegantly decorated in muted pinks and yellows, with a garden for al fresco dining.

6-7 Rue Sakia el Hamra, Semlalia
Tel: (024) 446 634.
Price: $$$

Café de France
A local institution and one of the most famous cafes in Marrakech, Café de France is popular as a meeting place for those with business in the medina. The street-level terrace is good for watching the comings and goings in the square, while the roof terraces have superb views. The menu offers unexceptional but serviceable fare and decent coffee at a reasonable price; what you're paying for here is the location and convenience factor.

Jemaa el Fna
Price: $

Le Comptoir
No longer the newest hotspot in town but still the place to be seen and the favourite hang-out for Marrakech's beautiful people. Both cocktail bar and restaurant, Le Comptoir segues from mellow dining downstairs to outbursts of belly-dancing and carousing by the upstairs bar as the night wears on. The Franco-Moroccan menu works well in this sumptuous, east-meets-west setting where diplomats, supermodels, and minor royalty rub shoulders.

Avenue Echouada, Hivernage
Tel: (024) 437 702.
Website: www.comptoirdarna.com
Price: $$$$

Le Grand Café de la Poste
Once a sorting office and colonial hotel, this deco Casablanca-style eatery is where Mediterranean flair meets top-notch Moroccan ingredients on the inventive seasonal à la carte menu. Among the potted palms in the dining room, ordinary mortals mingle with movie stars on a break from filming desert scenes. With ample vegetarian options, salads, and dishes light on the sauces, it's easy to justify dessert.

Boulevard El Mansour Eddahbi
Tel: (024) 433 038.
Website: www.grandcafedelaposte.com
Price: $$$

Le Marrakchi
Set on a corner of the Jemaa el Fna, this atmospheric Moroccan restaurant is a place you'll want to settle in among the cushions and stay awhile, taking in superb views of the square. It offers a selection of Moroccan dishes à la carte as well as a set menu, and though the food can be bland, it's still popular with couples for its romantic candlelit setting and splendid mosaics from Fez. The restaurant also offers a selection of local wines.

52 Rue des Banques, Medina
Tel: (024) 443 377.
Website: www.lemarrakchi.com
Price: $$$

Chez Chegrouni
A better option for delicate stomachs and vegetarians than the food stalls in the Jemaa el Fna but still within the square, this is a hugely popular restaurant with tourists and locals alike. It offers all the usual dishes and has a small terrace at the front to watch the nightly antics. Unlike many of the budget restaurants, it does not use meat stock for non-meat dishes, so vegetarian dishes are just that. Although it's small and basic, it's very clean and well-run and a justifiable favourite.

Jemaa el-Fna
Tel: (065) 474 615.
Price: $

Jemaa el Fna
For the most authentic Moroccan dining experience, join the crowds and eat within the Jemaa el Fna itself. As twilight falls, over 100 food stalls are set up and clouds of smoke drift over the square as all manner of meats are grilled and served with cooked vegetable salads as sides. Wander around until you see ingredients that look the freshest, then squeeze onto one of the benches. Bread is used instead of cutlery and orange juice is brought from one of the many juice stalls. A word of warning - although the food is well cooked, ask for food to be served on paper instead of hastily rinsed plates, and drink OJ from your water bottle instead of reused cups.

Jemaa-el-Fna
Price: $

Pizzeria Venezia
Good selection of pizzas, pastas and salads, all made with the freshest ingredients, but the real draw is the view from the roof terrace. From here you can see the sun setting over the Koutoubia mosque and watch the cars, bikes and pedestrians jostle along the busy avenue. Cool breezes on hot summer evenings make the experience even more pleasant.

279 Avenue Mohammed V
Tel: (024) 440 081.
Price: $