Where to Eat Near the Majorelle Garden: Guéliz, Streets and Traps

The Majorelle Garden is in Guéliz, the new town, not in the medina: around it, meals are taken in an ordinary city, with cafés, neighbourhood restaurants and more tourist-oriented places. This guide describes the streets, the types of places and the traps. It gives no restaurant prices, as no official tariff is published; look at the menu before you sit down.

Eating in or right next to the garden

The Majorelle Garden has its own café, the Bousafsaf, inside the grounds: it saves you from leaving, but it assumes you already have a ticket, and the room fills up at peak hours. Outside the garden, Rue Yves Saint Laurent and the neighbouring streets have a few restaurants, mostly aimed at visitors. They are convenient after the visit, without being the most interesting in Guéliz. For the garden itself, read our page on the Majorelle Garden.

Guéliz: the streets to eat on

A few minutes away by taxi or on foot, Guéliz offers more choice:

Avenue Mohammed V and around: the main artery of the new town, with cafés, terraces and restaurants serving Moroccan and international food.
Rue de la Liberté and neighbouring streets: neighbourhood restaurants, used by locals at lunchtime.
The Guéliz central market: for a simple lunch or to taste local produce, with small eateries around the market.
The historic cafés: the Grand Café de la Poste, on Boulevard El Mansour Eddahbi, is an old and well-known address of the new town; as with any such place, check the hours and the menu before you come.

To understand the district, see our guide to Guéliz and Hivernage.

Traps around the garden

Restaurants "two steps from the garden" that live off the queue: a menu in English and French with no dish of the day is no guarantee of quality, but a restaurant full of Moroccan customers at lunchtime is often a good sign.
Unposted prices: refuse to order without seeing the menu, especially for tea, drinks and fish sold by weight.
Touts who claim the garden is closed or full to take you elsewhere. You have a timed ticket, so check it: the hours are on the official ticket office.
Improvised "guides" outside the garden who suggest a restaurant: they take a commission, added to your bill.

When to come to avoid the wait

The Majorelle Garden peaks in mid-morning and early afternoon. Have lunch either early or after 2 pm, when the rooms empty. In the evening Guéliz is livelier than the medina for restaurants and bars; alcohol is served in some licensed places (see alcohol in Marrakech).