Marrakech’s Best Street Food

June 23, 2014

As dusk settles over Marrakech, the nightly dance of the food stalls starts up in Djemaa El Fna. Carts laden with chairs, tables, grills and pots appear from the twisting streets. Moments later the produce arrives and the naked bulbs are lit. By 6pm the meat is sizzling on the grills and the square has transformed into the city’s great outdoor dining hall.

ProjectBly followed the locals to find the best street eats, the food that epitomizes the city’s Berber, Arab and European heritage:

1) Lemon Chicken

Found in a side street just off the main square is Restaurant Gargot. Opening on to the street, there are four small tables in this family owned eatery. The Lemon Chicken, a whole slow roasted chicken in a tangy lemon sauce that begs to be mopped up with fresh bread, is served with a tomato salad and local olives. Service here comes with a smile and good stories.

2) Egg Sandwich

Hard-boiled eggs, potatoes, olive oil and harissa smashed into a crusty round of traditional khobz bread - food carts selling these delicious sandwiches are some of the most popular with locals.

3) Brochettes

If you follow the billowing clouds of charcoal smoke in you will quickly find these succulent kebabs. Rubbed with paprika, cumin and salt these spiced lamb and beef skewers are impossible to resist.

4) Snail soup

Flavored with fifteen spices and believed to be good for digestion, this soup is a distinctly acquired taste. With a flavor similar to earthy shitake mushrooms, the snails are plucked from their shells with a toothpick before you start slurping down the restorative broth.

5) Orange Juice

Every street food adventure in Marrakech should start or end with a glass of freshly-squeezed orange juice. Sweet and refreshing, it is impossibly addictive.

For more on Marrakech's street food, head on over here.

Photography by Shantanu Starick for Project Bly.