The 5 dishes you must try
Tagine (slow-cooked stew in conical clay — lamb with prunes is the classic). Couscous (Friday tradition, with seven vegetables). Pastilla (sweet-savoury pigeon or chicken pie under crisp warqa pastry, dusted with cinnamon and sugar). Harira (tomato-lentil soup that breaks the Ramadan fast). Mechoui (whole spit-roasted lamb).
Street food essentials
Bocadillos (Moroccan sandwich with kefta or tuna), msemen (square pan-fried pancakes for breakfast), maâkouda (potato fritters in bread), snails in spiced broth (Jemaa el-Fnaa specialty), grilled sardines on the coast.
Regional specialties
Tangier: fresh fish tagines with the Mediterranean catch. Fes: pastilla and trid (shredded pancake in saffron broth). Marrakech: tanjia (slow-cooked lamb in a clay urn — a Marrakech-only dish). Sahara: medfouna ('Berber pizza'), camel meat tagine. Atlas: tagine of dried meat and walnuts.
Mint tea — the national ritual
Green tea, fresh spearmint, lots of sugar. Poured from a height to aerate. Refusing the first glass is acceptable; refusing all three is rude. Available everywhere, all day.
Where to eat well
Riad guesthouses serve the best home-style cooking. 'Mechoui Alley' in Marrakech for whole roasted lamb. Café Clock (Fes, Marrakech, Chefchaouen) for modernised classics like camel burger. NoMad in Marrakech for refined Moroccan.
Take a cooking class
Half-day classes include a souk shopping tour and 3–4 dishes. Highly recommended on day 2 of your trip — you'll order better for the rest of it. Best: La Maison Arabe (Marrakech), Café Clock (Fes), Khmissa (Essaouira).