Anthony Bourdain in Morocco: Tangier, Fez and the Sahara

Explore Bourdain's Morocco through Tangier's fish restaurants and cafés, the medina of Fez and his desert journey. What to visit and how to plan the route.

Anthony Bourdain's Morocco takes in three very different settings: Tangier, the medina of Fez and the edge of the Sahara. The A Cook's Tour episodes “Traditional Tastes” and “Desert Feast” aired in 2002. In 2013, he returned to Tangier for Parts Unknown.

Following these journeys requires more than a restaurant list. Some places are open to visitors. The meals in family kitchens in Fez and the lamb in the dunes, by contrast, were private or arranged for the programme and cannot be booked. The three parts can become a longer journey across the country or be explored separately.

Tangier: fish at Le Saveur de Poisson

The fish restaurant on a stepped lane near Rue de la Liberté is one of the Tangier episode's food stops. Episode guides describe a fish tagine and grilled fish, with local herbs helping to shape the cooking.

Ask about current service times and the menu before visiting.

Address: 2 Escalier Waller, Tangier.

Café Baba: mint tea in the Kasbah

At Café Baba, Bourdain drinks mint tea with artist George Bajalia. The room and its regulars belong to an episode as interested in Tangier's cultural memory as in its food.

The café is in the Kasbah and fits into a walk through the neighbourhood. If smoke bothers you, bear in mind that the smoky interior was part of Bourdain's account.

Address: Rue Zaitouni, Kasbah, Tangier.

Hotel El Muniria: literary Tangier

Tangier's literary history brings Bourdain to Hotel El Muniria, where William S. Burroughs worked on Naked Lunch. The episode also shows the preparation of majoun, a confection containing cannabis.

The hotel is a literary landmark on the route. You can see the building from the street. If you want to visit its historic rooms, ask the hotel in advance.

Address: Rue Magellan, Tangier.

Fez: cooking behind the medina walls

In “Traditional Tastes”, Bourdain is welcomed into family kitchens in the medina. Couscous is steamed repeatedly, meals take time, and hospitality gives the episode its shape.

You can explore the medina on your own. For a first visit, consider a guided walk that also introduces the food markets and the city's cooking.

Starting point: Fès el-Bali, for example at the Bab Boujloud gate.

Rissani and the Sahara: a meal from an earth oven

“Desert Feast” begins in Rissani. Bourdain travels into the dunes with his hosts, who cook a whole lamb in an earth oven. Its preparation and the shared meal are the heart of this part of the journey.

Rissani can be a starting point for exploring the area around Merzouga and the Erg Chebbi dunes.

Planning the journey in stages

Tangier works as a city stay of its own, with the Kasbah, a fish lunch and tea. Fez deserves additional time for the medina. Continuing towards Rissani and Merzouga is a substantial journey; allow time both for travel and for the destination.

If you want to connect all three areas, start by allowing at least a week and check transport for your chosen route. For a weekend, choose one of the cities.

Extend your trip: Marrakech, the Atlas and the Atlantic

These three properties are outside the Bourdain stops covered here and suit a separate extension: Berber Lodge near Oumnass, Olinto in the Ouirgane Valley and La Sultana Oualidia on the Atlantic coast.

They offer three different stays: near Marrakech, in the Atlas, or beside Oualidia's lagoon. Each requires additional travel time.

The scenes described belong to the television episodes. Confirm current visitor access and transport for the dates of your trip.

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