Editorial
Marrakech is more cocktail-friendly than its religious-conservative reputation suggests, but the rules are specific: alcohol is licensed only in hotels and restaurants. The 10 below are mostly riad rooftops, hotel bars and Hivernage-district restaurants.
Ksar Char-Bagh pours cocktails inside a Palmeraie palace hotel modeled on the Alhambra, with a deep Champagne list and drinks built around Moroccan gin and Ourika Valley honey. Service is formal and unhurried. Palace Bar
L'Envers opened in 2018 as Morocco's first electro bar, a small Gueliz room mixing wines, beers and cocktails with live DJ sets and rotating work from local artists. It runs Monday to Saturday from early evening. Electro Bar
Pointbar has poured proper cocktails in Gueliz for years, a narrow bamboo-screened room off the main drag that opens to a patio with low sofas and a retractable roof for summer nights. It runs 5pm to 2am daily. Cocktail Bar
Bar-hopping does not really exist in Marrakech, and most visitors pick one or two rooms per evening. The Hivernage hotel bars and riad rooftops dominate. Most rooftop terraces close by midnight; some hotel bars run later.
Morten Andersen writes about beer and the kind of bars that do not ask for attention. He clocks the pour, the crowd and the prices before the decor.