Editorial
Marrakech keeps most of its drinking on riad rooftops and behind hotel doors. The nine below are where to find a proper one.
Le Salama sits steps from Jemaa el-Fnaa, a three-level Medina room that pairs a Moroccan-palace look with a proper bar, which is rarer than it sounds inside the old walls. It runs 11am to 2am daily, with a rooftop for sunset and a dinner show later on. Come for the view and the rooftop, not a quiet pint.
Baromètre has been Gueliz's mixology bar since 2016, hidden in a basement behind an unmarked door and fitted out like an apothecary lab. The Hadni brothers build cocktails on local spices and clever technique, with Mediterranean plates alongside. Open daily 5pm to 2am. The closest Marrakech gets to a serious speakeasy.
The Churchill Bar inside La Mamounia is a whisky room named for the man himself, who rated the hotel one of the world's most beautiful spots. Expect 3cl and 6cl pours, a smart dress code and prices to match the address. Open to non-residents every evening from 5:30pm. Dress up or stay home.
El Fenn's rooftop runs to 1,300 square metres of terrace with a thirty-foot marble bar and a clear line to the Koutoubia minaret. The mixologists know their work and the Medina rooftops stretch out below. It opens half past noon to 11pm, so this is a sunset drink, not a late one. Worth the climb.
Kabana looks straight at the Koutoubia from its rooftop and stays open 11am to 2am, which makes it one of the easier late drinks in the Medina. The list is long and the kitchen runs Mediterranean and sushi, with vegetarian options. Decent rather than hidden, but the view does a lot of the work.
Le Comptoir Darna pairs dinner with a show, belly dancers and a DJ once the plates clear, which is rather the whole point here. It is more spectacle than secret, but the cocktails hold up and the room has real energy late. Best booked for a group that wants the night out, not a quiet corner.
The Rooftop Garden at Nobu Marrakech gives you 360-degree views over the Red City to the Atlas, with cabanas, a sundeck and the Nobu cocktail and sushi programme. It is polished and priced like the brand, so treat it as a sunset splurge. Go for the view and the signatures, and keep an eye on the bill.
The Lotus Club fills a 1930s villa in the new town with a nightly dinner show, running 7:30pm to 3am with performances every night but Monday. The kitchen spans French, Moroccan and Asian, and the cocktails come with cabaret. Book it for the spectacle and a late one, not for an intimate drink.
The Grand Café de la Poste has held its corner in Gueliz since the Ville Nouvelle was young, a French brasserie open 9am to 1am. The bar is a calm, colonial-era room for a vermouth or a nightcap away from the rooftops. Reliable and a touch old-school, which is exactly why it lasts.
Le Salama and Baromètre are the essential two. The rooftops peak between 7 and 10 PM around sunset.
Tom Callahan covers pubs and bars across the UK, Ireland and beyond. Twenty years of last orders, a fair pour and a clear view of the match.