Le Bistro Arabe

Name: Le Bistro Arabe
Address: 4 derb Lahbab, Rue Riad Zitoun el Kdim, Marrakesh 40000, Morocco, Marrakech, MA
Telephone: +212 5 24 42 96 46
Price range: €30–60

4 derb Lahbab, Rue Riad Zitoun el Kdim, Marrakesh 40000, Morocco

Pianist at a keyboard in the candlelit courtyard of Le Bistro Arabe, tables around the pool under palms and arches

The dining room under a ceiling of hanging brass lanterns, with red velvet chairs

Main dining room of Le Bistro Arabe with green walls, crystal chandeliers, leather banquettes and the orientalist portrait

Dishes to share on a hammered brass table at Le Bistro Arabe, with a copper pan and a pierced brass lantern

Jazz band playing under the red neon Le Bistro Arabe sign, the stage set above the courtyard pool

Caravan, the bar of Le Bistro Arabe: red neon sign on a brick wall above a leather banquette and a cocktail

Pasta parcels in a golden broth at Le Bistro Arabe, served beside a small brass table lamp

The orientalist portrait of a reclining woman at Le Bistro Arabe, lit above a red velvet banquette

The courtyard of Le Bistro Arabe at night, diners among palms facing the arch with the restaurant's sign

Shared dishes seen from above on a brass table at Le Bistro Arabe, from chicken with olives to beetroot

Pianist playing with the band at Le Bistro Arabe, keyboards in the foreground and warm stage light

A dining room at Le Bistro Arabe under dozens of pierced brass lanterns, with red chairs and paintings

Raspberry cheesecake with a small glass of red sauce on a green plate at Le Bistro Arabe

Bartender pouring a measure behind the bar of Caravan, the cocktail bar of Le Bistro Arabe

Table laid at Le Bistro Arabe with wine glasses, a brass lamp and a napkin printed with the restaurant's name

Couscous topped with vegetables, chickpeas and herbs in a deep bowl at Le Bistro Arabe

The bar at Le Bistro Arabe, with leather stools under dark wood panelling

A lounge corner with green velvet banquettes, a crystal chandelier and a portrait painting

A wood-panelled room with a crystal chandelier, wall lamps and potted palms

The riad courtyard at night, with tables set around the pool under the palms

Brass lanterns hanging over a table with red velvet chairs and portrait paintings

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Neighborhood

Medina

As a restaurant

Price per person

€30–60ⓘ

Alcohol

Yes

Cuisine Type

Moroccan Fusion

Experience

Festive, Family-friendly

Features

Riad, Inside a Hotel

Festive Features

Live music

Perfect For

Dinner

Overview

Chef Myriam Ettahri puts her name on the menu, desserts included. Her cooking takes traditional Moroccan recipes and makes them lighter and more refined, with careful sourcing and a few plates served deconstructed. The restaurant belongs to Riad Monceau, an Arab-Andalusian palace in Riad Zitoun Lakdim, in the medina, where jazz is the thread running through the house. Live jazz plays every night through dinner. In the main lounge hangs the restaurant's emblem, a painting made from an Augustus Leopold Egg engraving of Byron's 1813 poem "Thou Art Not False, But Thou Art Fickle", whose subject seems to follow onlookers with her gaze. The owner tracked down the original engraving at a German antique dealer, and it hangs at the reception. The cooking is Moroccan with Mediterranean influences, and the plates are meant for sharing, two or three each. Trid with truffle is the house's best-known signature, with pulled beef, lentils and ras el hanout. A second list of revisited classics has a tanjia slow-cooked in a local red wine and a deconstructed lamb couscous whose broth is poured at the last minute. The chef's baghrir "Suzettes", Marrakech's thousand-hole pancakes flambéed with Cointreau, should be ordered at the start of the meal. Vegetarian dishes are marked, and children under 12 have their own menu. The bar, Caravan, is a speakeasy in the spirit of Casablanca, named after Duke Ellington's 1932 standard, and pours signature cocktails and mocktails, wine and champagne. Booking is preferred.