Plus61

Plus61 takes its name from Australia's country code, and the restaurant it labels has become one of the more quietly important dining rooms in Marrakech. Opened in Gueliz by Cassandra Karinsky, a Sydney designer, and Sebastian de Gzell, it channels the Australian approach to eating: relaxed service, shared plates, seasonal menus that change with what the local bio-organic farmers bring in, and a kitchen that makes its own bread, pasta, cheese, and yoghurt from scratch every morning. The room is minimal and considered. Moss green banquettes, blush pink marble tables, and brass sconces were all commissioned from Marrakech artisans, and the effect is a space that feels bright and open at lunch and warmly candlelit by dinner. There is no decoration competing with the food, and the food needs none. The chicken schnitzel, impossibly crunchy with a cabbage slaw and mint, has become the house signature for good reason. Pickled sardines arrive with mussels and aioli lemon crumbs; tuna tartare is set on a bed of stracciatella; chargrilled octopus comes with chimichurri; and the squid ink tagliatelle is rich without being heavy. Desserts lean toward the kind of thing you would find in a good Sydney cafe: baked cheesecake, panna cotta, and occasionally a lamington, the sponge cake that is practically an Australian national symbol. The wine list favours natural and biodynamic bottles, and the cocktails hold their own. What sets Plus61 apart, beyond the cooking, is its role as a neighbourhood gathering point. Locals, expats, and returning visitors fill the small dining room, and on any given evening the tables read like a roll call of the Gueliz creative community. Ranked among MENA's 50 Best Restaurants, it proves that a concise menu, good sourcing, and genuine hospitality can outperform spectacle.