Pool Terrace & Olive Grove at Amanjena

Amanjena was the first Aman property in Africa, and more than two decades after opening it remains one of the most quietly assured luxury hotels on the continent. The Pool Terrace & Olive Grove is its daytime dining venue, and it sits at the heart of the resort's unhurried rhythm. The terrace runs beneath a series of graceful arches alongside the main pool, their rose-toned walls casting cool shade over tables that look out across the olive groves, the Amelkis fairways, and the peaks of the High Atlas beyond. The menu is deliberately informal. Levantine dips arrive with warmed Berber bread, Fattoush and Caesar salads are built for the midday heat, and grilled meats and seafood come off the kitchen with minimal fuss. The real draw is the adjoining Olive Grove, where a wood-fired oven turns out hand-tossed pizzas, charred and topped with buffalo mozzarella, olives, and sardines from the coast. Tables are set beneath ancient olive trees on manicured lawns, and on Sundays the grove hosts barbecues that stretch well into the afternoon. Homemade sorbets and ice creams bridge the gap between courses, and the Jena Breeze, a gin-based cocktail infused with Moroccan mint and anise liqueur, has become the house signature. Ed Tuttle's architecture, all pisé-de-terre walls, Moorish arches, and a vast emerald bassin at the centre of the property, provides the backdrop that no amount of interior design could replicate. The pool is reserved for hotel guests, but the restaurants are open to non-residents with a reservation. For those staying elsewhere in Marrakech, the drive out to the Route de Ouarzazate is worth it for a long lunch under the olive canopy alone.