Sesamo - Royal Mansour

Sesamo is the Italian restaurant inside the Royal Mansour Marrakech, conceived by Massimiliano Alajmo and his brother Raffaele, and ranked among MENA's 50 Best Restaurants since the list began. The kitchen is run day to day by Riccardo Barni, who executes the Alajmo vision with a menu split cleanly into antipasti, primi, secondi, and dolci. Alajmo's flagship Le Calandre in Padua is among Italy's most celebrated restaurants, and its precision carries through to Marrakech without losing warmth. The room evokes the grandest Venetian palazzi: high ceilings, Murano glass lighting, velvet curtains, white tablecloths, terracotta tones, and tropical greenery that softens the formality. The open-air patio is the seat to request at dinner, when sunset fills the courtyard and the temperature drops just enough to make a long meal comfortable. Inside, the salons are more intimate but no less theatrical. On the carte, the Cappuccino Majorelle has become a signature, a squid ink ragù concealed under potato cream, tinted Majorelle blue. Homemade spaghettoni with garlic, oil, chilli, and langoustines are textbook and generous. Saffron risotto arrives with smoked eel gremolata. Beef cheek braised in red wine sits over celeriac purée. Neapolitan pizzas, light-crusted with textbook leoparding, share the menu with lobster, potato gnocchi with Beluga caviar, and stuffed lamb with yoghurt spice sauce. Desserts nod to both traditions: a cloud-like tiramisu, banana split with Alnif cumin, and a Dawa Berbère with saffron ice cream and Atlas walnuts. The wine list is deep and well-matched, and three tasting menus allow the kitchen to set the pace.