Meknes Food Tour — Place El Hedim, Souks & Local Flavours

Meknes offers one of the most authentic food-tour experiences in Morocco precisely because so few tourists come. Built by Moulay Ismail as a grand imperial capital, it retains monumental gates and squares but is lived in by ordinary Meknassis, and its food is honest, local and rooted in the rich produce of the surrounding plains. A food tour centres on the lively Place El Hedim.

Place El Hedim, the great square facing the monumental Bab Mansour gate, is flanked by a covered market famous for its olives — barrel after barrel of every cure imaginable, a direct expression of Meknes's status as the olive capital. Your guide walks you through the olive stalls, the spice and dried-fruit sellers, the fresh produce of the Saïss, and the food counters and grills around the square.

The tastings are classic and generous: olives of every kind, street grills of brochettes and merguez, msemen and harcha, harira soup, local sweets and pastries, and the excellent fruit and vegetables the region grows. Because prices are set for locals and the vendors are unused to being a tourist attraction, the atmosphere is warm and unhurried.

It is a tour for travellers who want the real thing — everyday Moroccan urban food in a handsome imperial city off the main circuit. Bring small cash for the stalls and an appetite, and let the guide introduce you to vendors who have worked the same square for decades. It pairs well with an olive tour or a cooking class.