Travel tips
Where to Eat in Chefchaouen
Chefchaouen, the blue-washed town folded into the Rif mountains, cooks differently from the lowland cities. This is highland food — warming, simple and tied to what the mountains and small farms produce: fava beans, goat's cheese, olives, mountain herbs and honey. Eating here is about a handful of honest specialities taken slowly on a shaded square.
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- Travel tips
- Updated
- 20 July 2026
At a glance
- Bissara, a thick fava-bean soup, is the local breakfast and comfort dish.
- Fresh goat's cheese (jben) from the surrounding hills is a regional specialty.
- The Plaza Uta el-Hammam is the town's café and eating heart.
- This is mountain cooking — simple, warming and herb-driven.
Bissara, the mountain breakfast
The dish most associated with Chefchaouen is bissara, a thick purée of dried split fava beans (or sometimes split peas) cooked soft and blended smooth, then finished with a well of olive oil, a dusting of cumin and paprika, and bread for dipping. It is a cheap, filling breakfast and cold-weather staple across the Rif, and Chaouen is one of the best places to eat it. Our bissara guide goes deeper on how it is made.
Goat's cheese and mountain produce
The hills around Chefchaouen produce a soft, fresh goat's cheese — jben — that appears on breakfast tables and in the markets, often eaten with bread, honey or olive oil. The surrounding farms also supply olives, olive oil, mountain honey, walnuts and herbs, giving the local cooking a fresher, greener character than the meat-heavy plains.
- Jben: fresh goat's cheese, best with local honey; see our jben guide.
- Mountain honey: sold in the medina, dark and aromatic.
- Olives and oil: from Rif groves, a market staple.
- Herbs and greens: lift the region's soups and tagines.
Where to sit and eat
The Plaza Uta el-Hammam, the main square beneath the kasbah and the grand mosque, is ringed with cafés and small restaurants and is the natural place to eat, watch the town and drink mint tea. The lanes climbing above it hold rooftop terraces with views over the blue rooftops to the mountains — ideal for a slow tagine at sunset. Look for the plain places busy with locals rather than the most heavily touted terraces.
Planning your meals
Start the day with bissara and bread, buy jben and honey from the medina, and take dinner on a rooftop with a mountain view. Chaouen is small and slow, so instinct serves you well. For how highland cooking fits the country, see our regions overview.
Frequently asked questions
What food is Chefchaouen known for?
Bissara, a thick fava-bean soup eaten for breakfast with olive oil and cumin, is the signature dish. The town is also known for fresh goat's cheese (jben), mountain honey and the simple, herb-driven cooking of the Rif highlands.
What is bissara?
Bissara is a smooth, thick purée of dried split fava beans (sometimes split peas), cooked soft and blended, then served in a bowl with a pool of olive oil, cumin and paprika, and bread for dipping. It is a cheap, warming staple across northern Morocco.
Where is the best place to eat in the blue city?
The Plaza Uta el-Hammam, the main square, is the eating and café heart of town. The rooftop terraces on the lanes above it offer tagines with views over the blue medina and the surrounding Rif mountains.
Is Chefchaouen good for vegetarians?
Reasonably. Bissara, goat's cheese, bread, olives, vegetable tagines and salads are all widely available and naturally meat-free, and the mountain cooking is lighter on meat than the lowland cities.