Moroccan breakfast
Best Breakfast in Meknes — Olives, Oil and Moroccan Mornings
A Meknes breakfast leans on the region's superb olives and freshly pressed olive oil, served with the usual griddle breads and honey. In Morocco's olive capital, a plate of local olives and oil to dip your bread is a morning highlight.
- City
- Meknes
- Cuisine
- Moroccan breakfast
- Typical price
- 15-70 MAD
Breakfast in Meknes carries the flavour of the surrounding olive country. The regional treat is a plate of the city's excellent olives and a dish of freshly pressed, peppery local olive oil for dipping warm bread — simple, superb, and particular to this olive-growing region. Alongside comes the classic Moroccan spread: msemmen and harcha griddle breads, baghrir pancakes, honey and jam, soft cheese, and mint tea or coffee.
The medina cafés and the stalls around El Hedim square serve these breakfasts to a mostly local crowd, and morning fryers turn out sfenj doughnuts while soup stalls ladle bissara — often finished with a swirl of the local olive oil — for the cheap, traditional workers' start. Being an imperial city near Fes, Meknes shares that region's love of a generous, leisurely morning table.
As a working, less touristy city, Meknes also has plenty of ordinary neighbourhood cafés where locals take strong coffee — the nous-nous (half coffee, half milk) is the order to know — and a pastry to start the day, at prices lower than the tourist cities. The grand backdrop of Bab Mansour and El Hedim square makes even a simple café breakfast feel special.
Make room for the olives and the local oil — they are the regional signature and taste exceptional here. Whether a full Moroccan spread with olives and honey, or just sfenj and coffee at a market café, Meknes offers an honest, local and characterful breakfast.
How to eat well
- 1
Order a plate of local olives and freshly pressed olive oil for dipping bread — the regional breakfast signature.
- 2
Cafés and stalls around El Hedim square serve honest local breakfasts at good prices.
- 3
For a cheap traditional start, get sfenj doughnuts and bissara from a morning stall.
- 4
Order a nous-nous (half coffee, half milk) for the classic Moroccan café coffee.
- 5
Meknes is less touristy than Fes, so breakfast prices are lower and the crowd more local.
Frequently asked questions
What is special about breakfast in Meknes?
The region's olives and freshly pressed local olive oil — Meknes is Morocco's olive capital, so a plate of superb local olives and peppery oil for dipping bread is a morning highlight alongside the usual griddle breads and honey.
Where do locals eat breakfast in Meknes?
At medina cafés and the stalls around El Hedim square, with morning fryers for sfenj doughnuts and soup stalls for bissara. Neighbourhood cafés serve coffee and pastries at local prices.
Is breakfast cheaper in Meknes than in Fes?
Generally yes — as a less touristy city, Meknes's cafés and stalls pitch prices at locals, so a good breakfast costs less than in nearby Fes.