Best Budget Eats in Essaouira — Cheap and Cheerful by the Sea

Beyond the famous (and sometimes pricey) port grills, Essaouira has a thriving cheap-eats scene that locals rely on. The everyday budget anchors are the same reliable Moroccan staples — bissara (fava-bean soup with cumin and olive oil), harira, and a daily tagine or plate of couscous at the small canteens away from the main squares. Grilled sardines, Essaouira's signature and cheapest fish, can be had for a pittance from the humbler port stalls and market grills. Street snacks — maakouda, msemen, sfenj, brochettes — cover the gaps.

The town's fish market and the produce souk are the key to eating cheaply: you can buy sardines or small fish very cheaply and have them grilled, or assemble a picnic of bread, olives, cheese, fruit and dates to eat on the ramparts or the beach. The canteens on the streets away from Place Moulay Hassan and the port serve workers and locals a filling lunch for a fraction of the seafront prices, and the further you get from the tourist core, the better the value.

To keep costs down, eat where the locals eat rather than on the main tourist squares, make lunch your big meal at a canteen or market grill, and lean on sardines and bean soups. A plate of charcoal-grilled sardines with bread and salad, eaten looking out at the blue boats, is both one of the cheapest and one of the most satisfying meals in town.