Best Rooftop Restaurants in Casablanca — Ocean and City Views

Unlike the historic medina rooftops of Marrakech and Fes, Casablanca's best terraces face the ocean and the city's landmarks. Along the Ain Diab Corniche, rooftop restaurants and lounges look out over the Atlantic surf, with the vast Hassan II Mosque — its minaret the tallest in Africa, rising straight from the sea — as the defining view. Sunset here, with the ocean turning gold behind the mosque, is one of the great Casablanca sights.

Downtown and in the smart districts, sky bars and rooftop restaurants sit above the art-deco boulevards and modern towers, serving cocktails, international small plates and modern Moroccan food. Because Casablanca is a licensed, cosmopolitan city, many of these rooftops are proper bars with full drinks menus — a different scene from the largely dry medina terraces inland. This is the place on the coast for a sundowner with a view.

The cooking on the rooftops ranges from Mediterranean and seafood to sushi and modern Moroccan, generally geared to a stylish evening rather than tradition. Ocean-facing tables on the Corniche are the ones to request, timed for sunset over the water. In the cooler, breezier evenings, terraces may have heaters or glass screens against the Atlantic wind.

Book ahead for sunset at the Corniche and hotel rooftops, especially on weekends, and ask for an ocean-side table. Bring a layer — the sea breeze picks up after dark even in summer — and arrive early to catch the light on the Hassan II Mosque.