Best Seafood in El Jadida — Atlantic Catch by the Portuguese City

El Jadida grew up around its harbour, and seafood is woven into daily life here. Boats work the Atlantic shelf and the Oum Er-Rbia river mouth nearby, landing sea bream, sea bass, sardines, sole, calamari and prawns. The most honest way to eat them is the fisherman's way: grilled whole over charcoal with nothing more than salt, cumin and a squeeze of lemon, served with bread and a simple tomato-and-onion salad. The freshness does the work.

The area around the fishing port and the old Cité Portugaise — the UNESCO-listed Portuguese quarter with its famous underground cistern — is where to look, along with the town's central market. As in other Moroccan ports, some fishmongers' stalls and adjoining eateries let you choose your fish by weight and have it grilled or fried for a small cooking charge, which is both the cheapest and the freshest way to eat. Order a mixed fried plate (friture) of small fish and calamari when you want variety.

Beyond the grill, look for the Moroccan-spiced treatments: fish tagine cooked with chermoula (coriander, garlic, cumin, paprika and preserved lemon), calamari simmered in tomato, and, in season, shad (alose) from the Oum Er-Rbia around neighbouring Azemmour, a river fish the Doukkala coast prizes. Sardines, Morocco's national fish, are grilled everywhere and cost almost nothing.

To eat well, go where the turnover is high and the crowd is local, confirm the per-kilo price before your fish is weighed, and do not overlook the humble sardine — a plate of them straight off the coals with bread and salad is one of the best-value meals on the coast.