Cheap Eats in Dakhla — Budget Seafood in the Deep South

Dakhla's great budget advantage is its seafood. As a major fishing port in one of the world's richest fishing zones, it serves fresh fish, octopus, prawns and even oysters at prices far below the rest of Morocco. A plate of grilled fish or fried small fish with bread and salad costs little, and the famous lagoon oysters — a delicacy elsewhere — are cheap here at the source. For a seafood-lover on a budget, Dakhla is hard to beat.

Beyond seafood, the standard cheap Moroccan meals apply. Harira and bissara soups with bread cost around 10-15 MAD, and sandwich counters stuff baguettes with kefta, fish or egg, chips and salad for 15-40 MAD. Small canteens serve a plate of the day — fish, tagine or lentils — for 30-45 MAD. Being a remote southern town, Dakhla's food is practical and unpretentious, aimed at fishermen, workers and adventure travellers rather than tourists.

The town's frontier character keeps the food scene simple and honest: no-frills fish restaurants, grills and canteens where freshness and value matter more than presentation. The southern location also means some influences from Saharan and Sahrawi cuisine, and camel meat appears on some menus as a regional speciality. Sweet mint tea, poured with the ceremony common across the south, accompanies everything.

To eat cheaply and superbly, make seafood your focus — grilled fish, octopus and the bargain oysters — and fill in with the usual soups and sandwiches. Dakhla rewards the long journey south with some of the freshest, best-value food in Morocco.