Cheap Eats in Essaouira — Budget Seaside Food

The cheapest great meal in Essaouira is a plate of grilled sardines — oily, fresh off the boats, and among the best-value seafood in Morocco. At the port grills and the small fish canteens in the medina, a plate of sardines or fried small fish with bread and salad costs very little, giving you a proper seafood lunch for the price of a snack elsewhere. Freshness, not fuss, is what you're paying for.

Beyond fish, the standard cheap Moroccan meals apply. Bissara and harira soups with bread cost around 10-15 MAD at medina stalls, freshest in the morning and midday. Sandwich counters stuff baguettes with kefta, fish, maakouda, chips and harissa for 15-35 MAD, and small canteens serve a plate of the day — tagine, lentils, or fish — for 30-45 MAD. Sfenj doughnuts and griddle breads make cheap snacks throughout the day.

The market stalls near Place Moulay Hassan are perfect for a budget picnic: fresh bread, olives, dates, roasted nuts, cheese and fruit for very little, eaten on the ramparts looking out to sea. The argan sweets and amlou sold here also make cheap, distinctive treats particular to this region.

To eat cheaply and well, base yourself on the fish canteens and port grills for seafood, the soup stalls and sandwich counters for everything else, and the markets for picnics. Confirm prices before ordering — especially by weight at the fish stalls — and you will eat fresh, local and cheap by the Atlantic.