The house
A narrow door, six flights of stairs, and then the sky.
La Terrasse Ben Youssef occupies a riad in the medina, on Rue Sidi Abdellaziz. From the street you would never guess.
Arriving
What you see from the street
A pink wall, a green-tiled canopy, a carved wooden door and a blue sign: Restaurant La Terrasse Ben Youssef — traditional Moroccan cuisine, 360° panoramic terrace. That is all of it. The rest is above your head.
The climb
A corridor of lanterns
Through the door the noise of the souk stops dead. A narrow corridor, pierced-iron lanterns, zellige tilework, a red runner, a fountain in the courtyard. Then the staircase — and at every landing the light gets a little cleaner.
The salons
Ambre, Rouge, Kibir
Three rooms before the roof, each with its own character: carved plaster and chandeliers, low banquettes, red linen. The tea salon is cooled in summer and heated in winter — it is where you sit when the wind picks up or the sun is too hard.
The roof
And then the door opens onto 360°
A wrought-iron pergola, turquoise zellige tabletops, bulbs hung on rope, potted olive trees. Around it: nothing. That is the point. The medina spreads out on every side, the Koutoubia marks the west, and the Atlas closes the horizon to the south.
The kitchen
Traditional, and nothing else
Tagines on a slow flame, Friday couscous, tanjia from its clay urn, pastilla dusted with cinnamon, charcoal skewers, harira. No fusion, no reinvention. The board is priced in dirhams and euros, at the door and on the terrace alike.
The music
More often than not, someone is playing
An oud, a bendir, sometimes a gnawa group in blue robes moving between the tables. It is not a show with a start time — it is simply how the evening settles in.
In brief
- Address
- 98, Riad Laarouss, Rue Sidi Abdellaziz, Medina, Marrakech
- Cuisine
- Traditional Moroccan
- The terrace
- 360° panoramic, the highest in the medina
- Rooms
- Terrace, Salle Ambre, Salle Rouge, Salle Kibir
- Tea salon
- Air-conditioned in summer, heated in winter
- Breakfast
- 07:00 – 12:00, from 70 DH
- Reviews
- 4.4 ★ from 647 Google reviews
- Recognition
- Travelers' Choice Tripadvisor · Recommended by Le Routard
- Payment
- Cash, Visa, Mastercard
- Wi-Fi
- Yes, free
All that is left is the climb.
Book your table — and say if you want it against the railing.