Gran Café Central — Restaurant in arrondissement de Tanger-Medina طنجة المدينة

The current Gran Café Central is nothing like the original Café Central that was established in 1813.

Beginning in the 1940s up until Moroccanization was mandated in 1973, Café Central was mainly a bar and café where expatriates and tourists would enjoy a glass of wine, a beer, a tea or coffee and sit outside at Parisian-style round tables and chairs.

Before the location was sold to its current owner, who renovated the old café in the mid-1980s, it had deteriorated into a somewhat run-down dark café with mostly older Moroccan men smoking kif pipes inside while having a mint tea or coffee.

Now modernized, Gran Café Central has a long outdoor canopy with hanging baskets of greenery that provide shade. This pleasant outside seating area, surrounded by potted plants, has 26 tables, each with four comfortable cushioned chairs.

Gran Café Central serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, including omelets, tajines, fishes, salads, hamburgers, deserts, freshly-squeezed orange juice, smoothies and non-alcoholic cocktails with ice. I have ordered cheese omelets with a salad garnish, olives and warm bread, or a fresh Moroccan salad.

In 2023, most items on the menu increased in price, and some have shrunk to a noticeably smaller size.

The café-restaurant provides a direct view of the Petit Socco. It is an ideal place to rendezvous with friends, for people-watching or simply relaxing.

While sitting at Gran Café Central, you will likely observe tourists and day-trippers who take the ferry boat from Tarifa, Spain. They often sit here for one or two hours during their visits.

I have met tourists from all over the world: Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Lichtenstein, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Armenia, Australia, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, England, Argentina, Uruguay and Brasil.

Gran Café Central is cleaner and more upscale than the other nearby haunts,such as Café Tingis. You can sit outside at tables under the long awning or under one of three huge square umbrellas or bask in the sunshine.

The beautiful inside room is 59 feet long and 12 feet wide and has a 13 feet tall ceiling. There are 20 tables inside, each with four comfortable upholstered chairs.

In August 2023, two air-conditioners were installed. When on, it’s cooler and less humid inside in the hotter summer months. Still, it is often too hot inside and uncomfortable as the air-conditioners are usually turned off.

Gran Café Central has an excellent chef. You may order a tajine, couscous, pizza, smoothie, orange juice or other fruit juice, coffee, cappuccino, black tea, mint tea or herbal tea, among other items on the menu that include ice creams, tempting cakes and some pastries.

Gran Café Central is a good place to meet friends before or after visiting the Tangier American Legation Museum. This historic property―a gift from Sultan Moulay Suliman to the United States of America in 1821―is the oldest American diplomatic property in the world.

Gran Café Central is open during the daytime hours in the month of Ramadan, so tourists and non-Moslems may eat or drink something as other cafés in Tangier are closed.

You can enjoy a traditional and generous Moroccan couscous on Fridays. There is a soup de poisson on the menu that I particularly enjoy.

On hot days, try an ice-filled mojito with fresh mint. Prices were increased in 2023, so expect to spend 50 to 100 Dirhams or more for a full meal with a drink and a tip for your waiter.

Once, I ordered a tagliatelle with mushrooms, but the portion was disappointingly small. Another time, my Central Burger arrived with tiny half-inch undercooked and lukewarm frites.

When filled with tourists, the service is irratic and frustratingly slow. I waited over 30 minutes for a pizza, and when it arrived, it was not what I had ordered. Service would be faster during busy times if a few more waiters were hired.

Credit cards are not accepted. No alcoholic drinks are served.

Gran Café Central has good Wi-Fi, two clean and modern toilets. Inside are two large flat-screen televisions, and...

I recently had the unfortunate experience of dining at Cafe Central in Petit Socco, Tanger, Morocco for breakfast, and I must say it was a huge disappointment. Despite the promising claims of offering a Moroccan menu, the reality was far from what was advertised. From the overpriced breakfast to the lackluster food and subpar service, this establishment fell short in every aspect.

Let's start with the breakfast itself. The menu boasted a Moroccan selection, but all I received were various types of bread, packed jams, and cheese. I had expected a more authentic and diverse range of Moroccan breakfast options, but instead, I was left with a plate that resembled a cheap continental breakfast you would find in a budget hotel. The lack of effort put into creating a unique and flavorful menu was evident, and the content certainly did not justify the exorbitant prices.

Adding insult to injury, the portion sizes were disappointingly small. The food presented was barely enough to satisfy a child, let alone an adult. Even the orange juice, which should have been a refreshing accompaniment, was served in a ridiculously tiny baby glass. It felt like they were intentionally trying to skimp on everything, making the experience even more frustrating.

To make matters worse, the coffee served at Cafe Central was nothing more than instant Nescafé. As a coffee lover, I expected to savor a rich and aromatic cup of Moroccan coffee, but instead, I was served a substandard instant coffee that tasted no different from what I could have made at home. It was a letdown to say the least.

Furthermore, the service at Cafe Central was abysmal. The staff seemed disinterested and unresponsive to customers' needs. I had to repeatedly call for their attention just to get a refill of my coffee, and even then, they took their sweet time to fulfill the request. The lack of professionalism and basic courtesy was apparent throughout my entire visit.

Overall, I cannot recommend Cafe Central in Petit Socco, Tanger, Morocco for breakfast or any other meal. The menu offerings were limited and uninspiring, the portions were ridiculously small, the coffee was far from satisfactory, and the service was unacceptably poor. Save your money and explore other options in the area that truly showcase the rich and diverse flavors of...

The Gran Cafe Central is a busy spot located in the very touristy area named Petit Socco of the old town Medina in Tangier. As is the case with most rourist trap dining spots, the Central is disappointing from both a service and quality of food perspective. Table service is disorganized and agonizingly slow, try waiting an hour for a pizza. Food is all boil in a bag or a freezer to microwave to table variety. No alcohol is served here, but Virgin cocktails are in abundance. The trouble is that all are made with a heavy dose of sweet syrups mixed with lemonade and enough ice to fill a glacial lake. The result is a cloyingly sweet concoction that can only be described as undrinkable. I have eaten here many times and I have always been disappointed. On my last visit, and I do mean my last visit, because that's what it will be, I ordered the shrimp and avocado salad, which might have been tastier if they used avocados that were properly ripened. On this day they were rock hard and tasteless. The shrimp, however were pretty good but the whole thing was drowned in a heavy thousand island style dressing, the kind you buy at the big grocer in a bottle. I ordered the rose cocktail at 40 dirhams, (about 4 Euro) because I had ordered one a month earlier and found it not bad, a little reminiscent of a rose cocktail I enjoyed years ago on the Champs Elysee, sans the rose petals and gin. But this time somebody got slap happy with the syrup and the result was a little sickening to put it mildly. I asked the waiter to take it away and remove it from my bill but he didn't want to suggesting I try another sort of mocktail. I was told that he would have to pay for it if I didn't which I thought was ridiculous. It was a little like shooting the messenger in my opinion. Certainly the house should have to pay if they can't get the beverage maker to get the mix right. I ended up paying for it but that was the last time because I won't be returning to the Gran Cafe Central...