M'Riste Jouhar — Restaurant in Essaouira

I came yesterday between meals (around 5pm) because I’d seen that the restaurant was well rated. Since I’m on the coast, I opted to take a break from tajine, and ordered grilled dorade (sea bream). It’s my favorite fish, and something I order from restaurants around once a week in Portugal where I live. I’ve gotten it at dozens of places and this is the first time I’ve ever been disappointed. I was actually served a platter with not one but two fish! I was surprised and he said it’s the same price. From the first bite, it was awful, the flavor was bland and the texture was rubbery. I tried to choke down as much as I could for the nutrition, but it wasn’t an enjoyable meal to eat. In retrospect, I suspect that perhaps it had been cooked previously, then thrown in the microwave to reheat, and perhaps I was given the extra quantity to compensate for the lack in quality? Even though I was the only guest, it took at least 20-30 minutes to be served. 2 stars because the zaalouk (eggplant) and zeetoon (olives) that were served beforehand were both excellent. When I paid, the server asked how the food was, and I told him honestly that it wasn’t good. He seemed to wish he hadn’t asked, he didn’t apologize or offer anything, just said it was fresh fish and seemed surprised. I elaborated that it seemed overcooked and said I loved the appetizers. Two weeks into my trip to Morocco and this is undoubtedly the worst...

This restaurant was recommended by the woman in the tourist office, so we had high hopes.

The welcome was lovely and the wait staff were very attentive - couldn’t have been nicer.

The aubergine dip and olives that arrived were delicious. My fish soup starter was very nice, but my companion’s avocado and shrimp salad was bland - the shrimp were mushy and tasteless.

Our main courses arrived at the table before we were half way through our starters, even though we had expressly said we were not in a hurry - we had wanted a leisurely dinner.

The sauce in my chicken tagine was very tasty but the chicken itself was stringy and tough. My dining companion bit into one of his king prawns and immediately knew something was wrong. It tasted off.

We discretely told the wait staff, who handled the problem in a very professional manner - instantly taking the prawns away and offering an alternative of my companion’s choice. However, he decided just to share my tagine.

We received complimentary mint tea and pastries, and profuse apologies, so left feeling happy that the issue had been dealt with in the best way it could have been.

Sadly, however, I don’t feel I can recommend the restaurant based on our experience, but perhaps we were just unlucky as it has received so many...

Delicious food, perfect atmosphere. The interior is gorgeous, with gently lilting live Moroccan music played by a friendly guy towards the restaurant entrance, the unoccupied waiter even joining in on hand drums from time to time. When the food arrived it did not disappoint. We shared mains. The beef and lamb couscous was so tender and perfectly spiced, great vegetables, and coming in a big portion too. The chicken pastilla though was probably the food highlight of our trip; creamy and mouth watering, hard to describe in words!

Great for couples but probably just about anybody. Best meal we had...