Restaurant Dar Hatim — Restaurant in Fez

TL;DR: the food is wonderful! The current address is wrong, but the owners Raid alfassia palace hotel gives the correct location. The restaurant is under renovation but operates at the dining room of that hotel with the same food (until restaurant reopens beginning of Nov 2021).

I have been captivated by Moroccan food during my 10day trip in the country so far, but Dar Hatim has the best food for me. It has the characteristic mixture of spices and sweetness I enjoy for Moroccan food, but it is more balanced, more delicate, extra umami and focuses more on the flavor from the main material of the dishes. For example, chicken pastilles is a signature dish i have tried at least 5 times all over Moroccan and none of them disappointed. Somehow Ms Karima makes the best filling of them all: a little more juicy, a tad more dry fruit, and dial back the spice a bit, everything makes the flavor from the chicken sings better. And i don't know how to describe why the cooked mixed salad stands out from all the other versions of Moroccan mixed salad i have been eating every day. As a serious meat eater, this would be what i want to eat every day if I ever go vegetarian.

We chatted with the lovely Karima, our hostess waitress head cook and wife of the owner, over the course of our dinner. She is charming and lovely and told us all about the history of the place, and their food, and their effort and investment to renovate during the pandemic.

As of Oct 20 2021, the address is wrong and i filed an edit to correct it. Before that goes live, you can find the approximate location by searching for Raid alfassia palace. It's a hotel owned by the same family and it's in the next alleyway of the restaurant dar hatim. The best way for a tourist to get there is to call the phone number and the owner promised me that he would send someone to pick up and drop off you either by foot (if you are nearby) or by car (if you are at the other end of the medina).

The owner has the restaurant and the hotel in buildings almost back to back but opens at two adjacent alleys. The hotel is newly renovated and the restaurant is still 2 weeks away before the planned reopen. We had dinner in the dinning room of the hotel serving the usual menu of the restaurant. After dinner, we chatted with the owner and he took us on a 2 minute walk to see all the new handcrafted decorations and ceiling in the restaurant. So, if you are reading this before Nov 2021, still go enjoy a wonderful meal at the restaurant operating out of the hotel. If you are reading after that, then all the more reason to seal out...

In the oldest city in Morocco, you’ll uncover a diamond quality restaurant with all the charm and hospitality the country is known for. While the term restaurant is used loosely, as Dar Hatim is actually the ground floor of the Bouaa family home, guests can experience a simple, yet delicious dinner that boasts all the flavors and traditions of Moroccan culture.

Named after their son, Hatim, Fouad and wife Karima transformed their sitting room and courtyard into an intimate restaurant, delivering a gastronomical experience rich with family recipes handed down for generations. In fact, Karima cooks in the kitchen along with her mother-in-law, so this is about as authentic Moroccan as it gets.

I booked a table for myself at Dar Hatim, and was pleasantly surprised when Fouad himself came to pick me up. I’m grateful, as their lovely home is in the Lahoudi section of Fez, and having a local navigate for me was much appreciated. When I arrived at their home, Karima greeted me and explained the menu, which is a traditional three-course fare.

The building has seen three generations of the family, and I felt like a member of their own. They were so friendly and welcoming; one might assume that their restaurant-home would be humble and simple. However, the décor is stunning, with a painted-wood ceiling, tiled walls, and woodwork created by Fouad’s brother.

As far as the food, there’s nothing about home cooked Moroccan food that isn’t amazing. I started with Fes style Moroccan salads, an abundance of different vegetables, spices and colors. The main dish of a fresh from the oven Moroccan Pastilla was perfectly flaky, the meat tender with just the right amount of seasoning .It also came with the powdered sugar on the side which allowed me to decide just how sweet I wanted it to be, a welcome change from other restaurants. A simple fruit salad of sliced orange, banana and apple ended the meal. A...

I was excited to try out this family-run restaurant, which boasted rave reviews. Sadly, my experience fell short of my expectations, leaving me to question the authenticity of the glowing reviews. The restaurant is heavily promoted as a family operation, but the prices are exorbitant. We paid over 600 MAD for two set menus. Additionally, as indicated in the menu, a 10% VAT is added to the bill, which is quite unusual for Moroccan restaurants. This tax was not encountered elsewhere during our stay, leading us to believe that it might be a tactic to take advantage of the predominantly American clientele, who are less likely to question the practice of charging VAT on top of the price per dish indicated in the menu. While the food was satisfactory, it did not live up to the hype that surrounded the establishment. The lamb tagine consisted of tender, well-cooked meat (but no vegetables to go with it) but 'the Moroccan salads' (a small set of standard Moroccan sides) lacked freshness and the desserts were a disappointment. The set menu was presented as an exclusive feature, but it seemed more like a cost-saving measure for the restaurant. There is clearly an expectation that each person will order a set menu. The genuine family atmosphere that the restaurant claims to offer is somewhat undermined by the same welcome being repeated multiple times to every client. The beautiful interior, though visually appealing, could not fully compensate for the overall lackluster experience. This restaurant appears to be more of a tourist trap than a genuine showcase of Moroccan cuisine. It is hard to ignore the inflated prices and questionable practices judging by the number of reviewers who were directed there by their riads and (taken against that background) the fact that we were also asked about which riad we were staying at at the end...