Veggie pause — Restaurant in Fez

Five of us visited this place for dinner in our first day in Fes based on recommendation from the road we stayed in (Riad green house).

Very small place with 6-7 tables holding around 20 seats altogether. The food is amazing! So much so that we decided to come to the same place for dinner the next day as well. Best part of coming here as a vegetarian is, this place is vegan and hardly one or two dishes had egg. It was mentioned that they can make it without egg based on request.

Well, first day we tried pretty much all starters, fruit tagine and all were amazing.The second day was to try mains.

Starting with dishes tried on day 1 dinner. Caponata - the grilled eggplant on top of the toast was good. The toast itself was flat and crispy and too hard to eat.

Loubia - the white beans were well cooked and tasted well too.

Gaspacho red - this cold soup was yummm, spiced well and very flavourful.

Harira soup - very good and delicious.

Zaalouk, taktouka, bakoula - this was delicious too. The taktouka was something I liked very among the three.

Hummus duo - the avacado hummus was nice, candied lemon hummus was quite interesting and very good. The tabbouleh was highlight of the dish. It was so fresh , zingy and tasty. We ended up asking for one more bowl of it

Fruit tagine - this was the first place where we saw a fruit tagine in the menu and wanted to tried even though we were almost food. It was quite interesting and nice to eat. Not too sweet as well.

Nigima (juice) - this was nice.

Palombagia(juice )- this was decent as well.

Day 2 dinner Saliceto (wraps) - well made and nice to eat

Bastelica (poke bowl) - must try - this was amazing. It eats well when one mixes all the contents in the bowl well.

Penne - beetroot cream, nuts, parmesan - this was a bit dry and the least favourite of all the dishes we tried.

Lasagna- this was very delicious. The mix of eggplant, peppers with a good flavourful sauce was an amazing layering one could get.

Overall, given a chance I would revisit this place and eat most the dishes I have already...

I can’t believe that tucked inside the Medina of Fes lies one of the world’s best vegetarian restaurants. I came three times during my last stay in Fes, and my only regret is not discovering Veggie Pause on earlier trips to this magical city.

It’s a small, charming spot—unpretentious, affordable, and full of extraordinary creations. I tried both the poke bowls and the quinoa bowl, along with fresh juice. Everything was homemade, beautifully presented, and prepared with the freshest ingredients. Service was quick and friendly, even with everything made to order.

After weeks of tagines (delicious, but always with super soft, highly cooked vegetables), it was such a relief to enjoy crisp grilled carrots and perfectly seasoned garbanzo beans, chutneys, dishes “influenced” by Moroccan cuisine but also unique in flavor profile. I adore traditional Moroccan food but after 2 weeks in Fes, I wanted a change. The food at Veggie Pause is simply beyond measure. The hummus, in particular, was divine—absolutely amazing.

No surprise then that in 2024 TripAdvisor awarded Veggie Pause the #2 spot for best vegetarian restaurant in the world. The location is ideal too: close to the Blue Gate, yet just far enough off the main path to avoid the heavy foot traffic.

A culinary wonder in the...

We ordered 4 vegan burgers, it was writen on the menu with a V (vegan) but when it arrived, the buns clearly smelt eggy and milky. So we double checked, the waitress was sure it was homemade vegan, but then we asked her to double check with the kitchen team. She came out saying it was shop bought this time, so not vegan..... then changed to gluten free buns.

We waited a long time because they were defrosting which was weired, it was dinner time, they weren't prepared it seems. Plus they ran out of fries, gave us a small bow of salad instead. In the meantime we ordered another starter to fill our hunger.

Later a French man (the boss) walked in and we heard them discussing our situation, they just giggled and side eyed us. No body came to apologise, then the boss left without saying anything or show any concerns.

The best part is at the end the bill had extra charges for the gluten free polenta buns, it's not buns at all, just polenta patties.

The overall experience not very pleasant and expensive for what it is, they should be more prepared for the evening service, it was only the beginning of the dinner service...