Bacha Coffee — Restaurant in Marrakesh Prefecture

I found it super chaotic and even frightening just to get into the museum where the Bacha Coffee cafe is housed, and felt a need to share this feedback to the management to suggest that the queue system really needs to be much better and properly managed to prevent potential safety incidents.

We actually did not plan to visit Bacha Coffee but having woken up fairly early, decided to walk over and check out the queue. We reached the location about 9.30am and there was already a short queue of people outside (approximately 7 couples/small families in the line at this point) so we decided to join the queue. By about 9.40am the queue was much longer.

The problem started when it appeared that local tour guides were able to cut the line and get their tour groups ahead of those at the front of the queue. About 4 tour guides brought their groups to the front after what seemed like negotiations with the museum security staff, causing a quarrel to break out between them (tour guides and security) and those who had already been waiting there presumably for an hour. When the doors to the museum opened at 10am, there was a sudden mad scramble to get through (no one cared about queing anymore - everyone at the front of the queue broke out from the line and started running like crazy to the ticket office - I presume to not let the tour guides get ahead). This could seriously have resulted in someone being hurt in a stampede through the narrow corridor leading to the ticket office. I was half expecting a fight to break out as it really would just have taken one very angry person for the situation to escalate and get out of control (and I saw several guys who looked like they were on the verge of violence) but thankfully things calmed down after the tour guides and their groups disappeared very quickly into Bacha Coffee (out of sight, out of mind I assume).

After this harrowing incident however, everything else proceeded fairly smoothly. We bought our entry ticket and went to the Bacha Coffee cafe entrance to get an electronic device that would buzz when a table was available. We would told that we would have to wait 1.5-2 hours, but actually only waited about 35minutes before being buzzed. It seems although the tour groups got placed ahead of nearly everyone in the actual queue (we saw that only 2 couples in the actual "public" queue entered the same time as the tour groups), the tour groups were in and out of Bacha Coffee rather quickly - presumably to go off to their next tour stop.

Once we actually were sitted at our table in Bacha Coffee however, we had an overall positive experience. We enjoyed an early lunch and everything we ordered was delicious. We tried 3 different coffees, finished with a coffee cake (the cake was possibly the only thing we would have skipped as it was rather ordinary). The cake however took an extraordinarily long time to be served, but we were not rushed by the service staff to leave at any point, and everyone was polite and happy to serve. On the whole we had a very pleasant lunch in a beautiful setting indeed.

Nonetheless I would feel very hesistant to return or recommend coming here unless the queuing system is made safer and more reasonable. I strongly urge the management of Bacha Coffee - as an international brand and company - to consider how to make the queueing mechanism safer and less harrowing for their diners, to secure a much more positive overall experience. Spontaneously I suggest if Bacha Coffee wishes to entertain tour groups in this manner, to designate the morning slot to tour groups from 10am - 10.30am, then open it up to public after the tour groups have left. This would at least remove the frustration and anger for diners who spend a long time queuing to be among the first diners for the day, and then have to play second fiddle to tour groups cutting in ahead of them in...

Came here on a Friday morning. Arrived at 9:20am and there was a queue of 30++ people at the entry of Dal Bacha museum in which Bacha Coffee is located. The museum and cafe only opens at 9am.

By the time it opened at 10am, there were easily about 80+ people in the queue.

It is a paid entry, 10dh to Bacha Coffee only, and 60dh to both the cafe and the museum. We were told that the wait to the cafe is 90 minutes and were "encouraged" to visit the museum while waiting.

It was a ruse, in which will be explained later.

After buying tickets, we proceeded first to the cafe to get on the waiting list. We asked for a table for 4 pax and a buzzer was issued.

We proceeded to stroll around the palace museum courtyard with orange trees, beautiful tiled walls and fine detailed architecture.

15 minutes in, and our buzzer beeped signaling that our table was ready. Well, it wasn't a 90 minute wait and it shouldn't have been as we were early enough in the queue.

We didn't mind the ill advise as we wanted to visit the museum anyway but it would have been better if they were honest about it.

When we arrived at Bacha Coffee reception, we were told that we booked a table for 3 pax, and not for 4 pax. We told them that they were mistaken as all 4 of us were present when we got on the waiting list. We even said 4 pax three times when getting on the waiting list, and the reception just kept denying it. She insisted despite our protest.

That ding-dong exchange was really unnecessary as their seating came in pairs of two's. She even told us it is the same for 3 pax or 4 pax and were let in. Not sure why she was being unprofessional at the start.

Anyway, back to the cafe. It was beautifully decorated with articulate wallpapers, tiled floors, and golden hues. Their coffee menu was very extensive, all 20+ pages of it. Each item with a helpful description of its tasting profile.

We ordered our coffee, a tiramisu, creme brulee, churos and a lemon tartlet. Coffee came in large pots, enough for three cups.

Our group enjoyed the tart, cake and desserts. They were sublime and my particular favourites were the creme brulee and tiramisu. Loved them and would recommend.

Coffee depends on what you've ordered. Mine was the Eternal Marrakech coffee blend which carried notes of fresh nuts, dried nuts and spices. I prefer my coffee strong and it delivered with a pleasant nuttiness. Loved it too.

Asking for the bill, the waiter firstly highlighted that it did not include tips. We were already intending to tip but I would expect a higher level of service. Even a "how was your coffee" or something as a prelude to the tip reminder would have been service oriented. At least give it a try.

Overall, Bacha Coffee was a check on my list of "to-do" when in Marrakech. Coffee and dessert were really good but I have no reason to return for another visit.

Side note: tour "guides" were allowed to skip the queue and bring in groups. Not sure if they were going for museum only, or both cafe and museum. Don't be hung up if/when it happens. Just enjoy the coffee and soak...

I don't know much about coffee, so I can't comment on the quality. But before we even get to the coffee, let's go through the process of getting a seat at the cafe. You need to line up and pay to enter the premises which houses both the cafe and museum. You can pay 10dh for access to just the cafe or 60dh to also get access to the museum, cash only. Credit card is accepted at the cafe. The setup is a bit confusing as I had to look for the cafe once inside the building where they jotted down my name and asked me to return in an hour to pick up the buzzer. I checked in about 35 mins later and picked up a buzzer. We waited almost 2 hrs before getting seated. The wait wasn't terrible as the building is a former palace, with a beautiful garden in the middle, with some seating available. Like a traditional riad, they had 6 rooms, which is how used as a museum to showcase wood work from around Morocco. Once seated, I saw that their menu consisted of over 200 different kinds of Arabic beans from around the world. Rather than navigating through the origins and flavours, I asked the staff member who appears to be a coffee connoisseur to provide some recommendations. I ended up going for a flavoured brew, the Orange Seville Bacha coffee since I fell in love with the combination of coffee and orange after visiting Thailand. The coffee tasted a bit acidic, but it did have a nice taste of sweet citrus to it. They provided a vanilla bean whip cream and shavings that you can add to the coffee to elevate the taste. It was an interesting concept, but it didn't do much for me. Maybe it would have worked well for coffee with less fruity flavours. We also ordered 2 pastries and the tiramisu. Pastries were average. We did enjoy their brioche with an almond, argan nut and chocolate paste, something we don't have back home. We also ordered an almond croissant, but they ended up giving us a croissant with some sort of berry paste in it. I was open to trying any of their croissants, so I didn't bother asking them to correct the order. The pastries had a nice buttery taste, but felt a bit dense, although we enjoyed the sweetness level. We didn't like the tiramisu as the almond flavour was way too strong for our taste. We are from Toronto, which has a diverse food scene and we have visited many cities in Italy before, so we have had our fair share of tiramisus. Overall, I wouldn't go out of my way to visit Bacha coffee, but if you have some extra time in Marrakesh and enjoy coffee in a nice historical setting,...