La Trattoria — Restaurant in Marrakesh Prefecture

A restaurant that truly takes your breath away....

My wife and I first visited La Trattoria in 2017 whilst on holiday in Marrakech. My wife had found it online, and having read the reviews, booked us an evening meal.

On arrival, we were shown to an outside seating area in front of the (so far) unseen main restaurant, where we had a drink and canapés whilst awaiting our dining slot.

We were made to feel very welcome by polite, attentive, and friendly staff.

At the allocated time, we were taken through to the restaurant, suffice it to say, the place simply took our breath away, what an absolutely sublime, beautifully appointed dining area, with the blue lit pool as a centrepiece, and the lovely lamps above, giving off just enough light to accentuate the amazing decor.

Some of the rooms off the main area were so beautifully decorated that my wife was brought to tears, stunning.

We were lucky enough to have a table directly adjacent to the pool, a lovely spot from where to enjoy the ambience of the room. Honestly it is truly remarkable.

Our waiter (Raheem, the silver haired gentleman) was absolutely lovely, and could clearly see how impressed we were with the surroundings. He simply could not do enough to make our evening more memorable, even with the language barrier, what a charming man.

The food was out of this world, I will always remember the duck pasta, the taste of which was divine. The menu was varied, and of such high quality that no-one could possibly be disappointed with their choice.

The service from start to finish was first class, from every staff member, and my wife and I both agreed that this establishment is without doubt the most romantic restaurant that it has ever been our pleasure to visit, what an absolute delight.

Safe to say that when we returned to Marrakech in 2019, this restaurant was our top priority for yet another visit (two in fact). Sadly as we all know, the global pandemic had other ideas!!😡

We did manage one night, and as usual, everything was exactly as it had been before, from the service, surroundings, food, and of course the ever present Raheem, who was as attentive as ever.

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit, but sadly that was to be the last for a while. The Moroccan government decreed that all tourists were to leave, prior to them closing their airspace, and in ordering all restaurants and hotels to close. As a result we did not get our second night at La Trattoria, and returned home chastened and dejected by the chaotic end to our holiday.

It is now March 2024, and the world has seen the back of Covid19, and whilst the world is much changed, my wife and I have been lucky to be able to return to Marrakech, and to be able to enjoy the delights of La Trattoria has been something we have both been looking forward to.

I can happily report that five years later, whilst some of the decor has been changed, the restaurant is still as beautifully appointed as ever, the staff are still as attentive as ever, and the food is still absolutely first class. We had a fantastic evening, the restaurant is still as romantic as ever, and did not disappoint.

Best of all, the wonderful Raheem is still working there, and was genuinely delighted to see us, handshakes, hugs, and kisses all round, remembering us from way back in 2019. Whilst he was not serving us directly, he made sure that everything was just so, insisting that we had coffee after our meal in his working area, and just being so kind (even giving my wife a red rose), stoking the fire, and making us feel special, what a remarkable man.

We were lucky enough this time to dine here twice (both in the evening), and our second visit was just as memorable. From enjoying the cocktails in the outside seating area to begin, to sitting down (again with a table by the pool) to another fantastic meal, this was a night of joy.

This restaurant is STUNNING, Beautifully appointed, Amazing food, Outstanding service, FIRST CLASS in every way, I can find nothing to fault, and everything to praise.

Thank you for the wonderful...

I will be very honest. I had high hopes for this restaurant, and upon arrival, the entrance was beautiful and the lady at the front, along with the staff who guided us in, were all so kind and welcoming. The space inside was just as lovely as the photos—truly charming, and at first, everything felt promising.

Unfortunately, that initial impression didn’t last.

We were given a high chair for our baby, but it was quite dirty, which was disappointing. I tried to overlook it, but then noticed that my napkin was visibly stained, and I had to ask for a new one. It made me question the overall hygiene of the place.

Later, a staff member accidentally knocked over the rose vase on our table. Instead of apologizing, they just picked it up and walked away without a word. That felt quite rude and unprofessional, especially with a child sitting at the table. Also, we weren’t provided with any extra cutlery for our child and had to request a fork, which unfortunately still had visible food residue on it.

The biggest letdown, however, was the food.

We ordered the octopus, but it tasted nothing like octopus—it was more like squid or cuttlefish, and for 180 MAD for a starter, it was incredibly underwhelming. We left more than half of it uneaten. The chicken mushroom pasta came with pieces of chicken so tough and dry that I had to spit some out. The 24-hour marinated meat (290 Dhs) we ordered lacked both flavor and freshness.

In the end, we skipped dessert and decided to leave.

It’s really a shame because the staff at the entrance were wonderful, and the space is aesthetically lovely. But sadly, the poor hygiene, inattentive service, and disappointing food made it a very unsatisfying...

We booked as a group of friends whilst staying in Marrakesh and we were really excited to come as we had read great reviews about the restaurant and had watched video reviews on TikTok, however we were extremely disappointed. The service went downhill once we ordered our drinks and food, we waited about 20 minutes before our drinks finally arrived and one of our friends ordered a bottle of water which was then taken away from the table and as it was very humid in the restaurant and particularly where they sat us (in the corner of the room) our friend was upset that she had to keep asking for her water to be topped up, our meals finally arrived after about a 45 minute wait we got lasagne and two pasta dishes, the food was mediocre at best and wasn’t anything to write home about, whilst we was eating we observed the rest of the restaurant and the waiters were asking most other tables (those with a bottle of wine and expensive dishes) how their food was. During the entire time we was never asked if our food was okay or if we needed anything, though a friendly woman asked us once we had finished if we enjoyed our meals, even though the restaurant was full and busy a certain male waiter walked past our table many times and did not even glance at us he was very rude and we even caught him whispering to another waiter whilst staring at us, we felt very ostracised and we couldn’t wait to get the bill and leave. We believe that this restaurant is great for the pictures as the aesthetic is beautiful, and if you’re spending a lot of money then you will receive standard service, this restaurant was the worst service we have ever experienced and we would...