Le Grand Balcon du Café Glacier
The best view of the Jemaa (l,d; $)
Atop a promontory of buildings that juts out into the Jemaa el Fna, the Grand Balcon Café Glacier offers by far the best view over the square.
”Consommation obligatoire” say the signs as you head up the stairs to this vantage point over the Jemaa. And despite this obligation to buy at least a tea or coffee, a vantage point is what it is: there’s no pretence that anyone’s here for the food or even the tea. You’re here for the view and that’s it. And that being the case, it’s worth trying to bag a prime seat directly overlooking the Jemaa, for which your best bet is to arrive early if you can.
And of course, while enjoying the view, it’s also nice to have a tea, a coffee or a juice anyway. You can even eat here if you want to – the food won’t win any prizes, but it’s passable.
They do tajines, couscous and even pizzas of a sort, but your best bet is a portion of brochettes (skewer kebabs), with a choice of beef, turkey or minced lamb, or one of each (all 50dh). Unfortunately you can’t have a beer to go with it; drinks are limited to coffee, tea, juice or soda pops. And despite the “glacier” in the name (French for an ice-cream parlour), you can't get ice-cream here either.