50 Best Nightlife in Morocco

An impressive Buddha statue is stationed near the entrance of this hip nightspot, where an Asian vibe mixes with modern decor in the various salons. The music is an eclectic, ethnic world fusion with guest DJs, belly dancers, and even a Bollywood set. The restaurant offers a Pacific Rim fusion of Asian, Thai, Japanese, and Chinese cuisines. 

True to the name (El Fenn means "art" in the local dialect), this fashionable spot in the medina is a magnet for designers, artists, and photographers. Wine, beer, spirits, and a vast selection of cocktails are available and can be sipped fireside in winter, or under the rooftop tent with views across to the Koutoubia mosque.

Inside the Pietri Urban Hotel, Rabat’s most popular jazz restaurant features superb musicians every Friday and Saturday night. Expect anything from bebop and Latin to jazz fusion. On weeknights, the bar fills up with the after-work crowd and gets lively. The food is excellent, too, with a menu embodying a good deal of Mediterranean tastes and some genuine inventiveness from the chef.

The bar area inside Le Cabestan Ocean View restaurant heats up after dark, drawing the glitterati of the city who drink, dance, and gossip the night away as the DJ spins. Spectacular coastal views and briny air add to the unforgettable experience.

Take a stool at the bar or squeeze around a table and enjoy fantastic wine along with excellent cheese and charcuterie at this chic French brasserie. This is a great place to meet local Casablancans.

The cabaret entertainment at Lotus Club is its raison d'être—and clearly built into the prices for drinks and food, which includes Mediterranean, Moroccan, and Japanese dishes. The show, entitled Oh La La!, features a burlesque-style revue of samba, Oriental, and Egyptian-inspired vignettes performed by corseted dancers flaunting feather boas, and live music from Moroccan guitar virtuoso Mahmoud "Mood" Chouki. Come around 9 pm to see the show.

Featuring DJs with music from Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast, and more points south, the 5ème Avenue Afro Club is open from 6 pm to 4:30 am. 

Part of the Royal Atlas Hotel, Actor's attracts a young crowd with its playlist of Western dance, house, and R&B music, often with well-known Moroccan and Arab hits toward the end of the night. Shisha (a hookah water pipe) is also available.

Drawing a party-loving crowd, the city's original nightclub has been going strong for over 30 years and shows no sign of stopping. If you're after something lively, look no farther. The fun doesn't really start until after midnight.

This classy spot attracts a hip crowd for excellent, though pricey, cocktails and food.

If you're looking for a place to drink and dance, head to Brooklyn Bar, which blends the scenes of New York City and Casablanca nightlife. There's a rooftop area, too.

The restaurant in this galleried, bougainvillea-strewn riad is known for the food but the sleek rooftop bar is also an excellent place to enjoy cocktails, Moroccan wine, or champagne. 

A mash up of café, restaurant, and bar, the Café du Livre is a good place for a meal but it's also popular just as a place to meet for a drink. There's usually live music Friday and Saturday, but it can get very smoky. It's upstairs behind the Carré Eden shopping mall, just next to the Hotel Toulousaine. 

Part of the Atlantic Palace Hotel, Casino Atlantic is the long player of the bunch, with 16 gaming tables offering blackjack, roulette, poker, and 200 slot machines going all afternoon, night, and early morning.

This casino is part of Les Jardins d'Agadir Club Hotel and has blackjack, poker, roulette, and slot machines.

This long-standing favorite offers poker, blackjack, slot-machines, and great sea views.

The long-standing nightly spectacle that takes place at Chez Ali is a Disney World-meets-Marrakesh experience, catering to the mass tourism market. After a multicourse dinner of couscous, pastilla, and tagine in breezy tents, the fantasia begins in the outdoor arena. Featuring hundreds of performers and dozens of horses, this singing-and-dancing pageant is a celebration of traditional culture. It's all very tacky and you'll feel pressured into tipping the lackluster performers that snag you at every possible opportunity. Taxis will take you there, or your hotel can organize an all-inclusive price that includes round-trip transportation. Expect to pay around 450 DH per person including return transport.

A lively crowd gathers regularly at Comptoir Darna to take in the nightly cabaret show, enjoy the occasional live music, or to chill out with cocktails on the candlelit, plant-filled patio. The food is good, too, if expensive. There's a small dance floor for those who want to swirl to the tunes.

A high-octane performance of samba drummers, musicians, and carnival dancers shimmying their way among the crowd and dancing on the tabletops, Fuego Latino includes an all-you-can-eat extravaganza of grilled meats and fish in the Brazilian churrascaria style. You can also enjoy the show from the bar (with hefty drinks prices). The show starts around 10 pm. Tickets start at 420 DH; ringside tables are 600 DH with fixed menu.

Right near the Djemâa el Fna and with one of the best views of the Koutoubia minaret, Kabana is the latest hot spot on the Marrakesh night scene. Live DJs, an array of cocktails, and a full menu of snacks and main dishes are available. 

The Kosybar and restaurant is a long-standing favorite for a late-night drink in the medina, accompanied by live jazz nightly, and a platter of sushi if you wish. There's a large roof terrace, with great views of the storks nesting in the nearby ramparts of the Badii Palace, and the interior restaurant and bar, with mosaic-tiled floors, wrought-iron balustrades, and fireplaces, are truly cozy.

DJs, decently priced cocktails, and good food are all available at this trendy nightspot popular with a younger crowd. There are excellent cocktails and beer on tap.  

The intimate surroundings of the jazz bar at hotel La Maison Arabe provide a cozy fireside setting for cocktails and a tasty menu of light savory snacks. A resident pianist tickles the ivories every evening from 7 to 9.

This tiny wine bar is a popular spot for early evening drinks and snacks. There's a good wine list available, and there's a small restaurant on the upstairs mezzanine that serves French cuisine at reasonable prices. 

In the Palmery neighborhood, outside of town, Le Blokk is a dinner-cabaret venue with reasonably priced fixed-menu options (starting at 270 DH) for the Japanese and International cuisine (Moroccan dishes can be ordered by special request), though it's the live music and entertainment that are center stage. Talented singers perform songs from the last 50 years, followed by acrobatic performers who start to twirl from the ceilings around midnight. Top off the night with DJs spinning Oriental and Western dance music until around 1 am. Reservations are highly recommended.

Pop into this popular watering hole to have a drink at the long bar, sample tapas (or a meal if you prefer), then dance while the DJ spins. Soccer fans should note that if there’s a big game on, Chester’s will be showing it.

At what is by far the most appealing of Essaouira’s nightclubs, every night has a band playing an eclectic set of covers of popular Western tunes, as well as Moroccan and West African favorites. The drinks aren’t cheap, but the atmosphere and dancing are lively and the place pulls in a range of tourists, locals, and expats of varying ages.

Permanently moored on the Bou Regreg River, this boat has several decks on which you can eat, drink, and people-watch while a DJ spins ambient music. Pull up a quirky armchair as the sun sets and watch the twinkly lights of the kasbah splash the historic walls of the medina, or gaze across the river to the marina in Salé. Tapas, burgers, salads, and pizzas are available on the lower deck bistro, and there's a more formal restaurant above. 

The classy bar above the Restaurant du Port draws a fun-loving crowd. DJs make this the chic place to party as the sun sets over the ocean; there's also food available for those in need of a bite.