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Breakfast Guide
10 Best Breakfast Spots in Fes
The best places for breakfast in Fes — sfenj stalls, riad rooftops, ancient bakeries, and garden cafés — with prices and insider tips.
Fes Breakfast Essentials
Must-try: Sfenj (Moroccan doughnuts) — the quintessential Fes breakfast, 1–2 MAD each
Local speciality: Harira soup for breakfast — warming and filling, especially in winter
Budget option: Sfenj + coffee at Rcif Square for under 15 MAD
Riad breakfast: Usually included — always eat on the terrace for the medina view
1
Sfenj Stalls near Rcif Square
Street Food5–15 MAD 6am–11am Rcif Square, lower medina
Sfenj — Moroccan doughnuts — are a Fes institution and the city's most beloved breakfast food. These light, airy, ring-shaped doughnuts are fried to order in huge vats of hot oil, emerging golden and slightly crispy outside, soft and pillowy inside. They cost just 1–2 MAD each. The sfenj stalls near Rcif Square are the most famous — the fryermen have been making them for decades, and the technique (stretching the dough into a ring and dropping it into the oil in one fluid motion) is mesmerising to watch. Eat them immediately — sfenj are best within 5 minutes of frying, while still warm. Dip in granulated sugar or drizzle with honey. Pair with a café au lait or café noir from the adjacent café. The complete experience — 4 sfenj, sugar, and coffee — costs about 12–15 MAD. This is the most authentic Fes breakfast experience, shared with craftsmen, shopkeepers, and students starting their day.
Insider tip: Buy them fresh from the fryer and eat immediately — even 10 minutes later the texture changes; the perfect sfenj is crispy outside, cloud-soft inside, and still warm
2
Café Clock
Café40–80 MAD 9am–10pm Derb el-Magana, near Talaa Kebira, medina
Café Clock — a cultural café in a restored medina house — is Fes's most popular breakfast destination for visitors and creative locals alike. The multi-level space has a rooftop terrace with medina views, a ground-floor courtyard, and intimate rooms filled with art and books. The breakfast menu bridges traditional and modern: a Moroccan breakfast spread (msemen, baghrir, amlou, honey, olives, eggs); shakshuka with crusty bread; the famous camel burger (available all day); and international options like pancakes and French toast. The coffee is excellent — espresso-based drinks, something rare in the medina. Café Clock also hosts cultural events, live music, cooking classes, and storytelling evenings. The atmosphere is bohemian and cosmopolitan — artists, writers, musicians, and travellers mixing with Fes locals. The rooftop terrace is the best spot for breakfast — the view over the medina rooftops is beautiful in the morning light.
Insider tip: Get the rooftop terrace table — the medina view with morning light and a good coffee makes this the most atmospheric breakfast setting in Fes
3
Riad Breakfast on the Terrace
RiadIncluded in room rate 7:30am–10:30am Your riad — throughout Fes el-Bali
The Fes riad breakfast experience is legendary — and arguably even more special than its Marrakech equivalent, because the views are more dramatic (Fes's medina is built in a bowl, so rooftops have panoramic views of the surrounding hills and minarets). A traditional Fes riad breakfast: fresh-squeezed orange juice; mint tea (poured ceremonially from a height); a basket of fresh breads (msemen, baghrir, khobz) baked that morning; honey, butter, olive oil, smen (aged butter), and amlou; eggs cooked to order; seasonal fruit; and Fassi pastries (kaab el-ghazal, briouats). The best riads — Riad Laaroussa, Riad Fes, Riad Maison Bleue, and Palais Amani — serve breakfasts that are destination experiences. Even budget riads (300–500 MAD/night) typically include a generous breakfast. The key is to eat on the roof — the combination of fresh Moroccan food, the ancient medina below, and the morning call to prayer is one of Morocco's defining experiences.
Insider tip: Request smen (aged preserved butter) with your bread — it's an acquired taste (strong and fermented), but it's the authentic Fes flavour that distinguishes the local breakfast from the rest of Morocco
4
Talaa Kebira Bakeries
Bakery5–20 MAD 6am–12pm Talaa Kebira, upper medina
Talaa Kebira — the main descending street of Fes el-Bali — is lined with bakeries and bread stalls that serve the medina's morning commuters. The bakeries here bake in wood-fired ovens (ferran) that have been operating for centuries — the bread has a distinctive smoky, crusty character impossible to replicate in a modern oven. Buy khobz (round bread, 1–2 MAD), msemen (3–5 MAD), harcha (semolina flatbread, 3–5 MAD), or rghaif (thin, stuffed flatbread, 5–10 MAD). The best bakeries are identified by queues of local women bringing their dough to be baked (the communal oven tradition). Some bakeries also sell simple pastries — kaab el-ghazal (gazelle horn pastries filled with almond paste) and ghriyba (crumbly shortbread cookies) for 2–5 MAD each. Pair your bread with honey, olive oil, or soft cheese from the nearby grocery stalls. The experience — eating fresh bread on the medieval main street of the world's largest car-free urban area — is timeless.
Insider tip: Look for the communal oven (ferran) where local women bring their dough — the bread coming from the wood-fired oven is the freshest and most flavourful in the medina
5
Palais Amani Restaurant
Restaurant90–150 MAD 7:30am–10:30am Oued Zhoune, medina
Palais Amani — a beautifully restored 17th-century palace in the medina — serves what many consider the best breakfast in Fes. The breakfast is served in the palace's Andalusian garden or on the rooftop terrace (both are stunning), and the spread is lavish: fresh-squeezed juices (orange, carrot, pomegranate depending on season); a bread basket with homemade msemen, baghrir, and khobz; house-made preserves (fig, orange, quince); local mountain honey; organic olive oil; eggs cooked to your specification; seasonal fruit; and Fassi pastries. The breakfast is available to non-guests (reservations recommended) for about 150 MAD — a worthwhile investment for the setting alone. The palace has been immaculately restored with original zellige tilework, carved stucco, painted ceilings, and a central fountain. The garden is fragrant with orange blossoms and jasmine. The staff are exceptional — warm, knowledgeable, and attentive without being formal.
Insider tip: Non-guests can book breakfast (about 150 MAD) — the Andalusian garden setting with the palace architecture is one of the most beautiful dining environments in Fes
6
Bab Bou Jeloud Morning Stalls
Street Food10–30 MAD 6am–11am Bab Bou Jeloud (Blue Gate), entrance to Fes el-Bali
The area just inside and outside Bab Bou Jeloud (the Blue Gate) comes alive at dawn with morning food stalls that serve the locals heading into the medina. The morning offering: harira (the thick lentil-chickpea-tomato soup, 5–10 MAD — filling and warming in winter); sfenj from nearby fryers; msemen from griddle stalls; fresh orange juice from pushcarts; and café au lait from the ground-floor cafés overlooking the gate. The scene is authentic and atmospheric — the ornate blue gate provides a stunning backdrop, and the early morning light on the zellige tilework is beautiful. The cafés with terraces above Bab Bou Jeloud (Café Nour and Café La Kasbah) serve simple breakfasts (bread, jam, butter, coffee for 20–30 MAD) with a grandstand view of the gate and the medina entrance below. This is the natural starting point for a day of exploring the medina — fuel up, then descend Talaa Kebira into the heart of Fes el-Bali.
Insider tip: Sit at the terrace of Café Nour above the gate — the view down over the ornate blue arch with the medina street beyond is the most atmospheric breakfast view at the entrance to the medina
7
Fes Cooking School Breakfast Class
Experience250–400 MAD Starts 9am Various — Ruined Garden, Palais Amani, private riad classes
Several cooking schools in Fes offer breakfast-focused classes where you learn to make traditional Moroccan breakfast from scratch. The best option is the Ruined Garden cooking class, which includes a visit to the local market to buy ingredients (honey, eggs, flour, herbs), then a hands-on class in the restaurant's kitchen where you learn to make msemen (the stretching and folding technique), baghrir (the batter consistency that creates the signature holes), and rghaif (the thin, stuffed version). You then eat everything you've made on the restaurant's beautiful garden terrace. The class lasts about 3 hours and costs 300–400 MAD. Other options include Palais Amani's cooking classes and private lessons with riad chefs (ask your riad to arrange). The knowledge is the souvenir — once you've learned the msemen technique, you can make traditional Moroccan breakfast at home forever.
Insider tip: The Ruined Garden class includes the market visit — shopping for ingredients with the chef is as educational as the cooking, and the garden setting for eating is beautiful
8
The Ruined Garden
Restaurant50–90 MAD 10am–10pm Derb Idrissy, Sidi Ahmed Chaoui, medina
The Ruined Garden — a restaurant set in the courtyard of a partially ruined riad — is one of Fes's most atmospheric dining spaces and serves an excellent late breakfast and brunch. The "ruin" is beautiful — crumbling walls covered in climbing plants, a fig tree growing through the courtyard, and tables set among the greenery. The brunch menu (served from 10am): shakshuka with crusty bread; eggs florentine with local greens; Moroccan breakfast platter with msemen, baghrir, honey, and amlou; and homemade cakes and pastries. The food is prepared by a team of local women who cook home-style Moroccan food with care and skill. The atmosphere is magical — sunlight filtering through the plants onto the crumbling walls, birds singing, and the sense of eating in a secret garden within the ancient medina. Reservations recommended, especially for brunch on weekends.
Insider tip: Request the table under the fig tree — the dappled light through the leaves, the crumbling riad walls, and the birdsong create the most atmospheric breakfast setting in Fes
9
Rcif Square Harira Morning
Street Food10–25 MAD 6am–10am Rcif Square, lower medina
Rcif Square — the bustling commercial heart of the lower medina — is the best place for a working-class Fes morning meal. The stalls around the square serve harira (the thick, spiced lentil-chickpea-tomato soup) from large steaming pots, accompanied by dates, hard-boiled eggs, and fresh bread. A bowl of harira with bread costs 10–15 MAD and is one of the most satisfying breakfasts in Morocco — warm, filling, and deeply flavourful. The stalls also serve bessara (thick fava bean soup, drizzled with olive oil and cumin, 5–8 MAD) — a cheaper, equally delicious alternative. The scene is pure documentary photography: the steam rising from the pots, the workers eating quickly before heading to their shops, the vendors calling out, and the donkeys laden with goods passing through. This is authentic medina morning life — no tourists, no Instagram, just Fes feeding itself. Best between 7am and 9am when the activity peaks.
Insider tip: Order harira with dates and a hard-boiled egg — the traditional combination of the rich soup, sweet dates, and protein-packed egg is a Fassi morning ritual that's kept workers fuelled for centuries
10
Café Fes el-Bali
Café30–60 MAD 8am–8pm Near the Chouara Tanneries, eastern medina
Café Fes el-Bali — a local café near the tanneries — serves a simple but well-prepared Moroccan breakfast to a mostly local clientele. The café has a small terrace with a partial view of the medina rooftops, and the interior is a classic Moroccan café — tiled walls, TV playing Arabic news, men reading newspapers, and the clinking of coffee glasses. The breakfast: fresh bread from the neighbourhood bakery with butter, honey, and soft cheese (fromage frais); café au lait or café noir; fresh orange juice; and eggs if you ask. The portions are generous and the prices are local (full breakfast for 30–40 MAD). What makes this café special is the authenticity — you're eating with Fes locals, not tourists, and the experience gives you a genuine sense of daily life in the medina. The staff are friendly and used to the occasional visitor. A good option if you want a real neighbourhood café experience rather than a curated tourist breakfast.
Insider tip: Pair the café breakfast with a morning visit to the Chouara Tanneries — the tanneries are most photogenic at 10–11am, so time your breakfast for 9am at this nearby café
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is a traditional Fes breakfast?
A traditional Fes breakfast (ftour) shares the Moroccan staples — msemen (layered flatbread), baghrir (spongy semolina pancakes), khobz (round bread), honey, butter, olive oil, and mint tea — but Fes has its own specialities. Sfenj (Moroccan doughnuts) are a Fes institution — light, airy, and addictive, best eaten within minutes of frying, dipped in sugar or honey. Fes is also known for its harira (the thick, spiced lentil-chickpea-tomato soup) as a breakfast food, especially in cooler months. The traditional Fassi breakfast spread often includes preserved butter (smen — an acquired taste with a strong, aged flavour), local mountain honey (darker and more complex than Marrakech honey), and beldi (unrefined) olive oil. Fes pastries (kaab el-ghazal, briouats, chebakia) also appear at breakfast in more elaborate settings.
Where is the cheapest breakfast in Fes?
The cheapest breakfast in Fes is at the sfenj stalls and medina bakeries. A sfenj (Moroccan doughnut) costs 1–2 MAD each — buy 3–4, dip them in sugar, and pair with a café au lait (8–10 MAD) for a complete breakfast under 15 MAD. The best sfenj stalls are near Rcif Square, near Bab Bou Jeloud, and on Talaa Kebira. Msemen stalls and bakeries throughout the medina sell fresh flatbread for 2–5 MAD per piece. For a hot, filling meal, harira soup at the morning stalls near Bab Bou Jeloud costs 5–10 MAD per bowl. The bocadillo (Moroccan baguette sandwich) with kefta, cheese, or tuna from the street-side sandwich shops costs 10–15 MAD and is substantial enough to last until lunch.
Do riads in Fes include breakfast?
Yes — nearly all riads in Fes include breakfast in the room rate, and Fes riad breakfasts are among the best in Morocco. The traditional Fes breakfast is often served on the riad's rooftop terrace overlooking the medina — a spread of fresh breads (msemen, baghrir, khobz), local honey, olive oil, smen (preserved butter), amlou, fresh orange juice, mint tea, eggs, seasonal fruit, and sometimes Fassi pastries. The quality varies by riad, but even budget riads typically serve generous breakfasts. The rooftop setting — with views over the ancient medina, minarets, and the surrounding hills — makes even a simple breakfast feel special. Top riads like Riad Fes, Riad Laaroussa, and Riad Maison Bleue serve breakfasts that are destination experiences in themselves.