Ouarzazate is many things: gateway to the Sahara, backdrop to countless Hollywood productions, home of the ancient Taourirt Kasbah. But ask any traveller what they remember most vividly about eating in this desert city, and the answer is surprisingly consistent. They remember Chez Nabil.

Sitting on Avenue Moulay Rachid in the heart of town, Chez Nabil is the kind of restaurant that earns its reputation not through ambition or fanfare, but through the simple, relentless act of cooking well. Day after day. Breakfast through evening. For locals and tourists, for solo backpackers and film production crews. The tagines are always right. The welcome is always warm. And the price is always fair.

A Kitchen That Knows Itself

Chez Nabil does not try to be everything. It is a neighbourhood restaurant that happens to sit in a city that receives the world, and it handles that position with quiet confidence. The menu spans Moroccan classics and international dishes without losing its identity — you can order a tagine or a carbonara, a pastilla or a burger, and whichever you choose will arrive fresh, generously portioned, and honestly priced.

The kitchen's strongest suit is its traditional Moroccan cooking. The tagines — chicken, beef, or kefta with eggs — arrive in proper clay pots, slow-cooked until the meat falls apart and the sauce is deep and aromatic. The bastila, that remarkable Moroccan pie of pigeon or seafood in crisp warqa pastry dusted with cinnamon and powdered sugar, is singled out in review after review as a highlight. And on Fridays, there is couscous — the real kind, steamed from scratch — that draws regulars from across the city.

"We have been travelling around Morocco for three months and this has been one of our favourite restaurants so far. The quality of the food is amazing, the service too. We will come back tomorrow for the Friday couscous."

— Google Review

What to Order

The tagine — Chez Nabil's signature dish, slow-cooked in proper clay. © Wikimedia Commons

The Hollywood Connection

Ouarzazate's nickname — the Hollywood of the Desert — is no exaggeration. The city and its surroundings have hosted productions from Lawrence of Arabia to Gladiator, Game of Thrones to The Mummy. Where there are film crews, there is catering — and Chez Nabil has built a dedicated cinema catering service that supplies cast and crew during productions in the region.

It is a role that suits the restaurant. A kitchen that can feed a film production has proven its ability to handle volume, timing, and dietary variation without compromising quality — exactly the qualities that make it equally reliable for a family of four or a tour group of forty. The events arm of the business handles private celebrations, team meals, and group dinners with the same efficiency.

"Absolutely incredible experience. This was hands down the most delicious food we had in Morocco. The staff are lovely women, both professional and very welcoming, and the service was incredibly fast."

— Google Review

What Guests Say

Practical Information

Chez Nabil is not the fanciest restaurant in Ouarzazate. It does not need to be. In a city where travellers pass through on their way to the desert or back from the kasbahs, it is the place they return to — sometimes three times in three days, as more than one reviewer has noted. That kind of loyalty is not bought with a clever concept. It is earned, one tagine at a time.