The Bacha Coffee House in Marrakesh offers a unique experience: the finest coffee enjoyment in the old royal palace Dar el Bacha in a wonderful atmosphere.

Bacha Coffee House: Celebrate the tradition of drinking coffee with the Maître du Moka

Who does­n’t love the smell of fresh coffee in the air! 

The Bacha Coffee House in the old royal palace Dar el Bacha is the most beau­ti­ful café in the whole city. Here you can drink coffee in style, enjoy French patis­serie or have a light lunch.

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A stay at Riad Selouane is exactly a two-minute walk from from this unfor­get­table experience!

Marrakesh awakens

The morn­ing awak­ens with the inti­mate tran­quil­lity of Riad Selouane. Only the large date palm in the court­yard attracts the occa­sional bird with its melodic song. 

Even the call of the muezzin resounds in the riad like a faint reminder of a world long gone. Our world with its hectic pace, the thoughts about it and even the other­wise so constant time fade away in this micro­cosm. The rising sun inten­si­fies the scent of the orange trees. 

There is no reason to leave this gem. 

And yet there are good reasons to explore this incom­pa­ra­ble city anew every day: Marrakesh! A dream from times long past! Long­ing and fulfill­ment at the same time. 

A highlight of every visit to Marrakesh

Today we take you to the Maître du Moka, the Bacha Coffee House, an absolute must, however short the visit may be.

It’s almost lunchtime. The sun is high in the sky. The peaks of the snow-covered Atlas, which seemed so close in the morn­ing, are only dimly visi­ble on the hori­zon from the roof terrace in the flick­er­ing heat. 

We leave the silence and pleas­ant cool­ness of the riad. With a sound of heav­i­ness and secu­rity, the old wooden door slams shut behind us. 

The Derb Tizougarine alley, with its inter­play of shad­ows and natural shades of red, welcomes us with a melange of smells of spicy lunch and snatches of conver­sa­tion in Arabic. 

After just 50 meters, the smell of fresh bread domi­nates the alley. Right at the begin­ning of the alley, directly oppo­site the small mosque, completely incon­spic­u­ous to strangers, is one of the best bakeries in town. They sell fresh, warm flat­bread until after midnight seven days a week — a real reve­la­tion for the hungry. 

No sooner have our senses processed the smell of fresh bread than we find ourselves in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the traders. There are friendly greet­ings, jokes and laugh­ter in all languages.

Restau­rants, galleries and a hammam await guests between the traders. The heavy walls of the Dar el Bacha royal palace rise above it all. The king’s guests reside here, and he himself owns several other palaces in the city. 

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The entrance is hidden in the Musée des Confluences

After just a few steps, we are just before the cross­roads, where the city pulsates with the sound of mopeds, taxis, carriages and many inter­na­tional voices.

We look for the incon­spic­u­ous sign Bacha Coffee House — Maître du Moka — Coffee Masters, because we want to have an unfor­get­table coffee there. 

The entrance to the café is also the entrance to the Musée des Conflu­ences, which helps us to find it. 

Dar el Bacha Coffee House in Marrakesh: Entrance sign.
This sign points the way to Bacha Coffee House

The recep­tion is friendly and, as if to check the seri­ous­ness of the visi­tors and their desire for the best coffee in town, we are asked to pay a small entrance fee. A fee that seals the passage into another world. After just a few meters, the sounds of the city outside fade away.

Magnificent Moroccan tiles

Our path leads along thick walls, deco­rated with geomet­ric patterns of count­less colored zellige, past massive tower­ing columns support­ing the richly deco­rated wooden ceil­ing beams, along finely chis­eled stucco work. The eye virtu­ally bathes in this exuber­ant opulence. 

After a change of corri­dors and rooms, the view opens onto a large inner court­yard. Orange trees grow in geomet­ric beds framed by a check­ered pattern of black and white marble, provid­ing cool shade. The splen­dor of orien­tal patterns is omnipresent here. 

Dar el Bacha Coffee House in Marrakesh: The garden in the Musée des Confluences
The inner court­yard of the Dar el Bacha palace, which now houses the Musée des Confluences

Bacha Coffee Boutique

At the end of the court­yard we see a small store: The Bacha Coffee House boutique.

More than a hundred almost iden­ti­cal-look­ing coffee cans rest on the black and white marble floor in an ornate inven­tory of trop­i­cal wood. Only the names on them indi­cate the differ­ent content. 

The smell of coffee is in the air. No, it’s more than that. The aroma of the best coffees from all over the world is in the air.

Dar el Bacha Coffee House in Marrakesh: over 200 types of coffee are available in the boutique.
Over 200 types of coffee are avail­able in the boutique

Bacha Coffee House

The recep­tion area of the Bacha Coffee House is right next door. A slim, high-ceilinged room with a simple recep­tion desk. The wall­pa­per motifs boast trop­i­cal flora and exotic birds. The word Café is embla­zoned promis­ingly above everything.

We ask at the recep­tion for a table for two and are asked to wait briefly in the courtyard.

Mean­while, with discreet hand signals, the team arranges the service for our coffee expe­ri­ence. An atten­tive waiter leads us to one of the few tables in the main room. The ambi­ence of the rooms is a beguil­ing mix of colo­nial elements and the dream of the Arabian Nights.

Dar el Bacha Coffee House in Marrakesch: Das stilvolle Interieur.
The styl­ish interior

Oppo­site the entrance, along the wall, a huge, lavishly deco­rated bar made of heavy wood lays claim to the title: Maître du Moka. Coffee is cele­brated here! 

Behind it, in a niche in the wall, eighty-eight iden­ti­cal coffee cans are lined up in precise symmetry. 

Each claims to contain the best coffee. Orange with golden letter­ing, the tins with the deli­cious fragrance shine brightly from the other­wise dove-blue wall.

Dar el Bacha Coffee House in Marrakesh: 200 types of coffee on offer.

An orna­men­tal work of mint green wooden slats suggests that you could catch a glimpse of the palace garden behind it. 

A glass roof rests on fili­gree steel gird­ers above every­thing. The light-flooded main room is adjoined by three further small rooms, each with its own pleas­ant design. Palm trees sepa­rate the tables and convey an inti­macy of plea­sure and sweet temptation.

The wait­ers are passion­ate and do credit to the Maître du Moka. With black pants and tie, white shirt and jacket, they radi­ate self-confi­dent sover­eignty. The purple cap on the head makes them unique. 

The noncha­lance of the service, the discreet yet so confi­dent demeanor imme­di­ately lets every guest know that they are in profes­sional and caring hands here. 

Looking for a hotel in Marrakesh?

The best loca­tion in the medina, break­fast included, an oasis of peace in the middle of the souks: the Riad Selouane is the ideal address for your city trip!

Riad Selouane Marrakesh: View into the courtyard and over the roofs to the Ben Youssef Mosque

The Bacha Coffee House looks back on a long history

Bacha Coffee House in Marrakesh: Table decoration.

Founded in 1910 in the then newly built Dar El Bacha palace, it was consid­ered the high­est author­ity on coffee enjoy­ment in Marrakesh.

The coveted Coffee of Arabia, which we know today as Arabica, was served here. 

Even back then, the world was a guest in Marrakesh and the most famous visi­tors included Char­lie Chap­lin, Josephine Baker, Maurice Ravel, Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill.

After the Second World War, the Coffee House and Palast were closed and fell into a 60-year slumber.

In 2017, the palace was reopened as the Musée des Conflu­ences after two years of reno­va­tion work. Since then, Bacha Coffee House has once again been welcom­ing guests from all over the world.

This long period of obliv­ion is also the reason why it has been possi­ble to preserve its very own incom­pa­ra­ble style here. The crock­ery, cutlery, ambi­ence and service give an idea of the high stan­dards of coffee enjoyment. 

Fancy some street food in Marrakesh?

Our part­ner GetYourGuide* offers guided food tours, cook­ing courses and city tours with friendly local guides who will show you the hidden corners of the medina.

Moroccan olives.

The ritual of drinking coffee

But back to coffee enjoy­ment. The help of the waiter is urgently needed in view of the diverse selec­tion! Because each guest is served two menu cards. The first one, in the same orange as the coffee cans, opens up a view of coffee vari­eties from all over the world as you read. When you start read­ing the vari­eties and flavors, you soon get lost between dark choco­late, almonds, orange, hazel­nut, liquorice or berg­amot aromas.

The coffee menu is a revelation!

There are well over 200 differ­ent types of coffee — each with its own promise of taste and sensuality. 

Dar el Bacha Coffee House in Marrakesh: The selection of different types of coffee is huge.

In the end, the diffi­culty lies in decid­ing which coffee to choose.

But no matter which choice you make, the wait­ers make your chosen coffee a wonder­fully perfect experience. 

Alter­na­tively, you can order a culi­nary accom­pa­ni­ment to your coffee from the second menu. Special atten­tion should always be paid to the in-house confec­tionery. Every­thing is recom­mended. But it’s even better to ask the wait­ers to recom­mend a coffee — it’s worth it!

The prepa­ra­tion of the coffee is a cere­mony in itself, so it’s worth sitting near the bar and watch­ing the skilled crafts­man­ship. Every order is freshly prepared with great care and then served pronto.

Dar el Bacha Coffee House in Marrakesh: The coffee is served in golden pots.

The coffee is served in large, slim, gold-plated pots. No, it is cele­brated in these jugs. With grace­ful elegance, the wait­ers pour the steam­ing hot coffee from the long, thin spout into the thin-walled porce­lain cups. 

The air is instantly filled with the aromas of the coffee. The ritual of pour­ing sharp­ens the senses so that the aromas are perceived much more intensely. 

While the coffee exudes its aroma in the cups, the wait­ers give instruc­tions on how the true connois­seur can further refine this cere­mony. There is a recom­men­da­tion for each selected type of coffee as to how and, above all, which sugar enhances the aroma. 

The same applies to the whipped cream provided. Some­times the coffee needs to be harmo­niously rounded off with freshly ground vanilla. 

And then you are discreetly left alone with this seduc­tively fragrant coffee ensemble.

At this point we can only reveal so much: the first sip opens a door, the second opens up another world and the third sip is addic­tive. Addicted to another coffee, another visit. 

Fortu­nately, there is a second cup of coffee in every pot…

olive twig light brown

Even if you didn’t like coffee before — give the Maître du Moka the chance to spoil you.

You will remem­ber this visit for the rest of your life. 

Bacha Coffee House Info

in the Musée des Conflu­ences in the Dar el Bacha Palace
Route Sidi, Abde­laziz Marrakech 40000, Maroc
(+212) 524 38 12 93
Open­ing hours 10:00 — 18:00
Monday closed
www.bachacoffee.com

The café serves over 200 types of coffee, deli­cious cakes and a light lunch menu with very tasty dishes.

The boutique sells over 200 Arabica coffees from more than 33 countries.

To visit the café, a small admis­sion fee of around €1 is payable to help main­tain the museum.

The café is quite small and always well frequented. As no reser­va­tions are accepted, it is advis­able to be there first thing in the morn­ing when the restau­rant opens or in the early after­noon after lunch time.

During Ramadan, the Bacha Coffee House is only open in the evening.

Looking for more information about Marrakesh?

Visit our travel guide to learn more about the sights of Marrakesh and Morocco!

Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakesh
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