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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
The Bacha Coffee House looks back on a long history
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.
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.
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.
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…
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!