Drinks and Nightlife in Tangier

Does Tangier have a nightlife? Can you drink alcohol in Tangier? Where can I drink in Tangier?

Everything there is to know about Nightlife and Tangier night clubs.

Where to chill and hang out in the evenings – what can you do in Tangier?

Drinking in Morocco

While Muslim, Morocco is generally quite moderate about drinking and what is haram (forbidden).

It is quite legal to drink, but there are ‘rules’ which are likely to be different to the ones you’re used to. For example, you can’t drink outside. In fact, don’t even show a bottle, even if it’s empty. Most people know very little about alcohol – Some Muslims feel uncomfortable about even being near alcohol or touching a bottle, feeling that it is haram.

Having said that, many Moroccans enjoy drinking, and especially in Tangier – the party city – there are places open to go to to drink, dance and socialize. Casablanca and Rabat would also have plenty of options. Though there are options elsewhere, generally speaking, the further south you go the more conservative the values. Other than tourist hotels, I don’t think any of the old medinas have public drinking places – they are all located outside them.

It is actually illegal for a Moroccan to sell alcohol, so all of the bottle shops and bars will be owned by a Berber from the south, who are outside this law.

But don’t think Morocco has always been this way. In the 1960s many women wore mini skirts and the latest fashions, not the djellabas and long covered clothing which is common today. Many of the little old coffee shops also used to serve alcohol up to the 1990s, but now they serve only tea and coffee.

But this does not mean there are not places to go. There are in fact many options, too many to mention all of them here. But first, for those who are just looking for company and somewhere to go without feeling odd for being alone. (Eating alone in Morocco is quite common, by the way. So even if it’s outside your personal comfort zone, it isn’t an odd thing to do here.)

Good for meeting people

Café Colon: Opposite Cine Alcazar in Rue d’Italie (the steep one which goes from Gran Socco fountain up the hill to the Kasbah, outside the old medina wall). Many tourists stop here for coffee, which means people you can talk to. If you hear someone speaking English or a language you know – just be friendly. I am there most days, and often end up talking to someone for at least a little. If not, the perfect place to chill and watch life move past with a decent coffee or mint tea.

Cinema Rif: In Gran Socco, the colourful building (red, blue and yellow) facing the fountain and the medina. Inside or outside I have met many people there.

The Syrian: (Abo Tayssir) – right next to Colon across from Cine Alcazar, they have amazing Syrian food for a good price. It is another place where it is very easy to strike up a conversation with someone else.

Number One: This one is a bar. If you are alone, sit at the bar and order your drink from Shakib. Many people sit alone, but rarely for long. It is very easy to start talking to someone – and then you have the beginning of a Tangier night, where anything can happen.

Pleasant places for an evening with a drink

Blue Pub: This is a beer garden at the back of the Hotel Rembrandt on the Boulevard between Café de Paris and La Grande Poste. It is outdoors with views of the bay and a nice place for a drink with friends. They also have a restaurant, and a disco.

Number One: Literally across the road from Number One, a real bar full of jokes and puzzles to keep yourself busy, and usually older music and blues which is always good to hear.

 Chellah: Just 5 minutes walk down the road past MacDonalds from the first two, very similar to the Blue Pub with a beer garden, but also often has live music and a bar.

Chellah Beach: Their twin – down on the beach, and a nice place for a drink, to eat, with a bar, and often has live music.

Terminus: The bar itself isn’t flashy, but down at the bottom of the medina there is a bar where you can actually sit outside with your drink. I’ve no idea how they swung it, but it can be nice. It’s in an open square, so it gives a sense of space. And though you can’t quite see the water, you know it’s there.

From Gran Socco and Cinema Rif, you take the street to your left along the edge of the medina and past the fish market. Follow it all the way down to the bottom where you come to a roundabout, on the Corniche, the ferry terminal over to your left. Walk in front of the shops towards the ferry terminal. It’s one of those shops, not far along.

Tapas Bars

Before you say – yes, I know about tapas bars. I’ve been to Spain. – In Morocco they are a it special. You buy your drinks, you get free food – and not just a snack like a plate of olives. Some of them bring the food til you’re full. Others bring a certain amount depending on how much you drink.

Le Coeur de Tanger: Above Café de Paris and next to the square with the canons and views of Spain (the door faces the canons). Go upstairs and right across – there’s a balcony looking over Place du France and the French Consulate. It’s nice to sit outside. And these guys bring the meal – salad for starters, various fish, maybe skewered meat, mini tajine, and a great fruit plate to finish. I usually buy a minimum of 2 beers, often more, and sometimes make that my dinner stop. After 8pm they have live singers singing popular gnaua songs, the Moroccan music.

La Grande Poste: Across from La Grande Poste (the main post office, on the Boulevard a little past Hotel Rembrandt), upstairs. Just a place to drink, but they bring a lot of tapas which are quite decent.

Carousel Pub: This is the red fronted place on the street of the Picasso Hotel, near Café de Paris. It echoes and English pub atmosphere, and brings beans, lentils, mini tajines to go with your drink.

The English Pub: Very similar to the Carousel Pub, a bit further from the Boulevard.

Pescador: Much classier than the above ones, and often has live music and open mic – behind La Bodega which is near Hotel Chellah. The tapas are much nicer and well set out than the other places, but they don’t bring a lot. If you’re wanting a meal you will have to order from the menu and pay for it.

Au Pain Nu: Also in the same part of town, this one is similar to Pescador in that they bring less dishes but of a much higher quality. Again, they have a menu you can order from for a proper meal.

Live Music

Chellah and Chellah Beach: Both of these often have live music and dancing, occasionally open mic. Both are nice places to go to spend time.  

Pescador: Has open mic on Mondays, with live music and some tapas, nice cosy pub atmosphere. Right behind La Bodega.

La Bodega: Often has live music, small and cosey, a bit more like a bar. Just a few doors down from Hotel Chellah.

Otrik: From Hotel Rembrandt, instead of going to the right side, follow the street to the left behind the Boulevard. This one often has live music, and some tapas.

Buena Vista: This is a little café in the medina. It often has live music and impromptu gatherings. They have one floor set up with church pews and a stage, as well as roof top seating. It’s a coffee and tea shop, no alcohol.

Le Coeur de Tanger: Above Café de Paris on the Boulevard, this is the full tapas bar with food and a balcony to sit on. After 8pm they have live singers singing the gnaua music of Morocco, especially typical in the north.

Open til 1 or 2pm for music and drinks

Most of these places are open til 1 or 2pm. Morocco is a night culture, and there are people up til all hours, children included. Most of the places around the Boulevard have these hours.

Number One

Hotel Chellah

Chellah Beach

Pescador

La Bodega

Le Marquis, near the Roxy Café

Open til 3 or 4 am

Blue Pub, usually til 3am

Lucas, a new disco-nightclub, between Hotel Rembrandt and MacDonalds

Regine’s, near Roxy Café.

The Beach Bars: Down on the road on the beach – The Corniche – underneath the walkway there are a series of nightclubs. They are all open til 4am, and offer the same. My preference is usually Havana. They are marked by the parking station numbers. Havana and Chellah Beach are around Parking 9 or 10, across from the Barcello Hotel.

The Bottle Shops

If you are going somewhere for a dinner, a party, or an after party, or just want a quiet drink where you are staying, there are also bottle shops. But most of them are hard to find, being tucked into corners with no noticeable names on them. Here are where you can find some. Generally they are open from 10am to 10pm, except during Ramadan – only 2 were open this year, closing at 6pm – sometimes a bit earlier.

It is worth a trip just for the experience. Your alcohol purchases will first be wrapped up in paper to hide them. Then they will be put inside a black bag that’s not see-through. While plenty of people drink, everyone likes to pretend that no one does. Getting rid of your bottles afterwards is just as much of a trick - make sure you put them into a bag that’s not see-through.

So where can you go to buy a bottle and have a little mini-Moroccan experience?

Casa Pepe: This one is a little pricier, and comes with a delicatessen and selection of non-Moroccan supermarket items, but it is by far the easiest to find – for a start, it actually has a name. It is also always open during Ramadan. It is on the little street between Hotel Rembrandt and MacDonalds.

Le Patrice Market (La Fine Bouche): The other with a name and on google maps. This one has an extensive range of wines, as well as all your other options. It’s on Rue de Fes.

To find it, walk from the medina, up through Gran Socco with Cinema Rif and a fountain. Keep on going up to the next fountain on Place de France and the Boulevard where you find Café de Paris, Le Coeur de Tanger, and the canons with the ladies selling hand henna art.

If you keep on going across the Boulevard, there are 2 streets to choose from. Take the right hand of the streets.

About 2 blocks on your right you will find Le Patrice Market.

Shop 3: On the way to Le Patrice Market and just before it, you will walk past another small shop on your left which also sells alcohol. Both are good options.

Shop 4: From Café de Paris, cross the Boulevard, but this time take the left of the two streets. On your left on the second corner you will see a sign for Picasso Hotel. Turn left into this street. It is the same one as the Carousel Pub which will be on your right. The second last shop on your left is another little bottle shop which is a good option.

Socco Alto, Carrefour supermarket: There is also a big bottle shop next to the huge Carrefour supermarket in the Socco Alto shopping mall, if you happen to be out that way. It often has good discounts.

There are a few also down in the Malabata area, such as in the same complex as the Kandinsky icecream shop.