Can pescatarians eat well in Morocco?

Pescatarians are spoilt here, and I love planning food-led trips for them. Morocco has a long Atlantic coast and a Mediterranean north, so fish is genuinely fresh and central to the cuisine. In coastal towns the seafood is a highlight of the whole trip: Essaouira's port grills are legendary — you pick your fish from the morning's catch and they char-grill it on the spot — and you will eat grilled sardines, sea bass, sole, prawns, calamari and the wonderful chermoula-marinated fish tagine cooked with tomato, pepper and preserved lemon.

Beyond the fish itself, the rest of Moroccan cooking already suits a pescatarian perfectly. Vegetable tagines, the chopped Moroccan salad, zaalouk (smoky aubergine), taktouka (pepper and tomato), bessara (fava bean soup), harira (often vegetarian, but confirm the stock), lentils, chickpeas, eggs, olives and bread give you a huge non-fish repertoire for the days you do not fancy seafood. So you are never stuck choosing between fish or going hungry — there is always a generous vegetarian spread alongside.

The honest caveat is geography. On the coast — Essaouira, Casablanca, El Jadida, Oualidia (famous for oysters), Tangier, Asilah — the fish is abundant, cheap and superb. Inland, in Marrakech, Fes, the Atlas and especially the desert, fish is available in restaurants but it has travelled further, the variety narrows, and the local strength is meat and vegetables. So if seafood is important to you, I weight the itinerary to include coastal nights, and inland I lean you towards the excellent vegetable dishes rather than ordering fish far from the sea.

One practical note: when a Moroccan menu lists 'fish tagine' or 'seafood pastilla', those are genuinely fish-based and a real treat, but the famous sweet bastilla is usually pigeon or chicken — so check before ordering that one. Tell your riad you are pescatarian and they will happily cook fish or vegetable tagines to order. Pair an Essaouira or Oualidia stretch with the inland highlights and you will eat as well as any pescatarian could hope for.