Top Rated Pizza Joints in Essaouira That Locals Swear By

If you have been searching for the top rated pizza joints in Essaouira, you probably already know the surprise that awaits you: this small Atlantic port city, famous more for grilled sardines and camel meat tagines than for anything Italian, actually hides a quietly serious pizza scene. Locals here have strong opinions about dough, mozzarella sourcing, and whether a wood fire is worth the extra dirhams. After two decades of eating my way through every riad courtyard and street-corner oven between Bab Marrakech and the fishing port, I can tell you the real standouts, and the places to skip, without any of the glossy menu photos.

Where the Locals Actually Go for Pizza in Essaouira

Il Pesto Pizzeria, Just Off Avenue Mohammed V

Tucked into a quiet stretch between the jewelry shops and the phone repair kiosks, Il Pesto has been pulling in a steady crowd since the early 2010s. The owner trained in Milan before settling here, which explains the presence of proper buffalo mozzarella rather than the rubbery shreds you find elsewhere. Ask for the pizza al tartufo when they have truffles in stock, usually between October and February, and pair it with a carafe of house red, which costs roughly 45 dirhams. The dining room fills up after 8pm, so arrive before 7:30 or expect to wait near the doorway with the rest of us. Tourists rarely notice the back patio, where the brick wall soaks up the late afternoon sun and you can hear the call to prayer echo across the old ramparts. Service can drag during that same 8pm rush, so settle in with a glass of something and do not flag the waiter down twice.

Pizza Uno, Place Moulay Hassan With a Sea View

Right on the main square facing the port, Pizza Uno is where my teenage cousins go after surfing lessons at Sidi Kaouki. It is not the most authentic Italian joint on the coast, but it wins the contest for cheap pizza Essaouira residents genuinely love. A full margherita runs about 35 dirhams, which is hard to argue with when you are feeding three hungry surfers fresh off the beach. The thin crust comes out slightly charred, the tomato sauce leans sweet, and they will pile on toppings if you ask. The terrace upstairs is the move, especially in spring when the wind drops and you can watch the blue boats bob in the harbor without your napkin flying off the table. Skip the carbonara, which is closer to a cream soup than the Roman original, and order the tuna and onion pizza instead. Local tip: the kitchen closes at 10pm sharp, even on weekends, so do not stroll over at 11 expecting a late slice.

Restaurant La Tolerance, Rue Touahen in the Old Mellah

La Tolerance sits in what used to be the Jewish quarter, and the wood-beamed interior still hints at the building's earlier life as a merchant's house. The pizzas here are Neapolitan-leaning, with a puffy, slightly wet center that purists either love or quietly push aside. What makes this place worth a visit is the oven, a proper wood-burning setup built into the back wall by a mason from Agadir who came specifically for the job. The funghi e tartufo pizza, the pistou with fresh basil, and the simple marinara are all strong. Prices land between 50 and 75 dirhams depending on toppings, which puts it in the mid-range for the city. The one annoying detail: street parking on Rue Touahen is a nightmare on Friday evenings when everyone drives down for fish dinners at the port. Walk instead, the medina walls are five minutes away on foot.

Snack Italia, Avenue de l'Istiqlal Near the Supratours Station

For a quick, no-frills slice, Snack Italia is what most Essaouira locals think of when someone mentions cheap pizza Essaouira. It is part corner store, part takeaway window, part casual diner, with red-checked plastic tablecloths and a small flat-screen usually playing a Real Madrid match. A whole pizza runs 25 to 40 dirhams, and you can grab a single slice with a soft drink for under 15. The dough is thicker and breadier than the Italian places, more like a focaccia with toppings, but that is exactly what people here grew up eating. Order the kefta pizza for a local twist, since they swap out the usual merguez sausage for seasoned ground beef. The family that runs it has been here since the 1990s, and the grandmother still makes the tomato sauce on Mondays when the produce market delivers fresh roma tomatoes. It is the kind of place where everyone knows your name by the second visit.

Best Casual Pizza Essaouira Has Quietly Perfected

Bab Laayoun Pizzeria, the Western End of the Medina

Walking out through Bab Laayoun toward the beach, you will smell this place before you see it, since the wood oven sits near the entrance and the smoke drifts into the alley. Bab Laayoun Pizzeria is one of the oldest wood-oven joints in the old town, opened by a Moroccan-Italian family in 2008, and the locals who grew up here have made it a rite of passage for teenagers. The four-cheese pizza is the safest bet, oozing with mozzarella, gorgonzola, and a local goat cheese that melts in a slightly tangy way. Most pies run 40 to 55 dirhams, and the portions lean generous. The best time to visit is between 3 and 5pm, when the lunch crowd has cleared and the dinner rush has not yet started, so you can grab one of the three outdoor tables facing the rampart wall. One small critique: there is no real bathroom inside, so plan accordingly or duck into one of the nearby riads for a few dirhams.

Restaurant chez Achmed, Rue De La Sqala With the Ramparts Above You

A few steps from the Scala Kasbah entrance, chez Achmed has a second-floor dining room with views over the old Portuguese cannon ramparts. The pizza menu is short, maybe eight options, but every single one has been refined over years. The diavola with local merguez is the move, and the anchovy pizza with capers, surprisingly, is what regulars swear by. A pie runs 45 to 65 dirhams, and a glass of Moroccan red from the Meknes region costs around 30. What tourists miss is that the family also runs the textile shop next door, so you can browse woven throws and scarves while your pizza cooks. The dining room gets warm in summer, since the upper floor holds heat from the brick oven below, so dress lightly or ask for a table near the window where the Atlantic breeze cuts through.

Dar Baba Pizza, Hidden Off Rue Laalouj Inside the Medina

Dar Baba is one of those local pizza spots Essaouira insiders mention in passing, never quite giving away the exact address. It sits down a narrow alleyway behind the spice souk, where the sound of the call to prayer from the Sidi Mohamed ben Abdellah mosque carries over the rooftops. The restaurant is small, with maybe ten tables and a hand-painted menu on the wall in Arabic, French, and Italian. Pizzas here come out blistered and thin, almost Roman in style, and they use a fermented dough that sits for at least 48 hours. Order the Essaouira pizza, topped with fresh sardines, capers, and lemon, a nod to the city's fishing heritage that no tourist menu quite pulls off the same way. Pies run 55 to 80 dirhams, putting it firmly in the upscale range, but the quality matches. They only open at 6pm and do not take reservations, so put your name on the list early or expect a 20-minute wait.

Galerie Pizza, Near the Bab Doukkala Gate

Housed in what used to be a photography gallery, hence the name, this spot pulls in a slightly artsy crowd of European expats and Moroccan painters. The pizzas are creative, with toppings like figs and goat cheese in autumn, smoked aubergine in winter, and a rotating monthly special. Prices run 50 to 75 dirhams, and the lunch deal, including a salad and drink for 70 dirhams, is one of the better values in the medina. The owner is a Casablanca-born photographer who returned to his family's home after years in Marseille, and the walls still carry some of his older prints. Ask for the special of the day, which often reflects whatever was fresh at the morning souk. The afternoon light through the front window is gorgeous, but the back corner tables can feel drafty once the sun sets.

Where the Real History and Dough Meet

Pizza de la Place, Skala de la Ville Ramparts

This little stall-by-the-ramparts place is not a sit-down restaurant, more of a takeaway window where wood-fired pizzas come out one after another, sliced into squares the way Roman pizza al taglio is served. Located right at the foot of the Skala de la Ville, the eighteenth-century rampart walkway that tourists climb for sunset photos, it caters mostly to local workers on break from the nearby carpentry shops and tailors. A square slice costs between 8 and 15 dirhams depending on topping, and you can grab a paper-wrapped bundle to eat while walking the walls. The dough is olive-oily, slightly chewy, and they sell out of the merguez and potato version by 2pm most days. The owner has been doing this since 2004, and the stones of the oven were laid by his late father, a baker from the Rif. Tourists usually breeze right past this on their way to the cannons, which is exactly why locals love it.

Le Cosi, Behind Place Beauvau Near the Old French Quarter

The French quarter in Essaouira still carries traces of the early twentieth-century colonial architecture, and Le Cosi sits at the edge of it, facing a quiet residential street of pastel-colored townhouses. The pizza here leans toward the French-Italian hybrid style, with a thinner, crispier base than most. The smoked salmon pizza with crème fraîche and dill is something I have never seen anywhere else in Morocco, and the classic quatre fromages is rich enough to share between two. Pies range from 50 to 80 dirhams, and a small carafe of Moroccan wine runs about 60. The best time to visit is on a Thursday evening, when the owner hosts a casual jam session with local oud players in the back courtyard. The downside: service can feel distracted on those nights, since half the staff is also playing music, so be patient with your order.

When to Go and What to Know Before You Eat Your Way Through Essaouira

Essaouira has a rhythm, and timing matters more here than in larger Moroccan cities. The wind picks up from late morning through the afternoon, especially between April and September, so any rooftop or terrace seating is best enjoyed before noon or after 6pm. Most pizza spots open around noon for lunch service and close between 10pm and 11pm, with a quiet stretch between 4pm and 6pm when kitchens go dark. Friday afternoons, the Muslim holy day, mean shorter hours and slower service in some family-run places, while Saturday evenings bring out the largest crowds. Bring cash, since many smaller spots in the medina do not take cards, and tipping a few dirhams goes a long way with servers who see the same faces week after week.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are there any specific dress codes or cultural etiquettes to keep in mind when visiting local spots in Essaouira?

Most pizza joints in Essaouira are casual and tourist-friendly, so jeans and a t-shirt are perfectly fine in nearly every spot, from the takeaway windows near the ramparts to the upstairs terraces along Avenue Mohammed V. In the older, family-run places inside the medina, including Dar Baba and La Tolerance, covering shoulders is appreciated but not enforced. Alcohol is served in about half of these venues, so if you are ordering wine with dinner, do so discreetly and avoid walking outside with an open glass. Tipping 10 to 15 dirhams per table is the local norm, even when a service charge is included on the bill.

Is the tap water in Essaouira safe to drink, or should travelers strictly rely on filtered water options?

Tap water in Essaouira is technically chlorinated and considered safe for brushing teeth and washing produce, but most locals drink filtered or bottled water instead, and any pizza joint with a fresh dough or salad menu will use bottled water in the kitchen without being asked. A 1.5-liter bottle of mineral water costs between 5 and 8 dirhams from any nearby hanout, or corner store. Ice in soft drinks at the larger restaurants is generally fine, but in the smaller medina spots it is safer to ask if the ice is made from filtered water, especially between June and September when the demand peaks.

Is Essaouira expensive to visit? Give a realistic daily budget breakdown for mid-tier travelers.

A mid-range day in Essaouira runs about 400 to 600 dirhams per person, roughly 40 to 60 US dollars at the current exchange. A mid-range hotel or riad inside the medina costs between 300 and 800 dirhams per night for a double room. Two pizzas with a shared bottle of wine run 120 to 180 dirhams, while a lunch at one of the cheaper takeaway windows can be as low as 30 dirhams. A taxi from the airport to the medina is a fixed 70 dirhams, and walking everywhere inside the ramparts is free. Add museum entries, like the 60-dirham Sidi Mohamed ben Abdellah museum ticket, and a camel ride on the beach at 150 dirhams, and you have a realistic full-day total.

What is the one must-try local specialty food or drink that visitors often overlook in Essaouira?

The single most under-the-radar local specialty is the sardine-topped pizza at Dar Baba, where they use fresh Atlantic sardines caught that morning from the port, prepared with lemon, capers, and a touch of preserved lemon rind. It is not on every menu in town, and most tourists walk right past it because they assume pizza means pepperoni. A close second is the mint tea service at Il Pesto, which comes free with any pizza order and uses fresh nana mint from the Haha region just south of the city. Order both, and you will have eaten something almost no guidebook mentions.

How easy is it to find pure vegetarian, vegan, or plant-based dining options in Essaouira?

Vegetarian options are easy, since most pizza places offer at least three or four meatless pies on the menu, including margherita, four-cheese, and mushroom varieties. Vegan options are harder, because mozzarella shows up on almost every pizza, and even the vegetable pies often include a thin layer of cheese by default. Snack Italia and Pizza Uno both confirmed they can do a no-cheese version on request, and the chickpea-and-spinach pizza at Bab Laayoun Pizzeria is fully vegan. Expect to ask specifically for no cheese, since the default assumption in Essaouira is that dairy stays on. Dedicated fully vegan restaurants are rare inside the medina, but the cheese-free options at the pizza spots cover most plant-based travelers without much trouble.