Amid the bustling streets and overwhelming sensory explosion of Marrakech, +61 is an oasis of calm – a place of respite for both brain and belly that’s landed its founders, Cassandra Karinsky, Sebastian de Gzell and chef Andrew Cibej, at the top of the city’s must-visit lists despite being a relative newcomer on the scene.
A banquet table at +61, which brings a tranquil vibe to bustling Marrakech
Originally from Australia, but having lived in Morocco for 16 years, Karinsky’s mission was to fill a much-needed hole in the city’s food culture. Craving somewhere that could provide light, healthy cuisine among the carb ‘n’ couscous heavy staples of the local diet, she set up the restaurant in Marrakech’s more modern Gueliz district with Cibej – who’d previously helmed spaces in Sydney and Hong Kong – three years ago.
“The ethos and the idea has always been the same: to offer a really unpretentious, casual, clean place to eat with fresh, clean food,” she explains. “Since I’ve lived here, the food scene really hasn’t changed that much. It’s getting a little different now over the last couple of years, but there’s still a lot to be done. I’m still shocked at how it hasn’t evolved better and faster.”
Airy interiors at +61
To play their part in pushing forward Marrakech’s offerings, +61 takes a multicultural approach to its menu but prioritises using local produce and working with traders from the region wherever possible.
“We try very hard not to use anything imported; all the seafood is as local as it can be, the meat is all local, we don’t use anything out of season,” explains Cibej. “The menu is a melange of different places, primarily from Southeast Asia and Italy, which is where my food background is from. We’re not going to sit here and try to reinvent the tagine.”
A dish of ricotta with pickled eggplant and piadina flatbread
The result is a menu that takes in fragrant curries and steaming gyozas, via leafy salads, crispy calamari and their most famous dish, an espresso-laced ricotta panna cotta.
“It’s almost impossible to get a salad anywhere in the city – in a lot of places, you’ll order a big [sharing] dish and the salads will be a pasta salad and a rice salad, and then you’ll also get chips and bread. Cassie’s idea with the restaurant was to make somewhere that was a little bit more like home,” says Cibej.
Which is not to say he’s not prone to some more traditional Moroccan foodie fare, too. Read on to check out the chef’s guide to the best places to eat in Marrakech, from street food heroes to more upmarket treats.
