Tissemlal (Casa Hassan)

Tissemlal, the restaurant of the Casa Hassan guesthouse at 22 Rue Targui in the Chefchaouen medina, serves traditional Moroccan food on a terrace inside the property. Chefchaouen lies in the Rif mountains of northern Morocco, and guesthouse restaurants such as this one give visitors a calmer setting than the busy main square. The cuisine is Moroccan, with no Michelin recognition or celebrated chef lineage; the cooking is home-style and tied to the guesthouse. Signature dishes include tagines, couscous and other traditional Moroccan dishes, so the menu centres on the clay-pot stews and steamed semolina that define regional dining. Couscous is traditionally served on Fridays across Morocco, which makes it a natural order on that day. The dining room character is quiet and domestic, with the terrace giving a pleasant outlook over the medina rooftops, casual to smart-casual dress, and a low noise level compared with the plaza restaurants. The beverage programme is built around Moroccan mint tea, coffee and juices. Prices are in the mid-range for the town, roughly 80-150 MAD (about $9-$16) per person, although menus are not published and figures are indicative. Walk-ins are normally accepted, but because a guesthouse kitchen is small, phoning +212 5 39 98 61 53 ahead for dinner, particularly for groups, is sensible. Guests staying at Casa Hassan can arrange meals through the property, and the guesthouse maintains its own website at casahassan.com. The Rue Targui location is inside the medina, reached on foot along cobbled, sloping lanes.