Couple questions: Food and romance
Can you have a private dinner in your riad on a honeymoon?
Yes. Many riads keep a resident cook, called a dada, and those that do not can bring in a chef for the evening. You agree the menu in advance, and the meal is served to the two of you alone in the courtyard, on the roof terrace or beside the pool, at the hour you choose.
Answered by the Morocco Honeymoons team. Checked October 2026.
The short answer
Yes. Many riads keep a resident cook, called a dada, and those that do not can bring in a chef for the evening. You agree the menu in advance, and the meal is served to the two of you alone in the courtyard, on the roof terrace or beside the pool, at the hour you choose.
In more detail
Our dining guide calls this the single most luxurious way to eat in Morocco, and also the most intimate. There are no other guests and no fixed sitting. The meal usually runs through a sequence of cooked salads, then a tagine or a pastilla as the main dish, then pastries and mint tea.
You decide the shape of it beforehand. It can be a full traditional feast or a lighter dinner built around vegetables. A whole roast lamb, the mechoui, has to be ordered ahead because it cooks for hours.
Our Marrakech food guide notes that a riad dinner cooked by a neighbourhood cook often beats any restaurant. Harira, couscous rolled by hand and a tagine that has been on the heat since noon are the kind of dishes you can expect.
Good to know
- Tell us it is your honeymoon when you enquire, so the riad can plan the evening.
- Name any dish you want, such as pastilla or mechoui, well before you arrive.
- Give dietary needs at enquiry. We brief every kitchen in writing.
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