Brunch alert: Rick's Cafe

So you're looking for the best Sunday brunch in Casablanca, but at the same time you think that Rick's cafe its too obvious a choice, and on top of everything you think that the whole thing must be fake since the film was not shot in Morocco...Open your mind. Ricks cafè is already and institution here in Casablanca, in fact they just celebrated its 10th anniversary not long ago; the deco its superb, the waiters are spot on and about the best you can find in Morocco, and the food is always fresh and -to Casablanca standarts- not expensive. So when my american friend rang me to propose me Sunday brunch I was like: eehh...ok...let's play the tourist. How wrong I was, the place is spectacular and super chill-out, some moroccan couples, some foreigners, everyone casual chic (there is actually a dress code to follow); none of those over-excited people with camera... actually I was the only one taking photos.
The brunch is reserved for the first floor, that is way cooler than the lower floor. On the brunch menu there's pretty much everything you are dreaming of right now: eggs benedict, omelettes with whatever ingredients you may like, ham, cheeses (parmesano, roqueford, gouda, etc), grilled potatoes with some kind of beef strogonoff, tagliatelle with seafood sauce...shall I continue? and then of course you've got the fresh orange juice 'a volonte', milk with cacao, cafe, tea, cereals, homemade yogurt, strawberry cake, pain au chocolat, french toast with maple syrup...well let`s say that the choice is larger than your appetite, whatever your weight may be. And all that at 160 dirhams, yes there's no mistake, 160 dhs for a king's brunch, so I guess...I'll see u there next Sunday.

Ricks Cafe
248, Bd Sour Jdid. Place du jardin public.
Ancienne médina. Casablanca. Morocco.
tel. 0522 27 42 07
0522 27 42 08
info@rickscafe.ma

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La Brioche Dorée...the gold-plated coffee shop

La Brioche Dorée is a French chain of fast-food style bakery with more than 500 shops worldwide. This kind of self-service in Morocco only means that you get your goodies on the counter but when you leave, the tray stays on on your table with an ashtray full of cigarrettes, so the new customer has to remove other people's leftovers. The combination of allowing to smoke with good prices creates a dark cloud of smoke on the back of the premises that can match the ambiance of “Cafe Manolo” in South East Bronx on 1983. We went on a Sunday to have a Nutella crepe and a hot chocolate, the crepe was quite good and the chocolate was ok, but very light not the excellent 'Fondu' style that you get in Freres Gourmet for example, but all considered, Brioche Dorée is by far cheaper. The waiters over the counter were slow and uninspiring and gave a general feeling of I-dont-give-a-damn about your order. In a city with hundreds of coffee shops the owners should choose more carefully the image they're projecting. Still, location wise makes it a good alternative for ultra-snob Paul and darky G-Ice. The first half of the place is non smoker and has a real nice tall table facing the street to see the life go by. Variety seemed right, there was even good baguettes on sale and good looking cakes and sandwiches also. For some reason there was pizza on offer which we found quite weird, but probably the market demands it. There is another one in Maarif and antoher one in Morocco Mall. And since we really like the idea we'll definitely give it another try, see if the general service gets improved.

Bd Anfa, Casablanca, Morocco 
http://www.grouperahal.ma

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Les Frères Gourmet, more than a Tea House

Les Frères Gourmet is the kind of place where a writer can go and sit during hours and hours. No one bothers you, the service is very polite, they smile all the time, and never try to rush you so the table is free for some other client. The decoration is contemporary yet very elegant: plenty of bookcases, nice wallpapers, old photographs scattered everywhere...they have a cute little terrace for the 300+ sunny days that you get in Casablanca and is located in the most civilized of streets, where you can find Bulgari, Cartier, Chopard and many other jewelers. I know what you're thinking, but actually the clients are not as snobbish as one may imagine, they come in beautiful cars and smell expensive, yes, but they're more the connoisseur type rather than the judgmental bitch. Gatsby is a regular here, and specially enjoys the best hot chocolate in Town, thick and made out of real chocolate, not some Nesquick powder. Ice creams, sandwiches, omelettes, Frères Gourmet is a good alternative to a regular restaurant since the feeling is much nicer than in some real ones, and the prices are really affordable. Its interesting that in the upper floor they sell cute handmade arts & crafts from candles to cushions and the kind of Jewelery you could find in Ibiza...and that you can only wear in Ibiza. As many other places in chic Casablanca, they offer a car park valet.

Price of the best hot chocolate in town: 30 dhs

Rue AÏn Harrouda,9 (ex. Jeanne d'Arc), Casablanca

tel.+212 522 94 60 00

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