La Villa des Orangers

Kunafa leaf at the pass

Gambas meet kunafa leaf before the plate leaves the pass. Abdelilah Ighiri, chef at La Villa des Orangers in Marrakech, uses that crisp wrapper to set the pace of the kitchen. His station is inside the signature restaurant of a Relais & Châteaux house in the medina, where French-Moroccan cooking has to carry itself with restraint rather than weight. The clearest dish in his hand is Gambas en feuille de kunafa, set with pamplemousse and fenouil, a composition that depends on seafood, crunch, citrus and aniseed lift staying in proportion.

The house names Ighiri as chef here, and does not publish a longer account of his apprenticeship. The work that is stated is enough to read the discipline: clean seasoning, produce handled for clarity, and plates built so texture remains after the first bite. His own language is spare. “The recipe calls for sea bass, coriander leaves, salt, pepper, parsley, grapefruit juice, olive oil, and lemon.” It is a list without ornament, and it tells you how the kitchen wants flavor to arrive.

Sea bass, beef tenderloin, citrus lift

The program moves between French technique and Moroccan inflection without forcing either side to announce itself. Sea bass, beef tenderloin and foie gras sit among the house signatures, while the broader kitchen works with grilled fish, steamed John Dory, sole meunière with spinach and mascarpone, and beef with Bordelaise sauce. The method is familiar in the right way: grilling, steaming, roasting, fricassée, pastry made thin enough to frame tomato, sea scallop and dill caviar rather than bury them.

Local sourcing and organic produce shape the menu, with sustainable fish named as part of the kitchen’s practice. The French tasting format and Moroccan à la carte dishes give Ighiri room to vary pace; one route lets the pass build sequence, the other keeps the plate direct. Gambas with vegetable couscous and lemongrass shows the house at its most legible, using spice as a line through sweetness, not a cover for it.

Orange trees and carved wood

The room works like a riad should. An unassuming threshold gives way to courtyards, pools, fountains, sofas and orange trees, with the restaurant shifting between shaded tables, poolside service and indoor rooms with carved wood and firelight. The property opened in 2000 under Véronique and Pascal Beherec, transforming early 20th-century residences into a house built for quiet movement rather than display.

During service, the formal pace suits the cooking. Plates leave the pass into low light, red tones, wood paneling and the hush of water nearby; the room gives citrus, fennel and grilled fish enough space to register. The medina is close, with Koutoubia Mosque, the Royal Palace and Jemaa el-Fna part of the surrounding geography, but the restaurant keeps its attention on the courtyard. The venue serves kunafa leaf, pamplemousse, fenouil and Abdelilah Ighiri’s Gambas en feuille de kunafa.