Palazzo Desdemona

Everything is perfect, the maintenance, the rooftop, the location and a particularly pleasant staff.

After wandering around Essaouira, we decided we wanted a rooftop terrace for lunch. We wanted fish but not fresh whole fish, and the menu displayed at ground level looked good and reasonably priced, so we went in and asked for the terrace. We were directed to the stairs. The stairs are steep, narrow, uneven, and feel like a long climb. There is mostly a handrail, although the black strip on the wall just above it was confusing. The signs pointing the way reflect the climb, and the third landing from the top even tells you “22 steps”! The views from the top are worth it. The seating on the rooftop is nice. Unfortunately for us, it was either fully sunny or fully shady — no half‑and‑half — but the glass windbreaks do protect diners from the wind. The menu isn’t extensive, but the options are good. We both had the fish burger, which also comes with avocado. It was tasty. The accompanying fries were very thinly cut, but cooked very well. I was also happy to try some Moroccan lagers. The service was very good. As with most Moroccans, the waiters were warm, friendly, and helpful. This restaurant isn’t cheap, but I would say it’s very nice and good value for money.

We had rooftop reservations at 1830 followed by dinner reservations in the main dining area at 1930. After cocktails at sunset, we arrived downstairs for our dinner seating. The waiter arrived and we were promptly seated but after that service went downhill. We were brought a basket of bread but had to search out the waiter to ask for olive oil for dipping. Our waiter was the only one working the entire restaurant. The “hostess” just walked around the room doing nothing; even when we asked HER to order our main course ( we’d finished our apps quite a bit earlier). She did nothing to assist her overworked co worker, but walk around with her cell phone observing patrons eating. The space is lovely, but the service really needs help. Regarding the food, the calamari and scallop apps were very good; when the mains arrived, my spicy sea bass was nicely cooked but far from “spicy” and the lobster in my husband’s lobster pasta was overcooked and nothing special.