I have reviewed this restaurant before, but as part of the hotel. I only just found the restaurant on TripAdvisor as a separate listing by accident.
This is one of the first places we ate when we came to Marrakesh and it's still one of...our favourite places. Dar Donab is a former palace and is a magical place, straight out of 1001 Tales of the Arabian Nights.
The tree lined courtyard has an open, unheated, swimming pool which we have never seen used, although as we come here in winter I'm sure it gets lots of use in warm weather. The bar is wonderful and at night is one of the most romantic places we've ever been, although the sense of romance vanishes if the TV is on. The bar staff will turn off the TV if asked.
The restaurant itself is stunning with carved wood, stained glass that glows at sunset and a breathtaking marble fireplace which has a fire lit when it is cold, although there are huge heaters now to keep the room warm;we have eaten here when it has been freezing so these are very welcome.
The food is traditional Moroccan and very good. We tend to have the four flavours tagine, and our waitress who has been at Dar Donab for a couple of years, told us that she knew that we were going to order that. This is a very rich, tasty dish, proper winter food, with prunes, apricots, figs and almonds. For pudding my wife has the crepes with chocolate and I have the creme caramel, both unfailingly good.
As alluded to above, the staff are very friendly and attentive without being over familiar and it is wonderful to be remembered in a place so far from home.
This is not a dry restaurant, reference to the bar should have been the clue, and they do a mean mojito.
We love this place and will keep on coming back. We can't recommend it highly enough and if you want traditional Moroccan food in a glorious setting, then come here.More