Diaffa review: our verdict
As night falls, candles are lit on embroidered tablecloths and the lute begins: Diaffa plays out the Moroccan state dinner every evening in a 16th-century home in the medina, complete with a carpeted patio, lanterns, carved doors, and glazed zellige tiles. The family house, opened in 1994, is run by women, right down to the kitchen: slow-cooked tagines, couscous, pastilla, tanjia, and a crown of Moroccan salads to start.
You book for a special evening: a final vacation dinner, a group of friends, a family with children, or foreign guests to welcome. The musicians, lute, qanun, and female voices, engage the audience, while dancers perform choreographies between courses. Service is attentive and discreet. This is not a place for a quiet dinner for two, as music is part of the meal, nor for an improvised meal.
The dish to order: couscous, with an affordable Moroccan wine to accompany it. The trap: coming in a large group on a weekday without notice, as the menu may be incomplete; book in advance and ask which evenings the entertainment is full. The good tip: privatize a salon or patio for a birthday.
