For Le Jardin des Sens in their native Montpellier, the Pourcel twins earned three Michelin stars, but their first opening in Marrakech, the restaurant at La Plage Rouge, was a less than glamorous affair that has now been relegated to the slop-bin of literature. Back on board, Crystal sees them. The space, attached to the Ibiza-branded Pacha nightclub, is grand and bright with modern Deco touches. The menu developed by the brothers (they don’t really cook at Crystal, but have installed one of their Montpellier-trained chefs) is Mediterranean, mostly Italian, and offers some of the most innovative cuisine in town, with dishes such as snail pasta, dried fruit polenta, and prawn and spinach ravioli. While pricey for Morocco, rates for cooking of this nature are fair. From April to October, lunch is served across the palm-lined lake, but under the cloak of night, the place truly comes into its own as the discretion of candlelight and the shimmer of jewels draw the most glamorous crowd of the city to the edge of town, where a clutch of new hotels are beginning to sprout.
Crystal, Nightclub Pacha, Boulevard
00 212 2438 8400
