Best Cafés in Tangier: Historic Haunts & Panoramic Sea Views
From Café Hafa’s terraced cliffs to the literary tables of Café de Paris.
No visit to Tangier is complete without spending hours on a café terrace. Unlike quick coffee stops elsewhere, Tangier cafés are public living rooms where debates unfold, books are written, and time slows down.
Café Hafa, founded in 1921 in the Marshane quarter, is arguably the most famous café in Morocco. Carved into a dramatic cliff overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar and the Spanish coastline on clear days, generations of cultural icons—from Paul Bowles to The Rolling Stones—have sipped traditional mint tea on its stepped stone terraces.
In the heart of the Kasbah, Café Baba offers a bohemian atmosphere with retro memorabilia and views of the upper Kasbah lanes. Meanwhile, on Place de France in the Ville Nouvelle, Grand Café de Paris preserves its 1920s interior with dark wood paneling, mirrors, and leather banquettes where diplomats and spies once congregated.
If you prefer contemporary specialty coffee and European-style viennoiseries, the waterfront strip of Malabata offers modern destinations like Paul Tangier and Café Cappuccino with sunny outdoor terraces right across from the beach.