Located just west of the Bab El Had gate of the Rabat Medina, Dar Naji is a traditional Moroccan restaurant that offers great food along with great views from the second floor terrace.

The entrance is just off the street, where you are greeted and walked down a long mosaic-filled hall to wash your hands upon entry. Inside, waiters walk by and pour Moroccan mint tea with a signature move from high above their head as guests watch on. Large, shiny brass ornaments line the walls and hang from the air to set the mood. The upstairs terrace features two dining areas, but the colorful tapestry-covered terrace with plush couches is the one to go for the authentic experience. Down below, the bustle of the Rabat streets keeps diners occupied as they wait for their meals to come.

The extensive menu is loaded with different kinds of tajines, hamburgers, couscous, and other more exotic Moroccan dishes you likely haven’t heard of. It’s also completely in French with no English translation, so brush up on your language skills before coming. Before you order, delicious black olives with a smoky flavor reminiscent of prosciutto are brought to your table, along with a pile of warm bread.

We wanted some more appetizers to go along with the bread and olives, so I ordered the salade dada, which encompasses three different starters including zaalouk, takfouka and bakala. The zaalouk was my favorite, and was made with creamy smoked eggplant, extra garlic, and drizzled with a copious amount of olive oil.

For mains, we ordered the poisson tajine and the koraine sur charbon (which I was assured was beef). The tajine was piping hot and served with a light tomato-based sauce and potatoes, but the fish itself was pretty bony. As for the koraine sur charbon, it was mostly just a big piece of fat and cartilage with no actual meat to speak of, served with a side of bones and chickpeas. The earthy flavor of the sauce and chickpeas was great, but I felt a little shorted by the piece of meat. However, if you are the type who likes to eat cuts of fat and wants to try something a bit offbeat, you might enjoy it.

Fortunately, the dessert more than made up for the rest and was the best part of the meal. We ordered the moussee au chocolat which was incredibly rich and full of chocolate chip pieces. It was more like cutting through fudge than the typical mousse that I’m used to. We also had two gateaux morocains (Moroccan cookies). One tasted strongly of jasmine and was like diving into a bottle of perfume, while the other was covered with salted caramel and nuts. Although it was small, the jasmine cookie was one of the best sweets I’ve ever had.

If you want to people watch and have an authentic Moroccan meal for a great price, it’s hard to beat Dar Naji.