Libzar is one of several upscale restaurants tucked away on a quiet street in central Gueliz. The entrance sticks out onto a triangular corner and can easily be missed if you aren’t paying attention. The entryway is more like a boutique hotel than a restaurant, and you’ll find beautiful roses floating in a water fountain as you enter and pass the bright white decor and tasteful design. Fine dining tables are laid out throughout the restaurant, and plush couches line the wall in the back, where we decided to sit after a long day of walking.

The fare at Libzar is typically Moroccan, with seafood, tagines, and couscous dishes served in a distinctly elegant setting. Most people go for the prix fixe three-course meal, but we weren’t incredibly hungry, so decided to order directly off the a la carte menu instead.

After being seated for awhile, we decided to put in our order for mains as there weren’t that many appetizers on the menu that we wanted. We went with the beef tagine with olives and the vegetable couscous. Shortly after ordering, fresh pita bread and olives were brought to our table. However after I tasted the olives, I somewhat regretted my order as they tasted like they had gone rancid or something, but hoped my meal might have different ones.

The meals came out quickly after ordering and the beef tagine was sizzling and served with a side of semolina couscous. The beef was tender but not well-spiced, and the olives, well, they were the same olives I was served earlier. I’m a huge olive fan, but these for some reason just didn’t sit well with me and I had to pick them out. Others might have a different experience, but it’s something to keep in mind. The couscous came with zucchini, carrot, chickpeas and potatoes which were all cooked well, but that’s expected for something served in a hot tagine. The problem with the couscous was the same as the beef — it was also lacking in flavor. We weren’t wowed very much by the flavor of the bread or the meals, but they were indeed large portions, so we scoped out the standard desserts and decided to go without and find something elsewhere.

Throughout the dining experience, more people came to sit but the crowd didn’t seem very local. There was a big family of German tourists at the table next to us and some other obvious tourists at a few other tables. I calculated that the lack of spiciness in the food was due to the high tourist traffic, but I can’t be sure.

Service was professional and top notch. The meal certainly wasn’t bad, but was definitely overpriced for what you can get at dozens of other places in Marrakech. You’re definitely paying for the ambiance and decor of the place when you eat here, but that ambiance is hard to beat in Marrakech, so you’ll have to weigh your options.