Our story
A riad that decided
to start cooking.
Butterfly Space sits behind a quiet door on Rue Laâlouj, in the walled medina of Essaouira — a fishing town of wind, white walls and blue boats, where the Atlantic sets the menu every morning.
In a sentence
We cook the dishes our grandmothers cook — the morning's fish, couscous rolled by hand, tagines braised for hours — and plate them like the magazine spread the medina deserves.
01The place
A door off Rue Laâlouj
Step in off a quiet medina lane and the noise of Essaouira falls away. Whitewashed walls climb into stone arches; lanterns of coloured glass throw warm light across deep teal velvet. Painted faces watch from the walls. It feels less like a restaurant and more like a riad that decided to start cooking.
There is no single room — there's the main hall, the salon below, a curved banquette on the mezzanine. You choose your corner; we bring the sea to you.
02The catch
Fresh from the Atlantic
Essaouira is a fishing town first. The boats come in to the blue port at dawn, and what they land is what we cook — sea bream, sea bass, swordfish, calamari, prawns. Nothing sits. Nothing is frozen to wait for you.
We grill it simply over coals, or fold it into a tagine, and let saffron, preserved lemon and the morning's freshness do the rest.
03The craft
Moroccan, with a quiet twist
Couscous rolled by hand. Pastilla in crackling warka. Tagines that braise for hours. We cook the dishes our grandmothers cook — then plate them like the magazine spread the medina deserves.
And because Essaouira is a town of travellers, there's a great burger and a plate of pasta too. Everyone finds their table here.
04The welcome
Come hungry. Leave slow.
Guests write again and again about the staff — friendly, attentive, proud of the food. That's the whole idea. We want the evening to stretch: another glass, the tiramisu, the last of the bread for the sauce.
Number one in Essaouira on Tripadvisor — not because we said so, but because the medina did.
From a recent table
“We chose fish dishes and all the dishes were excellent — the place is beautiful.”
Chiara A. · Tripadvisor
Join us
The lanterns are on. Your table is waiting.
We keep a few tables back for walk-ins, but evenings fill fast. A quick WhatsApp is the surest way in.