There's a quieter, more elegant Agadir that doesn't get nearly enough credit — a beach bar at sunset, a serious jazz club, a cocktail bar inside a French bistro, a hotel with a cabaret over the pool, and a new fine-dining theatre that has, this year, raised the whole tenor of an Agadir evening. Let me take you through them properly. They deserve it.
A note before we start. Morocco is a Muslim country, and alcohol is served in licensed hotels, dedicated bars and a handful of specific restaurants. Agadir's drinking culture is concentrated in a small number of carefully run rooms, each of which has earned its licence through quality and care. There aren't many places — and the good ones are very good indeed.
Nazka by Buddha Bar — The View Hotel
For: sunset, the long view, a slow first drink.
The beach bar with the view that gave the hotel its name. Come around five. Order a drink. The sun does what it's meant to do. The cocktails are properly made — a decent Negroni, fresh-fruit mocktails, a Vodka Martini with delicious Moroccan olives — and the wine list is thoughtful, with Moroccan wines worth ordering on principle. Later the fire pits come alive and resident DJs play Afro-Latin rhythms. A little pricey, but the location is five-star and the service matches. Dress smart casual; the evening can get cool enough for a jacket. (A fez is optional. I wear mine.)
LOV at La Suite
For: dinner with cabaret, a serious cocktail, adults-only.
In Founty, adults-only, built around a pool with a cabaret stage suspended over the water. You're handed a green passport-shaped cocktail menu and a prop British passport. The Rosapicane (120 dh) is a real treat: harissa-infused tequila, daghmous cactus honey, hibiscus and lemon. The signature LOV trough is a long wooden sharing platter laid across the table on legs, and the kitchen runs to aged steaks, Beef Wellington and sea bass three ways. On the way to the terrace there's a button on a stand: PRESS FOR SHISHA. Press it. Someone arrives.
La Buvette
For: the best meal in Agadir most tourists never find.
The locals' best-kept secret — I almost feel guilty letting this one out. Family-run, open since 1965, attached to the Uniprix supermarket on Avenue Hassan II, which is exactly why most tourists miss it and most Agadirois don't. Inside is a proper French bistro: white-shirted, black-waistcoated waiters who actually know what they're doing. The food is short and serious — a 15-hour beef cheek with parmesan-crusted zita gratin, lamb fillet on mushroom duxelles, and Le Citron, a shard of caramelised feuillete against lemon-and-basil cream finished with gold leaf, that I genuinely think about when I'm not there.
Blue Note
For: live music, late-night, a properly mixed crowd.
On Boulevard du 20 Aout, next to the Vallee des Oiseaux: restaurant, bar and jazz club, delivering on all three. A house band plays English, French and Moroccan songs, joined often by a local guitarist the regulars call “the little magician.” Mondays are jam night; the music doesn't start till 10, so check before an early dinner. Manage expectations on the food — it's bar food — but none of that matters once the music starts. Open daily 5pm–2am.
Coup de Foudre
For: the big night out. Anniversaries, first dates, impressing parents.
Love at first sight — on the seafront at the Front de Mer end of the Corniche, and it has genuinely raised what an Agadir evening can be. Fine dining with a proper cabaret between courses: singers, dancers, fire performers, occasionally an acrobat, appearing among the tables rather than on a stage. The cocktail programme is the most ambitious in the city by some margin — Mziouda (tequila, clarified dragon fruit, habanero, Himalayan salt), Verdure, a properly made Negroni — all at 150 dirhams, with a genuinely creative Sans Alcool list taken just as seriously. I went sceptical. I left having had one of the best evenings I've had in Agadir in years. Reservations recommended.
What to drink — a small primer
Moroccan wine is much better than its reputation; the Meknes reds (Medaillon Rouge, Volubilia, Domaine de Sahari) are the genuine surprise. Mint tea is the great drink of the country, poured fresh anywhere, an entirely respected choice with no awkwardness. Casablanca beer is the local lager — light, cold, fine with an early dinner. And the fresh juice everywhere is wonderful — don't hold back.
The practicalities
Timing: Agadir runs late — dinner from eight, peak at nine-thirty. Taxis: Petit (red) within the city, meter on; Grand (white/yellow) for airport runs, price agreed first. Dress smart casual everywhere; Coup de Foudre rewards a little extra. Tipping 10% at the bar; 50–100 dirhams for musicians if you've enjoyed the night. During Ramadan some bars close in daylight and reopen after sunset — and the city after iftar takes on a warmth I would not miss for anything.
Agadir, after dark, rewards people who take their evenings seriously. Choose the right room for your mood. Sit somewhere with a view, listen to someone play something properly, drink something well-made. Stay later than you meant to. I'll see you at one of these rooms — I'll be the one in the corner asking the pianist if he takes requests. — Jonny