A birthday on the road is a slightly strange thing. You are far from the usual people and the usual places, sometimes in a town you had barely heard of a month ago. Yet a birthday away from home can turn out to be the one people talk about afterwards, usually because someone made a small effort at the right moment.

Here is how to set that up in Ouarzazate, whether it is a birthday, a wedding anniversary, an engagement or a reunion.

Tell the restaurant, and tell it early

It sounds obvious, and it is the step most often skipped. A restaurant that knows about the occasion can choose the table, prepare candles and flowers, and brief the staff. A restaurant that discovers it at dessert can only improvise.

When you book at La Table du Berbère, the notes field in the booking form is made for exactly this: allergies, a high chair, a vegetarian, a birthday. Write the name of the person and what you are celebrating. You can also send a WhatsApp message to +212 6 61 70 38 86, which is handy for anything the person concerned should not see.

What can be arranged, and what to ask about

We would rather be precise than promise too much.

The table. For two, a table by the window or on the patio, with candles once the sun has set. For a larger party, a long table in the dining room.
Roses. Can be arranged if you ask ahead.
A private room or the whole restaurant. For birthdays, weddings and engagements, company dinners, hen and stag parties, the room or the entire restaurant can be reserved privately. Email contact@latableduberbere.com with the date, the number of guests and the occasion.
Anything else, a cake, a particular dessert, a message for the table: ask us what is possible for your date rather than assuming. We would rather agree to something we can do well.

For private events and certain dates, a deposit may be requested.

Everyone composes their own menu: one starter, one main, one dessert, with mint tea and water. For a celebration it pays to order in advance, since the kitchen needs about an hour and a half once the order is placed, and the guest of honour should not spend the evening waiting.

The carte includes dishes that Moroccan families cook for their own celebrations:

Pastilla, the layered pastry with almonds and cinnamon, a festive dish in Morocco, made here with chicken or fish.
Chicken rfissa, msemen soaked in a broth with lentils and spices, the dish many families cook after a birth or for a homecoming.
Moroccan pastries, small almond and honey sweets, which suit a last toast with mint tea.

Timing the evening

Dinner is served from 6 pm to 10 pm. There are two good ways to use it.

Sunset first. Arrive around sunset in spring or autumn, have tea on the rooftop facing the kasbah of Tifoultoute, then come down to dinner. The rooftop is open every day until 10 pm. Our article on rooftop dining in Ouarzazate has the details by season.

A late, slow dinner. Book around 8 pm and let the evening run to the end of service, finishing with tea. Nobody will hurry you.

For couples

If the celebration is just the two of you, a honeymoon or a wedding anniversary, our article on a romantic dinner in Ouarzazate covers the choice of table and the quieter details.

For bigger parties

Above eight guests, book at least a week ahead and send everyone's choices together. Our guide to group dinners in Ouarzazate explains how to collect them, and valet parking can be arranged on request for special occasions.

We write this journal, so of course this article ends with our own address: Riad Chay, Tifoultoute, about ten minutes from the centre by car or taxi. Wherever you celebrate, the principle is the same: say what the evening is for, say it early, and let the people hosting you do their job.

For everything else about eating here, see our Ouarzazate food guide.