Best Burgers in Rabat: Agdal to Hay Riad

The best burgers in Rabat are easiest to find in Agdal, the student and office district around Mohammed V University, and in Hay Riad, the newer business quarter to the south. Hassan and the centre around Avenue Mohammed V fill the gaps, and the banks of the Bou Regreg, facing Salé, add riverside terraces.

Rabat is Morocco’s capital, a city of ministries, embassies and universities, and its burger counters follow the student and office calendar more than the tourist one. Meat is halal, pork does not appear, and minced beef is measured against kefta, grilled with cumin and parsley. The old town, the médina and the Kasbah of the Udayas, belongs to a UNESCO World Heritage listing and is better for msemen and mint tea than for burgers.

Burgers in Rabat: key facts

• Districts to explore: Agdal, Hay Riad, Hassan, the city centre and the Bou Regreg riverside.
• Student quarter: Agdal, home to Mohammed V University, keeps quick counters busy at lunchtime.
• Halal: all meat served is halal, and the patty to beat is local kefta.
• Across the river: Salé, Rabat’s twin city on the right bank of the Bou Regreg.
• Currency: the dirham (MAD), issued by Bank Al-Maghrib, headquartered in Rabat.
• Getting around: the Rabat-Salé tramway, opened in 2011, links Agdal, the centre and Salé.

Every guide we publish on Rabat is dated and lists only venues, addresses, prices and ratings we could verify. See the other cities we cover in our burger restaurant guides.