Plus61 Marrakech | Australian Bistro in Gueliz

Plus61 is the modern Australian bistro that locals in Gueliz tend to name when someone asks where to eat well without the production of a hotel restaurant. It sits at 96 Rue Mohammed el Beqal, opposite Cinema Colisée, and has been open since 2018. The name is Australia's international dialing code, +61, which is the first clue to what the owners, Cassandra Karinsky and Sebastian de Gzell, are doing here: Sydney-style casual dining built on Moroccan organic produce.

It suits people who want a proper meal in a room with character, not a scene. Good for a long lunch in the sun, a relaxed dinner, or a daytime stop between Gueliz errands. The kitchen makes its own bread, pasta, cheese and yoghurt every day, which tells you where the attention goes. If you are after late-night music and a dancefloor, this is not that. Plus61 closes its kitchen by half past ten and the doors on Sundays, so plan around it.

The Vibe

The room is the kind of bespoke that does not announce itself. Moss-green banquettes, brass sconces, blush-pink marble and local ceramics, with artisan furniture that looks made for the space, not ordered from a catalogue. By day it is sun-splashed and easy. By night it goes candlelit and quieter. Tables are casual and close together, family-style, no white tablecloths or fuss.

The crowd is a genuine mix of Marrakech locals, resident expats and visitors who did their reading, and the place reads like a neighborhood gathering spot you drop into, not somewhere you dress up for. That read comes from the venue's positioning and the reviews, so take it as a general steer. On music, there is no DJ and no published soundtrack, so the sound here is the room itself: conversation, the kitchen, a calm tone that goes softer once the candles are lit. As far as we can tell this is a daytime and dinner bistro, not a venue with a set, so if a soundtrack matters to your night, plan the music for somewhere after dinner.

The Menu

This is modern Australian cooking with a Mediterranean accent, and the in-house program is the point. Bread, pasta, cheese and yoghurt are made on-site daily, so the staples on the table are not bought in. The prices below come from the published take-out card in MAD, which gives a firm read on the price level, though the dine-in lunch, dinner and cocktail menus run separately in English and French and the kitchen changes the card with the season.

On starters, the pickled octopus bruschetta runs around 70, polenta chips with bravas and parmesan around 80, and stracciatella with zucchini around 130. The mains are where the kitchen makes its case. The chicken schnitzel with slaw lands around 180 and the steak sandwich with balsamic onion and chilli butter around 170, both repeat-named dishes that regulars come back for. Beyond those, the prawn-burrata tortellini runs around 200, sea bream fillet around 200, malfatti around 160 and lamb kefta around 140. For dessert, the lemon tart is around 90, the chocolate-orange cake around 85, and the Lamington, the on-theme Australian sponge, around 60.

If you want a steer, the steak sandwich and the chicken schnitzel are the dishes people name first, the house pasta is worth a look given they make it that morning, and the Lamington is the dessert that ties the whole Australian theme together. Spread a couple of starters across the table to see the range.

Prices and Entry

Treat the per-person figure as approximate. The dish prices come from the official take-out card, but the total depends on how you order and what you drink.

• Entry / cover: none. Plus61 is a restaurant, not a club, so there is no entry fee, no door charge and no table or bottle minimum. You pay for what you order. This one is firm, not a hedge.
• Food: roughly 200 to 350 MAD per person before drinks, with mains around 140 to 200, starters around 70 to 130 and desserts around 60 to 90.
• Deposit: the only money up front is for group bookings of six or more, where a deposit is requested through a link when you email to reserve.

On drinks, the wine list is described as strong and accessibly priced, with an emphasis on natural and biodynamic bottles, and there is a seasonal cocktail menu alongside it. We could not confirm per-bottle prices, so factor wine in on top of the food and ask the staff, who know the list well by all accounts.

When to Go

Plus61 opens Monday to Saturday and is closed on Sundays, which is the one date rule to memorize here. Lunch runs from 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM, with some listings stretching it to 4:00 PM, and dinner from 6:30 PM to 10:30 PM. Take-out runs Monday to Saturday from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM. Hours can shift with the season, so confirm before a special trip, and read the lunch close as the looser of the two.

That timing tells you how to plan. Lunch is when the room is at its brightest, sun coming in, and it makes a good midday reset between Gueliz stops. Dinner is the candlelit version, calmer and a touch more romantic, but it ends earlier than a Marrakech night out usually does, so treat Plus61 as the meal and build the late hours around it. If you want the kitchen at its most relaxed, a weekday lunch is the easy win.

How to Book

Book online through the Book now option at plus61.com, the cleanest route for a normal table. For a group of six or more, email hello@plus61.com, where a deposit is requested via a link to hold the booking. The phone is +212 (0)524 20 70 20 and the Instagram is @plus61marrakech, an easy place to message a quick question or check the current card. Given how often locals name it, popular slots fill, so booking ahead beats walking up on a busy lunch.

A good table makes the room, and the better seats go early on a full service. The Marrakech Society arranges tables across Plus61 and the rest of Gueliz for members, so you skip the back-and-forth. If you want the meal sorted before you land, apply for membership and let the concierge line it up.

What to Know

On dress, nothing is published, so treat this as a suggestion: smart-casual fits the bistro feel and everyday clothes are fine. There is no door to clear, so lean to comfort over formality.

Getting there is simple. Plus61 sits at 96 Rue Mohammed el Beqal in Gueliz, opposite Cinema Colisée, central and well served by taxis, a short ride from the medina and walkable if you are already in the district. Agree the fare before you set off or have your hotel call a car. A last honest note: the dish prices come from the official take-out card and the no-entry-fee position is solid for a restaurant, but the per-person total, the wine prices and the exact lunch close are approximate or unverified, and the dress code is our read, not a stated policy. Use these to set expectations and confirm the details when you book.

More Gueliz spots in our guide to Gueliz Marrakech Food Drinks Guide →