Café Baba, the little Kasbah café where the Rolling Stones stopped by
Opened in 1943 and run by the same family, Café Baba is a modest room in the Kasbah, its blue walls covered in photos, where you drink a mint tea looking out over the rooftops of the old town.
The story
Café Baba does not look like much. It is a small room in the heart of the Kasbah, reached through a lane. On the floor at the entrance, chipped tiles spell out the word "Baba's". The sign gives the café's name in Arabic and English.
The café opened in 1943 and has remained a family business. Abdoul has run it since 1996, when his father died. In 2023, the place celebrated its 80th anniversary.
Its reputation dates from the 1960s. The Rolling Stones, passing through Tangier, made it one of their haunts: a photo shows Keith Richards sitting in the room in 1966. Other portraits cover the blue walls, including Kofi Annan and members of the Swedish and Spanish royal families. Later, Anthony Bourdain filmed a segment of his show Parts Unknown there.
People come for the drinks more than to eat: a very sweet mint tea served in a tall glass, a strong coffee, or a "nous-nous", half coffee, half milk. Regulars play parchís. From the terrace, the view takes in the white houses of the old town, their green awnings, the trees and the bougainvillea.
Good to know: the legend of the place also owes something to the kif long smoked there. Cannabis use remains illegal in Morocco, and you can perfectly well have a tea there without touching it.
Getting there: the café is in the Kasbah. From the Kasbah square, ask the way; everyone knows it. Bring cash. Hours and prices: to be checked on site.
Source: "Mint tea, hashish, and rock & roll — the story of Tangier's Cafe Baba", Zahrah Mazhar, Dawn, 6 May 2023, consulted on 12 October 2026.