We wanted to invite our Spanish friends for a typical Moroccan feast and were recommended to the Riad Tanja. It is not a restaurant you easily come across as you are walking around, it is tucked away in the Medina behind the old American legation. Even our friends who have been living in Tangier for over a year didn't know of its existence. Access would be difficult if not impossible for anyone in a wheelchair as the restaurant is upstairs. The dining room is beautiful with its high ceilings and carved wooden pillars, the decor is elegant and at lunch time the room is flooded with sunlight coming through its large windows. The room is air conditioned and very comfortable. The menus start at 250 Dhr. We opted for the 350 Dhr and 450 Dhr menus. All menus start with a mise en bouche of small Moroccan salads. These are a spread of various vegetables such as caviar d’aubergines, perles de carottes aux oignons with delicate flavours and beautifully presented. Then we had briouates, pastillas, tagines, couscous. We all chose different ones in order to share and compare and all of us had a fantastic gastronomic experience. The cuisine is Morrocan, refined with a touch of nouvelle cuisine. I must also mention the desserts and the one that stood out for me: the pear in an orange sauce. The service was attentive and very friendly. The restaurant is licensed to serve alcohol and wines although I cannot comment on any as we only drunk bottled water. In all a truly memorable lunch. I would recommend this restaurant for a special occasion.

We got off to a bad start with out trip to Tangier, the direct ferry from Algeciras went to a port 1 hour drive away, we then had to wait ages for the free bus to get to Tangier which dropped us away from the port. It took ages to find the Riad, few people speak english and the taxi drivers didn't know where the address was. Also beware there are two Rue De Portugals in Tangier. Things vastly improved once we arrived, the staff were very accommodating and helpful, nice room, good food, good location, the staff really went the extra mile to help such as letting us have free use of a room while waiting around for the night train to Marrakech. The only negative thing is that it's so difficult to find, would have been easier if i spoke French!

The hotel offered a real Moroccan experience. The room was spacious and pleasant. The dining room was beautiful and the food very good. This hotel
was easy to get to, just inside the Medina beside the American Legation Museum. The only drawback was trying to dine on their lovely balcony. There was a strong odor of fish from the markets below. It is a shame because it was so pretty on that balcony.
The managers were very accomodating and helpful.

Just got back from a trip to Spain during which we visited Tangier. We had a guide meet us at the port and drive us to the Riad which was very close. It might be hard to find on your won but once we saw where it was I knew how to get to it.

The check in and check out processes were extremely quick and painless. The staff are wonderful (a young man who runs the riad and a girl who I assume cleans, serves in the restaurant etc). The riad has 5 rooms (all of which we saw) and I think I preferred our choice the best. It's the one with windows that face the market.

Anyway there are definitely updates that need to be done but it's not a large high end hotel so all those things did not bother me. I was more surprised by how clean and pleasant it was. Towels, robes, sheets were all spotless and snow white. Carpets were cleaned and everything felt like it was very well taken care of. We had a large plasma tv in our room (twice the size of the one we had in Spain) with lots of satellite channels.

We did not eat dinner at the riad because we had a really large and late lunch. Dinner is something they could possibly work on. The menu is in French and we don't speak a word. Also it's really expensive (25 euros is the cheapest, 45 is the most expensive) but the riad only has 5 rooms- if they had a simple menu we would have definitely grabbed something to eat. All we really wanted was something to share and some tea. We also didn't realize that breakfast was included and where about to leave when we found out. Did not get a chance to eat all of it but it was wonderful. And soo much.

This was just a really pleasant stay, exactly what we wanted from Tangier- to experience Morocco and I think this riad did that for us.