History of Dar Essalam

A house from the 17th century

According to the restaurant, the building is a 17th-century palace in the Riad Zitoun Kedim area of the medina. We could not verify the construction date independently, so we report it as the restaurant’s account. Medina houses of that period were commonly built around an interior courtyard, which fits the layout of salons that the restaurant describes.

The house is close to Bahia Palace: how to get there explains the walk, and the music and dancers covers the entertainment staged in these rooms.

1952: from house to restaurant

The restaurant states that it opened in 1952 and was founded by the late Mohamed El Karnighi. If the date is right, Dar Essalam has served visitors for well over seventy years, which is long for a Marrakech restaurant. We treat the date as the restaurant’s claim.

The salons

The restaurant names five rooms and gives a few details for some of them:

• K’Dim: described as 17th century.
• Bahja: described as 18th century, for about 50 guests.
• Royal: Arabo-Andalusian style with a dome and a fountain, for about 200 guests.
• Marjane and Jawhara: also named, with fewer details published.

Hitchcock and famous guests

The restaurant says that a scene of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) was filmed in one of its salons, and that a plaque marks this. It also names guests such as Winston Churchill, Charles Trenet and Sean Connery.

What we can check: the 1956 film does include scenes set in Marrakech. What we cannot check from public sources is which room appears on screen or who dined there, so treat the guest list as the restaurant’s story rather than a documented fact.

How to read heritage claims

• Dates and founders come from the restaurant: plausible, not independently confirmed.
• Film locations are best checked in film-history sources.
• Famous guest lists are marketing until a dated source backs them up.

The neighbourhood

Riad Zitoun lies in the southern part of the medina, near Bahia Palace, a late 19th-century palace that is open to visitors. The Medina of Marrakesh has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985, so the whole area around the restaurant is protected heritage.

Frequently asked questions