Casablanca has the best seafood in Morocco, a consequence of the Atlantic catch that arrives daily at the port. The Central Market and the surrounding streets are the place to eat it — buy fish from the market and have it cooked at one of the small restaurants nearby, or sit at one of the restaurants on Rue Chaouia that have been doing this for decades. Sardines grilled over charcoal, sea bass with chermoula, and shrimp tagines are the staples.
For traditional Moroccan cooking — tagines, couscous, pastilla — La Sqala (in the medina fortifications) and the restaurants in the Habous Quarter are the best options. Both serve city residents as much as tourists, which keeps the quality honest. Prices throughout the city are lower than Marrakesh for comparable quality.
The Corniche at Ain Diab has a concentration of seafood restaurants ranging from casual beach-club dining to more formal establishments. A Ma Bretagne, west of Ain Diab at Sidi Abderrahman, has a long reputation as one of the best fish restaurants in North Africa, though prices reflect that standing.
Downtown has a range of options from street-level snack spots and sandwich bars to mid-range restaurants serving a mix of Moroccan and French cooking.