What is it - “Casablanca” is considered to be one of the best movies ever made according to film critics and audiences. Based on a screenplay written in 1941 before the United States entered World War II, the Hollywood movie was shot entirely in Hollywood using mostly international actors. The featured stars Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman were acclaimed for their performances and the film was named Best Picture.
The movie explored the personal conflict created for French citizens, expatriates, refugees, and the local population in Morocco after the Nazis took over France and other countries around the Mediterranean and began arresting dissidents. The use of an exotic upscale restaurant, nightclub and gambling establishment called “Rick’s Café Americain” as the setting for the movie’s characters to face their pasts and decide their futures was quite effective. The proprietor “Rick” was presented as an American adventurer and James Bond like character who was trying to run a cafe open to everyone but was forced to choose sides.
However, people assume Rick’s Café was a real place in Casablanca. Rick’s Café never existed. In 2001, an enterprising former American foreign service diplomat Kathy Krieger decided to recreate it by renovating a rundown two story mansion with a central courtyard into a replica of the movie set. The establishment, like the movie, was a hit as soon as it opened in 2004.
The entrance to Rick's Cafe in Casablanca.
Stepping into the Legend: What to Expect at Rick's Café
Some people who go to the site are disappointed they cannot walk in any time to see the place or get a drink without a reservation. We were not sure what to expect when we asked our guide service, Experience Morocco, to arrange a dinner reservation for us at Rick’s Café.
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Looking around the café, the quality of the architecture, décor, and furnishings was readily apparent. We arrived appropriately dressed and were seated near the center of the first-floor courtyard. The structure follows the general layout of the movie set and retains the Art Deco and Moorish features of the building such as white arches, an atrium above the courtyard, brass chandeliers, and period lighting.
There was a mahogany bar with mirrors, stools, and a tuxedoed bartender in one corner of the first floor and a classic black piano and drum set in another. There are five separate dining rooms on the two stories of the café. One of the rooms on the second floor contains a gaming table for roulette, but there were no “winnings” being distributed secretly or otherwise to patrons. There were photographs, movie posters and other memorabilia displayed at various places around the premises including a television playing the original movie with subtitles.
The ambiance was enhanced by the dining experience. The waiter, smartly outfitted dress with a red fez, took our orders. The dinner menu principally consists of continental cuisine with items like roast duck, medallions of beef, Chilean sea bass, and linguini with shrimp and mussels, along with Moroccan starters and breads. The service was efficient, and the food and deserts were surprisingly good for an establishment based on tourism. The maître d came by to greet us and make sure things were to our satisfaction.
After dinner and a brief tour of the premises, we paused and looked back from the entrance. The pianist, who is also the manager, was just sitting down at the piano to begin his evening performance. In that moment, Rick’s Café came alive, and we left feeling that we had experienced a glimpse of a place that has a special meaning to a lot of people.
The restaurant is housed in a traditional Moroccan grand mansion with a central courtyard (riad), built in 1930. Due to the age of the structure and proximity to the sea, the mansion was completely restored and renovated. American architect and interior designer Bill Willis conceived the decorative and architectural details reminiscent of the film: curved arches, a sculpted bar, balconies, balustrades as well as beaded and stencilled brass lighting and plants that cast luminous shadows on white walls. Rick's Café is also full of tile and wood work representing Morocco's craft industry. Fireplaces are of carved marble or painted tadelakt with intricate zellij tile patterns accenting the fireplaces and the risers of the central stairway.
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A Glimpse into the Menu
Food selections at Rick's Café takes advantage of Morocco's abundance in seafood. The menu offers a wide selection of fish from the traditional Sole meunière to John Dory crusted with black pepper, white wine and thyme. Steaks, foie gras, goat cheese salad with fresh figs and an American Crab Louie are among the dinner selections.
A unique blend of spices gives Moroccan food its multi-layered, robust flavors, with cumin, saffron, paprika and turmeric all playing a starring role in the kitchen. Couscous is a staple ingredient, as are dried fruits such as apricots raisins, dates and figs. Renowned for its cocktails, Rick’s Café in Casablanca serves a delightful House cocktail “Sour Jdid”. Other signature cocktails include Orange Glamour, an elegant concoction of peeled orange wedges, sprinkled with cinnamon and powdered sugar, with Veuve Clicquot.
The Sims 4 speed build/Rick's Café Americain/ Movie "Casablanca"
The Musical Heart of Rick's Café
Issam Chabaa plays piano nightly Tuesday through Sunday, a repertoire of standards reminiscent of the 1940s and 1950s, including classic French, Spanish and Brazilian songs along with American favorites such as Summertime, The Lady is a Tramp, Blue Moon and the inevitable As Time Goes By (several times a night). Sunday night is programmed for a jam session where musicians passing through town, and local amateurs join Issam for jazz improvisation.
The African American actor Dooley Wilson, who plays the character of Sam and sings five songs in the movie including Rick and Ilsa’s favorite song, was not a pianist in real life. He was an accomplished drummer and a singer who played in nightclubs in London and Paris in the 1920s. The piano music was played offscreen by someone else.
Plan Your Visit: Getting to Rick's Café and When to Go
Casablanca is a major city in Morocco with airline service from New York and many European cities. Rick’s Café is in the old medina section of Casablanca close to the port. Most people travel to the cafe by taxi from their hotel or get there on a group tour. The restaurant’s classic white structure can be seen when driving along the major waterfront roads known as Boulevard Corniche and Boulevard Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah.
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Casablanca has a temperate climate year-round affected by its location on the Atlantic Ocean. Daytime highs are in the seventies from May to November and in the sixties during the winter months. However, rain is more frequent and chilly days sometimes occur in winter and early spring.
The Enduring Appeal of Casablanca and Rick's Café
Casablanca is one of those movies that need no introduction. The plot explores a panoply of themes such as love, morality, and politics against the backdrop of WWII. An undeniable part of this movie’s charm is its exotic setting. A blend of Moroccan and French colonial architecture dominates most scenes, and the attention to details was painstaking. This is especially impressive if one considers that the entire set was constructed at Warner Bros. In the movie, several iconic scenes unfold at Rick's Café Américain, which featured curved arches, balustrades, fireplaces and a sculpted bar.
Beaded and stenciled brass light fixtures cast intriguing shadows on the textured terracotta floors and intricate zellij tiles, evoking an atmosphere that is simultaneously romantic, moody, and sophisticated. On the wall, a neon sign flickered: “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.”
Rick’s Cafe, of course, is the re-creation of something that never was: Rick’s Café Américain, the smoky, intrigue-filled nightclub built in 1942 on a Warners Bros. sound stage for “Casablanca,” the timeless Hollywood film of love, betrayal and schmaltz in the terrible early days of World War II.
In 2018 the team was devastated by the news of Kathy’s sudden passing from a heart attack. Embassy in Morocco. Somehow, Rick’s has battled on, while a glance at their recent TripAdvisor reviews suggests their high standards have not slipped one millimetre.
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