Marrakech Henna Art Cafe

Henna Art Cafe is located in the heart of the Marrakech medina, just a three minute stroll down Riad Zeitoun al Kdim from Djemma El Fna. We offer guests refreshing drinks, traditional Moroccan cuisine with daily international specials and vegan/vegetarian/gluten-free choices, fine art and henna. The cafe is a collaboration between Rachid Karkouch and Lori K. Gordon. Rachid is a Moroccan Berber who has lived in Marrakech for many years, and has a background in riad and cafe management. Lori K. Gordon is an American artist, writer and Founder and President of Six Degrees Consortium, a public charity whose mission is the building of bridges across cultures through visual art. For a full biography on the work of Gordon, please click here. In accordance with our commitment to the people of Morocco, we employ only Moroccan nationals.

Henna Art Cafe is also the home of El Fenn Maroc, a cultural association (non-profit charity) awaiting official status whose mission is to support Moroccans artists, their families and their communities. Our primary project at this time is the HennaArt Initiative, a program that provides employment for experienced henna artists and training for young people in this ancient craft. Funding for this project is supplied primarily from the sale of henna art on paper. Traditional Moroccan henna designs are executed by our Moroccan artists, and contemporary designs that incorporate motifs from all areas of Moroccan artistry are designed and executed by Lori K. Gordon.


It has been remarked that Henna Art Cafe is the only gallery in Marrakech that houses a cafe. Indeed, a visit to Henna Art Cafe brings guests the best of both worlds. In addition to two terraces for outdoor seating, we offer visitors seating in the Hand of Fatima Gallery and the Henna Gallery. Murals adorn the walls in both galleries, which also feature traditional and contemporary henna art for sale, as well as mixed media work by Lori K. Gordon and revolving selections of contemporary work by our guest artists. Both the galleries and the terraces are available for private bookings, with special menus provided for large groups.

Henna Art Cafe is a family-friendly cafe. We know that traveling with children has its special rewards as well as its unique challenges, and that sometimes a temporary respite from hands-on parenting is welcome. We have color crayons and pages from our original children’s activity book available at no charge for a pleasant diversion, and children accompanied by parents will receive a complementary HennaArt Bijou created by Moroccan children.