The rebirth of Marrakech’s Pétanque Social Club

You hardly notice Pétanque Social Club at first. One of Marrakech’s hottest new hangouts, it has no external signage and nothing to indicate that you’ve arrived other than a handful of creative types disappearing behind an unmarked blue wooden door.

It’s all part of the allure of the Pétanque Social Club – or PSC, as it’s known around town. The latest venture from pioneering restaurateur Kamal Laftimi, creator of much-loved Marrakech venues Le Jardin, Café des Epices and Nomad, PSC is a revival of an old pétanque club dating back to the 1930s.

Discover Pétanque Social Club in Marrakech’s former French quarter

‘This was one of my favourite places in [the neighbourhood of] Guéliz, and I used to come here with my friends all the time,’ says Laftimi. ‘We wanted to keep it like this, and were afraid that someone would come in and change it.’ Many of the neighbourhood’s handsome early 20th-century villas have been bought up by developers to be demolished, with the land used for new apartment buildings. To save the spirit of Guéliz, Laftimi obtained the building and decided to return it to its roots – as a social hub for the neighbourhood.

He worked with Diego Alonso and Alexeja Pozzoni of DiegoandAlexeja Art & Design Studio to bring the club back to life, working with custom, upcycled and recycled materials to create their vision and to incorporate the studio’s ‘Magic Totalism’ philosophy. Old shutters now function as table tops in the dining room, and windows were flipped 90 degrees to create different forms and allow more light to enter the space. The duo sourced vintage pieces from around Marrakech, including 1970s club chairs from the storied La Mamounia hotel, and worked with local artisans to create other items.

During the renovation period, old photographs of members of the original club were found in a safe, and have now made their way onto the walls. ‘Maybe one day you’ll see our pictures too,’ says Laftimi, smiling. The safe now sits between two lounge chairs in the library, beneath shelves of vintage books.

Terrazzo floors, velvet curtains, crystal chandeliers, beaded fly screens, a marble-topped bar, mirror balls and floral couches all find their places in Pétanque Social Club’s interiors. The old butchery room’s walls have been painted with a mural by Moroccan artist Yassine Balbzioui, a colourful, kaleidoscopic vision inspired by what he imagined goes on inside Laftimi’s mind. While all of this may sound like a seemingly unconnected collection of items, there’s a sense of harmony that works. It’s a fitting tribute to the dynamic spirit of Marrakech, and an ode to the past that feels completely current.

Outdoors, the mood is boho chic-meets-traditional Moroccan. A large courtyard sits between mature trees that provide shade, a bar counter features beach club-style straw lanterns, crenellations top the building and stand out in sharp relief against bright blue skies, and a dramatic wall of geometric bricks references the walls of the Kasbah. This is the place to sip a Sahara Spritz, a riff on a typical spritz with added saffron, and to dine on healthy dishes that centre on fresh Moroccan produce, like avocado tartare, crisp salads, and the PSC burger. It’s also in this courtyard that the original pétanque court has been brought back to life, and there’s a stack of metal boules ready for those who want to have a throw.

All combined, it’s a convivial spot that maintains the spirit of the original club, but with a new mood that is pure Marrakech, drawing on the electric energy that runs through today’s city. ‘The tradition of creativity in Marrakech goes back centuries,’ says Laftimi. ‘We’re seeing an evolution, and I feel that this is just the beginning of the beginning. Guéliz is getting more exciting, and we need to protect the old buildings and traditional villas and houses like this one.’

Laftimi is paving the way for similar projects that will contribute to this burst of new energy in Guéliz. ‘We want to encourage more artistic people to stay in the city,’ he says. With the new Pétanque Social Club, he has offered one more reason to do so.

Pétanque Social Club is located at 70 Bd el Mansour Eddahbi in Marrakech, pscmarrakech.com