The short answer
The food stalls of Jemaa el-Fnaa are set up from about 16:00 and serve until about midnight, then are packed away before morning. The best time to arrive is around dusk, when the grills are lit and the square fills with families, storytellers and Gnawa drummers. The orange-juice carts are there from the morning.
In more detail
The night market is built from nothing every day. In the afternoon, handcarts bring in poles, benches and grills, and dozens of numbered stalls turn the centre of the square into an open-air dining hall. By late evening the benches are packed with locals and visitors eating side by side. After midnight the stalls come down again, and by morning the square belongs to the juice sellers.
The square is changing. It has been renovated in sections through 2026, with new stone paving, a calèche station, a tourist kiosk and accessible toilets, and the work has gone sector by sector so the square stays in use. New juice and food carts arrived in spring 2026 and the restaurant stands are being replaced, so the layout you find may not match older guides or photos.
In Ramadan the rhythm moves later. The square empties in the half-hour before sunset as people get home for ftour, the meal that breaks the fast, then fills again after evening prayers. From about 21:00 it is as busy as in peak season.
Every stall has a number, so you can find your way back to one you liked. You are free to choose any stall, whoever waves you towards a bench.