bellebookworm9
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 25, 2009
- Messages
- 4,034
And now for the much anticipated review of
Restaurant Marrakesh
We arrived at the restaurant promptly on time for our 12:40 ADR. There was maybe one person checking in ahead of us. They gave us a card indicating we were Candlelight Processional Package people (say that three times fast!).
We took a seat in the lobby for a few minutes
And were at our table by 12:47pm. It was against the wall straight back from the performers. The ceiling was beautiful.
The dancer was very enjoyable.
Our table was for four, and I took the seat on the inside, up against a pillar type thing. Problem was, the base of the pillar was wider than the body so my chair kept getting stuck and I was a bit squished.
Isaam was our waiter and Saad was his "assistant" (kept the water filled and cleared dishes).
Our CP package was $39.99/person plus tax and gratuity. It included an appetizer, entree, dessert, and non-alcoholic beverage. Some of the non-alcoholic specialty beverages sounded good but they weren't part of the package, so we all got sodas.
As for appetizers, PB had the Beef Brewat Rolls (baked layers of thin pastry filled with seasoned minced beef, eggs, fried and sprinkled with cinnamon and powdered sugar). He described it as "a beef egg roll" but said it was very good.
Mom and I shared the Goat Cheese with Crispy Bread for Two (mixture of cheese and kalamata olives served with red pepper sauce and balsamic vinegar reduction). Mom was hesitant at first because of the red pepper sauce but it was really very mild. PB didn't think he'd like it because it had olives mixed in to the cheese but you couldn't even pick them out in flavor. Very yummy!
They also bring around fresh pieces of bread. We asked for more and were told, "No problem" but Isaam never came back with it. The same happened with some of our drink refills, so that was a definite negative.
Each of us got a different entree. I had the Chicken Kebabs (grilled brochettes of chicken breast with olive salad and dried fruit sweet couscous). The chicken was good but I had a devil of a time trying to pry it off the skewer. I definitely flung at least one, and probably two, onto the floor. I know one hit Mom on the way down because she had a funny green splotch on the side of her pants for the rest of the day!
I loved the couscous, but wasn't feeling quite brave enough to try the olive salad. Also on the skewers were vegetables. Now the mushrooms were one thing, but whole pieces of onion are totally another. There were baby tomatoes and pieces of zucchini as well, so be prepared for that.
Mom had the Shish Kebabs (grilled tenderloin of beef with roasted rosemary potatoes and vegetables medley).
She also had some difficulty getting the meat off the skewers, but not nearly as much as me! This was also very good, according to her.
And PB went all out and ordered the Roast Lamb Meshoui (lamb shank braised in natural juice served with roasted eggplant puree, zucchini and tomatoes).
He ate every last bite, which is kind of a common theme!
Isaam stopped by exactly once to ask "How is everything so far?" That irked Mom; she used to be a waitress and told us after he'd disappeared that she was always told to never ask, "So far", which kind of makes sense. It's almost like you're being set up for disappointment. "So far, everything is good but it could rapidly go downhill".
So let's recap our time frame so far. 12:47, we're seated. 1:10 we have our appetizers, 1:33 we receive our entrees. Well, whoops, now we're already behind my pre-planned schedule because we are almost always in and out of TS restaurants in less than an hour, but it's been 45 minutes and we're just eating the main course! Alright, we can reschedule the Moroccan Holiday Storyteller for later.
We've asked for more bread and not received it, our drinks are empty, and Isaam seems to have disappeared. I think Saad came to take our dessert orders and despite us asking, did not bother to refill our drinks.
For dessert, we each ordered one thing off the menu to sample everything (there are only three choices anyway).
This was the Moroccan Symphony, which is basically assorted baklavas.
They were good, but not outstanding.
My choice was the Bastilla (crispy leaves of pastry topped with vanilla cream and sprinkled with toasted almonds) and I thought this was the best of the desserts.
But the winner for Mom & PB was the Marrakesh Delight (fresh fruit salad topped with mint ice cream, toasted almonds and orange blossom water). I really wanted to like it but there was just too much going on flavor wise.
Desserts were delivered at 2pm and Isaam has still not come back to check on us or give us the check. We are starting to get restless and we're also freezing-the restaurant was ice cold. Finally he comes back, we take care of paying, and this was one restaurant where I left less than an 18% tip. The service was just not good. In fact, it was so bad that Mom asked to speak to the manager on the way out. We were compensated with a to-go box of baklava and cappuccinos.
Manager said she'd talk to Isaam and perhaps he was having a bad day, he's normally a very good server, he typically waits on the VIPs, someone's father just died so the whole staff is a little off, etc. We understand that sometimes people just have a bad day, and in fact, when I got home I noticed that someone wrote to the Unofficial Guide and specifically mentioned him as being an excellent server. We finally left around 2:30.
So as far as the restaurant goes, yes, the food was good, but the restaurant was soooo cold and the service was awful. I may go back eventually but I'm not in a huge hurry and would probably try the CS location first.
Funnel Cake Stand (America)
Since we were seeing the 5pm Candlelight Show, we got in line around 4. Really not necessary, but oh well. While we waited, PB went to get some snacks and drinks and I asked him to please buy me a Pumpkin Spice Funnel Cake. I've been eying this thing for almost 3 years now, but it's $8.00 and that's quite a lot.
WORTH. EVERY. PENNY. I love pumpkin and I love funnel cake and this was just heaven on a plate.
Les Halles Boulangerie & Patisserie
I rarely ever call this by it's new, full name. Most of the time I call it by it's old name, or simply, "the bakery in France". We come here pretty much every trip for two things: the cheese plate and the strawberry tart. Oh yeah.
This time we ventured in a little bit after 8pm. Mom and I got in line while PB hunted down a table for us, then when we came to sit down, he went up to order. This was easily our most expensive counter service meal, at $40 for the two of us. I almost fell over when they announced the total!
For some reason, we ordered two Fromages (the cheese plates, at $9.25 each). We could have easily ordered one and shared (I don't eat the bleu or swiss cheeses). Then we got a big baguette to share($2.95). The Fraises (that delicious strawberry & vanilla cream tart) was another $4.25, plus I wanted to try the Bûche de Noël au Chocolat (Chocolate Christmas Log) which added $5.75 to the total. Finally, two large sodas. Yeesh!
As usual, those two things were delicious. I was not as enamored with the Chocolate Log. Disney Food Blog sums it up pretty accurately: "a chocolate cake topped with dark and white chocolate mousse". It was too rich and I just didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to. But it certainly looked pretty!
And with that, we were done with food at Epcot for this trip. All in all, we did pretty good. Hit up the Holiday Around the World items at Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, and France. Totally should have gotten one of the little passports but I completely forgot!
Restaurant Marrakesh
We arrived at the restaurant promptly on time for our 12:40 ADR. There was maybe one person checking in ahead of us. They gave us a card indicating we were Candlelight Processional Package people (say that three times fast!).
We took a seat in the lobby for a few minutes
And were at our table by 12:47pm. It was against the wall straight back from the performers. The ceiling was beautiful.
The dancer was very enjoyable.
Our table was for four, and I took the seat on the inside, up against a pillar type thing. Problem was, the base of the pillar was wider than the body so my chair kept getting stuck and I was a bit squished.
Isaam was our waiter and Saad was his "assistant" (kept the water filled and cleared dishes).
Our CP package was $39.99/person plus tax and gratuity. It included an appetizer, entree, dessert, and non-alcoholic beverage. Some of the non-alcoholic specialty beverages sounded good but they weren't part of the package, so we all got sodas.
As for appetizers, PB had the Beef Brewat Rolls (baked layers of thin pastry filled with seasoned minced beef, eggs, fried and sprinkled with cinnamon and powdered sugar). He described it as "a beef egg roll" but said it was very good.
Mom and I shared the Goat Cheese with Crispy Bread for Two (mixture of cheese and kalamata olives served with red pepper sauce and balsamic vinegar reduction). Mom was hesitant at first because of the red pepper sauce but it was really very mild. PB didn't think he'd like it because it had olives mixed in to the cheese but you couldn't even pick them out in flavor. Very yummy!
They also bring around fresh pieces of bread. We asked for more and were told, "No problem" but Isaam never came back with it. The same happened with some of our drink refills, so that was a definite negative.
Each of us got a different entree. I had the Chicken Kebabs (grilled brochettes of chicken breast with olive salad and dried fruit sweet couscous). The chicken was good but I had a devil of a time trying to pry it off the skewer. I definitely flung at least one, and probably two, onto the floor. I know one hit Mom on the way down because she had a funny green splotch on the side of her pants for the rest of the day!
I loved the couscous, but wasn't feeling quite brave enough to try the olive salad. Also on the skewers were vegetables. Now the mushrooms were one thing, but whole pieces of onion are totally another. There were baby tomatoes and pieces of zucchini as well, so be prepared for that.
Mom had the Shish Kebabs (grilled tenderloin of beef with roasted rosemary potatoes and vegetables medley).
She also had some difficulty getting the meat off the skewers, but not nearly as much as me! This was also very good, according to her.
And PB went all out and ordered the Roast Lamb Meshoui (lamb shank braised in natural juice served with roasted eggplant puree, zucchini and tomatoes).
He ate every last bite, which is kind of a common theme!
Isaam stopped by exactly once to ask "How is everything so far?" That irked Mom; she used to be a waitress and told us after he'd disappeared that she was always told to never ask, "So far", which kind of makes sense. It's almost like you're being set up for disappointment. "So far, everything is good but it could rapidly go downhill".
So let's recap our time frame so far. 12:47, we're seated. 1:10 we have our appetizers, 1:33 we receive our entrees. Well, whoops, now we're already behind my pre-planned schedule because we are almost always in and out of TS restaurants in less than an hour, but it's been 45 minutes and we're just eating the main course! Alright, we can reschedule the Moroccan Holiday Storyteller for later.
We've asked for more bread and not received it, our drinks are empty, and Isaam seems to have disappeared. I think Saad came to take our dessert orders and despite us asking, did not bother to refill our drinks.
For dessert, we each ordered one thing off the menu to sample everything (there are only three choices anyway).
This was the Moroccan Symphony, which is basically assorted baklavas.
They were good, but not outstanding.
My choice was the Bastilla (crispy leaves of pastry topped with vanilla cream and sprinkled with toasted almonds) and I thought this was the best of the desserts.
But the winner for Mom & PB was the Marrakesh Delight (fresh fruit salad topped with mint ice cream, toasted almonds and orange blossom water). I really wanted to like it but there was just too much going on flavor wise.
Desserts were delivered at 2pm and Isaam has still not come back to check on us or give us the check. We are starting to get restless and we're also freezing-the restaurant was ice cold. Finally he comes back, we take care of paying, and this was one restaurant where I left less than an 18% tip. The service was just not good. In fact, it was so bad that Mom asked to speak to the manager on the way out. We were compensated with a to-go box of baklava and cappuccinos.
Manager said she'd talk to Isaam and perhaps he was having a bad day, he's normally a very good server, he typically waits on the VIPs, someone's father just died so the whole staff is a little off, etc. We understand that sometimes people just have a bad day, and in fact, when I got home I noticed that someone wrote to the Unofficial Guide and specifically mentioned him as being an excellent server. We finally left around 2:30.
So as far as the restaurant goes, yes, the food was good, but the restaurant was soooo cold and the service was awful. I may go back eventually but I'm not in a huge hurry and would probably try the CS location first.
Funnel Cake Stand (America)
Since we were seeing the 5pm Candlelight Show, we got in line around 4. Really not necessary, but oh well. While we waited, PB went to get some snacks and drinks and I asked him to please buy me a Pumpkin Spice Funnel Cake. I've been eying this thing for almost 3 years now, but it's $8.00 and that's quite a lot.
WORTH. EVERY. PENNY. I love pumpkin and I love funnel cake and this was just heaven on a plate.
Les Halles Boulangerie & Patisserie
I rarely ever call this by it's new, full name. Most of the time I call it by it's old name, or simply, "the bakery in France". We come here pretty much every trip for two things: the cheese plate and the strawberry tart. Oh yeah.
This time we ventured in a little bit after 8pm. Mom and I got in line while PB hunted down a table for us, then when we came to sit down, he went up to order. This was easily our most expensive counter service meal, at $40 for the two of us. I almost fell over when they announced the total!
For some reason, we ordered two Fromages (the cheese plates, at $9.25 each). We could have easily ordered one and shared (I don't eat the bleu or swiss cheeses). Then we got a big baguette to share($2.95). The Fraises (that delicious strawberry & vanilla cream tart) was another $4.25, plus I wanted to try the Bûche de Noël au Chocolat (Chocolate Christmas Log) which added $5.75 to the total. Finally, two large sodas. Yeesh!
As usual, those two things were delicious. I was not as enamored with the Chocolate Log. Disney Food Blog sums it up pretty accurately: "a chocolate cake topped with dark and white chocolate mousse". It was too rich and I just didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to. But it certainly looked pretty!
And with that, we were done with food at Epcot for this trip. All in all, we did pretty good. Hit up the Holiday Around the World items at Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, and France. Totally should have gotten one of the little passports but I completely forgot!
When PB arrived about two minutes after we were seated, they took his order too. It was a very speedy process. 
Pretty sure we just about licked the bowl with that one. PB declined dessert. 
Then we couldn't find Jorge to tell him about it. PB said if he was a worse person he wouldn't say anything, but we had a larger check anyway so that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Mom headed to the restroom while PB and I got the bill issue straightened out. Yee gads, what a headache! 
But I'm glad to hear the food was good. It looks yummy! I did decide to book dinner here for DH and I on our upcoming March trip, so hoping for good food AND good service 
