Marrakesh Restaurant Review 10/30/04

[floridagirrl2]

DH and I decided to do a sitdown dinner at the Marrakesh (Morocco) restaurant at Epcot last night during the Food and Wine Festival. I've had (and enjoyed) the vegetable couscous sampler two years in a row at the Morocco booth, and DH wanted to try something new, so in we went.

The decor (fretwork and tilework) is fabulous. We were treated to live, traditional Moroccan music, and we both enjoyed watching the belly dancer. The service was quick and friendly, and the hosts and servers wore traditional costumes.

DH ordered the beef shishkabob ($25.00) and I ordered the vegetable couscous ($17.00). DH's meat serving was small and served in a bland tomato sauce. My couscous serving was large and tasted exactly like the veggie coucous I'd had as a sampler during the Food and Wine fest--also bland, but enjoyable. I did expect it to be spicier and more authentic in the restaurant, but I was mistaken.

I had one glass of Moroccan wine (sorry, can't remember the name of it! I think it started with a K) that was dry but very fruity and grapey. DH had Casblanca beer, a Moroccan beer. Total bill came to $50.00, and we left a 20% tip.

Although we enjoyed the service, music, dancing, and atmosphere, the food was quite mediocre. We were both disappointed that it was so bland. To be fair, I had read reviews of the restaurant stating that the food was not very good, but we wanted to try it anyway.

I think an improvement would be to give diners a choice--traditional Moroccan spicing, or bland American spicing. I have been to several Chinese, Indian, and Thai restaurants that offer different degrees of heat depending on the customer's preference. I just can't believe that real Moroccan food is as bland as the food served at the Marrakesh!

 

[bavaria]

Thanks for the review - I read it to see if things had changed. This is one of the most-recommended places by Disney dining for veggies, and like you I found the couscous very bland and boring.

Sorry to hear that the food quality has not improved. The Tangerine Cafe used to have a great hot veggie special, but now just has the cold plate.

I agree that there could be some more adventurous spices here - the North American palate is certainly exposed to more ethnic foods these days.

 

[MamaQuack]

I agree with both of you about the spices. We no longer even try this restaurant because the food is so blah. DS13 says the couscous at his middle school is better - that's pretty sad.

P.S., I am voting for John Kerry too!

 

[snwarf]

Oh no! Now I don't know if we want to waste a night by eating here. DH and I have always said we would eat there and our next trip is the first time we have made a PS for it.

Decisions, decision.....however...

I ALREADY voted for John Kerry!

 

[MrsJ Henry]

We also have a PS here for our next trip. We were eager to try it since we went to a great Morrocan restaurant in Savannah that we loved. We are hoping that the food is just as good here but I'm a little worried now.

 

[bavaria]

I can only speak for the veggie dish, but if the rest was as flavourless.... it's really toned down flavours and I was really disappointed. Good service and decor tho!

 

[Minniespal]

Thanx for the review.

 

[PratersloveDW]

sorry that the food was bland! Thanks for the report, though, we were thinking of trying it sometime but we may change our minds!

 

[DisOrBust]

We also had the identical experience. I personally felt ripped off by thr portion size of the Kabobs. My DD's kid meal had one Kabob for 5$ and I had 2 for 25$.

HOWEVER, we had some of the best and most friendly CMs ever at WDW. They were especially nice to our 10 month old.

 

[floridagirrl2]

Originally posted by DisOrBust
We also had the identical experience. I personally felt ripped off by thr portion size of the Kabobs. My DD's kid meal had one Kabob for 5$ and I had 2 for 25$.

HOWEVER, we had some of the best and most friendly CMs ever at WDW. They were especially nice to our 10 month old.

Agree--my husband's face fell when he saw the size of the kabob portion. For 25 bucks, he could have gotten a big, delicious steak at The Rose and Crown.

The CMs, decor, and atmosphere were very nice but neither DH nor I would consider going back there. No wonder you can walk right in for dinner without making priority seating arrangements.

 

[MrsJ Henry]

WOW I heard so many good things about this place . Now I'm worried. I hadn't heard all of this before. Well we have PS's so I guess we will try and see.

 

[bugbugmom]

We really enjoyed Marrekesh for lunch. We had the Sultan's sampler and the Marrekesh feast. It was a decent amount of food. I think you would probably get more bang for your buck during lunch hours. JMHO