10/1 Restaurant Marrakesh Dinner Review

[JC Butterfly]

When my husband and I went here for our honeymoon October of 2003 it was one of the best meals we'd ever had. When we went back in May 2004 it was one of the worst meals we'd ever had. We decided to try it one more time before we gave it a final verdict.

The atmosphere itself is lush, fit for a sultan. Entering the room with rich blues and reds. A stage and dance floor in the center of the room. Tables surrounding and plush booths on a slightly higher level. We've noticed that no matter how full this retaurant gets it never feels noisy or crowded.

Our server was average. Very good at explaining the menu and making suggestions but not good about refilling drinks or checking back with us.

Husband ordered the steak ka-bobs. They were cooked just the way he likes and were full of flavor. He asked for cous cous instead of rice on the side and they were very accomodating.

Mother in law ordered the chicken ka-bobs. They were very dry and had little taste. Her rice also seemed over done. She is a shy type and chose not to complain or say anything. It wasn't "awful" but certainly not "good".

I had "Night in Casablanca" which also included the chicken ka-bob, mine was also not good. But the other two items: seafood bastilla was very tasty and my favorite was the roast lamb meshoui. I had never tried lamb before and was reluctant but the server assured me it was quite good so I was glad to have given it a chance. It is a very tender/sweet meat, not sure what I'd compare it to but it was nice to have a small serving with some other items.

The entertainment is the real reason to come here. The drums, vocals, and of course the beautiful belly dancer. I believe she performs about once per hour or so, we've always had the pleasure of seeing one. She interacts with the crowd members who seem interested and leaves others alone. Sometimes we have seen her bring others out to the dance floor but not this time. The costumes are always quite beautiful.

We left thinking that we would definely come back but it wouldn't be a "must do". However, it is the most unique experience at World Showcase for us since the cuisine is least like what we would enjoy at home.

 

[Minniespal]

Great review ~ Thanx for sharing.

 

[BCV23]

Could you please explain the meshoui part of the roast lamb? Is it a sauce or the way it was prepared? Thanks!

 

[JC Butterfly]

Hmmm I'm certainly no expert on how to explain "meshoui". Since I've never had lamb before, I guess I don't know how it's "normally" prepared.

It was convered in a sauce. I think the consistency was sort of like a pork roast that has been cooking for 10 hours. Very very tender, slightly "mushy" but I don't want that to have a bad connotation. Doesn't require a lot of chewing though since it kind of melts in your mouth.

Also has kind of a "sweet" aftertaste. I wouldn't have wanted to eat just the lamb even though I thought it was very good. My mother-in-law tried it and loved the taste but would't have wanted any more. My husband just disagreed with the idea of it, remembered taking care of lambs as a child and just couldn't bring himself to try it.

There was another lamb option on the menu as I believe that is a specialty in Morrocco?

I just remembere to mention that my husband loves the beef brewat rolls as an appetizer. That's the reason he likes to go back. It is beef rolled in a pastry and covered in cinnaon. It sounds a little strange to me but the result is very very tasty.

On our previous two encounters we had the Jasmine salad and had liked that quite a bit, maybe should have gotten it again this time.

hope that helps!

 

[danny1649]

Your review I enjoyed reading it

 

[Magic2000]

We are trying Marrakesh for our dinner after the Candlelight Processional!! We haven't been to Marrakesh in a couple of years, so we are anxious to try it again!!!

Thanks for the review!

 

[snwarf]

Thanks for the review - we are eating there in December.

I am curious if you (or anyone) has ordered one of the feasts that have the variety of foods included in one price. They offer two options and I was not sure what the general consesus was regarding: is it worth it to order the feast? is one feast better than the other?

 

[IMISSDISNEY]

Thanks for the great review.

 

[SamSam]

Thanks so much for all your reviews, including this one. Marrakesh is another of our favorite places to dine in WDW!
For the poster asking about the FEASTS, we have had them before and feel it's a great way to sample several different items. We've always felt the Feasts were worth the money.

 

[JC Butterfly]

The first time that my husband and I ate here he had the Marakkesh feast with the beef brewat roll, lemon chicken, beef shishkabob, couscous, and pastires.

We felt the name "feast" is a little misleading. We were thinking of feast as getting lots and lots of food to eat to the point of getting overstuffed. We didn't think this was the case. Instead it's like a big sampler platter.

For example my husband got one beef brewat roll. It was enough to give it a taste but when he ordered it as a seperate appetizer he got three of them.

Same with the lemon chicken, just a small piece. The beef shish kabob was four bite size pieces of meat. When he ordered the beef shish kabob as its own entree there were 4 skewers of meet, so about 16 bite size pieces.

So my husband loved this sampler platter and it enabled him to know what he wanted to order the next time.

He's a pretty big eater so he never walks away from this place "Full". I think the "value" is sort of the same. You are able to try more things for less money but you get smaller portions of them.

The first time we went here I ordered the Haira soup and the combination appetizer platter for two as my main dish. I got two beef brewat rolls, a chicken bastilla, and jasmina salad. I'm not a huge eater but again, not nearly enough to eat. And I didn't especially care for the soup, don't remember what I didn't like about it but distinctly remembered not wanting to order it again.


So that time we split the crepes atlas. Crepes with apples, almonds, cinnamon and thought they were quite delicious.

If I went back again, I would order the Night in Cassablanca, filled me up more than previous choices and was still a combination platter.

 

[snwarf]

Thanks, JC Butterfly - that is exactly what I needed to know!