Epcot’s Spice Road Table Features Distinctive Fare and Splendid Views – Photos, Video and Review

Hi everyone!

We enjoyed lunch at Epcot’s Spice Road Table in the Morocco pavilion this past Sunday. The restaurant is beautifully appointed, and we enjoyed our meal and service we received. Here are nearly 80 photos, along with a review of what is now the second table service restaurant in the pavilion, joining Restaurant Marrakesh.

Spice Road Table is still in soft opening mode, we visited during a slow time – Sunday at noon during the WDW Marathon. Some Cast Members were telling guests that it opened at 2 p.m., so it wasn’t busy at all when we arrived. Spice Road Table is situated on the World Showcase Lagoon, and nearly every seat should offer some sort of view of Illuminations. The inside of the restaurant is much more narrow than Hacienda de San Angel, with large arched windows for beautiful views.

Tables in Wonderland was not being accepted for discounts when we visited. We were told that no discounts were being accepted yet, but the waiter expected that to change after the grand opening.

Spice Road Table offers “Mediterranean Small Plates”. We found that the small plates offered a big taste.

There are a lot of arches in Spice Road Table, including at the entrance.

We checked in at the podium.

The bar is right inside the door.

Seating by the podium.

We were first seated outside. It was a little too cool and breezy for us, so we eventually switched to an indoor table.

I’m not a seafood or lamb eater, so my menu choices were limited. Jeff will pretty much try anything on a menu, so we went for the Tingis Sampler, which offers a Lamb Slider, Harissa Chicken Roll and Merguez (lamb) Sausage for $16.00. There is also a Mogador Sampler, which offers Mussels Tangine, Salted Cod Croquettes and Fried Calamari. That is also $16.00. We were told that the items in the samplers tended to be smaller than the “small plate” versions.

I like that Spice Road Table has napkins with the restaurant name on it. I wish more restaurants did!

There was a fence next to us, this was our view out on World Showcase Lagoon.

Jeff ordered a Mythology beer.

I very rarely purchase alcohol at Epcot, but tried the Spice Road Signature Sangria ($9.99 for the glass, $34.00 for the pitcher). It was good – no drink is worth $10 to me, but it’s worth it as much as a margarita in Mexico is. And I’d prefer this to an alcohol slushie outside, which we tried as well.

There are some unique decorations on the wall.

This was the view from our table of the restaurant. It did fill up with guests not long after. We kept our server that started outside with us, plus two other servers inside kept stopping by our table. We had fantastic service, though a couple of different friends of ours had a different experience. Jeff said that Spice Road Table exceeded his expectations, and I agree.

Here is a look at our food. This is probably the equivalent of 4 small plates, as the Tingis Sampler items were smaller than ordering them at full price. One of the servers who stopped at our table said that the food was meant for tasting new flavors and tastes, not just fill the belly. But – 4 small plates and one shared desserts did that as well.

Because of my limited palate, we chose a couple of items that didn’t have lamb or seafood. This is the Rice Stuffed Grape Leaves ($8). I had never tried grape leaves before, and we both enjoyed this one quite a lot. Inside the leaves are fried capers, raisins and fresh Nutmeg. If anything, I’d probably have wanted it to have just a little more spice to it.

Jeff enjoyed his Lamb Slider (part of the Tingis Sampler at $16 for 3 items).

I wasn’t expecting to love the Harissa Chicken Roll, but I did. This ended up being my favorite item. It reminds me of a samosa with chicken – absolutely delicous, nicely spiced and I would go back to Spice Road Table just for this dish. Apparently they offered it during the Epcot Food & Wine Festival 2013, but we didn’t try everything around World Showcase.

This is the Mediterranean Omelet ($7.00). It tasted like a lasagne of eggs and potatoes, and was very filling. This was another winner for us.

This is the inside of the omelet, you can see the layers of eggs and potatoes within it.

Jeff said that the Merguez Sausage (part of the Tingis Sampler) was somewhat spicy and had very different flavors that he was used to. This is served with tomato, red onion and cilantro salad.

We split the items above, and were too full for anything but one dessert to share. We chose the Chocolate Pyramid with Almond Ice Cream ($7.00) This is a delicious dessert with a bonus inside the pyramid!

This is where we sat inside – in the middle of the three rows of tables.

We have a video tour of Spice Roat Table, along with the photos below.

This is the table I’d want with a small group – it’s in a little alcove, the arrangement reminds me of the antler chandelier table in Gaston’s Tavern – part of the room, but a little off on it’s own.

Above the table is a beautiful ceiling and chandelier.

There are a variety of lighting fixtures above tables in the restaurants, as well as outside. There are also different tapestries.

This would be a great view during Illuminations, and is during the day as well. I love the arched windows.

There are booths and tables, and we saw a group of 7 seated with two tables pushed together.

Above the tables are decorations that include this box with camel designs.

I told Jeff that Lumiere was in the restaurant.

These beautiful lights are near the bar.

I took a couple of reflection photos with the bar in the background. The water wheel is seen in the second one.

Wall decorations.

This is a side view of the bar.

The women’s room sign is nicely themed, and I took a photo of the light above a sink.

Ice buckets.

We went back outside for more photos.

Marathoners were walking and running by.

I’m not sure how many types of lamps there were, but this one is “Type J”.

The attached shop includes clothing, food items, and wines.

On Monday, we went back to Epcot and stopped at the Juice Bar. There don’t seem to be many “assorted desserts”, but there was ice cream that we didn’t try. I like to combine chocolate and cinnamon in my baking, so I look forward to trying the cinnamon chocolate ice cream. There is a large assortment of beers, wine by the glass, and assorted drinks.

We ordered the Habibi Daiquiri ($9.99). There are several drinks under “Refreshing Oasis Slushies”.

The drink comes in a relatively small plastic cup, and includes rum, strawberry and orange blossom water. I wouldn’t purchase it again.

The Art of Henna is next door.

Who else is looking forward to the Epcot Flower & Garden Festival? It is my favorite time at Epcot! Less than 2 months to go, it blooms at the park from March 05 – May 18, 2014.

We will be back to Spice Road Table. The main concerns that we have heard is that it is expensive – but for park food, it is very unique and we’d have paid $38 plus tax and tip for our food items with no drinks. Not cheap for sure, but I’d rather new tastes than the same old flatbreads that have popped up around property – and we were both quite full when we left. We will wait until Tables in Wonderland is taken for our next visit. The server told us that the chef has been working on the menu for 5 years. I would like to still see a few more items added – maybe one more chicken dish, a beef dish, and another vegetarian item. But overall, this was one of the nicer dining experiences we’ve had at Walt Disney World in the last year.