Spice Road Table -- Lunch/Dinner -- Table Service -- Epcot -- World Showcase

*This dining experience took place in February 2014.Spice Road Table, located in Epcot's Morocco Pavilion in the World Showcase, is the newest restaurant to open at Disney World. Set to reflect a Tapas style restaurant, it features small plates in appetizer sized portions. The food is inspired by Spain and the Mediterranean and is a bit different from the fare you'll get at Restaurant Marrakesh or Tangierine Cafe in the same pavilion. This location has been open for about a month now, and I had been wanting to stop by sometime and check out the food.Alexis from Gluten Free in Orlando was at Spice Road Table on opening day, and since I read her review, I've been really hoping to check it out because so many options seemed to be gluten free. The menu itself for a Tapas restaurant is pretty limited (I've been to Tapas restaurants where they have 50+ menu items) with only 10 items. I'll be curious to see if they add more items later!After we were seated (note they aren't taking reservations at this time, only walk-ups), I told the server that I had a special diet and he said he would get the chef. The person who came out seemed a wee bit more like a line cook than a chef. (*Note: This is a non-Disney owned restaurant, so they may or may not adhere to the same Disney standards for special diets accommodations). He was perfectly lovely but he really didn't seem to know the menu, though I'll cut him some slack since he said that he'd just returned from vacation and they had changed the menu up some.Of the options that were gluten free & dairy free he said I could have the following:

• Fresh Mussels Tagine (without the butter)
• Spicy Garlic Shrimp (without the crouton/bread)
• Mediterranean Omelet
• Moroccan Lamb Sausage
• Hummus and Imported Olives (with GF/DF bread)
• Lamb Slider (without the bun)
• Rice Stuffed Grape Leaves - this was a maybe because he said they changed the recipe and didn't want to say for sure it was safe. Alexis had it and they told her it was GF, so I'm fairly sure it was OK, but you'd want to check when you order.

So, there were some decent options. I don't eat lamb, so both of those were out. I was debating between the shrimp and the hummus and olives. I ended up going with the hummus and olives figuring the bread along with the dish would be filling.Before our food came out though, I did order a drink. I went with something not on the menu - a mojito. It's one of my favorite refreshing drinks, and I figured that they would have fresh mint on hand (given they had mint tea). The server wasn't sure at first if they could make it, but they happily obliged at the bar. It is a full bar, so sky's the limit with drinks -- well within reason, I suppose. As far as mojitos, it was OK. It wasn't my favorite which is the African Starr Mint Mojito at Sanaa, but still pretty good. It also was very weak for a $10 drink.When my hummus and olives arrived, I was surprised they gave me one piece of bread. I was also surprised by the texture of the bread. It sure didn't look like Ener-G to me. I asked the server if he could check with the "chef" to see if this was gluten & dairy free. He said he was told it was. I really didn't feel comfortable, so I did ask if they could send someone from the kitchen out to confirm. When the "chef" came out, he said it was a new product from Ener-G and that they had changed the rolls. I explained to him that I would be very sick if I consumed a regular roll, and he swore up and down that it was safe. Maybe I am just paranoid, but I really wanted to make sure.As far as the hummus goes, I liked them both, but they weren't anything of note. The regular hummus had a ton of tahini in it, which I love. The other has a nice tomato salad on top (though it was not properly salted). The winner on the plate were the olives and cornichons. So yummy! Much better than any of the other olives you get in the Morocco pavilion.My overall impressions of Spice Road Table are this - it's a gorgeous restaurant with amazing views of the World Showcase Lagoon. The decor is really lovely. The food...just so-so. I also think the price is really expensive for the portions. They wouldn't even bring me extra bread. I would have had to pay $2.99 for another piece. Egads! For that, I'll head back to Sanaa for the amazing bread service for $10 with tons of sauces and free-flowing pappadums!It's a great place for appetizers and drinks, especially before IllumiNations, but for a full meal? Not so much. We ended up going to Sommerfest later to get a snack because we were still hungry!I'd give this visit a 6.5 out of 10 for lackluster food but gorgeous atmosphere.

Tangierine Cafe -- Quick Service -- Lunch/Dinner -- Morocco -- World Showcase -- Epcot

*This dining experience took place in February 2013.

 Any time I visit the Moroccan pavilion at Epcot, I feel like I'm transported to another world. It has a lovely authentic vibe. I love trying new things here, and I love Moroccan food. I especially love hummus and olives of any type.Unfortunately, on my last trip, I didn't have many options, but I really wanted to see if they had changed in the past year.When I first entered, I let the cashier know that I needed to see a chef or manager. Interestingly enough, they brought a chef. It was a very interesting experience, as he did not interact with me at all. The cashier told him that I couldn't gluten or dairy (which he translated in Arabic). The chef then told him basically what I could have. This was very different from the last visit, where they gave me a binder with ingredients. Thankfully, I have a good working knowledge of Moroccan & Middle Eastern food, because I knew that hummus is naturally safe. The chef said I should order the Shawarma Platter with chicken, hummus, olives, lentil salad, and GF/DF bread. Seemed easy enough for me.The wait did take quite a while, mostly because they had to get the bread around. Interestingly enough, the bread was not GNI or Udi's. The only other place I've encountered this specific bread was at Be Our Guest Restaurant, but I was not able to determine what the brand is.

Shawarma Platter modified

Overall, I found this to be very good. In fact, I wish they would have had this option the last visit (I had the meatballs the last time, which are no longer on the menu). The chicken was a little spicy and very tender. The hummus was excellent, as usual. Unfortunately, the bread was kind of styrofoamy. It had a really weird texture that almost reminded me of the Ener-G rolls. It might have been better if it was warmer, but overall I wasn't a big fan. The olives were awesome--I could have eaten a ton of these. The lentil salad was OK. Probably the thing I liked the least on the plate, but it was still very good.I really enjoyed this meal here. Thankfully, I didn't get sick, but if you are concerned about ingredients, I would definitely speak up to ask for a binder.I'd give this a 7 out of 10 for good food, but lackluster allergy interaction/experience.