Disappointed in Pepper Market (dinner) [Archive] - The DIS Discussion Forums

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Tiger926

07-21-2009, 12:19 PM

We made a special trip to Pepper Market 2 nights ago as it was raining, and we wanted to eat inside. We enjoyed Pepper Market last time we ate there, but not so much this time:

1. Dirty - Yuck! It was very gross - fingerprints all over all display cases and food on floor/tables/chairs. There was an over all yuck feeling for us, that made for a not so pleasant eating experience.

2. Kids food area - Double yuck! The nastiest, dried up chicken fingers we have ever seen, dried up orange slice (comes with the kids' meal), and super greasy pizza. Again, it was not appealing at all.

3. Adult meals - Hubby and I got the steak special, so for a CS credit, this was great, as it comes with veggies, rice or potatoes. The area was chaotic though as the sous chef messed up all orders, so we had to wait forever for our steaks. Although they were cooked well, they were tasteless and fries were hard and crispy. They were basically unedible - rice and potatoes were lukewarm, so not that great either. Desserts were dry and not that tasty either.

It was not busy in here at all, in fact, we had several servers to ourselves. Basically, we won't eat here again - food stations were not well kept up, pasta was dried and congealed (disgusting), and areas were dirty and scattered.

I constantly see people praise Pepper Market as a great deal on CS credits for Dining Plan, but for us, a dirty restaurant, very slow service and tasteless/bland food is not worth it.

Just wanted to report our experience - we were disappointed as the concept is a great one, as it serves to accommodate many family members, but they have a lot of work to do, IMHO, to improve Pepper Market. We threw a good amount of food in the garbage as it just was not good - this really pained us to do this, but we had no choice. We didn't speak to anyone about it, as we looked around to the few tables around us, and the food was the same. We won't be returning.

Hopefully, this was just isolated, but we took a good look around (we come from a restaurant family), and it didn't look isolated to us.

Tiger

aurorae

07-21-2009, 12:27 PM

Dirty - Yuck! It was very gross

We're seeing posts here that make me think this is not isolated to one particular CS venue, but may be due to cutting staff at all of them.

mickey2000

07-21-2009, 12:28 PM

I agree about the Yuk part with the food !!!!
My family will never return as it was poor....Years ago it was better.
IMO Its not worth even the 1 CS which is why most go there :confused3
Remember this is an outside company that runs this area. Not Disney ...

blanq

07-21-2009, 12:28 PM

I am not a Pepper Market fan either. My family ate here once during our trip this past Jan/Feb, and it was the most tasteless, over-priced mess of a meal we have ever had at WDW.

Tiger926

07-21-2009, 12:40 PM

Yup, I know it's run by an outside company, so that's why I didn't even bother to discuss anything with them. They are obviously satisfied with the way it's operating, so we just won't return.

It was disappointing, as it has the potential to be something really cool, Tiger

VAN

07-21-2009, 12:41 PM

We were visiting the Coronado Springs Resort in March and I stopped in to get a sandwich for my DH. I couldn't believe how long it took ... I bet I was in line (it was at the "steak"/grill section) for 40 minutes before I got the sandwich. I think there were only 6-8 people in front of me.

They messed up the order as well.

TOTAL CHAOS!!!!

After hearing all the great remarks I really expected something better. Totally, totally unacceptable!

ROEDISNEY

07-21-2009, 12:43 PM

Im not a fan of the way PM is runed. But I ate there last Aug and had a cheese burger and it was one of the best ones we ate. It wasn't dirty then either. I wonder whats going on with Disney. To many cut backs will give you these results. Disney needs a wake up call.

marcyinPA

07-21-2009, 03:37 PM

Hmmm...we just at there the third week of June, and we had a very good experience. Food was good, restaurant was clean, service was fine. The restaurant was not busy at all, and it was after 6pm, so that surprised me. But filthy? No, that was not our experience at all.

I will say that I would never pay OOP for this one though...the prices were very high.

sarehm

07-21-2009, 03:47 PM

I totally agree w/ the op. When we were there in March the food was old, the cheese in the deli case was starting to harden and curl along the edges and things just sat out way too long. And I really don't like having to stand around waiting 15 minutes for my food. PM is hands down my least favorite Disney dining venue.

POOHDRMR

07-21-2009, 04:20 PM

We stayed there last summer and I thought the resort was beautiful and we liked the pool but Pepper Market was not a favorite of ours.We are not going to stay there this year because it just didn't do it for us.

nel79

07-21-2009, 06:01 PM

Totally agree! I just came back and was totally disappointed....the waitresses kept us waiting for ever...we had to hunt them down just to get drinks. The pizza was gross :(

MickeyNicki

07-22-2009, 08:34 AM

Wow, that is sad to hear...we ate breakfast and dinner there last year and really enjoyed both, it was busy at both times so the food was very fresh (with the exception of a super greasy gross cookie) and didnt find it dirty but I have been reading lots of recent posts that the CS locations are getting grimy from lack of CS cleaning them up...I also noticed last month that at almost every CS place we went to the glass display cases were filthy from greasy smudged hand and finger prints...no CM's to clean them??

Cazbucket

07-22-2009, 12:52 PM

Not the first bad review I have read recently - we have plans to try it this upcoming trip - along with Chef Mickeys too.

Having second thoughts on both.....

Sorry for people who have not enjoyed either - especially where cleanliness is concerned...YUK

SunnieRN

07-29-2009, 03:58 AM

We stayed there 2 nights in April. The lunches/dinners were not something I would get again.:scared: It was LONG waits for everything. The seating area was clean at that time, but getting a refill at dinner was next to impossible!

Our last morning we went to breakfast as we had credits left. I got an omelette that was o.k., but the potato and bread sides were inedible. The server was wonderful at breakfast however!! She made me not care as much that the food wasn't that good!

minniebeth

07-29-2009, 08:20 PM

This is really disappointing to hear...in the past, there have been so many glowing reviews about the PM. I'm actually skittish to try it now and waste credits here, especially if it's not clean...that's what icks me out more than not good food! Thanks for sharing your reviews...

Dani&TJsMom

07-29-2009, 10:33 PM

This post is very disappointing to read. We stayed at CSR 3 years ago and thought the PM was wonderful. We ate there at many different times during that trip and always found it to be clean and good food. We're going again in a few weeks, and I guess I'll have to see for myself how things have changed. It looks like we'll be using our CS credits elsewhere. It's too bad. It was nice during our last trip to leave the parks midday and return to the resort and have a nice, quiet lunch and then enjoy the pool.

Tiger926

07-30-2009, 08:01 AM

lucas

07-31-2009, 10:18 AM

Oh no. Was planning on eating there for the 1st time in September. Now I'm scared to try it.

septbaby

07-31-2009, 07:33 PM

You know its a CS so if you don't like what you see, just leave and take the bus back to your resort for a meal or over to AKL and eat at Mara, that resort is fairly close to CSR.

mrsbagel

08-03-2009, 12:04 PM

How is the PM for a quick breakfast...bagels, muffins, danish, etc...???

KatMark

08-03-2009, 12:37 PM

How is the PM for a quick breakfast...bagels, muffins, danish, etc...???

We've always enjoyed the food at Pepper Market but the reviews the last six months have been getting worse and worse. We are going for a quick mini-trip next month and we're going to try to squeeze in one quick meal at PM to see what is going on.

As for the breakfast quickies--DH loves thier muffins, bagels, danishes, etc. You can also get these at the Cafe Rix which also is on the dining plan.

lucas

08-03-2009, 09:23 PM

I just read on another thread that the ribeye steak & some other things were not offered for dinner. Does anyone know if there is a new menu?

KatMark

08-03-2009, 09:26 PM

I just read on another thread that the ribeye steak & some other things were not offered for dinner. Does anyone know if there is a new menu?

Not sure. There is someone there now who goes three or so times a year and she promised to post a picture of the menu. I will send her a reminder and as soon as she does I'll come and post back here.

lucas

08-03-2009, 09:28 PM

Not sure. There is someone there now who goes three or so times a year and she promised to post a picture of the menu. I will send her a reminder and as soon as she does I'll come and post back here.

:thanks: Thanks so much!

disneymath

08-03-2009, 10:37 PM

Our plan is to eat bfast at PM most days of our upcoming trip to WDW and CSR. (We tend to skip lunch on WDW trips in favour of QS bfast and TS dinner.) I had read how PM could be confusing to navigate, but assumed we would figure it out. The upside was that the menu on AllEars seemed to indicate that PM had a bigger bfast variety than most other resort QS locations we've tried. Now with the recent not-so-great reviews I'm thinking I better have a back up plan in case PM is as bad as people have been reporting ... maybe a bagel from Cafe Rix and then early lunch at a QS wherever we happen to be!

disfanRN

08-04-2009, 08:42 AM

We always have great service and food at Peppermarket. Yum, one of our favorite places to go.

onelilspark

08-04-2009, 11:10 AM

We ate at Pepper Market (haven't gotten to it in my dining report yet) just this past weekend. I thought it was okay...didn't love it, didn't hate it.

I didn't think it was dirty. We had a very friendly waitress.

My brother had a rice and salmon combo that he thought was wonderful (it looked really yummy!) That was made fresh.

I had a baked penne that they dished out of a half pan. I wish I would have seen that before I ordered. I dislike it when food is just sitting around. I realize this is how food like this is usually prepared, but I didn't know how long it had been sitting, etc. But when I got it, I was pleasantly surprised. It tasted a lot fresher than it looked in the pan.

My brother and I agreed that it was nice to be able to use a quick service credit (we were on the QSDP) for a meal that was pseduo-served. We got real plates, real glasses, real flat ware, etc. Nice for a change of pace. Not sure I would make a special trip just for it though as I thought the choices were a little lack-luster. Since we were on the DP, the 10% service charge was included...so I did leave a small tip on the table. Mainly because our waitress was so on top of things and actually better than some waitresses I've had at a full sit down place!!

bonzarella

08-04-2009, 12:16 PM

DH is eating lunch there this afternoon-anxious to hear his report. If he views dirt, he'll hightail it outta there:eek:

LUVDZNY2008

08-05-2009, 06:24 AM

I'm disappointed to hear all the negative reviews about PM..we've eaten there a number of times. We always had good food and I never thought it looked dirty :confused3

lucas

08-05-2009, 11:17 AM

DH is eating lunch there this afternoon-anxious to hear his report. If he views dirt, he'll hightail it outta there:eek:

How was it?

KatMark

08-05-2009, 11:23 AM

:thanks: Thanks so much!

The gal I know that is there now said she will post Pepper Market and Maya Grill menus tonight. I will copy and paste them over here (and you can also find them on the CSR FAQ Thread which is where she will be posting the pics).

lucas

08-08-2009, 08:11 PM

The gal I know that is there now said she will post Pepper Market and Maya Grill menus tonight. I will copy and paste them over here (and you can also find them on the CSR FAQ Thread which is where she will be posting the pics).

Any info yet? I didn't see it over on the CRS FAQ thread. But maybe I missed it?

KatMark

08-08-2009, 08:14 PM

Any info yet? I didn't see it over on the CRS FAQ thread. But maybe I missed it?

I think she is having eitehr too much fun or computer problems as she has not posted it yet. I promise I haven't forgotten you.

lucas

08-08-2009, 08:16 PM

I think she is having eitehr too much fun or computer problems as she has not posted it yet. I promise I haven't forgotten you.

Check out this thread:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread....2159335&page=2

Someone posted the new menus and it looks like they've made a lot of changes!

DianeV

08-08-2009, 08:16 PM

I posted pics of the menu boards at Pepper Market on the DDP board...lots of changes for sure!

KatMark

08-08-2009, 08:25 PM

Check out this thread:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread....2159335&page=2

Someone posted the new menus and it looks like they've made a lot of changes!

I can't get link to work.

lucas

08-08-2009, 08:33 PM

I posted pics of the menu boards at Pepper Market on the DDP board...lots of changes for sure!

Yep, I saw that! We might have to come up with a new plan.

lucas

08-08-2009, 08:36 PM

I can't get link to work.

Let me try again. Actually it is DianeV's pics!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2159335&page=2

KatMark

08-08-2009, 08:38 PM

Let me try again. Actually it is DianeV's pics!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2159335&page=2

Got it...thanks. Boy, they sure have changed the menu. I loved their fettucine alfredo...very disappointing. We probably won't eat here since it is a mini trip, but I'm going to walk over and see what is going on (I wonder if they are giving serious consideration to changing to a buffet within the year?).

DisneyWisher

08-08-2009, 08:45 PM

DianeV, Thanks so much for posting the pics of the menu. I was looking forward to eating here again. We really enjoyed it last year. We ended up here looking for a fresh salad, not the kind you find in the coolers at the resorts' CS. We loved it and the margaritas were to die for, but it looks like they are going cheap and we can do without. This solves the problem about our dinner at Epcot, we were going to take the bus to CSR, but now we will try Sunshine Seasons.

DianeV

08-08-2009, 09:52 PM

KatMark

08-08-2009, 09:58 PM

It is pretty sad that they changed it. Do you think it has to do with the quick service dining plan? (which we were on) I am sure they didnt like everyone getting that expensive steak. But no more mexican type food in a mexican themed resort? that is strange

by the way the new steak they have does taste good, it has a nice seasoning but its not super huge. My daughter had the pulled pork and liked it. The ribs are 'ok'

It very well could be. Being that the restaurants are not owned by Disney at the CSR and they are probably losing money, it would not surprise me. They are always one of the last restaurants to sign on for the dining plan. It's really a shame...we always enjoyed it. It won't make us not stay there (as it is our favorite resort), but it looks as if for future trips we'll be eating more at the parks or trying food courts at other resorts.

Tiger926

08-09-2009, 07:41 AM

I'm the OP who started this thread, and this is pretty much the menu that we had last month.

The steak that we had was a daily special - it was written on a small chalkboard, and posted on the top ledge of the grilling station where you order from. It wasn't a regular item either, but it was available for dinner, and they said they do it at least 1x per week.

Thanks for posting, Tiger