Vegan/Vegetarian Restaurant/Dining Help Thread

[BusyMom2Three]

Has anyone ever gone with a vegetarian child? Any advice? My son eats meat/fish occasionally, but it looks like the only vegetarian options at WDW are two of his least favorite things mac n cheese or cheese pizza. He is an adventurous eater and he eats a lot, but is only 2. I hate to order an adult meal at those prices...and if we share he will eat all our food

Hi, we've always gone with our vegetarian children. Buffets are a great option because your son will be able to have a wide array of food (Boma has the largest selection, followed by Tusker House, but most buffets have several veg options, and chefs usually ask my kids if they'd like pasta or even a stir-fry to go with their meals, along with their buffet choices).

Here are just a few kids picks options other than pizza and mac & cheese:

Mama Melrose (DHS TS)-vegetarian minestrone soup
Studio Catering Co (DHS CS)-half grilled veg sandwich or uncrustables pbj
Liberty Inn (Epcot WS CS)-pasta w/ marinara
Be Our Guest (MK CS & TS)-whole grain macaroni w/ marinara
Columbia Harbour House (MK CS)-uncrustables pbj, but if you want to pay oop you can get an inexpensive vegetarian chili for $4 and steamed broccoli for $2
Tony's Town Square (MK TS)-grilled cheese, mickey cheese ravioli, or multi-grain pasta primavera

We aren't doing the DDP this time. It's not expensive to pay OOP for kids to get an adult meal at CS. Several places have veggie burgers, Tortuga Tavern has a bean and rice burrito, and some places have veg sandwiches or veg flatbreads that are mostly in the $7 range. Sunshine Seasons at Epcot has soups, wraps, and a veggie/tofu (I think now Gardein "chik'n") noodle bowl
http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm

 

[DSNY4ever]

Thank you so much for all the tips about the kid's dining. I read through everything I could on here and drew up our dinging plans. I added in Tusker House and nixed WCC. I also added in notes for all the counter service locations you guys have suggested. You guys made 1900 Park Faire with Chef TJ sound amazing!! On one hand I really want to try it, but I don't know if my 2 year old would sit through a lengthy meal like that, so I think we'll need to save that for a future trip.

Can't wait to try out a handful of new places, only a few more weeks until we can make our ADRs

 

[flnngn2]

I just found this thread, so this question has probably been brought up. We are going to do HDDR this time. I know I will have to make arrangments for my DH who is a vegetarian. Has anyone done this and can offer any advice. He jokes that at least they serve beer and that's ALWAYS vegetarian

 

[DSNY4ever]

From what I found on here HDDR gives you marinara pasta and some veggies as your side. I found some pictures at the bottom of this article.
http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2010/07/15/hoop-dee-doo-revue-review/

I would love to hear a review when you get back. Our DS is a little too young for this trip, but maybe next time.

 

[cherylp3]

Regarding HDDR: I would recommend calling ahead or visiting the night before of your reservation. Maybe even contact special diets. Make sure you get names of people you speak with.

 

[DCDisney]

You don't need to call ahead for HDDR as long as special needs is on your ADR. They share a kitchen with Trails End so they have access to many foods that are served on that buffet plus many ingredients. They always have the standard veggies or pasta readily available but they can also easily pull off a few other options. HDDR is one of the easiest to work with. They won't make something elaborate or special but they are super easy to work with.

 

[ptrspmpkin]

I am looking for a special dinner for my husband and I for our first night at the World after a 24 hour drive with our 2 teenagers . Thinking we could use some time after the drive and before the craziness of the next 9 days!

He is VERY meat and potatoes(if I'm not cooking) and I am VERY vegan!
Any suggestions?? Looking at something at one of the resorts. Thinking maybe California Grill? Artist Point??

 

[jcb]

Not sure when you are going but California Grill is being renovated through the summer. It may open in June. I'm not sure a reopening date has been announced.

My wife and I enjoy Narcoosee's. She's the vegetarian. It's the restaurant where we always dine every trip.

 

[ptrspmpkin]

Not sure when you are going but California Grill is being renovated through the summer. It may open in June. I'm not sure a reopening date has been announced.

My wife and I enjoy Narcoosee's. She's the vegetarian. It's the restaurant where we always dine every trip.

Thanks, I am going after the scheduled reopening of CG. Have you ever been there jcb? Narcoossee's does seem very romantic! Unfortunately, the vegetarian option that I saw on the menu doesn't appear vegan/easily veganizable. Can NOT risk dairy, especially on the first day

Anybody with vegan info on Narcoossee's??

 

[Annie78]

I am a vegetarian (not vegan) and planning breakfast at the Wave. I'd like to do the buffet because I'm always happier with a little taste of a lot of different things, but do you think I could ask them to make me a poached egg with the key lime benedict trimmings other than the meat? How about getting the cheddar grits without ham? Should I put these requests into my ADR?

 

[Eliserose]

Any opinions on O'Hana for a vegetarian? We have both breakfast and dinner ADRs. Thanks!

 

[DaymanX]

Ohana did a very nice tofu stir fry for us last fall. If they have tofu, I'm sure they'd do something with that for breakfast. They were very accommodating.

I saw a mention of Chef Kelly at 1900 Park Fare. The variety of servings looks comparable to Chef TJ, but is TJ still at 1900 Park Fare?

 

[flick]

Ohana did a very nice tofu stir fry for us last fall. If they have tofu, I'm sure they'd do something with that for breakfast. They were very accommodating.

I saw a mention of Chef Kelly at 1900 Park Fare. The variety of servings looks comparable to Chef TJ, but is TJ still at 1900 Park Fare?

Chef Tj is still at 1900 Park Fare.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

I just wanted to mention - for anyone considering a Disney cruise - that we had NO problems getting great vegan food on our cruise on the Dream last week. My previous trip had been a bit of a nightmare! But this one was great. I had sent an email in advance, and it was clearly forwarded to my server, because at our first dinner she came to our table and said "I understand you are vegan, we have vegan bread for you and a vegan dip." There is now a vegan (or easily veganizable) option on each menu, but our server said the chef would make us something else as well so that we would have more choices! We were also given vegan desserts every night. We were also told that we could ask for vegan pizza up at Flo's Cafe and that worked out very well - they made us something different every time we asked. Getting veggie burgers on Castaway Cay was simple too (last time they had told us there would be some, but when we asked nobody could find them!), and we found many vegan options at Cabanas (soy milk for breakfast cereal - they have great muesli - as well as tofu dishes on the buffet). I couldn't have been happier with our meals.

TP

 

[superchime]

Ohana did a very nice tofu stir fry for us last fall. If they have tofu, I'm sure they'd do something with that for breakfast. They were very accommodating.

We were just there a couple of weeks ago for breakfast and they were very helpful. The chef came out and talked about options with me, offered to make me a veggie stir fry, and they served the meat on a separate plate. It was plenty of food and you're welcome to request more of anything.

I also had a couple of great dinners at Shutters (Caribbean Beach Resort). We ate there twice during our stay. I got the vegetarian pasta option for our first meal. I wanted to try something else the second time, so the chef came out and talked to me about options... and there were many! I eventually went with a salad and a side of the pelau rice (which is vegan). Both the rice and the salad dressing had a bit of heat. The chef even came back after we were done eating to see how I liked the food!

 

[DSNY4ever]

I have another question-

Should we even bother with the Food and Wine Festival? I heard last year they had a booth serving Gardein or something like it, but we only eat that kind of stuff occasionally and I am not sure if it would be worth the price for a little taste of some Gardein...?

Any vegetarians spend any time over there? As of now I am assuming we will just skip it all together.

 

[MellinMickey4333]

I was wondering that myself, about the Food and Wine festival (during both Spring and Fall...we are lucky to hit both this year). Especially since I might now have to be gluten-free, too. I do occasionally cheat while on vacation, as DH and I are vegans for health reasons. But the dairy and gluten are killers for my tummy... and looking at the F&W stuff for the Flower fest this Spring, most items have either gluten or dairy. Mehhh.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

Well, it doesn't cost you anything (other than the foods you buy). I am just back, and we went to Epcot last Thursday. In the Flower and Garden Festival building, the snack bar had a "vegan trio" that was very good (it had pita bread in it, though, so you might want to ask them to leave that out if you are gluten free). We also got the Frushi and the Watermelon salad as we were walking around, and both were very good.

TP

 

[cherylp3]

from what I know: The garden booth did not do well, bottom 4 of the booths.

The vegan trio has couscous. Only thing vegan and gf is the frushi ( don't eat the whip) and the salads (without cheese)

 

[LisaS]

I have another question-

Should we even bother with the Food and Wine Festival? I heard last year they had a booth serving Gardein or something like it, but we only eat that kind of stuff occasionally and I am not sure if it would be worth the price for a little taste of some Gardein...?

Any vegetarians spend any time over there? As of now I am assuming we will just skip it all together.

There isn't a lot of food for vegetarians at F&W. There was more last year because of the Gardein items at the Terra booth, both of which were so good DH and I had them at least three times the week we were there. Here is what we tried at last year's F&W festival:

Terra Booth: Trick’n Chick’n Curry w/ rice $3.75; Chili Colorado, house made chips, cashew cheese $3.75. Both of these were very tasty. We ate each of these dishes a few times during our stay.

South Africa: Spinach and Paneer Cheese Pocket (V) $3.25. We enjoyed this too.

Cheese: Trio of Artisan Cheeses: Beecher's Flagship Reserve Cheddar, La Bonne Vie Goat Brie and Rogue River Creamery Echo Mountain Blue Cheese – $4.50. DH had this and enjoyed it.

Poland: Zapiekanki-Toasted mushroom, onion, cheese bread w/ house made ketchup $3.00. Disappointing.

Ireland: Kerrygold® Cheese Selection: Irish Aged Cheddar, Dubliner and Cashel Blue with Apple Chutney and Brown Bread – $3.50. DH enjoyed this.

Greece: Greek Salad with Pita Bread (V)$3.00; Griddled Greek Cheese with Pistachios and Honey (V)$3.25; Spanakopita – $4.00. We enjoyed all of these. The Griddled Greek Cheese in particular is very tasty and different.

We also tried a few desserts and some wines, including a glass of Neige Bubble in Canada which has become a sort of F&W tradition for me for the last two years. DH enjoys the beer offerings at the festival.

If your only reason for going to F&W is for the food, that will limit your enjoyment since you won't have a lot of variety. If you like trying new wines, beers and desserts as well, you will find enough things to try to make it fun. We've been going to F&W every year for a few years now and we always enjoy ourselves, especially last year with the Gardein options.