Just back dining reviews

rlthomas7

Mouseketeer
Joined
Mar 12, 2012
Here are our reviews!

Caribbean Beach Resort food court - typical food court, nothing mind-blowing, but fairly decent. The staff all knew about being able to substitute another side or dessert for a drink, which was nice since we had the refillable mugs and the dining plan.

ABC Commissary @ lunch - our worst meal of the week. I had heard that Hollywood Studios was bad with regard to food, but this was really bad. Granted, I should have been suspect about a steak at that price, but it was shoe leather. Nobody else was thrilled either.

Boma @ dinner - good as always. Lots of selection and interesting flavors. This is a must-visit for us every trip.

Columbia Harbor House @ lunch - decent food, although the kids' meals are very small. My 7-year old was still hungry after his meal with two chicken nuggets and tiny piece of fish.

Kona Cafe @ dinner - this was my best meal on our last trip and I was excited to try it again. It was a disappointment this time around. Nothing bad, it was OK, it just didn't have the greatness that we had last time. DH loves Disney's soups, so he ordered one, but it was forgotten and he cancelled the order when our meals arrived.

Coral Reef @ lunch - after the bad reviews, we were a little nervous, but I knew our son would like the fish. What a great meal! DH and I both had the mahi mahi (him without the shrimp due to a shellfish allergy) and they were kind enough to give me his shrimp! I also ordered the lobster bisque, which was great, and dessert (chocolate wave) was amazing.

Tusker House @ lunch - GREAT! We had done breakfast before, but we were excited to try lunch. Like Boma, everything had great flavor and was different than your average buffet. We all left with stuffed bellies!

Shutters at CBR @ dinner - this was our best meal of the trip. The NY Strip Steak here put Kona's to shame, and everything was fantastic.

Pinocchio Village Haus @ lunch - while it was PACKED, the chicken parm sandwich was delicious! Nice change of pace for a QS meal at a theme park! I will say that the place was filled with people saving tables, leaving those of us with food no place to sit. They really need to enforce the rule posted by the registers that you can't sit until you have food. It was a mess.

Hope that helps someone! We ate really well at WDW and I'm happy to answer any questions!
 
they did when we were at Pinocchio...like you said...they were taking orders and filling them and then have a bazillion people walking around trying to find a table...one room a cm stood in front of...if someone came out then she let another group in....we finally got a table and then ate in peace...when we saw a young couple with a baby walking around more then five minutes..we told her to sit down and we finished and they had a place...thanks for the reviews you did...would like to try Kona Cafe some day..
 
ABC Commissary @ lunch - our worst meal of the week. I had heard that Hollywood Studios was bad with regard to food, but this was really bad. Granted, I should have been suspect about a steak at that price, but it was shoe leather. Nobody else was thrilled either.

That's a little unfortunate, we normally enjoy it pretty well. Though we often stick to the salads which I'll say are a little nicer than just iceberg lettuce.
 
We also found Shutters to be a great hidden gem! Enjoyed everything we had there!
 
Kona Cafe @ dinner - this was my best meal on our last trip and I was excited to try it again. It was a disappointment this time around. Nothing bad, it was OK, it just didn't have the greatness that we had last time. DH loves Disney's soups, so he ordered one, but it was forgotten and he cancelled the order when our meals arrived.
Last Fall this was also one of the best dinners of my vacation. This Fall, I ordered exactly the same thing . . . the strip steak and banana creme brulee for dessert but it fell short largely because of service and how packed/overrun the place was. My meal was lukewarm and the steak cold to the touch. It had sat too long before being picked up for service. I couldn't find my server or flag anyone down to ask for it to be reheated. My server had way too many tables to take care of and while pleasant, she was absent and generally distracted. I'll go back again but likely try for a much earlier ADR eg at opening for better service and a better experience.

Coral Reef @ lunch - after the bad reviews, we were a little nervous, but I knew our son would like the fish. What a great meal! DH and I both had the mahi mahi (him without the shrimp due to a shellfish allergy) and they were kind enough to give me his shrimp! I also ordered the lobster bisque, which was great, and dessert (chocolate wave) was amazing.
I have had the same lunch entree over the past 2 years and both times was very happy. Always the mahi-mahi. I like the turtle cheesecake but that's just a personal choice. :) I had incredible service this year and it makes such a huge difference. Again, I booked my lunch ADR for restaurant opening at 11:30am and it made a world of difference in service and being able to snag a tank side table. I also noticed a much more upbeat, professional and positive vibe with the staff and manager this year and so Coral Reef looks like its improving!

Boma @ dinner - good as always. Lots of selection and interesting flavors. This is a must-visit for us every trip.

Same here. Boma is consistently good & always a must do every trip.

ABC Commissary @ lunch - our worst meal of the week. I had heard that Hollywood Studios was bad with regard to food, but this was really bad. Granted, I should have been suspect about a steak at that price, but it was shoe leather. Nobody else was thrilled either.

I've never graced ABC Commissary but heard that they share a kitchen with Sci-Fi so not surprised about your steak. I ordered the steak at Sci-Fi last year and it was terrible. Thin, gristly and way overcooked for a med-rare. Never again. Sci-Fi is TS but think its because of the demand for the incredible atmosphere but definitely not because of the food. Appies or a sandwich/burger for me next time.

Thanks for your reviews! Great minds think alike :-)
 
I've never graced ABC Commissary but heard that they share a kitchen with Sci-Fi so not surprised about your steak. I ordered the steak at Sci-Fi last year and it was terrible. Thin, gristly and way overcooked for a med-rare. Never again. Sci-Fi is TS but think its because of the demand for the incredible atmosphere but definitely not because of the food. Appies or a sandwich/burger for me next time.

Thanks for your reviews! Great minds think alike :-)

I've seen some great reviews of Sci Fi's steak (maybe because people go in with low expectations?) but I think all of Disney's steaks have had their share of bad reviews... it's one of the things where if it's not cooked just right, people just don't like it (how they ordered it, I can't stand anything other than medium rare).

That said, CS steak is a thin cut and always cooked to medium, which means a minute of inattentiveness and you have shoe leather. Again very hit and miss and I bet they do not pay attention like places that are cooked to order. I have seen some decent reviews by people who do not mind medium to medium well steak.
 
Pinocchio House was not even on my radar last time. I've added it to the must do list this year!
 
Thanks for your review! We are staying at CBR and while we prefer the food court as much as CSR, the one at CBR is decent. I haven't tried subbing a side (salad or veggie?) for a drink, hoping to do that on our upcoming trip now that I'm limiting my soda intake.

Really thinking about trying Shutters after reading your review. The Kona steak is my DH and DD's favorite, so maybe they'll enjoy Shutters!

We've never tried PVH - how frustrating that you couldn't get a table. That's probably one of the reasons why I'm so glad to have a TS every day.
 

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