Coral Reef for lunch......

[Three cats]

Considering trying Coral Reef for lunch. For those who have eaten there recently, what did you think of the food? Any good?

 

[TTUCaric]

We went there on March 12 and enjoyed the view and service immensely, and the food was very good as well. The crabcakes with chili aioli (sp?) were very good. The pricing is consistent with table-service prices.

 

[2012DisneyWorldBride]

We went there for lunch in December on our honeymoon. We liked it a lot. The food was great, we got to sit up against the tank and had a huge turtle and fish that just stared at us during our meal! Very cool! Also the chocolate wave dessert was my favorite dessert on our trip.

 

[Ro Z]

Had lunch in Nov. It was great!!

 

[Three cats]

Good to hear! Thanks!


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[iheartjuppy]

We haven't been since 2011 but our lunch food was fine - nothing great but nothing to complain about. The view was awesome even from further away from the tank, but the lighting was VERY dim throughout (I'm guessing for the fish?) and it was difficult for my in-laws to read menus, help the kids w coloring etc.

 

[MyOtherSS]

Let me start off by saying that I do not eat seafood whatsoever and the smell can make woozy at times but I went the a year ago in April and loved it! I got a chicken ceaser salad and it was delicious. The service and overall experience were excellent.

 

[DisneyHardin]

We had dinner there a couple years ago and really enjoyed it. The food was good and I thought the decor/lighting of the restaurant was gorgeous.

 

[patsal]

Nice to read positive reviews on a once old favorite. We stopped going a few years ago because of poor food quality and poor service, maybe we should try it again!

 

[Three cats]

I am glad to hear the good reviews as we are planning this as the 1st lunch of our trip.

 

[tink1829]

We eat at coral reef ever time we go food is great and so is the service . Lunch or dinner never a problem and last trip we had 9 ppl in our group

 

[11point5]

I hate to be the only negative review here, but DBF and I had dinner at Coral Reef in October, and the food overall was not great.
We split the crab cakes as an app - these were tasty. I ordered the pan-seared seasonal catch (believe I was told it was red snapper but I could be wrong)- served with "wild mushroom and bay scallop risotto, celery root nage, and parsley truffle oil" All of this was really only okay, the fish had a bitter tomatoey sauce thing on top that was weird. DBF ordered the lobster orecchiette pasta - with white cheddar cheese and basil oil, and we ended up sharing both entrees. He thought the pasta was way too saucy/salty, but I LOVED it. Two downsides were that it was served with a little tiny dead decoration lobster on top (this made us both very sad and we still talk about it to this day) and we both got VERY sick about 45mins after eating here (in both ways, if you know what I mean). We just kinda picked at the fish entree and I ate most of the pasta, and DBF ended up getting something at a CS place later that night.
Some positive notes though:
Our server was wonderful! The atmosphere was really cool and I loved the decor in the whole place, not to mention the obvious awesomeness of the huge aquarium. We also both had delicious cocktails, but for the price and quality of the food I wouldn't go back.

 

[fuzzlekins]

We thought it was LOUSY. The restaurant is lovely and the fish tank is cool but I wouldn't go back. The only thing we enjoyed was the Chocolate Wave for dessert. Hubby had the lobster soup (not a bisque) ... watery and not so great. My lobster didn't taste like lobster at all - it was terrible. All the seafood is farm raised which means NOT good flavor or texture. If you really like seafood, you likely won't like Coral Reef. Oddly enough, when I asked the waiter if the shrimp were farm raised, he looked at me like I had three heads. He'd never been asked that before. No restaurant should serve farm raised seafood, let alone a seafood restaurant with those prices.

 

[hailbug]

We had lunch there in September and it was great. Food and service was really good. We are going again this September

 

[heidijanesmith]

I had big expectations for this restaurant, as my family are all scuba divers. Their favorite part of our WDW trips is diving at The Seas and hamming it up with the diners at The Coral Reef.

We ate dinner there in August and will never go back again. The service was horrible, the worst we had all trip. The food was awful. I liked my lobster mac-n-cheese but the rest of my family thought their food was terrible. Chewy shrimp, rubbery Mahi Mahi and small portions. Lobster bisque was watery and had an unpleasant flavor.

I try to give a restaurant another chance, as maybe it was just an off night. There are so many great eateries at WDW I would rather go to.

 

[fuzzlekins]

Chewy shrimp, rubbery Mahi Mahi and small portions. Lobster bisque was watery and had an unpleasant flavor.

Yep, that sounds right. It's because it's all farm raised. Farm raised shrimp in particular are one of the most bacteria ridden things you can put in your mouth - more gross than most people realize.

 

[sabcook]

We had lunch there in December mostly because my DS wanted desperately to see the marine life while we ate. I had heard all the negative reviews and so went with fairly low expectations. That said, the atmosphere was great, the service was fine, and the food was ok. The food was so rich and heavy that I couldn't cone close to finishing (I had the lobster mac). My husband and I shared the started sampler and that was probably the best part of the meal for me. The Chocolate wave was ok, but after all the other food it made me a little queasy (we were on the DXDP so had three courses). All in all, I don't regret going, but I am glad that it was just one lunch and I really don't think we'll go back again.

 

[catra121]

I love Coral Reef. It has been one of the best meals we've had the past two times I went. I've always gotten the NY Strip Steak which was cooked perfectly and well seasoned. I ALWAYS use A1 sauce with my steaks and didn't even have to ask for it here because the steak was melt in your mouth good. Others in my family had seafood and they loved their meals as well. And the napoleon cheesecake is a nice, light dessert so even when not on the dining plan I order it. I like the light desserts because sometimes the chocolate ones can be too heavy for me with touring the parks for the rest of the day. It's become a tradition for me to have my first meal of the trip here at Coral Reef. Always starts the trip out on a good note.

 

[frannn]

Always enjoyed it. DD10 insists we eat here every trip. I always order the steak, so I can't comment on the other dishes. DH has tried the mahi mahi and loved it. The chocolate Wave is my favorite desert in all of WDW....almost tied with the PB&J creme brulee at FF.

 

[2manydaves]

Kids loved the decorate your own sundae at the end, and the Chocolate Wave is one of my favorite Disney desserts.

Entrees were good, service was average to below-average. I would go again.