Coral Reef restaurant

[Dipstick]

We made dinner reservations for the Coral Reef restaurant and I have seen some mixed reviews about this place. What do you think of this restaurant?

 

[Tam1067]

We've had dinner there twice, in July 2007 and August 2008. It is one of DH"s favorites. The food is good, and we had excellent service both times. Be advised, though, that it's loud, and the waiting area is not very large, nor are the bathrooms. We'll probably return again this year because DH really likes it.

 

[dingoballs]

There are better, less expensive seafood restaurants around WDW, but if it's the novelty of dining next to a giant aquarium is what you're after, then there's no place else like Coral Reef...

 

[ilandrazdsw]

Over Christmas/NY the food (D) was fabulous! The steak was VERY tender and tasty. Can't comment on the seafood (when DH is a fisherman resturant seafood isn't appealing), didn't order any. The desserts were amazing. The children enjoyed the distraction of the "reef." The only downer was the wait...they were running 30+ mins behind for ADRs.

 

[Pakey]

I've eaten at Coral Reef maybe a dozen times in the last 5 years. I think the opinions on this place depend on what you are looking for. If this is an adult only dinner, absolutely not, I would not recommend it. The place is very noisy. If you are in a hurry, nope, can't recommend it either as they are always behind on their adr's and the service is slow to non-existent. If you are looking for really good fish or seafood, well, there are much better places at the World.

If you are looking for a great unique undersea decor with a huge aquarium that will entertain your children, this is a good selection. I especially like it on hot bright days because the place is dark and cool. The food is okay, not great. I think I've tried everything on the menu and overall, I think they oversauce and overflavor most dishes. My favorite is the mahi mahi, the sauce is milder and can be scraped off to enjoy the taste of the fish. The appetizers are very ordinary but the desserts here are pretty good.

 

[JenniBarra]

We ate there for the first time this past January. We really enjoyed our lunch there. We don't always have dessert, but we enjoyed our entrees so much, we decided we just had to try the sweets, too (and they were excellent). Besides the obvious allure of the tank itself, I liked the way that the waiting area is decorated - lots of neat blown glass that resemble sea creatures.

 

[MickeyNicki]

We ate there in late January, first time in 11 years....I loved my sauteed grouper, the caesar salad and bread were awesome, the butterscotch creme brulee was delish. DH didnt like his steak at all, too charred tasting and the nieces detested the sorry excuse for a pizza

 

[ROEDISNEY]

We really like it here the food was good and it's a nice atmosphere.

 

[DisneyFan4Life7]

We have been there twice. The first time we went we really enjoyed it and thought "we have to come back". So last November we went again and were not as happy as we were the time before. They did not have as much on their menu as they did before. The only reason why we would go back would be for the fish tank and for the creme brulee, but otherwise not planning on going back there next visit.

 

[catne]

we were just there for lunch on the DxDDP in January 2009. Enjoyed it very much - excellent food & very good service. Was not particularly loud when we were there but was getting much busier as were were leaving around 1:30...and there were a lot of people waiting to be seated. I can see that it may get very noisy...it's actually a small place. Also, we were there mid-January so there were not very many school aged children around...mostly adults couples or families with small children (about 1/2 of which were sleeping in strollers & on banquette seats) so maybe that's why it wasn't as loud as some have reported./

 

[eventamy]

We were there last week and found it be really bad. We're definitely not trying it again.

Having said that I think people need to experience it themselves, you might hit it on a good day. Anything's possible!

 

[caroline1851]

I ate there with dh, ds6 and dd2 and we all loved it. We were sat right near the tank and a giant sea turtle was right near our table the whole time. The divers were very entertaining, food was great, service was average. The only think I was disappointed in were the dessert choices. I didn't even order anything and I'm a big dessert fan.