Got back late last night and thought I'd do a recap of our (my wife and I)dining experiences at Disney in a Covid world.
For some background, I guess you could call us adventurous eaters, but I would just say we like all kinds of food and have very little restrictions as long as it is quality food. Our normal list of restaurants when we visit are usually some combo of Victoria and Albert's, Flying Fish, Jiko, Tiffins, Monsieur Paul if anyone needs any reference for what we usually enjoy. Obviously those were not available on this go around.
We debated cancelling the trip, but ultimately decided we needed a little stress relief and we would do it as 'safely' as we could. This meant no indoor dining (there was one exception), so that was kind of the main driver in where we decided to eat. Anyways, here is where we ended up.
8/11 - Spice Road Table - First meal of the trip. First visit here (we do love Tangerine Cafe). Park was pretty dead and it felt a little strange being our first stop and seeing the new normal. Had a lovely table outside next to the water as the sun set over world showcase. Our server was lovely as well. Had a nice relaxed meal which included Spicy Cauliflower, Veggie Platter (Hummus Fries, rice filled grape leaves, babaganoush, pita and couscous) and the Lamb Shank. Everything was very tasty and the spice was great. Its sometimes hard to get spicy food in Disney, but the Cauliflower had good heat. Just a great way to start our trip and it was so good, we ended up there again for lunch on our full Epcot day later in the week.
8/12 - Pecos Bill - Limited options for food at MK. Picked Pecos due to outside seating with plenty of space, and we didnt want a burger or something fried. Had a salad and some fajitas. It was what it was. Neither bad or great, perfectly fine.
Boathouse - First time here. Reserved an outside table. The place was pretty full and when we got to our table outside on the back porch we were pretty surprised that the tables felt on top of each other and it was very loud with activity. Immediately felt a bit claustrophobic. Asked to move to the docks (we didnt realize this wasnt part of the main restaurant), which they allowed no problem. Had an absolutely sublime spot to ourselves and the sunset was amazing. Manager of the dockside bar took care of us and was wonderful. For food we had the Firecracker Shrimp (awesome!), wife had Tuna and I had steak and fries. Hers was really good and perfectly cooked. My steak was good as well, nothing earth shattering. I ordered rare, hoping for my normal medium rare and got it closer to medium. I almost never order steaks unless its a dedicated steakhouse, as they are almost never cooked to the right temp, but I was in the mood. It was very flavorful though. Had Strawberry shortcake for desert which was great. Overall, we really loved it.
8/13 - Flametree BBQ - this is always a must do at AK. Both got the BBQ Pork sandwhich and it was as tasty as always.
Tiffins - Our one exception to eating indoors for the trip. This is one of our favorite places on property and we knew it would probably not be very busy, so we went knowing that we would leave if it felt too crowded. Explained to hostess that we wanted to be as secluded as possible and we got a huge corner booth, with the nearest person at least 30 feet away. I'm still not thrilled about eating indoors and am aware it was still a roll of the dice even if it 'felt' safe. Anyway, food and service were amazing as always. Had the charred octopus to start, wife got the whole fried sustainable fish, and I had the tamarind braised short rib. Everything was cooked perfectly and incredibly flavorful. Im always a bit perplexed why this place isnt more popular, but it worked out for us on this trip. Great dinner and the late reservation allowed us a bit more time in our favorite park after closing time.
8/14 - Docking Bay 7 - First time here as well. This was the surprise of the trip. The food was incredible! Stunned by how fresh and flavorful it was. We had the Roasted Chicken Salad and Plant Based Meatballs w/Hummus. So nice to be able to eat something somewhat light and fresh on a hot sticky day in the park. Love it.
Wine Bar George - First visit. Another winner. Had a great table up on the deck overlooking DS at sunset. Enjoyed a plethora of small plates. Meatballs, Grilled Romaine Salad, Burrata, Warmed Olives, and Iberico Pork (so good). Everything was very good. Server was great and enjoyed some lovely wine as well. This seems like a bit of a sleeper pick compared to the pub some of the other DS restaurants receive. Highly recommended.
8/15 - Spice Road - Back again for lunch. Split the Cauliflower and Veggie Platter. Service was definitely a downgrade from our dinner. We had a younger gentlemen who seemed a little overwhelmed even though it wasnt that busy. Took forever to pay for the meal which was a bummer, but he did apologize. Still a good spot.
Rose and Crown - Epcot was busy this saturday, so I was worried that this place would be packed and was prepared to audible. Luckily all the college kids were focused to the pub and the dining room was nice and quiet. This was another first time visit. Our server was lovely. Enjoyed some pints, fish and chips, shepards pie and sticky toffee pudding. The food may not be the most exiciting, but they were very good for what they were and it was good to get some grease after going lighter on most of our other meals. Table and view were great and we had a lovely experience.
8/16 - Pecos Bill again. Salads for both of us. Fine.
Wine Bar George - Originally had a reservation for Morimoto, but I decided against it a couple of hours before we were due. We eat a lot of sushi and asian food in our normal lives, and I just became worried that this was setting up for a disappointment after all the other great meals on the trip, especially for the price. So we rolled it back at Wine Bar and it was just a good as the first time.
8/17 - Boathouse for lunch before the airport. Had to have those firecracker shrimp again. Also got a wedge salad, tuna poke and split a lobster roll. All very good stuff.
That got a little longer than intended, lol. Anyway, we had a great trip, and the food turned out to exceed our expectations at almost every turn. I was pretty bummed going into the trip, knowing that my faves were not an option, but it was great being forced to break away from our usual stand bys and venture out to places we normally wouldnt.
Hope this helps some people make some decisions if they are worried about dining and food quality. Let me know if there are any questions I can answer
For some background, I guess you could call us adventurous eaters, but I would just say we like all kinds of food and have very little restrictions as long as it is quality food. Our normal list of restaurants when we visit are usually some combo of Victoria and Albert's, Flying Fish, Jiko, Tiffins, Monsieur Paul if anyone needs any reference for what we usually enjoy. Obviously those were not available on this go around.
We debated cancelling the trip, but ultimately decided we needed a little stress relief and we would do it as 'safely' as we could. This meant no indoor dining (there was one exception), so that was kind of the main driver in where we decided to eat. Anyways, here is where we ended up.
8/11 - Spice Road Table - First meal of the trip. First visit here (we do love Tangerine Cafe). Park was pretty dead and it felt a little strange being our first stop and seeing the new normal. Had a lovely table outside next to the water as the sun set over world showcase. Our server was lovely as well. Had a nice relaxed meal which included Spicy Cauliflower, Veggie Platter (Hummus Fries, rice filled grape leaves, babaganoush, pita and couscous) and the Lamb Shank. Everything was very tasty and the spice was great. Its sometimes hard to get spicy food in Disney, but the Cauliflower had good heat. Just a great way to start our trip and it was so good, we ended up there again for lunch on our full Epcot day later in the week.
8/12 - Pecos Bill - Limited options for food at MK. Picked Pecos due to outside seating with plenty of space, and we didnt want a burger or something fried. Had a salad and some fajitas. It was what it was. Neither bad or great, perfectly fine.
Boathouse - First time here. Reserved an outside table. The place was pretty full and when we got to our table outside on the back porch we were pretty surprised that the tables felt on top of each other and it was very loud with activity. Immediately felt a bit claustrophobic. Asked to move to the docks (we didnt realize this wasnt part of the main restaurant), which they allowed no problem. Had an absolutely sublime spot to ourselves and the sunset was amazing. Manager of the dockside bar took care of us and was wonderful. For food we had the Firecracker Shrimp (awesome!), wife had Tuna and I had steak and fries. Hers was really good and perfectly cooked. My steak was good as well, nothing earth shattering. I ordered rare, hoping for my normal medium rare and got it closer to medium. I almost never order steaks unless its a dedicated steakhouse, as they are almost never cooked to the right temp, but I was in the mood. It was very flavorful though. Had Strawberry shortcake for desert which was great. Overall, we really loved it.
8/13 - Flametree BBQ - this is always a must do at AK. Both got the BBQ Pork sandwhich and it was as tasty as always.
Tiffins - Our one exception to eating indoors for the trip. This is one of our favorite places on property and we knew it would probably not be very busy, so we went knowing that we would leave if it felt too crowded. Explained to hostess that we wanted to be as secluded as possible and we got a huge corner booth, with the nearest person at least 30 feet away. I'm still not thrilled about eating indoors and am aware it was still a roll of the dice even if it 'felt' safe. Anyway, food and service were amazing as always. Had the charred octopus to start, wife got the whole fried sustainable fish, and I had the tamarind braised short rib. Everything was cooked perfectly and incredibly flavorful. Im always a bit perplexed why this place isnt more popular, but it worked out for us on this trip. Great dinner and the late reservation allowed us a bit more time in our favorite park after closing time.
8/14 - Docking Bay 7 - First time here as well. This was the surprise of the trip. The food was incredible! Stunned by how fresh and flavorful it was. We had the Roasted Chicken Salad and Plant Based Meatballs w/Hummus. So nice to be able to eat something somewhat light and fresh on a hot sticky day in the park. Love it.
Wine Bar George - First visit. Another winner. Had a great table up on the deck overlooking DS at sunset. Enjoyed a plethora of small plates. Meatballs, Grilled Romaine Salad, Burrata, Warmed Olives, and Iberico Pork (so good). Everything was very good. Server was great and enjoyed some lovely wine as well. This seems like a bit of a sleeper pick compared to the pub some of the other DS restaurants receive. Highly recommended.
8/15 - Spice Road - Back again for lunch. Split the Cauliflower and Veggie Platter. Service was definitely a downgrade from our dinner. We had a younger gentlemen who seemed a little overwhelmed even though it wasnt that busy. Took forever to pay for the meal which was a bummer, but he did apologize. Still a good spot.
Rose and Crown - Epcot was busy this saturday, so I was worried that this place would be packed and was prepared to audible. Luckily all the college kids were focused to the pub and the dining room was nice and quiet. This was another first time visit. Our server was lovely. Enjoyed some pints, fish and chips, shepards pie and sticky toffee pudding. The food may not be the most exiciting, but they were very good for what they were and it was good to get some grease after going lighter on most of our other meals. Table and view were great and we had a lovely experience.
8/16 - Pecos Bill again. Salads for both of us. Fine.
Wine Bar George - Originally had a reservation for Morimoto, but I decided against it a couple of hours before we were due. We eat a lot of sushi and asian food in our normal lives, and I just became worried that this was setting up for a disappointment after all the other great meals on the trip, especially for the price. So we rolled it back at Wine Bar and it was just a good as the first time.
8/17 - Boathouse for lunch before the airport. Had to have those firecracker shrimp again. Also got a wedge salad, tuna poke and split a lobster roll. All very good stuff.
That got a little longer than intended, lol. Anyway, we had a great trip, and the food turned out to exceed our expectations at almost every turn. I was pretty bummed going into the trip, knowing that my faves were not an option, but it was great being forced to break away from our usual stand bys and venture out to places we normally wouldnt.
Hope this helps some people make some decisions if they are worried about dining and food quality. Let me know if there are any questions I can answer
