Dining Reviews 7/14 - 7/21

[jel0511]

Well we're back from another GREAT WDW trip. We had some GREAT meals, and some disappointing ones. I'll first list the places we ate at, and then add commentary to the ones that were either exceptional or disappointing. Really no commentary is needed for Counter Service places, since it's just counter service.

Cosmic Rays
Chef Mickeys
Concourse Steakhouse
Captain Cooks
Kona Cafe (both breakfast and dinner)
Hurricane Hannah's
Caribbean Beach Food Court (both breakfast and dinner)
Crystal Palace
Le Cellier
Tusker House
Liberty Tree Tavern
Cape May Cafe
Tempanyakki
Casey's
Beaches and Cream

Chef Mickey's - Was the usual stuff, but we LOVE it. This time didn't disappoint, the characters were GREAT, and the food good as well. We always stop at Chef Mickey's on a trip, and always will!!

Councourse Steakhouse - I hadn't had breakfast here in 10 years, and was anxious to try it again and have a Mickey Stickey. Well, they've changed them, and I didn't like them. They used to be similiar to a hot cross bun, but now they're icky in my opinion. The breakfast here is pretty usual fare, and I won't make a special trip to eat here again.

Kona Cafe - We ate dinner and breakfast here while staying at the Poly. It was WONDERFUL as usual. I had the Pan Asian Pasta for dinner and of course the Tonga Toast for breakfast. You always get a good meal here, and the prices are great too!!! The Kiddie Kone was enjoyed by my kids, they thought it was GREAT!!!

Caribbean Beach Food Court - We decided to drive over here from BCV, since there isn't any food court located in the Boardwalk area with the exception of Tubbies at the Dolphin. The food here was good, and the atmosphere is pretty. We might stay here on our Feb trip, since we liked the food court so much!!!

Crystal Palace - Here is where one of our disppointments of a favorite comes in. The food just wasn't up to par as it had been in the past, we had a horrible server, and the characters seemed VERY rushed. We always made breakfast at Crystal Palace a tradition, but we'll probably skip it in February.

Le Cellier - This is one of my new favs!!! We had a wonderful meal here!!! DH got the Cesar Salad and I had the Chedder Cheese Soup. Both were SO GOOD, we each ate half and then traded so we could experience both!!! I had the strip steak, and DH had the Prime rib. He ordered his medium, and it came out medium rare. He didn't realize it until he had had a few bites, since the end pieces were fine. He sent it back, and it came back perfect. We shared the Canada Cake for dessert and it was GREAT!! The kids thought the Chocolate Moose was really cute!!!

Liberty Tree Tavern - This was another disappointment. The characters were VERY rushed, and Daisy was absent. The food was absolutely HORRIBLE!!! Everything here tasted like frozen food, with the exception of the salad, which was wilty and drenched with dressing. We definately won't be going back!!!

Cape May Cafe - Another disappointment. This used to be our favorite buffet/character breeakfast on property. All the food was so fresh and such a great selection. Well the selection was still there, but again the food lacked in the quaility we've received in the past.

Tempanyakki - We LOVE temanyakki dining, and this place didn't disappoint. It was SO MUCH better than our local place, that we don't know if we'll be able to go back there. The place is VERY busy, but the food was GREAT and so was our chef. We'll definately go back!!

Beaches and Cream - This is a GREAT place and the food is good. We all had burgers and fries, and shared a brownie a la mode for dessert. We were supposed to go to Narcoossee's this night, but unforunately the kids weren't cooperating, so we ate here instead. Not the same quality of Narcoossee's, but everyone enjoyed it the same!!!!

Just a note about the counter service places in the parks. They were SO CROWDED that just trying to eat after 12:00 became a problem. They actually ran out of hotdogs in Cosmic Rays at 12:45 one day!!!! We finally started eating around 11:30 to be able not to wait 30 minutes to have our order taken and be able to find a table with ease. So, if you plan on going to WDW in the next month or so, keep this in mind.

If anyone has any questions, please ask!!!

 

[holcomb-mania]

Wow, sorry to hear about your experience at LTT. Was anything worthwhile about the meal? Do you usually like that type/style of food? Did they rush you through your meal as well?

The reason I ask is that I have a PS for LTT before MNSSHP. Hopefully they will get their act together by then.

-----

I'm actually looking forward to hitting some counter service places we didn't get to last year: Cosmic Ray's, Tusker House/Flame Tree/Pizzafari, and TSPP.

I'm also trying to fit in Beaches & Cream to get that Kitchen Sink!

We're going in October. I wonder if summer crowds play a role in the dining experience? IOW, rushed characters/wait staff/chefs may cut corners and cook bad food, etc.

 

[fixintodie]

Thanks for the info. I'm really disappointed that the breakfast at Cape May was a loser. It's the same problem we experienced there back in February. There have been so many good things written about it that I figured we just hit it on a bad day. We've never had a problem with Donald's Breakfast at AK so I guess we'll go back there. But Cape May is so convenient to the BCV that we'll try it one more time, too. LTT was another surprise, we've never had problems there before. Good to see that you were happy with Le Cellier, it's my favorite restaurant at Epcot. Time to get back to planning out the PS arrangements for November.

 

[cacgac]

Thanks Lori, f
for the information on dining. My family of 4 will be going for the first time in 3 weeks. I am new to all of this, but have made some P.S.'s. Now, I am second guessing our first character breakfast at CP? Everyone I have spoken to has raved about it, but I know we all have different likes and dislikes. I went back and forth between CP and CM. Decided on CP because it was in the park and we are staying offsite and seemed the most convenient. I could still switch to CM?.....Anyone else been to CP recently? Is it really that bad? Will we be disappointed?

Also, I made a P.S. for dinner at Garden Grille at Epcot? I see you didn't mention it? Do you know anything about it? Where else would you suggest eating there? My family (two kids ages 6 and 11) are a bit fussy, probably wouldn't like Tempayaki? Any ideas?
I hear everyone raving about Le Cellier, but I am thinking it might be a bit pricy for my budget, and maybe not a kid spot?

Thanks for any info!

 

[Minniespal]

Thanks for sharing ~ Wonderful reviews!!!!!

 

[dcsetman]

My family just returned from DW last week and we had LUNCH at the CP with the Pooh characters. We loved it. We have always done CM before for breakfast and this was our first character lunch. The food was AWESOME and was hot and fresh. It's the best greenbean casserole I've ever had
So - I don't know about their breakfast, but I'd go in a heartbeat for lunch again.

 

[tar heel]

I agree with you about Teppanyaki. We have two Japanese steakhouses near us and both have good food, but neither is nearly as good as Teppanyaki. The chefs, however, are generally more entertaining at our local places. In June, we had a chef at Teppanyaki that we had had in 2002 -- he's pretty good but not nearly as entertaining as the local ones. We ate at Teppanyaki this past Saturday and had a truly most boring chef. He must have said about 20 words during his entire performance and did no tricks -- he didn't even clang the knives together when he first started. But he did a great job cooking the food -- it was as delicious as always.

 

[>>^..^<<]

Hey ~ great reviews making me hungry....

What was the "canada cake"? at Le Cellier


>>^..^<<

 

[jel0511]

O.K. Here are some answers:

>>^..^<< - Canada Cake is a chocolate cake that is filled with chocolate mousse, it was wonderful!!!

cacgac - I wouldn't stay away from CP based on my review alone. We might have just hit it on a bad day, and we've been so many times in the past couple of years so that's another reason we're staying away. I've never eaten at Garden Grill, so I can't help you there. Le Cellier is WONDERFUL, and my kids 5 and 2 had a great time. Our dinner at Le Cellier was under $100 for the 4 of us(including tip) and DH and I both had appetizers and a steak. We did share a dessert, and so did the kids, but they were so big, it wasn't necessary for more. Our character meals weren't that much less than Le Cellier, so we really feel we got our money's worth!!

holcomb-mania - Yes, I usually like this type of food, Thanksgiving is one of my favorite meals. It's just that all the food tastes like frozen food that would be served in a cafeteria, not made fresh. I had read several reviews of LTT that also felt this way, but others who rave about the food. I guess it is always to each his own, we LOVE Chef Mickey's, where others can't stand the food there.

 

[JANIE G.]

THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS. WHEN I READ THAT THE LIBERTY TREE WASN'T UP TO PAR, I WAS GLAD I DIDN'T GO THROUGH WITH A PRIORITY SEATING FOR OUR UPCOMING TRIP IN SEPTEMBER. SORRY IT DIDN'T WORK OUT FOR YOU, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAD A GREAT TRIP NONE THE LESS.

 

[cacgac]

Thanks Lori!

You have been most helpful. I am going to keep my CP reservation. Am thinking about changing to Le Cellier. It would be such a treat! Thanks again to you and to all who have helped me planning this first trip!
Cacgac