I ate at many table service restaurants in my recent trip and found that WDW is incredably solo dining friendly. I ate at: The Wave, Boma, Grand Floridian Cafe, Tappen Edo, Chefs de France, Yachtsman Steakhouse, California Grill, Le Cellier, Big River Grill and Momma Melrose. I didn't sit at any bars and ate at prime dining times as opposed to what others seem to reccomend and I felt really comfortable. The waiters are really friendly and seem to go out of their way to make sure you are having a good meal. I also would look at the pictures on my digital camera or update my profile on Facebook with my Blackberry if I got bored. I never felt rushed and often would linger over a cup of coffee or tea and releax and enjoy the suroundings.
The only complaints I had was the closeness of the tables at Le Cellier...I was way too close to the people around me and felt that if I looked around me other tables would think I was staring at them... the food and wait staff were wonderful but I just felt a bit cramped.
The other restaurant I didn't like was the California Grill. It was on a Friday night and was very busy. I should have asked to sit at the bar here because it looked like fun. I did get a table by the window and even though I was too late for the MK fireworks I did see Illuminations over at Epcot. The gripe with this restaurant is that the food was bad...tough steak and very noisy...also the waitress was trying to be nice and make conversation but I could tell she was just going through the motions and nothing I was saying was sinking in. All of this might have been coloured by the fact that I had a migraine
but I just wouldn't want to dine there again.
One great thing I found as a solo diner was that I had no problems getting in to a restaurant. For some reasons I made my ADR's late at night but I found I was hungry around my normal supper time of 6pm
I found that if I went to the podium and checked in early and let them know I was willing to wait they got me in within a few minutes. I know at Chefs de France I checked in around 8pm and asked if I could sit by the window so I could see Illuminations. The hostess told me that it would be very unlikely and I was very polite and told her that I understood if she couldn't but I was willing to wait. A few minutes later my name was called and I had a nice table by the window
I don't know if it was because I was nice to her or because I was a solo diner or a combanation of both
Anyway...please don't hesitate to dine by yourself...no one looked at me strangly (at least I didn't notice it) and it's a shame to miss out on such great food!
Susan
Another good bar to eat at is the one in Planet Hollowood
