Downtown Disney Restaurants

[monty]

I have booked all our ADR's with the exception of dinner,11th Dec, which we plan to have at DDM somewhere. Now, all the ADR's I made are with the knowledge I have gained from these forums, otherwise as a first timer...I wouldn't have had a clue! So, that brings me to DDM. I know what's there, I've read All Ears Menus,etc but I have observed that except for the occasional Rain Forest, these restaurants don't get much of a mention on these forums.
Why is that? Are they pretty ordinary? Or do people think DDM is not worth visiting, in particular to eat. If we can not make up our mind....are ADR's necessary for that area for that time of year?
Thanks as always for any advice you have to offer me.

 

[dcgrumpy]

I like Portobello Yacht Club, this November we are trying Fulton's Crab House.

 

[Forever42]

We love Bongo's if we're doing a sit down restaurant at DTD. The food is excellent (not as good as back home, Ybor City, but still), and the atmosphere is great in the evenings.

We've done Wolfgang Puck's Cafe as well, at the sushi bar (FH had pizza once, pasta the second time), and loved it.

 

[JMD]

I really like Fulton's Crab House. I'm from New England, and I'm used to getting good, fresh seafood, and I have to say the food at Fulton's is excellent. I've eaten there several times and have never been disappointed.

If your looking for something more casual and don't mind the walk to the West Side, check out House of Blues. The food is good, as is the atmosphere. If you go there when they have a live band, it can get really noisey, but otherwise its a fun place to eat.

 

[Copperline]

Fulton's is excellent. We've eaten at Planet Hollywood and it wasn't bad. I had a pretty good burger. It was just very slow service, as I recall.

 

[Tinkerbell's Mom]

I personally love Rainforest Cafe and was really upset to see it's not one of the restaurants on the dining plan. So that would definitely have been my first choice. We ate at Planet Hollywood last year and were NOT impressed, the food was not good and the service was just ok.

 

[cinderminnie]

Fulton Crab House is a favorite of ours and we always go at each trip to Disney. We have done Rainforest Cafe and it is ok for a burger and fries kind of meal and it is LOUD in there! We will be trying Portabello Yacht Club or Wolfgang Puck's Upstairs on the next trip.
Try FCH for good seafood and steak.

 

[michaelwilliammidd]

I'm a fan of HOB for a table service meal and I am a huge fan of Wolfgang Puck Express in the Marketplace. I never miss it.

 

[DVCJEN]

we really enjoy Fulton's!

 

[Chickkypoo]

I eat a Wolfgang Pucks every trip. I love the food there, and the service has always been good. I can't wait to have their Rosemary chicken and garlic mashed potatoes again! So Yummy!

We tried Planet Hollywood last trip, as we received a $25 meal voucher with our hotel package. It was horrible! The service was terrible, very slow and the staff were rude. The food wasn't even that great either. I would never go there again.

 

[Texian@WDW]

Maybe these restaurants aren't frequented as much by vacationers only because they are not close to the parks or because of time restraints. I think the local people go to the restaurants because there is not an admission (someone correct me if I'm wrong). We like to go to DTD on our last day to shop and pick up souvenirs. We definately enjoy the restaurants while there. This year we are trying House of Blues. We have eaten at Rainforest and Portobellos. Don't bypass DTD if you have the time - the shopping is great and it's relaxing.

 

[Forever42]

Speaking of DTD restaurants, Fulton's got a review in one of our local papers, and it isn't pretty:

http://www.orlandoweekly.com/dining/review.asp?rid=9780

 

[WDW LOVR]

We love HOB!

And the Earl of Sandwich is great if you're just looking for a quick meal.

 

[blueangel]

For us the restaurants at Downtown Disney just don't have the same magic atmosphere as the "real" Disney places. Rainforest Cafe, HoB, and Planet Hollywood are all places that we've eaten at elsewhere, and therefore they aren't special for us on a Disney trip. Bongos was good, but service was slow - an issue when we had La Nouba tickets. We were going to try Fulton's this Christmas Eve, but I had second thoughts after reading some reviews and looking at the menu. We're going to go to Boma and just deal with the drive. On the other hand, I can attest that Wolfgang Puck Express has excelellent pizza, and Ghirardelli's Fountains are so few and far between that I never pass them up.

 

[dawgfan]

You either love it or hate it. Lately I have seen more love than hate. The folks in this thread have seemed to like it mostly and there were some New Englanders ( who almost always bash this place as if there is no other place on earth with good seafood). That simply is not true but they do have great seafood. The link to the Orlando newspaper was interesting but jaded at best on this place. The author seems to believe that anyone who is a "tourist" could not possibly spot good food anywhere. One current theme there, was the report of the service. It seems to be lackluster. Whatever, I will try that restaurant this summer as the menu seems to be perfect for my families taste. As for the DTD restaurants as a whole they get less report here as they are an "outside attraction". I believe most folks get to DTD once per trip and probably go to the same place year after year. I simply don't think they put that much thought into it. I have been to DTD twice in my life. I have NEVER eaten at a DTD restaurant so what do I know? Only what I read here... same as you. BUT...I know there are good restaurants based on reviews I have read and they typically are Fultons and Wolfgangs. Everything else seems to have a wide variation. The Portabello Yacht Club is just below them in popularity report it seems.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

We really enjoy Portobello Yacht Club , it is one of our favorite restaurants. We will be eating there in a couple weeks.

 

[jerbroni]

My favorite restaurant in DTD is the House of Blues. We eat there late on our first night every trip. We usually stick around until after the band starts playing at 11-11:30. It can be loud, but it's always a good time.