Garden Grill - what's up?

[jennykay]

I've never been to the Garden Grill, and I made ADR's for September. I have seen a few posts where people have disliked the Garden Grill - but no explaination as to why. What do you guys think? Have you been? Do you love it? Hate it? Why? I don't want to waste my time/money!
Thanks!!

 

[jenjersnap]

It's my family's fave meal at the World. My boys always insist in going there. It's comfort food - catfish, turkey and flank steak with potatoes and veggies - but miles better than the pre-packaged comfort food at Liberty Tree Tavern, in our opinion. Dessert has changed during the times we've been there, some are better than others. The fruit crisp is always great.

Character interaction is wonderful. We like to make our ADRs for off times because the characters will give you so much attention.

My boys love to watch the Land spin by (very, very slowly) and listen to the sounds floating up.

It's really relaxing for me, the mom, because it's family style and I don't have to jump up to run to the buffet every 10 seconds.

Ultimately, these reviews are so subjective. I think you need to try it for yourself to know if it suits your family. Have fun!

 

[budbeerlady]

We had a great meal there in October. We all liked it, I liked being in your own booth away from other diners in the place.

 

[Crystal0608]

We went last year for our 1st Disney trip and loved it! I think we went early at 11:30am. The food is awesome, the veggies tasted garden fresh. The kids get a separate plate of tenders, mac & cheese, maybe something else so between both plates there is a large variety. You get plenty of food and the way the tables are, you don't see the other diners. The character interaction was great and we got lots of great photos of Chip, Dale, Pluto, and Farmer Mickey.

 

[rsmithx]

It's one of our family's few traditions, it's the first restaurant we usually go to when we arrive.

We absolutely love it, you get to see Mickey, it's never TOO busy, and the food is great.

 

[TDISFAMILY]

the last time I went was in 2003 and we all loved it....I plan on going again in Dec. I thought all the food was good and very realxed with the characters because of the family style buffet.

 

[vellamint]

We went and I and my husband enjoyed the atmosphere, the kids enjoyed the character interaction and it was just great sitting in the moving booth but the food was not so enjoyable.

 

[markm0926]

We loved the food, theming and character interaction very much.

I am suprised too that we don't hear much about the good old Garden grill.

 

[fostrmom2mny]

I must admit that I was a bit disappointed in it the first time that I dined there. I guess I was expecting more "adventure" than the slooow moving tables. But my family really liked the food. I went back my next visit (solo) and the food was still good. Character interaction wasn't nearly as good as it had been when it was the family.

We made ADRs for our Sept trip when my girls asked to go back. The turkey is really good!

 

[jimmalru80]

We went once for DW's birthday. It's just not for us. We do not like the "family style" plate that is served. It's too much on the same plate. I know that some people love it, but we prefer to pass.

 

[tinkandpan]

I agree with the AP. The character interaction was terrific but the food just doesn't appeal to our family. We aren't into the bland family style food like such. Our waiter was also horrid as well.

 

[Harambe]

Pros:

Character interaction is not rushed at all! Chip once sat at our table and colored a picture with our kids.

Great food, adult and kids' skillets, and wonderful salad (dinner only)

Slow revolving restaurant with nifty scenery

Farmer Mickey (come on - doesn't get any cuter!)

Cons:

They changed the dessert to a berry puff thing that none of us liked, but they may have changed it to something else by now.

 

[tfiga]

We love it and have ADR's for August... It is a must do for our family... The food is good, not great but the setting is one of the best, service is usually good and the character interaction is the best we have had in the world...I say give it a try.

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

We loved it! The food tasted great, great character interaction as well. The other cool part is that alot of the food you eat is grown right there at Epcot in The Land. So when you take the Land ride, it is neet to see your dinner growing!

 

[englishrose47]

We went there last year! We were family of the day!! The character interaction was awesome but I'm not sure itwasn't because we were :The Family" We got a special appie for being "The Family" Our pix were put in an album with our name and we got a special FP for the day!! As for the food I loved the catfish , no one else likes fish, the potatoes were awesomeand plenty of kids mac & cheese and chicen fingers! The kids loved it and want to go back but DD did not like the food. She didn't like Family style, prefered buffets or just ordering what you want!!

 

[momof2mouseketeers]

We really enjoy it. It's a must do each trip for us We've been the "family of the day" before and it was really great. They really make you feel special but even when we weren't, we still had a wonderful time. We all qualify as adults, but they still bring out the kids plate as well, since that's what my son likes
The orange blossom butter for the rolls is terrific!

 

[mom2aredhead]

For us, it was our least favorite meal during our trip last May. We did not go back in Dec, and with all of the other dining choices in Epcot, I don't think we'll be back there anytime soon.

If you don't get a table on the lower level, your view of "The Land" as the restaurant rotates is of "The Sky", so its basically a view of nothing. Our server was terrible (but that can happen anywhere) and the characters were fine, but I don't think they were any more fun there than at Chef Mickeys or anywhere else.

For us, the food was just OK - flank steak and green beans were good, turkey was beyond dry, the catfish was OK but a little greasy, and the dessert was downright gross. The pastry was very undercooked and rubbery, covered with lumpy vanilla pudding and a spoonful of berries.

Lots of people have had great experiences there, so don't discount it because of my opinion. Maybe we were there on an off night, but we were completely underwhelmed.

 

[PrincessDadx2]

We have always had great character interaction when we have gone. Characters visted 2 or 3 times by the time we left.

Last time in March the food was noticeably worse. No fresh vegetables at lunch. We noticed the same thing at Liberty Tree Tavern. They seemed to downgrade the buffet food which was a negative for us.

 

[slyjly]

We were there in May of '06 and we loved it. There were 10 of us - 5 adults and 5 teens. The food was very good, everyone was satified with it. We all are fine with family style dining. The only thing we didn't like was that they sat us all in one booth and one of the girls plate was right were the two tables were pushed together. It made it a little awkward for her. The character interaction was fun. We didn't go back in '07 because we were trying to experience as many different restaurants as possible. But we want to go back in '09 and hope to eat there agin.

 

[Stitchfans]

This past March we had a great meal also. Character interaction was awesome. Plan on going back there next March for our upcoming trip for spring break.