Garden Grill

[Denine]

I guess we are in the minority here. We ate at GG in March. The food was just plain gross. The character interaction was great. We were in the upper level and couldn't see a thing as far as the scenery goes. We were all very disappointed because we really wanted to eat there and enjoy it.
We have friends that went in August and felt the same way.

This is the only restaurant in WDW that we have come across that we will not go to again.

 

[TheUnknownComic]

I totally agree with both of these. We have loved every meal there and Chip and Dale are awesome.

We've seen lots of families sit their kids on the outside parts of the booths so that the kids could get in and out easier. We've also seen them just climb under the table.

I also agree. My kids loved it. They came around like 3 times before we finished. Great pics, food is Buffett food basically but good enough for the fun and experience!

 

[sarmat1]

We were there last month, and GG is now a must-do for future trips. Very good food and great character interaction (multiple times per character). They'll bring you out food refills on whatever you want. Definitely recommend.

 

[PrincessP]

We loved our visits there (once 3 yrs ago, once last week). THe food was better this trip. The kids had sweet potato fries that were yummy to everyone at the table. Adults had a trio of options...turkey/dressing....veggies w/tilapia (fish)....roast beef w/mashed potatoes.

The desserts for the adults and kids were yummy this time, too....not good 3 yrs ago.

yummy creamy cupcake in a paper cone for the kids....delicious berry fruit cobbler for the adults.

But the reason to go is for the character interaction which is really great.

 

[SoosieQ]

Ate there last Wed night and loved it!

 

[Cindy-rella]

This was the restaurant both my kids said was a must do for next summer's trip. We really love it.

 

[emmebear]

i did a review of our meal @ garden grill here: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2973740&page=4

it was a really great experience and the food was really tasty & fresh. this was the best character interaction of the entire trip. we saw all the characters three times during our dinner. chip & dale were fantastic!

i will definitely be returning...we had a blast!!

 

[sammielynn]

We are another group that loves the Garden Grill. A must do for my DS23 and DS21. The food is excellent. For those that thought it was gross, what was gross??

 

[DisneyHolidayFan]

I guess we are in the minority here. We ate at GG in March. The food was just plain gross. The character interaction was great. We were in the upper level and couldn't see a thing as far as the scenery goes. We were all very disappointed because we really wanted to eat there and enjoy it.
We have friends that went in August and felt the same way.

This is the only restaurant in WDW that we have come across that we will not go to again.

I agree! We were there in April with our son, daughter-in-law and three grandchildren. It turned out to be our worst meal of the trip - the amount they first brought to our table probably could have been consumed by just my husband. And most of it was not very good. We asked for more and it took forever. I have never seen my son eat so little. Waitress didn't seem like she wanted to be there. GG used to be our favorite restaurant but after the last two visits, we will not be returning for a while.

 

[Princess on the Run]

We are another group that loves the Garden Grill. A must do for my DS23 and DS21. The food is excellent. For those that thought it was gross, what was gross??

My biggest complaint with the food was the lack of choice. I will be the first to admit that I should have done my research and known it was a preset menu, so I take some responsibility for that. I was too focused on the characters and not enough on the menu.

The chicken legs were not a good choice for my kids (6, 4 and 2 at the time) because it took me forever to have to pull the small amount of meat off the bone for them to eat it (meanwhile, my food is getting cold). Their sides were mac and cheese and sweet potato fries. How about a vegetable? My kids eat veggies with their meals and I would assume most others do too. We ended up giving them the broccoli that came on the adult plate so they'd have something.

The adult food was covered in some kind of sauce or gravy. I can't remember exactly what it was but I am not a fan of condiments. I typically order things fairly plain or with the sauces on the side so I can just add a little as I go instead of having my food drenched in it.

It wasn't awful or the worst food we've ever eaten. It just wasn't anything we would have chosen for ourselves. We are fairly healthy eaters and it felt like junk food. One of our biggest raves about Disney food is the great options for healthy choices at most places. This one didn't match up.

At the end of the day, the kids liked the characters and we were still at WDW, so it's not all bad, we just won't go back. There are too many awesome restaurants there to waste a meal on something that was just "meh."

 

[juliebug1997]

That's the good thing about Disney: there are so many choices and, while it might not be right for you, it's right for some. Heck, even Tony's has some people who champion it (cough, my DH, cough, cough). What's right for some isn't right for all. I'm sorry that you didn't find something for your family; my DH loves Garden Grill because he likes the variety that they bring out to the table and their willingness to just bring out more of one or two things. Not all kids eat veggies so I'm not surprised to see that there are no veggies on the kids platter. However, since most kids come with at least one parent (and this restaurant is all you care to eat), and the servers probably expect that the kids will get some food off of their parent's plates.

 

[Princess on the Run]

That's the good thing about Disney: there are so many choices and, while it might not be right for you, it's right for some.

For sure!!

And at the end of the day, you're still at Disney so how bad could it be?

 

[Fartknocker]

We were there in August. Everything was great: food, service, character interaction, etc.

 

[juliebug1997]

For sure!!

And at the end of the day, you're still at Disney so how bad could it be?

A bad day at Disney is better than a good/decent day at home.

 

[Princess on the Run]

A bad day at Disney is better than a good/decent day at home.

Truer words were never spoken!

 

[herb102211]

We've always enjoyed our meals at the Garden Grill. We were there last week and the food was hot and plentiful. We always find the characters to be very interactive there.

 

[awoogala]

Hi all! Now that Whispering Canyon has changed their menu, I'm in need of another ADR for dinner. We have never eaten at the Garden Grill, and have'nt heard very good things about it, but wanted to try something new. Can anyone that has eaten there recently let me know what you think!
Thanks so much!

We loved it! We went for the characters (and being into Land-my kids love that ride! But it seriously had to be the best meal we ate at all of the world! Very simple, very fresh, very wholesome food, lovely salads, ability to refresh anything we liked, loved the dessertS! We had some of the best character interaction there- they seemed to take a lot more time at each table then we had at chef mickey's. WE jut went last September. I don't know why everyone is complaining, but there are always the chance it was an off day, new chef, etc!

 

[rainynight]

It was hands down our favorite meal last week! The restaurant is beautiful, very relaxing (especially for a character meal). Chip and Dale spent the most time with us than at any other character meal we did, Chip even colored with our little boy for awhile. The food was VERY good. The ouside booth seat is nice to sit in and I would recommend requesting that.

The three of us all vote it as our favorite meal during our 9 days at Disney with Tusker House (both breakfast and dinner) being a close second.

And the kids meal came with broccoli, so kids do get a vegetable. They will bring out more of anything, so we all ate some kid and some adult items.

The topping on the tilapia was incredible.