Lets talk Palo!

[taishartrueblood]

I havnt been to Palo yet since we do cruises as a family so part of the fun is eating with my parents, sister, brother-in-law, brother and nephews. That said, I think I simply have to try Palo this time. The food at the main dining rooms is good, not great, and I am a foodie. A couple of quick questions:

1) Is it worth the upcharge? I can answer this from looking at photos and reviews... YES!

2) I am not really a very big guy but I can put down a lot of food. What does a Palo brunch look like? Buffet and then ordering? http://eatingwdw.com/2014/02/14/brunch-at-disney-fantasys-palo/

3) What does the dinner look like? Can I order multiple entrees like in the main dining room? I looked at the menu and I am literally salivating! http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Palo-Menu.jpg

4) How long does a brunch take? A dinner?

5) How do we tip the waiters? Do we tip them? How much?

6) Is there a time I should try to aim for when getting reservations?

Any other tips or suggestions are most welcome!

 

[Maggie'sMom]

1) You seem to have answered this yourself.
2) Yes, buffet for some items, then you can order some items like the pizza and chicken parm.
3) I have read of some people being told they cannot order multiple entrees, but other people have posted they were allowed. But be forewarned, you will be beyond stuffed even eating just one entree.
4) I'd say budget an hour and a half for brunch and two hours for dinner. Although your server can make your meal be either shorter or longer at your request.
5) I tip, and I base my tip on what a comparable meal would cost in a regular restaurant. I tipped $20, but you will get a large range of answers on this. You will be presented with a bill at the end of the meal and you can add a tip to that to be charged to your stateroom.
6) I believe timing is a personal preference. I've had both an early dinner at 6:00 (I wanted to be able to accompany my DD to the MDR that night and we had second seating for dinner) and a later dinner at 8:00 (my solo cruise). Both times worked out well for me. Brunch, I've picked 11:00 both times I've done it. That time just feels like a good compromise. Not too early so I'm wondering why I'm eating chicken parm in the morning, and not too late so I don't give in and grab something from Cabanas to eat for breakfast.

 

[ozliz]

1. Yes, definitely agree it's worth it.

2. Brunch is buffet and some items cooked to order. We didn't order that much as we had more than enough but the pizza we had was delicious. They never really said there was a limit on the ordering. I have always found that a Disney server was never happy if you weren't struggling to explain that really nothing more could possibly fit in your stomach before they let you go.

3. I loved dinner more than brunch which goes against the trend. Again I was stuffed. The servings are not huge (but not tiny either) but there are enough that you wouldn't want them to be.

4. Dinner takes a couple of hours. Brunch can take less depending on how fast you eat (and decide nothing more fits). My mum likes to pace herself so we took brunch slow. There was never any pressure to leave.

5. There are many views on how much to tip the waiters, see other threads on the Dis. As for how, they bring you the receipt similar to when you order any drinks that cost extra elsewhere on the ship. You enter the tip amount and sign and the whole lot goes on your onboard account. Be aware that coffee can cost extra. They offered my mum coffee at the end of brunch so she ordered espresso and then charged us for it. Didn't say it was extra when they offered it. I thought that was wrong because all the other drinks were included and we didn't have any of them so surely one coffee wasn't such an ask. Also, where we're from espresso is standard coffee (no one drinks drip filter coffee).

6.As for timing. We chose mid morning for brunch after skipping breakfast. I needed to wait late enough that we could eat a large meal and make the most of it but not so late that skipping breakfast would leave us light headed by the time brunch was due. Dinner I chose around 8pm so I could still see the show first (usually do second seating for dinner anyway). If you have kids I guess that would have a bigger influence on your dinner time so they don't have to stay in the clubs too late waiting for you.

Enjoy, I certainly did!

 

[diznymom]

1) Yes.
2) Yes. You start out w/ a buffet. Your waiter walks you through and explains everything to you. I've read that they now serve you at the buffet (no sneeze guards). You then get to order something hot from the menu. (I think they have a sample plate of everything on display). If you are at least age 21, you get 1 glass of champagne or a mimosa free.
3) Dinner looks fantastic. It is a bit slower paced than the MDRs. When we were there, yes, you could order more than 1 entree, appetizer, dessert, etc.
4) It is a more slower paced. Actual time....IDK b/c I am on vacation time....no clocks / watches.
5) Tips are up to you. You can leave cash, or add it to your signed receipt. How much.........that one is muchly debated. DCL used to say that the tip was included in the price.
6) I think that is a personal preference. For us, we like to eat brunch around 10; dinner around 5:30 - 6:00

Suggestions:
*Come hungry......lots of food
*Dinner dessert - chocolate souffle
*Dress up and enjoy the pampering
*Enjoy the food. It is much better than the MDRs.
*Take your mom with you. She will love it. (especially the brunch)
*Try to do both brunch (at sea days only) and dinner.

 

[taishartrueblood]

Thank you all!

 

[com_op_2000]

We prefer the brunch to the dinner, had a meal time of 11:30.
We went to a brunch, ordered hot items from the menu, went through the hot/cold buffet twice, and dessert buffet twice. Our waiter informed us that we had not eaten enough, so he went to the dessert table, loaded a plate with desserts, and asked us to take it back to the room. We then took that plate to the movie theater that evening.

 

[southerngirl528]

Agree with all the posters here, OP! Palo is fabulous, from the food, to the ambiance to the service. It is truly one of DH and my very favorite restaurants ANY where. The food is excellent and I cannot imagine how anyone, no matter how big an eater they are, leaving without being stuffed.

Remy? Now that's another story as far as I'm concerned. Fabulous but holy cow, did we rack up a ginormous bill!!

 

[JMHDisney]

I love Palo, both brunch and dinner. At brunch I start with the strawberry soup, then hit the buffet. Then I have them make me eggs Benedict. Then I have them make me pizza. Then I eat dessert. Then I explode! And still I've had servers bring me extra dishes both at brunch and dinner. I usually tip $20-30 per person depending on service and whether we have ordered wine (like other posters, I base my tip on what the meal would have cost at a nice restaurant - dinner with a bottle or more of wine is going to be more than brunch with a couple mimosas so I adjust my tip accordingly).

I think around 11 works well for lunch and around 8 for dinner, but that's really a matter of personal preference and what else you have going on.

 

[cedricandsophie]

Love Palo. Go every time we are on shop. We have ordered two small portions of entrees and two appetizers. Never had anyone turn us down. My favorite thing is the antipasto tray. I could just eat off that for dinner.

As platinum we get it free for all eligible peopke in room. We had two rooms both with platinum so we took 5 people. Because there is no charge they give a bill at the end showing zero balance. We left 50 tip for dinner and $2 for the two lattes we had after dinner. We always buy a wine package and you can use it up there too.

We have never had brunch and usually do dinner about 730.