tkyes
<font color=purple>DIS Earth Angel! :)<br><font c
- Joined
- May 11, 2000
Restaurant Reviews
Just DH and I on vacation for 4 days and then I went solo for 2 days. I would say that we are average as to what type of foods we like, DH being slightly more adventurous than me. I tend to avoid hot and spicy things but DH will eat pretty much anything.
We did a combination of counter service and sit down and didnt make it to any character meals this trip.
Here we go...
Counter Service
Tusker House - Our first stop of our trip! I had heard good things about the Tusker House and we werent disappointed. DH had the salmon with green beans and rice and I had the rottiserrie chicken with veggies and potatoes we shared a pop because we didnt see a drinking fountain to fill our water bottle. DH was a little worried that the portion wouldnt be big enough for him but he was very happy. The salmon was very flavorful and he loved the rice. Mine was great as well. A great diversion from the usual counter service food. We will definitely return to Tusker House. Our total for lunch was right around $19.00
Catalina Eddies / MGM - We had a lot of problems finding someplace that would take our money and feed us a couple of times on this trip and this was one of them. It was about 5:45 pm and Fantasmic was starting at 7:00. Apparently pretty much everything shuts down for dinner at 5:00 at MGM which we were not aware of and pretty frustrated by. Hollywood and Vine was still seating, but we werent interested in that. We asked at the H&V counter and they mentioned that most things were open near the Anaheim Produce stand. So we headed that way in hopes that something would interest us. We ended up with the BBQ chicken pizza and a side salad at Catalina Eddies. While it wasnt a gourmet meal (which we werent expecting anyway) we were pretty surprised at how good the pizza was. We just ordered 1 pizza and 1 salad and shared. A pretty good meal for only around $9
Columbia Harbor House / Magic Kingdom - I had heard before on the DIS that the Harbor House is a great place for counter service so I was anxious to try it out. The first time we tried to visit was another episode of No one wants to Feed Us! as it closed at 5:00 and we were looking for dinner around 5:30. I think that night we ended up with a turkey leg because nothing else was open. We ended up back at Columbia Harbor House one day for lunch. We shared a bowl of the clam chowder in bread bowl and a tuna sandwich. We didnt think the clam chowder was quite as good as everyone says it is, but considering youre at a counter service, its definitely better than you would think. The tuna sandwich was very good too. They didnt over-do it on the mayo and the bread was a very good wheat bread. Our lunch here came to a grand total of $12.00
Fountainview Cafe / Epcot - DH wanted me to mention our stop here to everyone as he was pretty impressed. We were looking for a quick breakfast on the go at Epcot one morning and we stopped at the Fountainview Cafe. I just had a cinnamon pecan croissant (I love being on vacation!). It was very good. Inside the croissant was a gooey cinnamon filling, yum! DH had a breakfast pocket. It was basically a flaky crust filled with eggs, cheese and sausage (DH loves vacation too
). It was pretty big and DH thought it was very good and filling. We spent $7.00 here with the breakfast pocket being only 3.99, which DH thought was a great deal for as much food as he got.
Sit Down Restaurants
ESPN Zone - Boardwalk - While the ESPN Zone wasnt our first choice we decided to eat here so we could watch what turned out to be an incredibly horrible football game. We didnt arrive as early as we would have liked so we had to stand in line, but the line moved fairly quickly. DH had the hot roast beef sandwich and I had the grilled chicken sandwich with swiss cheese. Our food was standard sports bar fare, but we have no complaints. I had a mudslide and DH had a couple of beers in the process of watching the game. Later in the evening we also shared the apple brown betty with ice cream (an extra $1 for the ice cream). It came out nice and warm and was very good. We will return to ESPN if we want to watch a game, but I think we would eat someplace else on the Boardwalk if there wasnt a game. If you dont count drinks our meal with entrees and dessert was around $23.00
Brown Derby / MGM - We had a PS reservation for lunch at 1:00 at the Brown Derby. We were ready to eat a bit early though and really needed a break. We walked into the restaurant around 10:45 or so and asked them if we could change our PS. The said just to come back at lunch time and they would get us seated. We returned at 11:30 and put our names down for lunch. I think we waited about 10 minutes. We loved the interior of this restaurant. It was our first time and we both thought it was really fun. I started out with portobello mushroom, Laura Chenel's chèvre cheese ravioli with tomato-fennel sauce and basil and DH had a cup of tortilla soup. Both were very good (we share well)! We then shared the Grilled 10 oz. NY Strip Steak marinated in Ale with chimichurri and boniato mashed potatoes. Our waiter was nice enough to let them know that we were sharing our entree and it came out already split in half for us. Neither one of us had any problems finishing our halves, it was soooo good! The flavor on the steak was wonderful! We had to finish off with a piece of grapefruit cake since I had heard how amazing it was. I think because the cake was so hyped up, it disappointed me a little. We both liked it and dont get me wrong, we finished it, but neither one of us thought it was fantastic. We left very happy and very full! Total for lunch with DHs beer was $44.00
Coral Reef / Epcot - We ate here on our honeymoon 4 1/2 years ago and decided we were long overdue for a return trip. Both of us were craving the lobster bisque so thats what we started out with. I dont even want to know the nutritional information on this soup, on vacation, all rules are out the window. We then shared a grilled mahi mahi on a bed of garlic mashed potatoes. The potatoes were full of garlic and very good. The fish was a little bland, without the potatoes it would have been too bland and needed some seasoning. We passed on dessert today. Still one of our favorite restaurants we will definitely be back to watch the fish and enjoy a great lunch. Total for lunch with no beverages was $31.00
River Roost / Port Orleans Riverside - This is the little piano bar area of POR right before you enter Boatwrights. We stopped in here for a drink and a snack when we couldnt find a counter service open at Magic Kingdom one night. We ended up staying here for a few hours as we stumbled upon the infamous Bob Jackson! Ive heard so much about Bob and he lived up to what Ive heard. He was very entertaining to say the least. Anyway, back to the food. We had an order of crab cakes and shrimp cocktail to eat (both were good). DH had a beer (or 3 or 4 by the end of the night), I ended up drinking a Bayou Haze (just ok) and a Miss Melonies Colada (very good)! No, we arent alcoholics, I told you were were here for quite a while, a lot longer than we thought we would be.
Our total with all of our drinks was $52.00
Spoodles / Boardwalk - We have only eaten breakfast and Spoodles and we enjoyed that so much that we decided to try dinner. We walked through Epcot and made our way to Spoodles for a 5:00 PS. We started out with the roasted garlic and four cheese flatbread - it was sooo good! I dont know exactly what kind of cheeses are on that, but its a great combination. We also added chicken to the flatbread. DH had a soup of the day, but I dont recall exactly what it was. It was a tomato base with sausage and vegetables. Whatever it was, was very good. We then split the Orecchiette Pasta - "Little ear" shaped pasta with chicken, spinach, pepperoncini peppers, olives, tomatoes and peas tossed in a light chicken broth with feta cheese. We added shrimp to it as well for an additional cost. DH liked this more than I did. He rated the soup and flatbread higher, but still thought it was good. I didnt eat a lot of mine. It was a little spicy and I didnt care for the taste of the chicken. We will definitely be returning to Spoodles for dinner again, well just try something different. Our total for dinner with 2 glasses of wine and no dessert was $52.00
Plaza Restaurant / Magic Kingdom - This is review 1 of 2 for the Plaza as we visited it once together and I stopped by on a solo day. Our trip together we just shared a club sandwich minus the mayonnaise and that was it. We passed on ice cream and decided to stop in candy store on our way out instead. The club sandwich is good although it could have used a slice of cheese. We love the plaza because its a nice place to sit down and you dont have to make a PS for it, so its flexible. Our total for just our club sandwich was $11.00
Plaza - 2 of 2 - It was my birthday on my solo day and I didnt feel like eating at a counter service nor did I feel like eating a big plate of pasta at Tonys so I decided to eat at the plaza again. I splurged on a hamburger with french fries and a strawberry malt (remember, its my birthday, no oinking noises please!) The hamburger wasnt the best burger Ive ever had, I actually prefer Beaches and Cream for a hamburger (we ate there too, Ill get to that in a minute). The malt was very good and the plus side, I didnt have to fight my DH for the cherry on top! Total for burger and malt $16.00
Kona Cafe / Polynesian - This was another solo day for me as DH was in a work meeting. My choices were either go back to an off property hotel and try and find some place to eat in one of their stuffy restaurants or I could continue my trip on the monorail and get off at the Poly. Hmmm...tough decision! Kona cafe it is! I dont think Ive ever had a bad meal at the Poly and this time was no exception. I did decide however that I didnt want a whole entree all by myself so I ordered the soup of the day which was a creamy potato soup and the crab cake appetizer. The crab cakes were full of meat and very good, the soup was great as well. Oh, I also had a little mai tai while I was waiting for my food. Total including my beverage was $21.00
Beaches and Cream / Beach Club - This was a last minute addition to our plans. We were wiped out from our day in the park and needed an evening off. I told DH the plans were up to him. His perfect evening in WDW? Beaches and Cream followed by mini golfing! We walked right into Beaches and Cream around 5:15. We each had hamburgers, DH a cheeseburger actually and we shared a malt. Burgers, fries and ice cream were delicious as always! We never dislike a meal at Beaches and Cream. Total for dinner and malt (just water to drink) was $20.00
California Grill / Contemporary - This was what I had been waiting for all week, my birthday dinner! We had a PS for 6:10 and were seated shortly after that at a table that had a good view of the Magic Kingdom. DH had called ahead and mentioned it was my birthday, but I also had my birthday pin on, so it wasnt a big secret. Our server said happy birthday as well as the person who seated us, but that was pretty much the extent of the birthday festivities at CG. We started out with a flatbread, of course I dont remember the exact description of it, but it had chicken, olives and 2 kinds of cheese. It was very good!!! DH had the Oak Fired Beef Filet with Cheddar Potato Gratin, Buttered Green Beans, and Tamarind Barbecue. And I had the Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Creamy Polenta, Cremini Mushrooms, and Zinfandel Glaze. Both were amazing! We ordered the right things because even though we agreed both of our meals were great, I liked mine better than DHs and he liked his better than mine. We finished off our meal with the warm valroha chocolate cake with white chocolate ice cream. They added a little piece of chocolate that said happy birthday from the california grill to our dessert. It was a perfect meal. Well definitely be saving our pennies to go back again. Our total for appetizer, dinner, dessert and a glass of wine each was $94.
We always eat way too much at WDW, but enjoy every minute of our gluttonous behavior as we dont eat like that at home!
Our only disappointment would be trying to find a quick dinner both at MK and MGM, less than 2 hours before the park closed. I really didnt think that would be such an issue. Now I know to plan farther ahead for those times. We did also have one morning where we couldnt find anything for a quick breakfast at MK - we had passed the Main Street bakery already. We ended up eating french fries at Cosmic Rays at 10:30 in the morning
even I dont usually go that far on vacation, but we were starving.
Thanks for reading! Any question let me know.
Tamie
Just DH and I on vacation for 4 days and then I went solo for 2 days. I would say that we are average as to what type of foods we like, DH being slightly more adventurous than me. I tend to avoid hot and spicy things but DH will eat pretty much anything.
We did a combination of counter service and sit down and didnt make it to any character meals this trip.
Here we go...
Counter Service
Tusker House - Our first stop of our trip! I had heard good things about the Tusker House and we werent disappointed. DH had the salmon with green beans and rice and I had the rottiserrie chicken with veggies and potatoes we shared a pop because we didnt see a drinking fountain to fill our water bottle. DH was a little worried that the portion wouldnt be big enough for him but he was very happy. The salmon was very flavorful and he loved the rice. Mine was great as well. A great diversion from the usual counter service food. We will definitely return to Tusker House. Our total for lunch was right around $19.00
Catalina Eddies / MGM - We had a lot of problems finding someplace that would take our money and feed us a couple of times on this trip and this was one of them. It was about 5:45 pm and Fantasmic was starting at 7:00. Apparently pretty much everything shuts down for dinner at 5:00 at MGM which we were not aware of and pretty frustrated by. Hollywood and Vine was still seating, but we werent interested in that. We asked at the H&V counter and they mentioned that most things were open near the Anaheim Produce stand. So we headed that way in hopes that something would interest us. We ended up with the BBQ chicken pizza and a side salad at Catalina Eddies. While it wasnt a gourmet meal (which we werent expecting anyway) we were pretty surprised at how good the pizza was. We just ordered 1 pizza and 1 salad and shared. A pretty good meal for only around $9
Columbia Harbor House / Magic Kingdom - I had heard before on the DIS that the Harbor House is a great place for counter service so I was anxious to try it out. The first time we tried to visit was another episode of No one wants to Feed Us! as it closed at 5:00 and we were looking for dinner around 5:30. I think that night we ended up with a turkey leg because nothing else was open. We ended up back at Columbia Harbor House one day for lunch. We shared a bowl of the clam chowder in bread bowl and a tuna sandwich. We didnt think the clam chowder was quite as good as everyone says it is, but considering youre at a counter service, its definitely better than you would think. The tuna sandwich was very good too. They didnt over-do it on the mayo and the bread was a very good wheat bread. Our lunch here came to a grand total of $12.00
Fountainview Cafe / Epcot - DH wanted me to mention our stop here to everyone as he was pretty impressed. We were looking for a quick breakfast on the go at Epcot one morning and we stopped at the Fountainview Cafe. I just had a cinnamon pecan croissant (I love being on vacation!). It was very good. Inside the croissant was a gooey cinnamon filling, yum! DH had a breakfast pocket. It was basically a flaky crust filled with eggs, cheese and sausage (DH loves vacation too
). It was pretty big and DH thought it was very good and filling. We spent $7.00 here with the breakfast pocket being only 3.99, which DH thought was a great deal for as much food as he got.Sit Down Restaurants
ESPN Zone - Boardwalk - While the ESPN Zone wasnt our first choice we decided to eat here so we could watch what turned out to be an incredibly horrible football game. We didnt arrive as early as we would have liked so we had to stand in line, but the line moved fairly quickly. DH had the hot roast beef sandwich and I had the grilled chicken sandwich with swiss cheese. Our food was standard sports bar fare, but we have no complaints. I had a mudslide and DH had a couple of beers in the process of watching the game. Later in the evening we also shared the apple brown betty with ice cream (an extra $1 for the ice cream). It came out nice and warm and was very good. We will return to ESPN if we want to watch a game, but I think we would eat someplace else on the Boardwalk if there wasnt a game. If you dont count drinks our meal with entrees and dessert was around $23.00
Brown Derby / MGM - We had a PS reservation for lunch at 1:00 at the Brown Derby. We were ready to eat a bit early though and really needed a break. We walked into the restaurant around 10:45 or so and asked them if we could change our PS. The said just to come back at lunch time and they would get us seated. We returned at 11:30 and put our names down for lunch. I think we waited about 10 minutes. We loved the interior of this restaurant. It was our first time and we both thought it was really fun. I started out with portobello mushroom, Laura Chenel's chèvre cheese ravioli with tomato-fennel sauce and basil and DH had a cup of tortilla soup. Both were very good (we share well)! We then shared the Grilled 10 oz. NY Strip Steak marinated in Ale with chimichurri and boniato mashed potatoes. Our waiter was nice enough to let them know that we were sharing our entree and it came out already split in half for us. Neither one of us had any problems finishing our halves, it was soooo good! The flavor on the steak was wonderful! We had to finish off with a piece of grapefruit cake since I had heard how amazing it was. I think because the cake was so hyped up, it disappointed me a little. We both liked it and dont get me wrong, we finished it, but neither one of us thought it was fantastic. We left very happy and very full! Total for lunch with DHs beer was $44.00
Coral Reef / Epcot - We ate here on our honeymoon 4 1/2 years ago and decided we were long overdue for a return trip. Both of us were craving the lobster bisque so thats what we started out with. I dont even want to know the nutritional information on this soup, on vacation, all rules are out the window. We then shared a grilled mahi mahi on a bed of garlic mashed potatoes. The potatoes were full of garlic and very good. The fish was a little bland, without the potatoes it would have been too bland and needed some seasoning. We passed on dessert today. Still one of our favorite restaurants we will definitely be back to watch the fish and enjoy a great lunch. Total for lunch with no beverages was $31.00
River Roost / Port Orleans Riverside - This is the little piano bar area of POR right before you enter Boatwrights. We stopped in here for a drink and a snack when we couldnt find a counter service open at Magic Kingdom one night. We ended up staying here for a few hours as we stumbled upon the infamous Bob Jackson! Ive heard so much about Bob and he lived up to what Ive heard. He was very entertaining to say the least. Anyway, back to the food. We had an order of crab cakes and shrimp cocktail to eat (both were good). DH had a beer (or 3 or 4 by the end of the night), I ended up drinking a Bayou Haze (just ok) and a Miss Melonies Colada (very good)! No, we arent alcoholics, I told you were were here for quite a while, a lot longer than we thought we would be.
Our total with all of our drinks was $52.00Spoodles / Boardwalk - We have only eaten breakfast and Spoodles and we enjoyed that so much that we decided to try dinner. We walked through Epcot and made our way to Spoodles for a 5:00 PS. We started out with the roasted garlic and four cheese flatbread - it was sooo good! I dont know exactly what kind of cheeses are on that, but its a great combination. We also added chicken to the flatbread. DH had a soup of the day, but I dont recall exactly what it was. It was a tomato base with sausage and vegetables. Whatever it was, was very good. We then split the Orecchiette Pasta - "Little ear" shaped pasta with chicken, spinach, pepperoncini peppers, olives, tomatoes and peas tossed in a light chicken broth with feta cheese. We added shrimp to it as well for an additional cost. DH liked this more than I did. He rated the soup and flatbread higher, but still thought it was good. I didnt eat a lot of mine. It was a little spicy and I didnt care for the taste of the chicken. We will definitely be returning to Spoodles for dinner again, well just try something different. Our total for dinner with 2 glasses of wine and no dessert was $52.00
Plaza Restaurant / Magic Kingdom - This is review 1 of 2 for the Plaza as we visited it once together and I stopped by on a solo day. Our trip together we just shared a club sandwich minus the mayonnaise and that was it. We passed on ice cream and decided to stop in candy store on our way out instead. The club sandwich is good although it could have used a slice of cheese. We love the plaza because its a nice place to sit down and you dont have to make a PS for it, so its flexible. Our total for just our club sandwich was $11.00
Plaza - 2 of 2 - It was my birthday on my solo day and I didnt feel like eating at a counter service nor did I feel like eating a big plate of pasta at Tonys so I decided to eat at the plaza again. I splurged on a hamburger with french fries and a strawberry malt (remember, its my birthday, no oinking noises please!) The hamburger wasnt the best burger Ive ever had, I actually prefer Beaches and Cream for a hamburger (we ate there too, Ill get to that in a minute). The malt was very good and the plus side, I didnt have to fight my DH for the cherry on top! Total for burger and malt $16.00
Kona Cafe / Polynesian - This was another solo day for me as DH was in a work meeting. My choices were either go back to an off property hotel and try and find some place to eat in one of their stuffy restaurants or I could continue my trip on the monorail and get off at the Poly. Hmmm...tough decision!
Kona cafe it is! I dont think Ive ever had a bad meal at the Poly and this time was no exception. I did decide however that I didnt want a whole entree all by myself so I ordered the soup of the day which was a creamy potato soup and the crab cake appetizer. The crab cakes were full of meat and very good, the soup was great as well. Oh, I also had a little mai tai while I was waiting for my food. Total including my beverage was $21.00Beaches and Cream / Beach Club - This was a last minute addition to our plans. We were wiped out from our day in the park and needed an evening off. I told DH the plans were up to him. His perfect evening in WDW? Beaches and Cream followed by mini golfing! We walked right into Beaches and Cream around 5:15. We each had hamburgers, DH a cheeseburger actually and we shared a malt. Burgers, fries and ice cream were delicious as always! We never dislike a meal at Beaches and Cream. Total for dinner and malt (just water to drink) was $20.00
California Grill / Contemporary - This was what I had been waiting for all week, my birthday dinner! We had a PS for 6:10 and were seated shortly after that at a table that had a good view of the Magic Kingdom. DH had called ahead and mentioned it was my birthday, but I also had my birthday pin on, so it wasnt a big secret. Our server said happy birthday as well as the person who seated us, but that was pretty much the extent of the birthday festivities at CG. We started out with a flatbread, of course I dont remember the exact description of it, but it had chicken, olives and 2 kinds of cheese. It was very good!!! DH had the Oak Fired Beef Filet with Cheddar Potato Gratin, Buttered Green Beans, and Tamarind Barbecue. And I had the Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Creamy Polenta, Cremini Mushrooms, and Zinfandel Glaze. Both were amazing! We ordered the right things because even though we agreed both of our meals were great, I liked mine better than DHs and he liked his better than mine. We finished off our meal with the warm valroha chocolate cake with white chocolate ice cream. They added a little piece of chocolate that said happy birthday from the california grill to our dessert. It was a perfect meal. Well definitely be saving our pennies to go back again. Our total for appetizer, dinner, dessert and a glass of wine each was $94.
We always eat way too much at WDW, but enjoy every minute of our gluttonous behavior as we dont eat like that at home!
Our only disappointment would be trying to find a quick dinner both at MK and MGM, less than 2 hours before the park closed. I really didnt think that would be such an issue. Now I know to plan farther ahead for those times. We did also have one morning where we couldnt find anything for a quick breakfast at MK - we had passed the Main Street bakery already. We ended up eating french fries at Cosmic Rays at 10:30 in the morning
even I dont usually go that far on vacation, but we were starving. Thanks for reading! Any question let me know.
Tamie
