UPDATE POST 32! Reviews of Olivia's, Citrico's, Jiko's and DISAPPOINTING YACHTSMAN

[jodifla]

We just got back from a 5 night visit at OKW. We ate out four of the nights, quite rare for us. Normally we eat in the room more. We used the DDE and saved about $110 on this trip alone. We had drinks like wine or martinis with every meal. We agreed that we would have been very uncomfortable with the DDP, which would have been too much food for us.

Olivia's: The food there has improved over the 10 years we've been eating there. There were six of us, four adults, and two children. They were very flexible on the kids meals. The baby got mashed sweet potatoes, and DS got his beloved chicken fingers from Goods to Go. I got the penne pasta with shrimp and pasta dish, DH got the barbecued grouper, another diner got the steak salad and subbed the salmon, and the last dinner got a fish special that was excellent. The onion ring appetizer with dipping sauces was a treat as well.

More to come....

 

[jodifla]

Jiko's: Just DH and I dined here. Had about a 15 minute wait after checking in for our ADR. Great South African wine list here!

DH had the meat dumplings and the sturgeon, which was just excellent. A really tasty fish. I had the Barbecued Chicken Flatbread and the Scallops, which were spicy and perfectly prepared. We split a dessert, the apple trifle.

Our service here was excellent. It was only our second visit, but we'll be back.

Citrico's: Again, just DH and I. Our first time, and we really enjoyed it. More kids than we expected, and a litle loud, but OK. We even saw fireworks that had been scheduled to coincide with the press event.

One look at the menu, and I was very glad I wasn't hemmed in by the DDP. Not much on the entree list intrigued me, but several appetizers did. So I got the Romaine Salad to start, followed by the Sauteed Shrimp appetizer and the Rissoto appetizer as dinner. DH got the Romaine Salad and the Sicilian Steak. All our food was wonderfully prepared and presented. The tender, flavorful steak really stood out after our horrible Yachtmen episode (which I'll write about next.)

 

[jodifla]

We have been dining here a couple times of year since it opened. It was our FAVORITE restaurant on Disney property. I had a so-so dinner here last February, but DH's was good, so I thought it was a fluke.

But no. The place is being poorly managed, and the menu is a poor shadow of its former self. The chef should hang his or her head in shame...this formerly wonderful restaurant has been turned into an overpriced resort sham.


It started before we even got in the door. There was mayhem checking in. A huge line...something was wrong, and nobody checking the people in would tell us what was going on. The staff seemed clueless. We waited and waited before the line cleared.

After we were seated, we were given the menus, which look now like a Morton's wannabe. Nothing original. Nothing even all that interesting. Where's the buffalo, and the other game meats they used to have??? All dumbed down.

DH ordered the strip, and I the prime rib. DS got chicken. My Caesar salad was good...no longer prepared tableside like it was in the Yachtsman's glory days, but good. Then our meals came. My prime rib was just tasteless. DH's strip was tough. The potatoes that came with them were a gummy mess. YUCK YUCK YUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I sent my prime rib back and got a strip, which at least had flavor. It was an expensive meal, and not worth the money. A huge disappointment.

I complained to Paul, the manager, after dinner, who basically shrugged that all meals couldn't be good every night.

I'll be following up with a lengthy letter to WDW Food & Beverage.

Also, while the service was OK, we were shocked to find out that our server was brand new at the Yachtsman, and new to WDW overall. Used to be, servers waited years for a chance to move into the Yachtsmen. Now, apparently, they take anybody and shove them into a prime dining establishment.

 

[janets]

So sorry to hear of your disappointing dinner at the Yachtsman. While dh and I only ate here once (I was pregnant w/ ds#1 and it was our first anniversary) we had an absolutely wonderful meal. I had, up until that time, been unable to eat red meat, but I thoroughly enjoyed my prime rib. The roasted garlic for the bread was divine. And when we noticed a couple at the next table celebrating their anniversary, we commented to them that it was our first too. Our waiter overheard and within minutes, a special dessert was delivered to our table.

I'm so sad to hear that both the quality and service seem to have suffered over the years. Dh still talks about going back, but until I hear some concrete evidence that it has improved to what it once was, I'll save my dollars.

Enjoyed reading your reviews. And I'm hoping that you were able to get food your kids liked while there (I've been reading your posts regarding the kids menus over the last few months). We'll be heading down this Saturday for a 3 night weekend for ds#1's 9th birthday. I'm hoping we'll be able to manage the kids menus fairly easily, as we'll be 3A (my mom is joining us) and 2C.

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your reviews ~ Thanx for sharing.

 

[Checkers]

Thanks for sharing. My DH & I just returned last week and we, too, ate at the Yachtmans. While both of our meals were good they were by no means the best meal I had during our visit. It was our first time there so I couldn't compare it. I personally had my best meal at Spoodles (the lemon chicken served over spinach risotto). We have been going to WDW every year (sometimes more than once a year) for the last 10 years and have seen the decline in the menus at most TS restaurants and really attribute it to the DP. We weren't on the DP this time but still noticed the menus at most restaurants were stale, no "specials", etc. Glad to hear Olivia's was good as we will be at OKW later on this year.
Thanks again for sharing.

 

[RSoxFan]

I couldn't agree more about the Yachtsman. We always ate there twice each trip (first night and last night) and were shocked when we arrived last July. The tomato and buffalo mozzarella salad was off the menu, most of the specialty drinks were gone, the Jack Daniels mousse cake was gone. Pretty much everything that made Yachtsman Yachtsman was gone! And to make it worse, Oscar was gone! Oscar was part of the reason we kept going back. He was the most wonderful server. He always remembered us and made us feel special. It's little touches like that that made Disney Disney. On our last trip, we didn't even go back a second time. There's no point when every restaurant is serving the same food.

DDP strikes again!

 

[dumbo71]

I couldn't agree more about the Yachtsman. We always ate there twice each trip (first night and last night) and were shocked when we arrived last July. The tomato and buffalo mozzarella salad was off the menu, most of the specialty drinks were gone, the Jack Daniels mousse cake was gone. Pretty much everything that made Yachtsman Yachtsman was gone! And to make it worse, Oscar was gone! Oscar was part of the reason we kept going back. He was the most wonderful server. He always remembered us and made us feel special. It's little touches like that that made Disney Disney. On our last trip, we didn't even go back a second time. There's no point when every restaurant is serving the same food.

DDP strikes again!

You got that right. DDP is really ruining WDW dining. I now make an effort to eat offsite and to patronize the restaurants that WDW doesn't run like Wolfgangs, Rainforest, Fulton's, Portobellos, etc.

Really is sad.

 

[ufgator]

Thanks for your reviews! I agree about Yachtsman - I think it's poorly managed, and they need to make changes there.

 

[jodifla]

Enjoyed reading your reviews. And I'm hoping that you were able to get food your kids liked while there (I've been reading your posts regarding the kids menus over the last few months). We'll be heading down this Saturday for a 3 night weekend for ds#1's 9th birthday. I'm hoping we'll be able to manage the kids menus fairly easily, as we'll be 3A (my mom is joining us) and 2C.

Thank you.

It was our experience that the restaurants were more flexible than was first reported when the first wave of dismal new TS menus rolled out. We had no trouble finding things for DS to eat.

I do think that the CS kids meals leave a lot to be desired, but we sometimes just ordered an adult meal, and saved half of it for later for DS.

 

[Disney owl]

Enjoyed the review sorry to hear you had a bad meal

 

[MamaKate]

Jiko's: We split a dessert, the apple trifle.

How was the apple triffle??? We are eating there in a week and this sounded good to me. Was it good??

Thanks!
,
Katie

 

[jodifla]

How was the apple triffle??? We are eating there in a week and this sounded good to me. Was it good??

Thanks!
,
Katie

I did like it! It was light tasting, and sweet and tart.

 

[dawgfan]

Thanks for the review.

 

[MamaKate]

I did like it! It was light tasting, and sweet and tart.

Thanks! I will keep it on my list to try then

 

[shovan]

Thanks for the reviews. Sad to hear about your meal at Yachtsman. We had a great meal there in Sept. But we just returned on 1/23 and were rather disappointed. I'm working on my reviews now & will post soon. We dined at Jiko also & thought it was great!

 

[diesel]

RSoxFan - My husband and I ate at Yachtsman at the end of October and we had Oscar as our waiter so I guess he has returned. We've had him over the past few years and really enjoyed his service. I was shocked that you said that he was no longer there but then saw that you were there in July and we had him in October so hopefully it means he has returned.

 

[jodifla]

Thanks for the reviews. Sad to hear about your meal at Yachtsman. We had a great meal there in Sept. But we just returned on 1/23 and were rather disappointed. I'm working on my reviews now & will post soon. We dined at Jiko also & thought it was great!

I look forward to your reviews. I'm also writing up a letter for the folks at food and beverage to complain about the Yachtsman.

 

[shovan]

jodifla, I haven't posted my review of Yachtsman yet. It's coming soon. (It's the Who Dat review, we started out at ESPN club cheering on our Saints.)

But as I started typing it up, I'm sad to say I'm agreeing with you. I don't know how a restaurant could have changed so much. What was most noticeable to me was the whole ambiance of the place felt different. It must start at the top with the management.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Thanks for the reviews. I am so glad that you liked Jiko. Jiko and California Grill are our two favorite WDW restaurants. On our last visit to jiko I had the lamb shank and it was excellent.