02/09/08 dinner at Captain's Grille

Luv2Roam

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Jun 3, 2000
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Made ADRs some time ago, and never did see the place BUSY. So maybe could be a walk up in a pinch.
Three adults. All first timers. We had never dined there prior to it being the Captain's Grille, so cannot compare to then and now.
My ADRs were for 5:30, which is when they open.

Nice nautical surroundings. Nothing over the top. Just what I call casual dining. (But not ala food court. ;) )

Our server came over right away. Two in our group have food allergies. Within a few minutes the (young) chef came over and gave them suggestions. There was not any dish that needed to be modified to suit their taste or needs.

Ice teas to drink.
A basket of fresh, warm variety of breads was given to us. Very yummy.

I did order an appetizer: The Wedge - baby iceberg, chopped egg, bleu cheese, bacon and Green Goddess dressing.
I love wedges and could not pass this up. And this one did not disappointment.
Three wedges were served in a line on a long plate. (Often at restaurants it is one huge wedge. These were three smaller ones -- which actually I liked better this way.)
I shared one of the wedges with one of my friends.
The lettuce was tender and tasty, and all the toppings were yummy -- except the red onions. (yuck) I scrapped those off my portion and my friend also got the benefit of the small tomatoes too, as I don't like those either. :rolleyes1 So more "stuff" did come on the wedges than the menu listed. ;) (When you don't like tomatoes and onions generally, you get use to going through life scrapping them off. :laughing: )

I also ordered:
Oven-Roasted Breast of Chicken - Served with Boston beans and cranberry cornbread
Again -- YUMMY. The chicken had a crusty coating, which at first made me think it was overly done. But it was cooked perfect, and was tender, juicy, meaty and plump. Very good. :thumbsup2
The beans -- okay. I was expecting them on the side. They were spread on the dish and even under the chicken, and barely warm. (Chicken was nice and hot, so made me wonder how long the dish of beans was laying there for the chicken.) There were not many of them either, which did not bother me as they were just okay at best.
The bread that came with my meal was very yummy -- sweet cornbread chocked full of cranberries. mmm Just like homemade.

My friends each ordered:
Pan Seared Halibut - with colcannon potatoes, Virginia ham, and lemon-butter sauce
One had eaten halibut a week ago at another restaurant where she said the halibut just melted in her mouth. She said she liked what she was served at Captain's Grille, but was only disappointed because of how wonderful the halibut she had a week ago was. So this one was good, but a let down from a previous better meal elsewhere.
The other friend seemed to like hers.
They both REALLY liked the potatoes that came with their meal. They even asked for the recipe. They were told how to make them.
I am going by memory -- it seemed like it was mashed taters (with skins intact), Napa cabbage and Virginia ham.
I guess people eat cabbage and potatoes all the time. I just have never heard of it mixed into the potatoes. They really seemed to like it!

No dessert, as we had our fill.

Our server was great. She even offered and gave us each ice teas to go and a small slice of zucchini bread in a baggie, as she heard we were going to sit on the boardwalk and just chat after our meal.
What a sweetie.
Our tickets were messed up in the end. I ended up paying for my friend's meal, and she for mine. But the price was not that different and not a big deal. Otherwise service was perfect and beyond. Looking back I wish I had given her an extra in tip and neglected too. Hopefully we will return and I can make good! :rotfl:

The meal cost a little more than I expected. But it was very good, and great service. Both of which I gladly pay a little more for.
And the place was never busy, so was more relaxing than many WDW restaurants.

As a little side note -- I would probably have an ADR for the Captain's Grille if I were driving in. We all went in separate cars, and 2 out of 3 of us were hesitently allowed to enter and park by two different guards. We were only allowed in when we stated we had ADRs. (Even stating we were there to eat was not good enough. Although we were never asked for an ADR number.)
 
Thanks for a great review. We've always like the Yacht Club Galley, so we hoped that the Captain's Grille would be just as good.
 
Glad to hear a great review. My DD just started working there - and, as far as I know, she was working while you were there - so you probably saw her more recently than me.;) I can't wait to try the place myself.:)
 
There were a couple of CMs who were wearing their Earning My Ears tags. All the staff was very nice and smiling. Seemed like a happy place to work, as they all seemed to be enjoying themselves. :)
I know we will give them another try. :wizard:
 

There were a couple of CMs who were wearing their Earning My Ears tags. All the staff was very nice and smiling. Seemed like a happy place to work, as they all seemed to be enjoying themselves. :)
I know we will give them another try. :wizard:

DD was probably one of them. :)
 
Thanks for the great review! I think we will have to add it to our list in Sept.

I love wedge salads too :lovestruc and what a great idea to have 3 smaller wedges instead of one big one. :goodvibes I too scrape off tomotoes but have been known to eat a few onions. I love it when you can get your drinks in a to-go cup. Especially since I only end up getting a refill about 1/2 the time.

Again, great job!
 
I'm interested in the chicken. You say it's kind of crusty on the outside, but tender inside? Is it cooked like rotisserie chicken, or is it just a grilled breast?
 
It was a chicken breast, but it was like it had this plump little side wing attached.
If I had to guess I would say maybe it was skinless and pan fried. And the top up meat-er part was crusty from the pan frying. For all I know they cook the one way and then pan fry to brown up for some color. However they did it, they did it good! :lmao: (I use such foodie technical terms. ;) )
 
Enjoyed reading your review ~ Thanx for posting.
 
Thanks for the great review. In reference to the parking situation, where did the guard want you to park if he hadn't let you in because of your ADR?
 
Thank you so much for this review....DH just picked this place as our last dinner that we needed because of the lettuce wedge and the chicken dish! This makes me feel so much better and I am going make sure the beans are ordered on the side and I want to order extra of that cranberry cornbread..WOW that sounds sooo good
 
Thanks for the review. We plan to eat there on 2/29. Can you tell me if they still have an optional salad bar?
 
This is a great secret and hidden gem at WDW. They have great lager steamed mussels and the halibut is to die for.

Mrs. Disney Ron
 
We were there a couple of weeks ago. I'm a pickey eater and didn't see anything on the menu that I thought I would like. I decided to try the pan seared snapper and to my surprise was very good. I typically don't like fish. Two other's in my party had the chicken and said it was very good. Another person had the pot roast and was very happy. We also found the restuarant pretty empty at 6pm, but also found that to be relaxing. I would recommend it.:thumbsup2
 














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