25th anniversary meal - where?

[Hilary]

Our last full day of our trip in March/April will be our 25th wedding anniversary :happy1: and I'm trying to come up with the perfect place for a meal to celebrate.

I think I'd prefer to be in a park, rather than a resort, but I'm open to suggestions. We won't want anything romantic as it's not really our kind of thing......and we'll be with our two teenage DDs

I could suggest all sorts of places for other people, but can't come up with anywhere that seems right for us so, come on - where do you think we should have our special meal?

 

[WDWfan uk]

Okay, since it is park rather than resort, I think I'd choose which park first and for me that has to be Epcot, and I'm going to suggest dinner at Chefs De France.

I think it has the right amount of je ne sais crois without being overly romantic - attractive restaurant that does capture a feel of a Paris restaurant and a varied menu to choose from.
I know it has been out of favour and has received varied reviews but I think/hope you'll be pleasantly surprised!

If it was MGM Studios, I'd go for the Brown Derby but I'd have reservations taking my sons there even though they are older and they are adventurous with food - I just don't think they'd be happy with that menu.

 

[vernon]

If you go to Universal at all I'd recommend Emeril's next to the parks or Tchop Tchop which is in one of the Universal hotels.

At Disney, depending on what the girls like/want you could consider the Teppenyaki steak restaurant in Japan/Epcot as it's quite entertaining. If you want a show the Luau at the Poly provides entertainment.

I tend to think the restaurants in the parks try to rush you so they can keep their turnover up, for a relaxed "special" meal I find the restaurants outside the parks work better. Maybe one of the restaurants at Boardwalk, Y+B or Swan and Dolphin would be a workable compromise? I really liked the "mexican" (not your bog standard mexican) at the S+D and I ate at Shula's in Miami and the food was absolutely outstanding. The flying Fish at Boardwalk was also excellent.

Overall I think the best restaurant of those I've listed was Tchop Tchop. Great food, stunning decor and outstanding service. Shula's runs it a close second, certainly a match in food and service but the decor is a lot more conventional.

 

[mkingdon]

I was quite surprised at how good the San Angel Inn was in Mexico at Epcot.

I booked it last year, more for the DDs, and the novelty of eating outside, inside, if you know what I mean.

We got a waterside table, and the food was better then I ever expected. Great atmosphere, and my DDs loved it as well.

We then took a ride on El Rio whatever it's called, and almost sank the boat with our bulging stomachs.

We then wandered outisde and watched ROE....perfect!

Very enjoyable.

Craig

 

[UKDEB]

Congratulations!

I'm getting increasingly disenchanted with the food options at the parks. What types of food and restaurants do you and the girls enjoy? Although you don't want 'romantic', do you still want 'special'? If it's a park, Epcot seems to be the obvious choice. We've done:

Garden Grill, which I would say is too cheesy for a special occasion;
Coral Reef;
Chefs de France;
Le Cellier.

The latter three are all quite good, but not outstanding, and a bit overpriced in my view. We're always threatening to try some of the other options at Epcot, but usually end up at the BoardWalk. We've done Spoodles to death, but it would be a good option if you've never tried it. We still like the Flying Fish Cafe. The ESPN bar has a great atmosphere, but I wouldn't choose it for a special occasion.

 

[Hilary]

Thanks for the great suggestions!

At the moment, I think the favourites are Chefs de France, Flying Fish, Teppenyaki and Coral Reef.

Shirley - Brown Derby is one I hadn't even considered, so I'm still tempted by the idea.........

Vernon - I like the idea of the Boardwalk as an ideal compromise between park and resort choice

Craig - We really love San Angel but, as we've already been there a couple of times before, I don't suppose it will get our vote for the anniversary meal (but we might well fit it in some other time on the trip ). I love the idea of finishing the evening watching Illuminations - I'll never tire of that!

Deb - We've been to Spoodlea a couple of times and enjoyed it, but felt it was overpriced for the kind of place / food. Flying Fish is one we haven't tried but have liked the look of, but I'm not sure whether the girls would enjoy it.

Off to check out some menus.................

 

[chunkster20uk]

I know they are resorts but they are on the monorail so not far from MK.

California Grill at the Contemporary

or

Ohana at the Poly

Great food and a great view of the fireworks!!

 

[maria & rossi]

I'd say the california grill especially if you try and book for around the same time as the fireworks at magic kingdom. Have a great time. Maria