60th birthday dinner--where? A nice sit down dinner....

[marshallandcartersmo]

Thinking of somewhere to send my parents, without the kids and grandkids to a nice dinner for my mom's 60th birthday. Would love to afford V & A's, but it being at least $300 for the two of them, I don't think we can swing it for them this time.

What's a close 2nd to V&A's, but without the big price tag?

 

[cbg1027]

The restaurant rigt next door to V&A's - Citricos!

Here's a review I did - http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2287273

 

[ElizabethB]

If they like steak, I'd go with Shula's or Yachtsman Steakhouse. We've also enjoyed Artist Point and Jiko. The key with AP and Jiko is to go at 8:30 p.m. or later. That way, many of the kids have gone.

Citrico's has delicious food, but was extremely noisy when we were there (same for when friends of ours were there). It might be better later.

Narcoossee's can be nice, and they can view the fireworks from a window (if they get a window seat) or from the outside landing. If you call Narcoosee's directly, they'll do a personalized menu for the birthday that says something like "Happy Birthday, ___" and likely will try to find a nice window seat for your parents. They did that when we celebrated my dad's b-day there.

 

[Pakey]

All of the restaurants on Disney's Dining Plan can be very crowded and noisy. I would recommend one of the restaurants not on the plan. Bistro de Paris at Epcot would be my first choice. Not only is it not on the DDP, they do not have a children's menu, do not do special accommodations for children, so this is generally a pretty quiet restaurant. We enjoy Bistro almost as much as V&A. Others would be bluezoo, Il Mulino and Shula's; these are all located at the Swan/Dolphin. As long as there is no big convention going on at those hotels, these places are generally quieter also.

If you are set on one of the restaurants on the Dining Plan, Artist Point is generally the quietest of all the signatures. Jiko and Citricos are usually quiet but not always.

You could also check into Private Dining at the Grand Floridian. You have the Citricos menu but you are placed on a private patio area. My son did this earlier this year for his proposal dinner and said it was great.

 

[marshallandcartersmo]

All of the restaurants on Disney's Dining Plan can be very crowded and noisy. I would recommend one of the restaurants not on the plan. Bistro de Paris at Epcot would be my first choice. Not only is it not on the DDP, they do not have a children's menu, do not do special accommodations for children, so this is generally a pretty quiet restaurant. We enjoy Bistro almost as much as V&A. Others would be bluezoo, Il Mulino and Shula's; these are all located at the Swan/Dolphin. As long as there is no big convention going on at those hotels, these places are generally quieter also.

If you are set on one of the restaurants on the Dining Plan, Artist Point is generally the quietest of all the signatures. Jiko and Citricos are usually quiet but not always.

You could also check into Private Dining at the Grand Floridian. You have the Citricos menu but you are placed on a private patio area. My son did this earlier this year for his proposal dinner and said it was great.

Great point about staying away from rest. not on the DDP. We would be staying off-site this time, so definatley not on the DDP.

 

[CoolDisneyCat]

Portobello at Downtown Disney would be a wonderful choice!

 

[pediatric-rnp]

Citrico's has delicious food, but was extremely noisy when we were there (same for when friends of ours were there). It might be better later.

Narcoossee's can be nice, and they can view the fireworks from a window (if they get a window seat) or from the outside landing. If you call Narcoosee's directly, they'll do a personalized menu for the birthday that says something like "Happy Birthday, ___" and likely will try to find a nice window seat for your parents. They did that when we celebrated my dad's b-day there.

I think like with anything else, you will hear about different people having different experiences. We just celebrated a combination of our 27th anniversary & DH's 60th birthday at Citricos at 6:00 PM this past Tuesday. We ate there in April, also at 6:00. It was mostly adults in the dining room both times, and not noisy at all. They made it very special with personalized menus, and a complimentary glass of champagne. We were not rushed either time.

In April, while celebrating my birthday, we ate at Narcooses, and I was given the personalized menu from them, also, as well as a window seat. The table was set up for us in advance, with Mickey confetti on it. We also received a complimentary glass of champagne from them. We booked the ADR on-line, so they must do it for on-line bookings as well as direct calls. They, however, were the noisy restaurant for us - many families with young children.

 

[princssdisnygina]

We like the Wave at the Contemporary. It is a very adult like atmosphere and was very quiet. The food was good and the service was excellent. Look at all the menus at www.allearsnet.com and find what you are looking for.

 

[shoes99]

We also like the Wave at the Contemporary... Nice atmosphere and not noisy.

 

[disney queen]

i have to agree with: Artist Point, Jiko, Yachtsman, Citcritos. we have dined at all and have enjoyed all the meals there.

 

[goofy4tink]

Just had my 60th birthday last summer. My dh and I had a wonderful dinner at Flying Fish to celebrate it a few weeks later. It was the first time we've eaten there, and I have to say it was just incredible. Good wine list, great food, very attentive staff. It's on the boardwalk at BWI/V. It's not cheap but it is much less than V&A's....I think we spent about $145, with just one glass of wine for me. I can't wait to get back there in Dec with friends.

 

[bonzie1]

We love JIKO and ARTIST POINT. Both were quiet restaurants. We've done both... dining when they first open (early), or around 9:00 PM. When we've eaten early, to cap the evening off, we've taken a horse-drawn carriage ride at Riverside (Dixie Landings). Just to hear the clip clop of the hoofs on the pavement and to ride along the water was wonderful.

ENJOY your celebration!

 

[pediatric-rnp]

Just had my 60th birthday last summer. My dh and I had a wonderful dinner at Flying Fish to celebrate it a few weeks later. It was the first time we've eaten there, and I have to say it was just incredible. Good wine list, great food, very attentive staff. It's on the boardwalk at BWI/V. It's not cheap but it is much less than V&A's....I think we spent about $145, with just one glass of wine for me. I can't wait to get back there in Dec with friends.

\

I have to agree on the food at The Flying Fish. We ate there for the first time this past Sunday night, and the food was wonderful, as was our waitress.

We had originally requested to be seated at the counter where the chefs are, as we thought it would be something different. Then we overheard an older couple have their request turned down for this space, so we told the maitre de we would be willing to be seated at a table if they wanted our counter spots (no one had been seated yet). The other couple was thrilled, but the maitre de was less than thrilled, and made it obvious to all of us with body language. Not so very magical. The switch was made, but you would have thought it was the end of the world. (There were also a large number of small children in there Sunday night - don't know if this is the norm, but something to keep in mind. )

 

[Cheshire Figment]

If you go to Bistro de Paris upstairs at the France Pavilion, it is probably the second best restaurant (after V&A) in all of WDW for both food and service. And they do not have a chidren's menu and small children are discouraged.