Agrabah open to all - has anyone tried it yet?

[lojo]

An update has been posted on dlrpmagic about the reopening of the Agrabah Cafe.

"the restaurant is available for all guests, with only a slight priority reportedly given to Half Board users at peak times.

"The menu is an all-you-can eat buffet with oriental and Mediterranean specialties, including starters, main courses and deserts, but not including drinks (except for the children’s menu). Highlights include Shoarma, cinnamon rice, fish and baked spice potatoes, amongst regular fare such as pasta and lasagna.

"Priced at €21 for adults and €10 for children, it’s an affordable addition to the park’s menu of restaurants and is expected to take some strain off Plaza Gardens Restaurant, particularly over the busy — and cold — Christmas season."

Has anyone on the Board actually been here since it reopened? I'm really interested in trying it out, it's one of more reasonably priced buffets and the menu sounds a bit more diverse than a lot of the American style eateries.

Lovely little video on dlrpmagic too, by the way

Ta
Lucy

 

[marcus.ka]

I would like to know too. But you should open a new thread with your request. Otherwise it could be overseen.

 

[Bexx]

I would like to know too. But you should open a new thread with your request. Otherwise it could be overseen.

Good advice Marcus, so I've done just that for you Lucy

 

[the_princess]

it looks so nice, we are going to try it out!!!

 

[A Small World]

Im sure Bavaria has posted somewhere about eating there and recommending it but I cant remember which thread (but obviously a recent one)

 

[DLPdaft]

Heres the earlier thread with the review of the restaurant from Bavaria -

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1633563

Its on my list for next week ,

Elaine

 

[lojo]

Thanks folks - Bexx and Marcus for suggesting and actually creating the new thread; Small World and DLPdaft for highlighting Bavaria's post - which for some reason I missed despite checking in daily.

I'm liking the look and sound of this place (and hopefully the taste ), so if I don't change my mind again (what are chances of that!) at least one of our meals has been decided. It's especially good to hear of somewhere that caters well to both carnies and veggies.

Ta
Lucy

 

[bavaria]

Jessica at the restaurant offered to create 'bavaria's Stammtisch' for me as I was such a regular.

On the Sunday they added many new items to the buffet included those that I listed, such as an Asian coleslaw, vegetable tangine, and a variety of salads with grilled vegetables, etc....

I can't say enough about this restaurant - it is definitely my new favourite, and I passed over Walt's to eat here again.

 

[Ware Bears]

This does sound good ~ it's on my list for next summer.

 

[KevInSweden]

We ate there on the 17th at 3pm. Personally first impressions were very good, though the person at the cash register at the front seemed bewildered by our half board passes for some reason and had to get someone to help her. She then forgot we couldn't speak French and started speaking to us in French and looking exasperated. Fortunately the waitress was a lot better and led us to our table.


The food was for the most part very good, though a lot of it didn't have any cards indicating what it was (which I find annoying). I'd definitely recommend the place to others. The few issues that there were were no doubt teething problems with the new resteraunt.


My favourite foods were:

Chinese Cabbage Salad
Some aubergine and green and red pepper salad (no idea of the proper name)
Chorizo sausages
The lamb etc was good too (though I'd enjoy a chicken alternative).

The deserts were divine and almost worth the price of admission just for them!

Our server was very attentive though perhaps slightly over eager. ie removing our plates the moment we finished the last bits of food (so it seems that he was watching eagle eyed over us) and then removing my drink that still had quite a substantial amount in.


If this sounds overtly negative it's not meant to be, just got in and am so tired... overall this place is recommended and hopefully will go from strength to strength. I loved the decor too.

 

[marcus.ka]

Does someone know the opening times of this restaurant? What I would like to know: Is it possible to have a very late lunch/ very early dinner (~16:30) there?

 

[bavaria]

Hallo marcus! I am going to try and answer both of your questions here 'in public' as it may be helpful to anyone else wondering the same!

I don't have the actual opening times, but midweek they could take lunch bookings as of noon it seemed, but were not taking later bookings such as 1630hrs. They did seat me one day at 1500hrs, so it would appear that on days when park closes at 1800 that they end the seating at maybe 1600hrs?

Also a good question about the layout of the restaurant, rooms, etc. It has a variety of 'rooms' and the hostess station is outside but undercover (and the hostess wore a coat). You check in, then she directs you to the payment stand, which IS inside. Here you pay first for your meal (and give your AP if you have one for the discount and the aperatif). Then you are seated in one of several 'rooms'.

One room is quite small with a tented roof - think like a desert tent with fabric on the walls and ceiling. There were maybe ten tables in this room. Another room is very small such as an outdoor market perhaps (but still with a ceiling). This room had only about four tables. There were several rooms - I would estimate four or five, and each seemed to have its own decor. But each was definitely inside, although the appearance is that one is sitting in passageways somewhere exotic

As Bexx has pointed out, I appear to be 'warmer' than many of you and I found it very warm wearing my wool jacket and a shirt. But many patrons seemed to have jackets off as well.

Now off to answer the rest in your PM!

 

[Kristina]

KevinSweden and I ate here the 17th Nov. for a late lunch at 3pm and I found the food very nice. The space itself is very impressive, beautiful actually and the setting very peaceful which I appreciated. Lovely salads which I ate mostly but also Shawarma of lamb, lasagna, meatballs, saffron rice, chicken, white fish and short ribs as well as other offerings. We had dined at Hunter's Grill in the Sequoia the evening before and few of the items were the same, such as the cabbage salad and a few of the desserts but that was fine as we loved the food at Hunter's Grill! Very good quality. We had the standard half board vouchers which paid for our meal including cokes but coffee or tea cost extra.

Regarding the staff they were all very sweet but you could tell that the restaurant had just opened the week before because everyone was a bit confused which I have to admit wasn't helped by our poor French language skills .

 

[bavaria]

We had the standard half board vouchers which paid for our meal including cokes but coffee or tea cost extra.

Regarding the staff they were all very sweet but you could tell that the restaurant had just opened the week before because everyone was a bit confused which I have to admit wasn't helped by our poor French language skills .

My total was 21 Euros with a bottle of mineral water, and the 10% discount. The person at the cash desk asked each time if I wanted tea or coffee for an extra cost (I would maybe try the mint tea next time but I kept forgetting about that!)

Interesting about the half board vouchers - when I went to City Hall to make a booking, they asked if I had a voucher. We read here initially that Agrabah was only open to half board holders - don't know if that was the case, but I asked if it made a difference and was told 'no'.

Kristina, I found that the ladies at the cash desk did have some trouble as well being so new; it took them a bit to figure out how to make my AP discount the first try (but by the third visit they had that all sorted out!)

 

[marcus.ka]

But each was definitely inside, although the appearance is that one is sitting in passageways somewhere exotic

Now off to answer the rest in your PM!

From the video it seemed to me as if the whole thing would be kind of a passage outside. (Which would not be so bad during the hot summer month, but not for the other 8 month of the year)

And thank you for your PM. I just realised that you answered my question here in public.

 

[lojo]

This probably applies to all the buffet restaurants, but as I am most interested in this one, I hope it's not inappropriate to ask the question here.

I'm assuming by the arrangement described of going to the payment stand first that you have to pay for everyone who is going to be seated?

My mother will be travelling with us and she has a really really small appetite, when we eat out at home, she usually just orders a starter (and sometimes doesn't finish it) and steals a couple of chips from someone else. If we go to carveries/buffets, she doesn't order a meal but one of us will just get an extra plate and give her what she wants off ours. Both the kids eat more than she does, so to my mind it would be unfair to ask her to pay €21.

Any tips on how we can all enjoy this restaurant? Also, is it a one trip only or all you can eat?

Thanks
Lucy

 

[bavaria]

Yes, Lucy, you pay upfront. This is different from the resort buffets at which I have dined in DLRP.

Unfortunately I suspect that you will have pay for your mother as buffets generally require that you pay for all members of the party. You may be able to convince them that she is not dining, but they really can't monitor that.

You can go to the buffet as many times as you like.

 

[SandraVB79]

At the character breakfast at Cafe Mickey, you also have to pay upfront. And I would also think you'd have to pay for your mother. In your case, she doesn't eat a lot, but if they allow people to come in and not pay and nibble from other's plates, many people will abuse from that.
While buffte restaurants are good for people who like to eat a lot, they have this problem for people who don't eat a lot.

 

[bavaria]

As an example, I found the buffets at the Newport Bay and Sequoia Lodge to be VERY lacking on vegetarian items, and only found a few things to eat, but I had to pay for the full buffet price of course.

I didn't dispute the charge, it was just a lesson learned. That is one reason why I am so 'hot' for Agrabah at the moment - it is one of the only buffets which I find to be a good value for vegetarians at DLRP. I certainly don't get my money's worth at most of the other buffets.

 

[lojo]

You're right, there will always be people who will take advantage of arrangements put in place to accommodate minorities (big example - disabled parking spaces) but in my opinion that doesn't mean things should always be the same for everyone. Children's prices accommodate the general rule that children eat less than adults, but in many cases that is completely reversed - put pasta on the menu and my niece will eat double what the adults eat and she's only nine! And don't even start me on what my five year old nephew can put away.

In an earlier post, I mentioned that in Austria we found a lot of places that offered prices for seniors as well as for children - this was very popular with Mum as she could have more than one course because the portions were very small and she didn't feel that she was wasting food or money by buying more than she could eat.

Okay now that I've got that out of my system........

I guess we'll just have to give the Agrabah a miss - or just give Mum the slip .

It's a shame, I was really looking forward to this one, especially the veggie angle - one more thing to add to the list "Reasons why I really REALLY have to plan another trip to DLP".

Thanks for the feedback guys, appreciate it
Lucy