Anyone been to Garden Grill recently??

[lilandvisma]

I'm kind of torn as to whether to keep this ressie or not. I like the idea of being served family style but not the idea of gross food. I can't find many reviews on GG...contemplating making a ressie somewhere else.

 

[EeyoreEma]

We ate there in Dec and liked the food - nothing outstanding, but very good, solid food. However, the wait there each time we've eaten there has been extremely long, and service tends to be slower there. We enjoy it, we'll probably go back someday, but it won't be for a while.

 

[Yankeemouse]

I haven't been there in years. Think I'd like to try it for lunch. Anybody have lunch there recently? Can you still get that all you can eat family style dinner? and what's in it?

 

[koolaidmoms]

They have not served lunch in years at GG only dinner. When we went in the spring it was as PP said good solid food. Nothing fancy but edible at the same time. We did receive some fish that we sent back because it was dry but they brought us another plate that was perfectly cooked.

If you are not in a hurry and just want to sit, relax and take your time it is fine.

 

[nytimez]

It's reasonably good food. I find it to be one of the better character meals (not counting breakfasts, since I haven't been to a character breakfast).

 

[wvdisluv2]

We had eaten there in Oct '10 and were quite pleased with the food and the character interaction (and we are 2 adults in our 40/50's ) My 50 something DH really liked that the restuarant turned (slowly) and it was our only opportunity to get photo's with Mickey. The characters seem to spend a good amount of time at each table.

The food was good, simple, family type food. You can check out their menu at http://allears.net/menu/menu_gg.htm (hope this link is ok to post) The servers will bring you more of the dishes you like, and I'm sure will take away any food your family doesn't like

Have a great trip!!

 

[KangaFan]

We ate there in Dec and liked the food - nothing outstanding, but very good, solid food. However, the wait there each time we've eaten there has been extremely long, and service tends to be slower there. We enjoy it, we'll probably go back someday, but it won't be for a while.

It's a smaller restaurant, so book an early time to avoid the wait. My kids loved it because they got so much character attention because it was smaller & we had an early ADR

 

[anjalee6]

We have never had a problem with the food. I don't think it's the best on property, but my kids love the character interaction and the fact that the restaurant spins around as you eat. (My husband however, has to make sure he doesn't look at the wall in the middle of the restaurant because the turning makes him feel sick). The food is nothing fancy; basic turkey with gravy, fish, and steak. I like that the kid's food has been changed to real baked chicken instead of another restaurant that just serves chicken nuggets and mac and cheese.

 

[kendzee94]

We've usually had good luck there, and it is a staple on each trip (DD loves Chip n Dale!) One time we were the family of the day! Anyway, aside from the "sustainable fish" we like everything on the menu (we liked th catfish they used to have better!) And for my picky kids that I have to pay adult prices for, they brought out chicken nuggets and (regular) fries at our request in October! On the menu, it says they will bring out a drumstick and sweet potato fries. They also brought out the children's desserts as they did not want cobbler.

 

[Wendy31]

In June 2010, we took my parents to the Garden Grill for dinner. (We were only going to be in EPCOT for the day, & I wanted them to experience a character meal. Otherwise, I probably would have chosen some place else.)

We enjoyed it. I thought the food was actually better than the last time we were there (June 2008). I think my parents liked it as well. (Or, they were being polite since we were paying. LOL!) My mom is pretty picky (& hard to please), but I actually think she enjoyed herself. She didn't like the flank steak, because it wasn't done enough for her tastes. But she liked the other meats & the veggies. My dad really liked the strawberry rhubarb dessert.

DH & I were too busy w/ 2 cameras & the baby to really notice any specifics about the food, but, like I said, I was pleasantly surprised - we thought it was better than in 6/2008 when we were disappointed with the food.

The character interaction at the Garden Grill has been really good every time we've been there. This last time was no exception. Our 11 month old got to meet Mickey & Pluto for the 1st time (as did my parents), & we've got some really cute pics. Pluto was great - kept trying to eat the baby's snacks. And Mickey kissed Mom's hand & shook Dad's hand. I love the pic we have of Mom & Mickey. The smile on my Mom's face is just great - she's normally so composed & doesn't get all that impressed w/ things like Disney usually - but you can just see in the picture how much geniune fun she's having.

 

[fitzy819]

Its been a little over two years since we ate there but it was great when we went. The food was pretty good and we had tons of time with the characters (late Aug/early Sept). I don't remember having to wait to be seated either but it has been a while. I would definitely eat there again.

 

[Zarabear]

We booked Garden Grill at my son's request (For Chip and Dale) for his 8th bday at DWorld. (it was our first trip too!)

It was one of our favorite meals and the character interaction was great! The wait was long, even with an ADR however.

The turkey and beef were amazing and they kept bringing it until we were stuffed! My son and husband enjoyed the stuffing and my mom said the cranberry stuff was great. We asked for no fish, since no one in our family eats it... but we'll definitely be going back.

Oh! Almost forgot, the rolls with maple butter. I STILL hear about that bread and butter from my husband. LoL

 

[kendzee94]

Here were the adult and child desserts from October! The adult was an apple/current buckle(cobbler) with whipped cream and the other was like a cookies and cream mousse (first time adding pictures, I hope it works!)

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[loveysbydesign]

We ate there for the 1st time in Nov. 2010. We've been trying to get a ressie there for 4 years! I was so happy to get it for this trip and it was a surprise for the kids. The food was really good and we're pretty picky. It sucked though that we were up on the top level. There was 7 of us at one table and it was so small and cramped. It was so hard to get up and see the characters and the kids were upset that we couldn't see below us.

I feel very strongly that they should not charge the same amount of $$$ for the top level as they do for the lower level. It was downright claustriphobic up there and those kinds of things usually never bother me. Our server was ok but not outstanding. Nothing like the fabulous character meal we had At LTT in 2006.

I don't think I would eat there again for the prices they charge. We had better interaction at the character connection and it was free!

 

[seven dwarfs]

This used to be a must do for us on every trip. I am sad to say in October it was not good.

The kids food was just awful. The chicken was so cheap, they refused to eat it. Our food was gross as well. The only things worth anything were the bread, salad, sweet potato fries, and veggies. The dessert was OK. All the meat was awful. The fish is cheap and not the same. The beef we could not even chew. The kids even hated the mac and cheese. We paid cash for this meal which made it very $$$.

The kids were so sad and said they never want to go back. I hope they go back to the old food but sure that won't happen. The characters were great and the atmosphere is wonderful but food, not so good.

 

[jacksmommy]

We ate there in October 2010 and all of us enjoyed it for one reason or another. My son loved the character interaction - by far the very best at any character meal we have been to. Chip and Dale did lots of fun antics! And they came around numerous times. I loved that I was served - buffets are tough with an 11 month old! My FIL loved the fish and my MIL loved that there were other choices besides for fish. DH and I enjoyed the food. Now, my 11 month old DD did not enjoy the characters at all but they realized that right away and kept a respectable distance from her. LOL! We are dining there again for sure on our trip this coming fall!

 

[robandkelly13]

We enjoy the food here. I was worried at first due to the negative reviews, but it ended up being one of our favorites

 

[CountyMounty]

So looks like no more decorate your own cupcakes for kids dessert. While the new dessert seems better in taste my ds will miss decorating his own cupcake.
On our first trip this was our favorite character meal, because of the most interaction, the characters hung around our table a long time each time they came through, of course it was not very busy that day. Food wasn't anything amazing but was fine and good break from the buffets.

 

[pixarmom]

Garden Grill is our boys' favorite restaurant. For a while, we thought the food was good but not great. On our most recent visit to Garden Grill (July 2010) we thought the food quality had increased significantly. The bread and salad were fresh and very tasty. Our kids enjoyed the chicken, mashed potatoes and the mac and cheese. And while they didn't like the new sweet potato fries, I loved them. I also like the steak, the mahi mahi and the veggies. The only thing that we all skip is the stuffing. Overall, we think the food is much better at Garden Grill than dinner at Chef Mickey's, CRT, Crystal Palace or Akershus (to compare with a few other character meals.)

As others have mentioned, Garden Grill has some of the best character interaction at Disney and the lower level booths make the atmosphere far more relaxed than a typical character meal.

 

[lilandvisma]

Here were the adult and child desserts from October! The adult was an apple/current buckle(cobbler) with whipped cream and the other was like a cookies and cream mousse (first time adding pictures, I hope it works!)

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Thank you all for the replies The food sounds good to me so we are keeping our ressie. With 3 kids, a family style meal appeals to me too lol.