Anyone been to Garden Grill recently??

[LuvLuvLuv]

we ate there in november. it tasted just like the lean cuisines we take for lunch, the characters were rushed and the servces wasn't great. there are only 3 restaurants that we won't go to again and it's one of them.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

My family was there in July 2009 and consider it the worst dining experience I ever had on Disney property. The server seemed hurried and inattentive. We sat on the top section, which felt cramped. We could see into the cubbies, and they were full of random stuff. Not very well organized. The sound track to the Living with the Land ride was incessant.

The character interaction seemed about par with other meals we've been too. The meat was dry and salty. But the veggies and dessert (blueberry buckle at the time) were pretty good.

 

[magicalcouple]

We were there in mid-December as well. I found our server to be wonderful, the food to be pretty good, and the character interaction to be priceless.... The characters came around twice to our table and Chip & Dale both spent long, long, long amounts of time with my DS, 1. We will definitely go back.

 

[CathieArms]

We were there in July '09. We didn't care for it at all, but the food was NOT gross. It was fine, but not really what I'd want at a restaurant. I'm trying to remember exactly, but it was something like turkey and some type of fish. There may've been some type of beef, but I don't recall. I just didn't care for it and the rest of our family didn't care for it either. BUT, the food WAS NOT GROSS OR UNPALATABLE. It was just meh.

On the other hand, the character interaction was a lot of fun.

 

[Anna_Marie]

We were there in October '09. I thought the meal was so-so, we were on the free dining so I'm glad I didn't have to pay for it. I did like the slow turning of the restaurant and enjoyed watching our views of The Land. I will say, character interaction was GREAT. We even saw Chip and Dale twice. They were very friendly with DD and even tried to eat my DH's hat! LOL. I would go once, to meet Chip and Dale, but probably we won't go back.

 

[Agri]

We last ate there in December '10. We love to eat here for the interaction. The food is also very good - its nothing fancy, but still good. If it doesn't come out right the first time, its no big deal to get more. (The only problem we had was our initial serving of beef was a bit more well-done, but the next serving was perfect!)

I actually like sitting up top better. You're not in a half circle booth, instead they are tables and chairs. I hate booths like that because if the person has to go to the bathroom, at least one person has to scoot and get up.

We are more adventurous eaters, and plan to do a Chip 'n Dale meet and greet, so we are skipping the restaurant this time. (But it was really hard to make that decision!!)

 

[BoosGram]

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.

Our experience w/the food was similar. We found the turkey to be quite salty, and it was the best protein we had. Overall, the food is a lot like Stouffer's, I think, although the sweet potato fries were the best thing we had (and we only had them because we had DGD w/us, so if you don't have kids w/you, you may want to ask for them). Our seating was on the top row and the 6 of us were squished together at a very small table. On the other hand, the character interaction was great, as was our server. He was very attentive and helpful.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

.......... 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. ......

Please help me understand the levels... when we checked in, there was a lower level with booths/tables that faced Living with the Land separated by a clear railing, then it was just a couple steps up to another level with tables but it was just our table, a way to past through, then the wall. Did we sit in the 2nd level? Or is there another whole floor to Garden Grill above the ceiling over where we sat???

We enjoyed our dinner there. Characters were a lot of fun... a lot of goofing around when we asked questions or joked around with them. No rush. Food was tasty, very good. I mean we are not expecting fancy fine dining here anyway... I mean they let rodents run through this place -- mice, chipmunks, and even a dog.

My December 2010 Garden Grill Review

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

I mean we are not expecting fancy fine dining here anyway... I mean they let rodents run through this place -- mice, chipmunks, and even a dog.

My sons and I ate here last May 2010. I chose it because it was served family-style and I was on my own with the kids that trip and didn't want to try to manage 3 people at a buffet by myself. I lucked into a last-minute reservation (the whole trip was last-minute - I planned it in 3 days).

I thought the food was great. I'm not a big fan of fish, but I thought the citrus-encrusted fish (tilapia, maybe?) was quite good. I really liked the steak and the turkey was OK, but not the best thing out there. I LOVED the salad, as did my oldest son. (If I'd known it came with an egg on it, I would have had that left off, but easily set aside.) The dessert at the time was a strawberry/rhubarb crisp and it was wonderful. My kids weren't wild about the chicken legs, but did eat them. They don't like mac & cheese anyway (only kids I've ever known that do not like mac & cheese!) and didn't care for the sweet potato fries, either, but I thought both were excellent!

I'd like to go back, but not sure they'll agree since it wasn't their favorite food.

 

[hkeller27]

We were just there last week!

It was our first time at GG. Got a last minute ADR (we were given a free meal by the concierge, but that's another story).

We were really pleasantly surprised with how much we enjoyed the meal! I have Celiac disease, and they were very accommodating to my dietary needs. The salad was fantastic - very fresh!! Rolls were warm, maple butter was awesome

The meal was very good - I could not eat the fish due to it having gluten, and DH isn't a big fish eater. The beef tenderloin was well cooked and tender (DD actually wound up eating this instead of the kids selections). The turkey was very moist!

The kids got baked chicken drumsticks, mac and cheese (neither ate it), and the sweet potato fries. Broccoli too.

I couldn't eat either dessert (had my own brought to me), but DH really enjoyed the cobbler, and the girls liked their Mouse Mousse!

It was an even better experience than we expected - and with an early ADR time, we might be willing to do it again!!

 

[dancingdisneygirl]

My family ate here for the first time about 2 weeks ago. The character interaction was good as the characters came around to our table 2 or 3 times. The food was good. I was disappointed where our table was. We were on the second level and could not see the "views" of the ride. I was excited to be able to see the scenes from the Land. I don't think we will be going back too expensive for what you get.

 

[aidtrismommy]

We were there a few weeks ago. We booked it because of the menu, not the character aspect. It was quite cramped and difficult to get the kids out of their chairs for pictures. The interaction was nice, I think they came around twice. The food was good, pretty salty though. The kids mac and cheese was disgusting. For $16.99, it should not have been the frozen kind. My kids didn't touch it. The kids drumstick was good though. We will not be going back because it was just way too expensive. We knew the price going in, we were fully aware of the menu, we knew we were essentially paying for the characters, however at the end of the meal it just wasn't justified for us.

 

[MickeysMommy]

We *love* GG. We hadn't been in a while and were really disappointed that they no longer have the fried catfish but we went on my birthday in 2009. We loved it again. This is a must for us every trip!

 

[lilandvisma]

I do a lot of character meals because I am not one to like to stand in lines for hours with three kids waiting to do character meets. Basically I understand that the food isn't going to be spectacular and that is ok Although it still appeals to me for whatever reason lol...maybe it's because I don't mind stouffers turkey n dressing LOL. I like lean cusines. I really do appreciate all of the opinions though! Would I go here if it were just DH an I? Probably not...but with the kids we make some sacrifices these days. We have ADR's for H&V breakfast strictly to see OSO, Mama Melrose for Fantasmic Pkg, CRT for the girls, Tusker House Breakfast, LeCellier (yay one for us lol), Akershus, Ohana Dinner, Ohana Breakfast, Chefs de France and Crystal Palace Dinner. Whew, that's a lot of character meals LOL.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

Please help me understand the levels... when we checked in, there was a lower level with booths/tables that faced Living with the Land separated by a clear railing, then it was just a couple steps up to another level with tables but it was just our table, a way to past through, then the wall. Did we sit in the 2nd level? Or is there another whole floor to Garden Grill above the ceiling over where we sat???

Here's a photo... Were we on the 2nd level? Is this what people mean by the 2nd level?

 

[Bitsmommy]

Honestly, it is the first day dinner EVERY time we go!!! The food is good. The character interaction is above par and we leave and go ride Soarin' what more could you ask for??

 

[CarlFredricksen]

We are headed to the world next month for our 4th trip since my wife was diagnosed with celiac. We had a great meal at the Garden Grill on our 1st post-celiac trip. (In fact, we've never had a bad celiac experience at WDW.) Next month is our 20th Anniversary, so we're leaving our 3 kids with the grandparents (WooHoo!) and celebrating with ADRs at California Grill, Yachtsman, Le Cellier, and La Hacienda. I saw in an earlier post that you were considering Le Cellier or La Hacienda on your last trip. What did you end up choosing and how did it go?

 

[disney_girl125]

I ate at the garden grill in 2006 and loved it. Went there this past December and it was the worst meal of my trip. I just didn't like the food. I was looking forward to catfish as that's what they had before, but they had some other kind of fish that wasn't good. I won't be going back anytime soon if at all. I know it depends on who you get, but on top of the food not being great the server wasn't good either.

 

[pixarmom]

Here's a photo... Were we on the 2nd level? Is this what people mean by the 2nd level?

Great photo! Yes, that's the upper or 2nd level, as opposed to the high-baked booths on the lower level.

The new fish that replaced the catfish was mahi mahi when were there in March and July of last year. I really enjoy the mahi mahi but wasn't a fan of the catfish. We'll be at Garden Grill again in two weeks - so I hope the mahi mahi is still there!

 

[KangaFan]

We booked it because of the menu, not the character aspect. It was quite cramped and difficult to get the kids out of their chairs for pictures.

Just a thought--if the kids are old enough, seat them on the outside so they can jump up for pictures. Worked great for our then 4 & 8 year old. They were able to interact with characters even in their seats. Chip & Dale spent quite a bit of time playing with their glow cubes & balancing them on their noses.