Quicklabs
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2005
- Messages
- 1,980
I was one of those people who got up at the crack of dawn to make ressies by phone on the first possible day. I was sooooo excited about having not one, but two dinners here. In all, I give the place a solid "C-" and probably won't be back. The dinner was for just my DH and me.
Our first dinner was on Friday, 5 January. We were seated on time and led to...the absolutely WORST table in the house. It was located in a high traffic area which provided my husband a stunning view right into the men's bathroom, highly visible through the doorway. We asked for permission merely to set his chair 90 degrees to another side of the table so that would at least not have to cope with looking into the men's room while he was eating. Our waiter consulted with two people, who grudgingly allowed him to reposition his chair. We were nevertheless bumped regularly by people coming into the restaurant, even me, though I sat in the "regular" place. The table for two was postage-stamp sized and could barely fit our dinner plates, flatware and silverware.
Our waiter was terrible. We had to ask for everything--the bread basket, sugar and milk for my tea, refills on our drinks every time. He never checked in with us as we ate.
I ordered the French onion soup. It was just okay. Visually, it looked great. The cheese was plentiful good, but the soup itself held very little onion and the broth was bland. I've had better canned soup, and the frozen Onion soup from Trader Joe's puts this to shame. My husband had the green salad, which was nothing special at all.
As we began our appetizers, our main course arrived. Now, even if we had a place on which we could set the dishes, it would have been about 20 minutes too soon. Our server seemed surprised when we said we weren't ready for this. We were told that they would "keep" it for us. I worried that it would be set under a warmer.
My husband accurately predicted that the main course would now be long in coming. 30 minutes later, it arrived. We both had the Shrimp and Scallops in Lobster Sauce and puff pastry. This was very good. The shrimp and scallops were large and plentiful. The dish had an Asian flavor, IMO, and we enjoyed it. It had obviously been freshly made, not merely warmed, since both the shrimp and scallops were cooked perfectly. We would have liked a little bit more sauce as what we were served barely wetted the pastry. In all, I give this dish a B.
We were both so uncomfortable at that awful little table that we chose not to have dessert. We just wanted out of the restaurant. We really couldn't enjoy any of the ambiance of the place--we were as far away from the "snowfall" outside the window as one could possibly be, just steps away from the reception podium. In that area, we found it loud and just plain dismal.
Total bill, including tip was around $80. (We still left around 15%). This was for two appetozers, and two dinners, and two servings of tea.
I decided that before just blasting this experience on the Disboard and telling everyone I could to "stay away" from this place, my husband and I would speak to a manager. He came out and listened to our feedback, in which I tried to provide a balanced review. We indicated that the main dish was very good, but that the service, attempt to rush us through our meal, and the horrible table location really spoiled our enjoyment of the restaurant. He apologized that we had such a disappointing experience and admitted that this table was one of the most undesirable in the house. We suggested that perhaps they consider just taking it out, but it was clear that wasn't going to happen. My husband said that we would be cancelling our reservation for the next week. He asked us to please return to allow him an opportunity to provide us with a better experience. He gave us his card and asked us to present this at our next visit, should we keep our reservation.
Well, we did keep the next ressie. The manager, as promised, came out to welcome us. We were led to a table close to the beautiful window scene. We sat at a four top, which is about the size of a normal two top. This accomodated everything just right. I wasn't worried about knocking over something as I reached for my glass. Our server (Jay) was excellent. She provided great recommendations for us, and told us that the snowfall was the exact one depicted in the movie. She invited us to see the West Wing on our way out (something that everyone can do; our previous waiter never bothered to inform us of this). This time, I had the Mussels, which truly were excellent. They were fragrant, plentiful, and cooked in a lovely wine and garlic sauce. Bread was brought to the table, and I used it to soak up some of that excellent broth. My husband had the Onion soup--he thought it was "just okay" as I had thought previously. Score of A for the mussels and C for the soup. DH also had a Kronenburg beer, which he enjoyed.
Nevertheless, midway through my enjoyment of the mussels, the main dish was brought. We again sent it back. I'm not a slow eater by any means, so it's clearly a problem of communication between the servers and the kitchen. Either that, or they are intent on rushing people in and out as quickly as possible to turn those tables. Even at a normal pace, my husband were in and out of the restaurant in around 55 minutes, which included service for appetizer, main dish, and dessert. I don't think this is unreasonable, but we had to set this pace or otherwise we would have been in and out in around 30 minutes if we had let the restaurant dictate the schedule.
We got the scallops and shrimp again, and this appears to be a very solid dish for them. It was very good.
We both had the Beast's triple chocolate cupcake for dessert. It was delicious, and a nice bite to finish the meal. A bargain at $3.99--I would expect to pay that in the local cupcake shop. Manager checked in again at the end of the meal and we indicated that this experience was far superior to our previous visit. Bill, including 25% tip, was a little over $100.
We did check out the West Wing, which is highly themed, much smaller, and quite dark compared to the ballroom. The main "ballroom" dining room, was nice enough, but would have been fairly pedestrian (kind of like a hotel ballroom) had it not been for those fabulous windows at the back of the restaurant.
We posed with the Beast for a picture and exited through the Armory room. Don't miss the Armory! I won't spoil the many surprises it holds, but suffice it to say that DH and I found this very entertaining and delightful way to conclude our dinner there. I could swear that the knights were speaking directly to us, as they seemed to respond to our actions and comments, while providing their own unique verbalizations. Very, very clever on the part of the Imagineers!
So there you have it. I think this is a restaurant that is still trying to find itself. If you get a good table and a decent server, you'll enjoy it. If you are not so lucky, then you'll wonder what the big deal is all about, and be able to think of at least 10 places on Disney property which provide a better experience. (Yes, that same sad little table was there on the second visit--we mourned for the people seated there). The food is very good--my overall favorite was the mussels. Do be sure to set your own pace rather than allowing yourself to be rushed! They will accomodate that (cheerfully, if you have a good server).
In sum, we won't return anytime soon, instead booking an ADR again for Via Napoli, which was soooo much better overall.
Our first dinner was on Friday, 5 January. We were seated on time and led to...the absolutely WORST table in the house. It was located in a high traffic area which provided my husband a stunning view right into the men's bathroom, highly visible through the doorway. We asked for permission merely to set his chair 90 degrees to another side of the table so that would at least not have to cope with looking into the men's room while he was eating. Our waiter consulted with two people, who grudgingly allowed him to reposition his chair. We were nevertheless bumped regularly by people coming into the restaurant, even me, though I sat in the "regular" place. The table for two was postage-stamp sized and could barely fit our dinner plates, flatware and silverware.
Our waiter was terrible. We had to ask for everything--the bread basket, sugar and milk for my tea, refills on our drinks every time. He never checked in with us as we ate.
I ordered the French onion soup. It was just okay. Visually, it looked great. The cheese was plentiful good, but the soup itself held very little onion and the broth was bland. I've had better canned soup, and the frozen Onion soup from Trader Joe's puts this to shame. My husband had the green salad, which was nothing special at all.
As we began our appetizers, our main course arrived. Now, even if we had a place on which we could set the dishes, it would have been about 20 minutes too soon. Our server seemed surprised when we said we weren't ready for this. We were told that they would "keep" it for us. I worried that it would be set under a warmer.
My husband accurately predicted that the main course would now be long in coming. 30 minutes later, it arrived. We both had the Shrimp and Scallops in Lobster Sauce and puff pastry. This was very good. The shrimp and scallops were large and plentiful. The dish had an Asian flavor, IMO, and we enjoyed it. It had obviously been freshly made, not merely warmed, since both the shrimp and scallops were cooked perfectly. We would have liked a little bit more sauce as what we were served barely wetted the pastry. In all, I give this dish a B.
We were both so uncomfortable at that awful little table that we chose not to have dessert. We just wanted out of the restaurant. We really couldn't enjoy any of the ambiance of the place--we were as far away from the "snowfall" outside the window as one could possibly be, just steps away from the reception podium. In that area, we found it loud and just plain dismal.
Total bill, including tip was around $80. (We still left around 15%). This was for two appetozers, and two dinners, and two servings of tea.
I decided that before just blasting this experience on the Disboard and telling everyone I could to "stay away" from this place, my husband and I would speak to a manager. He came out and listened to our feedback, in which I tried to provide a balanced review. We indicated that the main dish was very good, but that the service, attempt to rush us through our meal, and the horrible table location really spoiled our enjoyment of the restaurant. He apologized that we had such a disappointing experience and admitted that this table was one of the most undesirable in the house. We suggested that perhaps they consider just taking it out, but it was clear that wasn't going to happen. My husband said that we would be cancelling our reservation for the next week. He asked us to please return to allow him an opportunity to provide us with a better experience. He gave us his card and asked us to present this at our next visit, should we keep our reservation.
Well, we did keep the next ressie. The manager, as promised, came out to welcome us. We were led to a table close to the beautiful window scene. We sat at a four top, which is about the size of a normal two top. This accomodated everything just right. I wasn't worried about knocking over something as I reached for my glass. Our server (Jay) was excellent. She provided great recommendations for us, and told us that the snowfall was the exact one depicted in the movie. She invited us to see the West Wing on our way out (something that everyone can do; our previous waiter never bothered to inform us of this). This time, I had the Mussels, which truly were excellent. They were fragrant, plentiful, and cooked in a lovely wine and garlic sauce. Bread was brought to the table, and I used it to soak up some of that excellent broth. My husband had the Onion soup--he thought it was "just okay" as I had thought previously. Score of A for the mussels and C for the soup. DH also had a Kronenburg beer, which he enjoyed.
Nevertheless, midway through my enjoyment of the mussels, the main dish was brought. We again sent it back. I'm not a slow eater by any means, so it's clearly a problem of communication between the servers and the kitchen. Either that, or they are intent on rushing people in and out as quickly as possible to turn those tables. Even at a normal pace, my husband were in and out of the restaurant in around 55 minutes, which included service for appetizer, main dish, and dessert. I don't think this is unreasonable, but we had to set this pace or otherwise we would have been in and out in around 30 minutes if we had let the restaurant dictate the schedule.
We got the scallops and shrimp again, and this appears to be a very solid dish for them. It was very good.
We both had the Beast's triple chocolate cupcake for dessert. It was delicious, and a nice bite to finish the meal. A bargain at $3.99--I would expect to pay that in the local cupcake shop. Manager checked in again at the end of the meal and we indicated that this experience was far superior to our previous visit. Bill, including 25% tip, was a little over $100.
We did check out the West Wing, which is highly themed, much smaller, and quite dark compared to the ballroom. The main "ballroom" dining room, was nice enough, but would have been fairly pedestrian (kind of like a hotel ballroom) had it not been for those fabulous windows at the back of the restaurant.
We posed with the Beast for a picture and exited through the Armory room. Don't miss the Armory! I won't spoil the many surprises it holds, but suffice it to say that DH and I found this very entertaining and delightful way to conclude our dinner there. I could swear that the knights were speaking directly to us, as they seemed to respond to our actions and comments, while providing their own unique verbalizations. Very, very clever on the part of the Imagineers!
So there you have it. I think this is a restaurant that is still trying to find itself. If you get a good table and a decent server, you'll enjoy it. If you are not so lucky, then you'll wonder what the big deal is all about, and be able to think of at least 10 places on Disney property which provide a better experience. (Yes, that same sad little table was there on the second visit--we mourned for the people seated there). The food is very good--my overall favorite was the mussels. Do be sure to set your own pace rather than allowing yourself to be rushed! They will accomodate that (cheerfully, if you have a good server).
In sum, we won't return anytime soon, instead booking an ADR again for Via Napoli, which was soooo much better overall.
I would have made the biggest stink in the World! Pun intended! If something is on the menu, you should be able to get it! The manager should have been involved in this. That server should not be working there if this is the way she treats people. I am not a person who likes conflict. But mess with my kid and watch out! I hope you have her name because you should contact Disney and report her!
