Colleen27
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2007
- Messages
- 24,187
It really comes down to personal taste and what you mean by fancy. For really fancy suit-and-tie dining, there is Victoria & Alberts, which I haven't yet tried personally but ranks as one of the best restaurants in Florida. We generally do "lesser" fancy, places with better food and a little nicer atmosphere than run-of-the-mill Disney restaurants but that are still just dressy-casual in terms of dress code and serve good, creative but not truly gourmet foods.
Of those we've tried...
California Grill would be my top choice, but I'm a sushi lover. People who don't eat sushi generally don't rate it as highly as I would. Their sushi chef is amazing and really outshines the rest of the menu. The view is beautiful but the atmosphere can be fairly noisy with the fireworks view drawing in a lot of families.
Artist Point was excellent as well, though we have a hard time fitting it into trips where we aren't staying at Wilderness Lodge. The atmosphere is a lot quieter and more relaxing than California Grill, and the entire Lodge is really a wonderfully relaxing environment.
Jiko was amazing with a really different menu from anywhere else Disney offers, and again a much quieter atmosphere than California Grill. The wine list is quite interesting as well, I had an excellent South African (I think?) red wine at our server's recommendation that I wish I'd thought to write down the name of so that I could look for it at home.
Narcoosees was a hit with the lobster lovers in my family, but just pretty good by those of us who chose other entrees. They have the best Disney dessert, though, and a beautiful view. This is another one on the noisy side, because of a complete lack of soft surfaces in the dining room - lots of wood and glass make for a pretty restaurant but also an acoustic nightmare.
Yachtsman Steakhouse was my least favorite of the "signature" restaurants we've tried. The food was good, well prepared and up to par for a nice steakhouse, but there really isn't anything that sets it apart from any other nice steakhouse. It was a good meal but lacked any unique touch that we can't get in a higher-end steakhouse here at home.
Of those we've tried...
California Grill would be my top choice, but I'm a sushi lover. People who don't eat sushi generally don't rate it as highly as I would. Their sushi chef is amazing and really outshines the rest of the menu. The view is beautiful but the atmosphere can be fairly noisy with the fireworks view drawing in a lot of families.
Artist Point was excellent as well, though we have a hard time fitting it into trips where we aren't staying at Wilderness Lodge. The atmosphere is a lot quieter and more relaxing than California Grill, and the entire Lodge is really a wonderfully relaxing environment.
Jiko was amazing with a really different menu from anywhere else Disney offers, and again a much quieter atmosphere than California Grill. The wine list is quite interesting as well, I had an excellent South African (I think?) red wine at our server's recommendation that I wish I'd thought to write down the name of so that I could look for it at home.
Narcoosees was a hit with the lobster lovers in my family, but just pretty good by those of us who chose other entrees. They have the best Disney dessert, though, and a beautiful view. This is another one on the noisy side, because of a complete lack of soft surfaces in the dining room - lots of wood and glass make for a pretty restaurant but also an acoustic nightmare.
Yachtsman Steakhouse was my least favorite of the "signature" restaurants we've tried. The food was good, well prepared and up to par for a nice steakhouse, but there really isn't anything that sets it apart from any other nice steakhouse. It was a good meal but lacked any unique touch that we can't get in a higher-end steakhouse here at home.
