Best "Foodie" Options?

[ElizaDoesDisney]

I'm finally heading back to Disney for a week-long solo trip - it's pretty last minute (Oct 22-30) so I'm scrambling. I'm an unrepentant "foodie", but most of my family are decidedly not. This is my chance to eat all the THINGS! Unfortunately a number of the things on my foodie to-do list aren't currently available: V&A, Takumi-Tei, Monsieur Paul. And I'm woefully out of the loop on new developments at Disney over the last 2ish years.

So ..... what is your favorite foodie option? Whether it's a meal, a particular dish, a particular drink, or an overall experience - I'm open to all ideas. I'll have a car - so I'd even be open to off-Disney stuff.

Literally the only thing I have booked so far is a late afternoon reservation at Oga's on 10/23. The entire rest of the trip is TBD.

 

[princessmocha]

Tiffins or Sanaa might be good choices. Both have some very unique dishes. California Grill, but they may be reopened yet.

 

[NYCgrrl]

I'm finally heading back to Disney for a week-long solo trip - it's pretty last minute (Oct 22-30) so I'm scrambling. I'm an unrepentant "foodie", but most of my family are decidedly not. This is my chance to eat all the THINGS! Unfortunately a number of the things on my foodie to-do list aren't currently available: V&A, Takumi-Tei, Monsieur Paul. And I'm woefully out of the loop on new developments at Disney over the last 2ish years.

So ..... what is your favorite foodie option? Whether it's a meal, a particular dish, a particular drink, or an overall experience - I'm open to all ideas. I'll have a car - so I'd even be open to off-Disney stuff.

Literally the only thing I have booked so far is a late afternoon reservation at Oga's on 10/23. The entire rest of the trip is TBD.

Based on your bucket list I’d suggest making reservations throughout Disney Springs. Several new food places that hold the bar high for those who enjoy fine dining: Jaleo, Morimoto Asia, Wine Bar George, etc. Just open the link to DS and pick the spots that appeal. You’ll be happy to know that ADRs are pretty simple and available to make via opentable.com for all the TS spots with the exception of Homecomin’.

 

[2vets]

Homecomin’ - not fancy, but incredible - and if you can’t find an ADR, call them directly.

 

[JZCubed]

I'm finally heading back to Disney for a week-long solo trip - it's pretty last minute (Oct 22-30) so I'm scrambling. I'm an unrepentant "foodie", but most of my family are decidedly not. This is my chance to eat all the THINGS! Unfortunately a number of the things on my foodie to-do list aren't currently available: V&A, Takumi-Tei, Monsieur Paul. And I'm woefully out of the loop on new developments at Disney over the last 2ish years.

So ..... what is your favorite foodie option? Whether it's a meal, a particular dish, a particular drink, or an overall experience - I'm open to all ideas. I'll have a car - so I'd even be open to off-Disney stuff.

Literally the only thing I have booked so far is a late afternoon reservation at Oga's on 10/23. The entire rest of the trip is TBD.

Swan & Dolphin Signatures are a cut-above Disney run establishments.

Jaleo & Morimoto stand out in Disney Springs.

Capa, inside Four Seasons, also has top-notch cuisine.

Ale & Compass has a superior a la carte breakfast.

 

[garneska]

Capa - at the Four Seasons (mentioned above)

Bull and Bear Steakhouse - at the Waldorf

The ones you suggested that are closed are also ones I would point you to. Jaleo was ok. I need to try it again. I went post covid so i think the menu was a little paired down. Tiffins is ok for being in AK. I personally cannot recommend Saana. I have tried it a few times. I eat real Indian food and this is just bad, bland americanized indian food. Seeing the animals is the only reason i go there. Now, if you want to try Indian food but are scared to because of spicy and stuff the i do recommend Saana.

 

[ElizaDoesDisney]

Thanks for all the suggestions --- I especially appreciate the personal recommendations. Google research can only take one so far.

It looks like Bull and Bear is doing tasting dinners on weekends during F&W - the menu looks v. good. And Morimoto appears to have an Omakase option which I'm drooling over.

 

[ParklandDISDad]

Some great suggestions here. I'll second Sanaa at AKL Kidani Village + Morimoto, Homecomin' and Wine Bar George at DS. Haven't tried Takumi-Tei yet, but looks amazing. I was very pleasantly surprised by Three Bridges Bar and Grill at CSR if you find yourself in that neck of the woods, it's a newish restaurant and the menu feels fresh. I enjoyed Topolino's as well. Haven't eaten there in years, but Flying Fish and Yatchman Steakhouse on Crescent Lake were always great dining experiences....

..... still, dare I say that you are not a true foodie until you try a hot dog, i.e., Ronto Wrap, at Black Spire Outpost on Batuu.

 

[Disney Fool]

Blue Zoo at the Dolphin

 

[RanDIZ]

Sanaa or Chefs de France

 

[disney212]

Wine Bar George has great food and great wine.

 

[loves to dive]

Unpopular opinion but you aren't missing much by Chef Paul's not being open yet. We ate there (we are two adults, mother and son) and were a bit disappointed. The tables were pretty close so the noise level was high. The service was not the worst we have ever had at WDW but pretty close.

Disney has a habit (in our experience at least) of mixing tables for their servers so they will have a two top and a large table (seating 6 or more) and maybe a few more 4 tops. The two tops tend to get neglected for the larger tables, I'm guessing the servers are thinking they are getting a bigger tip from the larger tables.

We were seated in a banquet type table, large bench seating on one side and then chairs on the other. I sat on the bench seat, my son in the chair. There was a family next to us with two smallish kids (I'm guessing maybe 6 to 10 years old). It was late, around 8:30 or so and the kids were obviously tired. They sat one on the chair side, one on the bench side. The one on the bench side sprawled along it, kicking me a number of times. Sorry, I'm a Mom, control your kid, if they are that tired you shouldn't be there. They didn't want anything on the menu and the server was going out of her way to find things for them to eat and check on them every 5 min. That meant we were being ignored. She would glance over at our table when waiting on them and just move on by. By the end of the night, we had to flag another server down to find her to get our check. The food was o.k. but for the price, not what one would expect and for the price, I do not want to be kicked by a kid during my meal.

I understand other than V&A's there are going to be kids in every restaurant in DW, but if you are paying over $150 for a meal for two, you shouldn't have to yell at your table mate because it's so loud and you should not be ignored by your server.

Rant over, we like Tiffins. We have never had a bad meal there, always had good service even when seated near a big table.

 

[ParklandDISDad]

Unpopular opinion but you aren't missing much by Chef Paul's not being open yet. We ate there (we are two adults, mother and son) and were a bit disappointed. The tables were pretty close so the noise level was high. The service was not the worst we have ever had at WDW but pretty close.

Disney has a habit (in our experience at least) of mixing tables for their servers so they will have a two top and a large table (seating 6 or more) and maybe a few more 4 tops. The two tops tend to get neglected for the larger tables, I'm guessing the servers are thinking they are getting a bigger tip from the larger tables.

We were seated in a banquet type table, large bench seating on one side and then chairs on the other. I sat on the bench seat, my son in the chair. There was a family next to us with two smallish kids (I'm guessing maybe 6 to 10 years old). It was late, around 8:30 or so and the kids were obviously tired. They sat one on the chair side, one on the bench side. The one on the bench side sprawled along it, kicking me a number of times. Sorry, I'm a Mom, control your kid, if they are that tired you shouldn't be there. They didn't want anything on the menu and the server was going out of her way to find things for them to eat and check on them every 5 min. That meant we were being ignored. She would glance over at our table when waiting on them and just move on by. By the end of the night, we had to flag another server down to find her to get our check. The food was o.k. but for the price, not what one would expect and for the price, I do not want to be kicked by a kid during my meal.

I understand other than V&A's there are going to be kids in every restaurant in DW, but if you are paying over $150 for a meal for two, you shouldn't have to yell at your table mate because it's so loud and you should not be ignored by your server.

Rant over, we like Tiffins. We have never had a bad meal there, always had good service even when seated near a big table.

I am ashamed to say that we have never given Tiffins a try. We don't usually dedicate more than one day to AK, even on our longer trips. Probably going to grab a ADR for this December. My expectations are fairly high though.

 

[NYCgrrl]

I am ashamed to say that we have never given Tiffins a try. We don't usually dedicate more than one day to AK, even on our longer trips. Probably going to grab a ADR for this December. My expectations are fairly high though.

Tiffins is definitely worthy.

 

[loves to dive]

I haven't been since the before times so I don't know if they have the full menu. Not many places do right now though.

 

[bigAWL]

My new favorite is Topolinos.

Also agree with Tiffins and Wine Bar George.

 

[jimmymc]

• Hollywood Brown Derby - anything on the menu will be good, and my favorite in-park restaurant. They also have margarita, martini, and whiskey flights.
• Jungle Skipper Canteen - Kind of a hidden gem in Magic Kingdom, it feels like people ignore this place when looking for table service. Great food and theming.
• Blue Zoo, Shula's, and Il Mulino are in the Swan and Dolphin and are all great for a nicer meal.
• The pizza window in Italy pavilion, if it's open then definitely stop in, my favorite QS in Epcot.
• Jaleo is pricey but excellent. My advice is ignore the paella and get 4 to 5 smaller dishes, especially the steak.
• Satuli Canteen is my favorite place in Animal Kingdom. I've never been to Tiffins, but the menu seems like pretty typical Indian food.
• I used to recommend Be Our Guest, but I don't think I can since they took away the escargot. The steak is still good, but the value went down with that change.

 

[jimmymc]

Swan & Dolphin Signatures are a cut-above Disney run establishments.

Jaleo & Morimoto stand out in Disney Springs.

Capa, inside Four Seasons, also has top-notch cuisine.

Ale & Compass has a superior a la carte breakfast.

I second the Swan and Dolphin restaurants. If you want great, simple food and the theming isn't as important, then this is where I would go.

 

[jimmymc]

I forgot to mention La Cava del Tequilla, but it's so good that it deserves it's own post. The recipes are put together by a tequilla expert and they have top shelf stuff available.

 

[ParklandDISDad]

• Hollywood Brown Derby - anything on the menu will be good, and my favorite in-park restaurant. They also have margarita, martini, and whiskey flights.
• Jungle Skipper Canteen - Kind of a hidden gem in Magic Kingdom, it feels like people ignore this place when looking for table service. Great food and theming.
• Blue Zoo, Shula's, and Il Mulino are in the Swan and Dolphin and are all great for a nicer meal.
• The pizza window in Italy pavilion, if it's open then definitely stop in, my favorite QS in Epcot.
• Jaleo is pricey but excellent. My advice is ignore the paella and get 4 to 5 smaller dishes, especially the steak.
• Satuli Canteen is my favorite place in Animal Kingdom. I've never been to Tiffins, but the menu seems like pretty typical Indian food.
• I used to recommend Be Our Guest, but I don't think I can since they took away the escargot. The steak is still good, but the value went down with that change.

Awesome suggestions! Can't believe I forgot Jungle Skipper Canteen, you're right, super underrated... also an accurate assessment of Be Our Guest, was certainly underwhelmed on our most recent visit.

Brown Derby is another one that I feel like is overlooked.. in sort of the same way that Le Cellier is overlooked these days. I mean to fathom 20 years ago that in 18 posts no one would have mentioned Le Cellier is sort of crazy... both restaurants are still solid choices and all but guarantee great experiences, but it feels like they are, IDK, past their heyday? Like the initial hype that rightfully last for years is now gone?