Best Value Table Service Restaurants

[ForceofWill]

Honestly, that is the same for us too. There are so many great restaurants there, but other things always take priority.

That's funny, we're the exact opposite hah. Since we drive and parking on the top level of the orange garage is just so easy, we generally go every day.

 

[igrsod]

That's funny, we're the exact opposite hah. Since we drive and parking on the top level of the orange garage is just so easy, we generally go every day.

See that's the thing. Buses to DS are a bit of a pain. If we had a car, I bet we would go more often.

 

[Luxurious_Lumiere]

Bummer that The Wave will be closed during the summer as its absolutely one of the best values on property. BUT there are still other great options:

For a nice sit down dinner at EPCOT: Chefs de France. The pre-fixe menu is an amazing deal for what you get and their food is excellent.
Sit down breakfast: Kona Cafe. Entrees are reasonably priced and can still leave very stuffed and satisfied. Amazing coffee.
Quick Service at Animal Kingdom: Satuu'li Canteen. Perhaps the best QS on property. Prob slightly more expensive than other QS options, but the quality of the food is outstanding, amazing flavors, and great portion sizes.
Casual spot for a leisurely lunch: Geyser Point at Wilderness Lodge. Very serene outdoor covered seating area by the lake, great quality food that wont break the bank.
Sit down lunch or dinner at Hollywood Studios: 50's Prime Time. Fun theme. Surprisingly great food for moderate prices (imo the food here is way tastier than the overpriced and overpraised Hollywood Brown Derby)
Signature Dining for Steak Lovers: Flying Fish. Ok yes I know its closed right now (but rumors have it opening soon). And yes I know by the title its a seafood pace (and the seafood is amazing). But the best dish on the menu is a steak, and not even the priciest steak. It's the NY Strip! Charred over an open wood flame, this is the most flavorful steak Ive ever had. And it's remarkably tender, rivaling the filet.

I will also second Columbia Harbor House as a quality QS spot in MK. In general, I dont find many of the MK table service restaurants to be of great value. So I stick to QS or hop on the monorail to one of the resorts for a lunch break.

 

[igrsod]

Bummer that The Wave will be closed during the summer as its absolutely one of the best values on property. BUT there are still other great options:

For a nice sit down dinner at EPCOT: Chefs de France. The pre-fixe menu is an amazing deal for what you get and their food is excellent.
Sit down breakfast: Kona Cafe. Entrees are reasonably priced and can still leave very stuffed and satisfied. Amazing coffee.
Quick Service at Animal Kingdom: Satuu'li Canteen. Perhaps the best QS on property. Prob slightly more expensive than other QS options, but the quality of the food is outstanding, amazing flavors, and great portion sizes.
Casual spot for a leisurely lunch: Geyser Point at Wilderness Lodge. Very serene outdoor covered seating area by the lake, great quality food that wont break the bank.
Sit down lunch or dinner at Hollywood Studios: 50's Prime Time. Fun theme. Surprisingly great food for moderate prices (imo the food here is way tastier than the overpriced and overpraised Hollywood Brown Derby)
Signature Dining for Steak Lovers: Flying Fish. Ok yes I know its closed right now (but rumors have it opening soon). And yes I know by the title its a seafood pace (and the seafood is amazing). But the best dish on the menu is a steak, and not even the priciest steak. It's the NY Strip! Charred over an open wood flame, this is the most flavorful steak Ive ever had. And it's remarkably tender, rivaling the filet.

I will also second Columbia Harbor House as a quality QS spot in MK. In general, I dont find many of the MK table service restaurants to be of great value. So I stick to QS or hop on the monorail to one of the resorts for a lunch break.

We ate at Flying Fish a few trips ago, and we all loved it. It is my daughter's favourite restaurant on property.
I love Satuuli Canteen. I agree it's the best QS on property.
I have never tried Geyser Point, but it sounds lovely. I will fit it in this trip for sure.
Chefs de France is one of my DH favs... so needless to say it's on the list already.
He doesn't particularly care for 50s Primetime. When we go with the kids we always go there, as they love it. This trip it's just a couples trip.

 

[Geomom]

While the entrees are pricey, we enjoyed eating at Hollywood Brown Derby at HS in April. We shared a bunch of appetizers/salads, which can help keep the cost down and it's good for lighter eaters.

Jungle skippers canteen at MK is a good value and if you eat plant based they have a couple good options.

 

[igrsod]

While the entrees are pricey, we enjoyed eating at Hollywood Brown Derby at HS in April. We shared a bunch of appetizers/salads, which can help keep the cost down and it's good for lighter eaters.

Jungle skippers canteen at MK is a good value and if you eat plant based they have a couple good options.

We actually love SK, as my son is vegan and I'm vegetarian. They have so many great options for us. Did you find Brown Derby had good plant based options?

 

[BethanyMouse]

I would say Via Napoli is a good one. Also we like Kona breakfast!

 

[maltdizzy]

A lot of good suggestions on this list, but I'll go in a different direction. I guessing your looking for the best way to stretch a dollar, but since 2-credit signatures are the worst values of the DDP (you lose money vs. OOP in all but two restaurants, even if you order the most expensive item); as a vegetarian, if you never felt like spending two credits on a meal before, it may be a time to splurge on OOP.

 

[igrsod]

A lot of good suggestions on this list, but I'll go in a different direction. I guessing your looking for the best way to stretch a dollar, but since 2-credit signatures are the worst values of the DDP (you lose money vs. OOP in all but two restaurants, even if you order the most expensive item); as a vegetarian, if you never felt like spending two credits on a meal before, it may be a time to splurge on OOP.

You are probably correct here. Being on the dining plan all the time has you thinking one way for picking restaurants. OOP has you thinking a completely different way. Do you have some fav 2 credit restaurants that warrant a visit?

 

[wdw&sonny]

I am frugal. At home or on vacation. For us, it's not about where we eat, but about what we order. We often share one app and one entrée. We usually skip restaurant dessert in favor of a cheaper kiosk dessert, like a Mickey Bar. We choose restaurants like Sci Fi, 50s, Via Napoli, Yaking Yeti, that are not signature, easy to share meals, uniquely Disney. I hate having leftovers, especially on vacation. I have never found a buffet to be a good value. We usually eat a light breakfast and two TS meals per day. Plus, eating less, lighter, sharing lets us enjoy snacks between meals without feeling stuffed.

 

[MudQueen22]

If your family enjoys sharing a pizza, I think the Via Napoli in Epcot is a good value for a really awesome pizza.

 

[Geomom]

We actually love SK, as my son is vegan and I'm vegetarian. They have so many great options for us. Did you find Brown Derby had good plant based options?

I'm not a vegetarian, but do like eating some vegetarian dishes at times (from quick service I tend to order salads, veggie rice bowls, roasted veggie panini, etc). We did a mix of appetizers with/without meat from Hollywood Brown Derby for DH, myself, and DD17. The heirloom tomato and burrata salad, and local greens and baby spinach salad were our 2 veggie based dishes, then we split the charcuterie board, and the Cobb salad, and DH got the Ahi tuna carpaccio. They list an impossible Salisbury steak on the menu...but personally I don't like the "fake" meat and would prefer an actual veggie/black bean burger if I wanted vegetarian. (Or curry, etc.). On the kids menu they list a vegetarian pho...I wonder if they could do an adult portion?

 

[Heather07438]

This is very true. I guess when I'm on the dining plan, I don't "worry" about prices, we just eat at any restaurant regardless of the cost. Out of pocket seems different.... I know it isn't. It's a mental block.
That's why I was asking what restaurants are good value and good food. Like when I'm on the dining plan, we don't eat at Sci Fi or 50s primetime, as there are pretty inexpensive places to eat out of pocket. I was just trying to wrap my head around reservations from a different point of reference.
I agree with you, in just setting aside the dining plan money ahead of time.

We’ve used the dining plan often and I’m kinda excited to go without next trip. The 2 main reasons:
There are so many interesting lounge menus. DDP provided more than enough food so it never made good sense to pay out of pocket to try the lounges.
It was a pain planning our days around making good use out of DDP. Just feels like our days are more flexible without being distracted to work around DDP.

Next trip we have a few good TS in mind and then we’re free to eat whatever whenever. No thinking about how credits can be applied

 

[igrsod]

We’ve used the dining plan often and I’m kinda excited to go without next trip. The 2 main reasons:
There are so many interesting lounge menus. DDP provided more than enough food so it never made good sense to pay out of pocket to try the lounges.
It was a pain planning our days around making good use out of DDP. Just feels like our days are more flexible without being distracted to work around DDP.

Next trip we have a few good TS in mind and then we’re free to eat whatever whenever. No thinking about how credits can be applied

This is a great point. We ate at the Tiffins lounge once and really enjoyed it. No reservations... comfy chairs with a lovely view, and good shareable food. It will be interesting to see how we feel about not using the dining plan. I like not feeling guilty with my Disney indulgences...lol
Also, we love using snack credits for Food & Wine stands. So we will be more particular with what we snack on around World Showplace.

 

[Heather07438]

This is a great point. We ate at the Tiffins lounge once and really enjoyed it. No reservations... comfy chairs with a lovely view, and good shareable food. It will be interesting to see how we feel about not using the dining plan. I like not feeling guilty with my Disney indulgences...lol
Also, we love using snack credits for Food & Wine stands. So we will be more particular with what we snack on around World Showplace.

Using snack credits at the food booths we’ll miss the most! Love Nomad and Baseline Taphouse too. We’re planning to hit some resort lounges next time as well.

 

[Scalemaster34]

A lot of good suggestions on this list, but I'll go in a different direction. I guessing your looking for the best way to stretch a dollar, but since 2-credit signatures are the worst values of the DDP (you lose money vs. OOP in all but two restaurants, even if you order the most expensive item); as a vegetarian, if you never felt like spending two credits on a meal before, it may be a time to splurge on OOP.

Cinderella's Royal Table... how often can you eat in a castle?

We just did it again, and I was dreading it as I've never really had a good meal there and always consider it overpriced. But it was always about the location and the characters in the past and I figured why not. We had our 10 year old granddaughter, and grand parents are suppose to spoil them. Ended up being one of the best meals we had the whole trip! And the interaction with Cinderella from a far was more than enough for my granddaughter... so hard to put a price on that.

I agree I might hold off paying cash for most they 2-Credit Signatures... unless they open up the dinner shows, or you fancy a trip over to the top of the Contemporary. We ate at Brown Derby while there, but it can be done rather cheap....

In the end I'd plan my day at that parks.... and then figure out where I need to eat that day. Too many get caught up in the dining and end up spending way too much time traveling around.

 

[igrsod]

Cinderella's Royal Table... how often can you eat in a castle?

We just did it again, and I was dreading it as I've never really had a good meal there and always consider it overpriced. But it was always about the location and the characters in the past and I figured why not. We had our 10 year old granddaughter, and grand parents are suppose to spoil them. Ended up being one of the best meals we had the whole trip! And the interaction with Cinderella from a far was more than enough for my granddaughter... so hard to put a price on that.

I agree I might hold off paying cash for most they 2-Credit Signatures... unless they open up the dinner shows, or you fancy a trip over to the top of the Contemporary. We ate at Brown Derby while there, but it can be done rather cheap....

In the end I'd plan my day at that parks.... and then figure out where I need to eat that day. Too many get caught up in the dining and end up spending way too much time traveling around.

That is great that you had such a good time at Cinderella's Castle.
For us food is as important as the rides in the parks. It's all part of a great Disney vacation. I do plan my days really well though so that we aren't traipsing all over the place to get to reservations. I don't like wasting time or energy.
I haven't tried Cali Grill yet.... that might be a good one to try OOP.

 

[Becky Mouse]

Cinderella's Royal Table... how often can you eat in a castle?

We just did it again, and I was dreading it as I've never really had a good meal there and always consider it overpriced. But it was always about the location and the characters in the past and I figured why not. We had our 10 year old granddaughter, and grand parents are suppose to spoil them. Ended up being one of the best meals we had the whole trip! And the interaction with Cinderella from a far was more than enough for my granddaughter... so hard to put a price on that.

I agree I might hold off paying cash for most they 2-Credit Signatures... unless they open up the dinner shows, or you fancy a trip over to the top of the Contemporary. We ate at Brown Derby while there, but it can be done rather cheap....

In the end I'd plan my day at that parks.... and then figure out where I need to eat that day. Too many get caught up in the dining and end up spending way too much time traveling around.

I only ate at CRT once, but the meal was phenomenal! I'm glad you had a good experience this trip.