Blue Zoo-I can't believe I have to give it a

[Leota]

I'm back & insane playing catch up at home & work.

Alas, I hate to disappoint, but I was unable to try the Zoo this trip. We were all set to go to the Lounge & we were informed by the Hostess at the door that the power was off & they expected to be back on in an hour or so. We decided to make a stop at Il Mulino for drinks & apps & then come back to the Zoo after. When we came back a couple hours later, there was a sign out front that they were down for the night. We were staying in the Dolphin & when I got back to our room for the night, there was a message on the phone that one of the 6 generators in the Resort had blown, affecting BlueZoo, the Fountain & one other area....

I will be posting a seperate review of Il Mulino tho - Teaser: Drinks get a BIG Thumbs Up, Appetizers get a "Eh"

 

[TigerKat]

So sorry you couldn't make it there this time. I think we may go ahead and give it a shot, as we are really looking forward to it!

 

[wildernesslodgelover]

I am looking forward to hearing your opinion, TK!

 

[TigerKat]

I am looking forward to hearing your opinion, TK!

We're not going for quite a while yet, even though I have to make my ADRs in 10 days. I still have plenty of time to read more reviews and since we're going for 12 days(plenty of good food) can possibly make a last minute decision to just skip it if the place is empty. I was sooooo looking forward to this place, but I am not going to shell out that kind of $$ for inferior food. We'll see!

 

[Leota]

TK , I'm not ready to write it off yet. We had several divine meals there with one less than perfect night, which they more than made up for the next trip.

I am concerned that there have been several less than stellar reports lately, often I take those with a grain of salt. What really concerns me is when I see negative reports coming from former BZ lovers or people whose tastes & experience seems similar to mine.

 

[oybolshoi]

Thank you Leota for phrasing this so well. That is precisely my concern.

I take all the reviews here with a grain of salt, too, but we have an ADR for Blue Zoo on May 28th and with some of things I've read I'm seriously considering changing it. And that's not something I usually do based on reviews I read here.

Am really thinking about trying to get into Flying Fish instead...does anyone here have any thoughts about that?

BTW thanks in advance for letting me sideswipe your thread with my question, wildernesslodgelover.

I am concerned that there have been several less than stellar reports lately, often I take those with a grain of salt. What really concerns me is when I see negative reports coming from former BZ lovers or people whose tastes & experience seems similar to mine.

 

[mickeymedic]

Flying Fish rocks! DH and I try to eat here whenever we're at Disney. We've never had a bad meal or bad service here. (But, then again, we're not that picky.) The entree's are generous and the menu has a great variety. So, if you're on the fence about BZ, try the Flying Fish.

 

[TigerKat]

Thank you Leota for phrasing this so well. That is precisely my concern.

I take all the reviews here with a grain of salt, too, but we have an ADR for Blue Zoo on May 28th and with some of things I've read I'm seriously considering changing it. And that's not something I usually do based on reviews I read here.

Am really thinking about trying to get into Flying Fish instead...does anyone here have any thoughts about that?

BTW thanks in advance for letting me sideswipe your thread with my question, wildernesslodgelover.

Flying Fish is amazing, everything we had there was excellent. If you decide to stick with BZ, please give a review when you return!

 

[wildernesslodgelover]

We had an ADR at Bistro De Paris on our last night of the trip, but we wanted to eat earlier than our time (7:30) so we walked over to FF right as it opened and had no trouble getting a seat. We chose to sit at the bar...a food bar, not a regular bar. Kristin was our server and she was great. We had a mussel app in a pesto cream sauce...OMG, that sauce, I could drink it! We also shared the salad of young arugula with pears and candied walnuts that had a gorgonzola crostini with it. Again, it was awesome.

For our entrees we shared a potato wrapped snapper, which is their signature dish. It was incredible, but I wish they had more of a side order with it. The menu said "creamy leek fondue" but it was more like a side of sauteed leeks. They were good, just not substantial. The red wine butter sauce was excellent, though.

We also shared the char crusted NY strip steak. When it was set down in front of us, I thought to myself "There is no way that steak is medium rare! It looks burnt!" But it was a perfect pink inside, and juicy. I was a little disappointed in just HOW charred it was...it had a bit of that burnt flavor. DH loved it, though...he likes that flavor in his food.

I would definitely go back to FF!

And again...I am *hoping* to hear a positive review of BZ. I would love to think it was just an "off" night!

oybolshoi-Anytime!

 

[oybolshoi]

Thanks everyone for your input and thanks again to wildernesslodgelover for letting my divert her thread for a while.

I talked it over with the hubby and since we've never tried FF either, we decided that we'd switch the ADRs. The menu at FF just sounds a little more appealing right now.

We may give BlueZoo a try in October - just depends on which way the wind's blowing.


BTW - I had no trouble at all today getting the ADR I wanted at Flying Fish even though we're only 9 days removed from the date I wanted. That could be due to the fact that there are only 2 people in our party, but I was a little surprised considering that it's a holiday weekend.

Guess that's good news for people looking for reservations!!

 

[diesel]

Ok I was a little concerned about eating at Bluezoo after reading this thread but my husband and I did try it. We had reservations for Friday May 11 @ 5pm. First off there was definitely no need for a reservation. The place was empty and when we finally left around 6:30pm there were probably only 4 other tables that were being used. I was surprised but it could be because it’s in a convention hotel and usually the conventioneers leave on Fridays so maybe the place is more busy on say a Monday or Tuesday when conferences are in full swing.

For appetizers I had the hearts of romaine salad. Very good it was like a Caesar salad. My husband had Tuna tartare. We both enjoyed the appetizers. I had the tenderloin it was very tasty and perfectly cooked. My husband had Chilean Sea Bass which he really enjoyed and was recommended by our server. We also added the shake n bake fries which I’ve heard people rave about. They were nothing special. I could have done them at home with Orida french fries. Anther side dish we ordered were the spice roasted carrots. Again nothing special. For dessert we had blueberry tart and some sort of chocolate raspberry cake. Desserts were ok. Also during the meals I had a special martini which was very good and my husband tried a few of the special brewery beers. We enjoyed these.

Ok so what’s my final say on the meal? It wasn’t bad and I’m glad I tried it. We had a excellent server and good service. The meal was very expensive all most $200 after tip! Unfortunately I would rather have spent that kind of money at the California Grill or Jiko. If I had to rate the Bluezoo on a scale from 1-10 I guess I’d give it a 7. I’m glad I went and probably would go back in another year or two.

 

[Leota]

Thanks Diesel.

We had the Shake & Bake Fries one time & I was completely underwhelmed. I thought it was just because I really don't care for fries all that much. I had wanted to try the carrots, but just hadn't gotten to them yet. I had the tenderloin last time I was there & it was very good.

It worries me that BZ is so empty lately. It was bustling last time we were there.

 

[wildernesslodgelover]

Thanks, diesel!

 

[dawgfan]

Nickel sized oysters, bad service, serving from bus carts!!!! Horrible sounding place. Never ate there. Will look for more reviews on this place before I try it.

 

[ufgator]

Thanks for your review - sorry it wasn't good though. I've noticed some bad DIS reviews lately. I still have yet to eat here.

 

[tasha99]

I wonder how DDP affects restaurants like Blue Zoo. Maybe it's siphoning off customers because they would have to pay out of pocket there.

(OMG, have I come up with a new it's all the DDP theory? Sorry about that, )

 

[LuluLovesDisney]

We dined at Bluezoo about a year ago and really loved it - esp. the Cantonese Lobster and the Creme Brulee bar - with a shot of Chambord.

I really, really hope that they fix the service/cooking issues soon. I'm sorry you had a bad experience - sometimes bad experiences at places we once loved are even worse than a bad experience at a new place. We feel that way about 'Ohana.

We will stop in for some appetizers this summer to check it out. Hopefully it will be better.

 

[MickeyCrazed]

I wonder how DDP affects restaurants like Blue Zoo. Maybe it's siphoning off customers because they would have to pay out of pocket there.

(OMG, have I come up with a new it's all the DDP theory? Sorry about that, )

Or maybe they are turning their guests away with their attitudes! I'm chiming in on this converation a bit late, but here goes anyway...

I was looking forward to dining at the Blue Zoo for a really long time prior to our last trip in December. Many fantastic reviews by Uncleromulus had me on the edge of my seating just waiting for the date that I could enjoy a great meal there!

However... The day of our reservation, we received a really nasty voice mail from a hostess at the restaurant. She (not so politely) said that since we were on the dining plan, we should consider another restaurant for our dining experience that evening because they don't accept the DDP.

I have no idea how she figured out we were on the plan, and I thought wording and the tone of the call were totally out of line. And to top it off, we had just completed a mini vacation at the Dolphin the day of our reservation. Needless to say, we did not show up for our ADR, and we probably won't waste our money on the Swan/Dolphin hotels or restaurants for a while due to this experience.

Sad... because we used to enjoy Palio and Fresh during every trip, and were really looking forward to our Blue Zoo and the new Italian restaurant experiences.

I'm glad to hear that another poster felt that the hostesses were . Now I know I made the best choice by deciding to pass on our ADR that evening.

Oh Uncleromulus... now is your chance to convince me to give them another try... Did you go there during your last WDW stay?

 

[wildernesslodgelover]

I don't mean to answer for UncleR, but I believe he was unable to due to his bout with kidney stones! I would REALLY love to hear his opinion, because I think he is an even a bigger BZ lover than I was!

UncleR...when is your next trip?

 

[jlima]

Todd English has one restaurant here in Vegas - Olives at Bellagio.

My experience is that tourists think it's great, and locals think it's about the same as a really nice Olive Garden or Macaroni Grill.

You can get the same quality food at so many other restaurants.