Brown Derby -- lovers or haters give me your review

[Rneighh]

I am thinking of eating at Brown Derby on upcoming early Decemer trip. It is worth 2 TS on the dining plan?

What do you love/hate about this place.

On our Feb. trip we ate at CG with BD measure up?

Renee

 

[Princess89]

I absolutely LOVED the Brown Derby!! I was thinking about doing again on this trip, but I wanted to try a few other places so I might not.

 

[mytwotinks]

I did BD last June with my DSis and her daughter and my two dd's. We really loved it. I thought that the atmosphere was relaxing, but still interesting to our kids (3, 4, & 8). We did it on the Fantasmic package so we got priority seats at the show and didn't have to wait so long. We are doing it again this Sept. with our husbands this time! I would do the Fantasmic pkg. so you can get the seating, it won't cost you any more on the dining plan.

We are also going to the CG as a group during that trip to see wishes. Glad to hear that you liked it there!

 

[Greg K.]

You'd be hard-pressed to find a nicer restaurant in any theme park, anywhere. We took my in-laws there for dinner last summer (with the Fantasmic dinner package) and they were WOWED. Try the grapefruit cake for desert!!!

 

[bookgirl2632]

I thought the Brown Derby was fantastic. I, of course, had the Cobb Salad. It was wonderful! The ambience is perfect, very old Hollywood. And if the weather is nice, I think they have outdoor seating as well. But I'd prefer inside, only because the decor is beautiful. We'd be returning this time, but it is now worth two TS credits and we want to limit ourselves to only one signature dining. But I think it's well worth it.

As for comparing to California Grill, I'd say that it does in regards to food. But you can't beat the view at CG.

 

[Minniespal]

We usually eat at the BD at least twice on every trip. We prefer to have lunch and always request a patio table. Fantastic.

 

[MelanieC]

We tried it the trip before last and had dinner there. We were not really impressed. Maybe we just had an off night. The food was very mediocre for the price. I guess I just expected better.

However, that said. I do plan on trying it again in the future. It may have been an off night.

 

[mugsy]

We ate there last week, using a Fantasmic package. Appetizers: Portabella Mushroom ravioli, Sea Scallop with Fatback, and Spring Vegetable Gazpacho (subbed for kid's appetizer) -- all yummy, but the fatback (sort of like shortribs or fatty barbeque) may be too much for some people. The best of the bunch was the gazpacho. Entrees: Filet Minion, Duck Breast & Duck Sausage, and Grilled Cheese. The Filet Minion was as expected -- cooked as ordered, a nice piece of beef. The Grilled Cheese (it's not on the kid's menu -- you have to know to ask for it) -- my son liked it. The Duck Breast & Duck Sausage -- problematic. It's a new dish for the Brown Derby, and the kitchen had trouble cooking the duck breast medium rare (the recommended doneness -- it tastes like steak when cooked correctly). My wife sent it back once, and lived with it the second time (it came back cooked to medium doneness). The duck sausage was little gamey, but OK. My wife liked the balsamic vinegar sauce that came with the dish. Dessert: Creme Brulee, Flourless Chocolate Cake, and Orange Sherbert -- all winners, especially the cake.

The atmosphere is great in the restaurant, with the photos on the wall and the decor, but it can get crazy with all the Fantasmic diners. The service was outstanding -- our server was very knowledgeable about the dishes, and even took the duck entree and my wife's dessert off the bill because of the problems with the dish.

This was our third time to this restaurant, and we would go back again. It had mostly hits on the menu (although the lamb they used to serve was the best), and the one big miss was a brand new dish that we give them points for offering (it's not easy to sell duck to American diners, if it's not made l'orange or with some fruity sauce). I'm sure that they will get it right with practice.

 

[lonegungirl]

I really enjoy the "old Hollywood" atmosphere at the Brown Derby, and the dinner I had there a few trips back stands out as the best entree of the bunch.

I had:

Seared Ahi

The Celebration dessert--I think it was some sort of orange-flavored chocolate mousse.

 

[Aimeedyan]

We really enjoyed our meal at Brown Derby - everything was delicious, the service was top notch, and the atmosphere is great!

 

[rascalmom]

This is one of our all time favorites - but the only dish that stands out as a "must recommend" is the Cobb Salad. We most often go here for lunch - yummy bread, Cobb Salad, real brewed ice tea & a calm, cool, relaxing atmosphere. Great mid-day break!

Not on the same par as CG for atmosphere - there is nothing like the view of the castle at CG, but I like the food as well or better.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

We ate at the Brown derby last October and reall enjoy it. We had not dined there for a few years so it was nice to see that it was still a great place to dine. I had the Pork Tenderloin and it was fantastic, very tender and flavorable. I finished my meal with a piece of there signature Grapefruit Cake.

 

[kaceyisme]

I have to say that I have only been there once, and was looking forward to the Cobb Salad. I thought it was terrible. I loved chopped salads, and have them often, but this could only be called a pulverized salad. I actually hated it. I'm willing to give the Brown Derby another try, but I won't be ordering the Cobb Salad again.

 

[Mackey Mouse]

We always eat at the Brown Derby when we are in WDW...The service is good, I have never had a meal that was not satisfied with, and the price is right for the quality. I would definitely suggest your eating there on your trip, the decor is definitely worth the visit...

 

[MadToad]

We've never had a bad meal at the Derby and we make sure to eat here at least once per visit. I prefer it for lunch (I'm a Cobb Salad guy) but dinner is also quite nice. The rolls are worth killing for. The Cali Grill is a completely different experience.

For me, I'd pick CG for dinner based on the atmosphere/view, menu, etc.

Good Luck!

 

[garada3]

I am going to be in the minority but we did not care for the Brown Derby.

We used the DDP to reserve the Fantasmic Package.

We waited about 20 minutes for after our 6:00pm ADR time to get a seat. We ended up having a table on the floor, first one to the right of the steps. A very very busy location. Menus were brought quickly but we then didn't see our server for 15 minutes or so.

Our server was rather abrupt with us each time she spoke with us or brought drink refills to the table. I had requested water for each of us and the beverage included in the DDP as it was very hot that day(93 in early May). She brought the kids water but not DH and I. Our meals arrived before our water did.

They were out of the signature pork loin (at 6:30pm). Gotta wonder, if they have a signature dish they should have plenty available. My steak and my oldest DS steak was over cooked on the outside. Yes, I order it medium well but it shouldn't be overcooked. The California Grill had no problems making a perfect medium well steak - they butterflied it making two thinner steaks out of the one -delicious! Why doesn't HBD do this?

Dessert was good but not too memorable - we shared creme brulee, grapefriut cake and something else

Yes 2 credits per person isn't the best use of the DDP. Our family used 10 credits for that one meal, but we did have them to use up as we were leaving the next day.

It was our last TS of vacation and perhaps that had something to do with our reaction. That and we had the kids with us (they had been at the Neverland Club during our CG meal ) Maybe we were all tired of eating.

Not sure if we will give it another try.

Anyway that is my $.02.

I sincerely hope you and your family have better luck with HBD.

 

[myprinceandprincess]

Glad to hear that most of the posts say that BD is worth it. We have ADRs for BD with the Fantasmic package. My only disappointment was to hear that if it rains and Fantasmic is cancelled, your forfeit your benefits of the package and don't get to Fantasmic another night.

 

[myprinceandprincess]

Glad to hear that most of the posts say that BD is worth it. We have ADRs for BD with the Fantasmic package. My only disappointment was to hear that if it rains and Fantasmic is cancelled, your forfeit your benefits of the package and don't get to Fantasmic another night.

 

[cseca]

I'm one of the minority too I spose.
I've tried BD twice, once years ago and once more last year.
I have to say that both times the food was quite ordinary. The atmosphere was very nice but food I don't think quite live up to my expectation.
Don't remember what I had years ago but last year I had the filet marinated in coke with mashed potato. The filet was just OK, nothing special the mashed potato was great.
DBF had the roasted chicken. It was better than my filet I think... and that is quite a feat to say because I'm a meat eater.

 

[Condorman]

I noticed a lot of you visited DB prior to Fantasmic. It's still fuzzy to me whether DB offers its entire menu while on the package or are you limited to ordering from three choices of apps, entrees and desserts?

Can anyone clarify this?