Can you please recommend a restaurant for our hot date!?

[aes74]

Hi! We will be at Disney one week in March, bringing our three children. One night while we are there we'll be leaving the kids in The Neverland Club at the Poly so we can go out to dinner together ALONE. Where should we go?! I'm so excited! We are paying OOP. I have never been to Citricos or Narcoosee's so I am interested in knowing if those are worth it. Also interested in the restaurants at the Swan and Dolphin. What would you do?

 

[ppony]

What kinds of foods do you like? Meat? Seafood? Both? Will you have a car? Willing to take a taxi?

After our 18 years visiting WDW and just having done a 20th anniversary trip, we had serveal hot date nights since we went sans kids! We've eaten at most of the places you mention, but our favorite is Shulas! Steak was to die for and my DH also LOVED his lobster and we split a choc. souflee for dessert. BLue Zoo is also really good but much more directed at seafood lovers, so I had limited choices since I don't eat seafood. And still, we LOVE Cape May's seafood buffet. Even though I don't eat seafood, we LOVE it there and there's plenty for me. CA Grill is recommended by many and it's OK, but IMO, the other 2 are far better. Other than V&A at the GF which we haven't done yet, we haven't been thrilled w/ any of our meals there at the places they have. though I understand at least the chef at Narcoosees has changed since.

Have fun and chow down!

PS, we didn't have a car this time or use a taxi but we got around easily.

 

[aes74]

What kinds of foods do you like? Meat? Seafood? Both? Will you have a car? Willing to take a taxi?

After our 18 years visiting WDW and just having done a 20th anniversary trip, we had serveal hot date nights since we went sans kids! We've eaten at most of the places you mention, but our favorite is Shulas! Steak was to die for and my DH also LOVED his lobster and we split a choc. souflee for dessert. BLue Zoo is also really good but much more directed at seafood lovers, so I had limited choices since I don't eat seafood. And still, we LOVE Cape May's seafood buffet. Even though I don't eat seafood, we LOVE it there and there's plenty for me. CA Grill is recommended by many and it's OK, but IMO, the other 2 are far better. Other than V&A at the GF which we haven't done yet, we haven't been thrilled w/ any of our meals there at the places they have. though I understand at least the chef at Narcoosees has changed since.

Have fun and chow down!

PS, we didn't have a car this time or use a taxi but we got around easily.

Good questions!! We love seafood and meat. I have to be gluten free. We are not alcohol drinkers, so V & A is not such a draw for us anyway. Yes, we will have a car! I have to agree, California Grill is not as good as it used to be, which is a heartbreaker. Thanks for your ideas!

 

[melodyka]

My husband and I love the California Grill, restaurant on the top floor of the Contemporary.

He loves the filet, and I love sushi- chocolate molten cake is TDF!

Request a window seat, so you can see the fireworks at MK.

 

[ppony]

Good questions!! We love seafood and meat. I have to be gluten free. We are not alcohol drinkers, so V & A is not such a draw for us anyway. Yes, we will have a car! I have to agree, California Grill is not as good as it used to be, which is a heartbreaker. Thanks for your ideas!

Have fun! We don't drink either. I'd like to try V&As to say I finally have and I suppose we will one day, but w/ all of teh courses and my having had gastric by-pass, I just can't eat much, at all. Evenif they are tony portion plates, I'm full, FAST. Hard to pay $300+ when you can't eat you know?


I do believe you get your parking validated at the Dolphin and Swan restaurants. They used to anyway. I'm sure they still do. OK, now I'm hungry! It's only been a week since we were there.

 

[hodgesdisney]

Have you looked at Artist Point at the WL. We ate there in '10 and really enjoyed it. Heading back there in March. Also, had a good time and meal at Kouzzina's at BW. They have a separate room called the CoraNation Room where a 5 course meal is served with interaction with the chef. Looking forward to doing this one.

 

[bcrook]

I would like to try Narcoosee's. I think Jiko and Artist Point both sound like good choices. Jiko is so beautiful and exotic. I wish you a wonderful evening.

 

[JZCubed]

Victoria & Albert will have few kids, but requires a sportcoat for gentlemen.

CA Grill has the best view and if you plan it right, you can get fireworks too. The food could be better.

I've not been to Citrico's (yet).

These three 'Monorial Resort' are convenient for you and your husband.

If you want to travel, Flying Fish is very good. BlueZoo inside Dolphin is my family's favorite for best food (that doesn't require a jacket and is not about the view). Also, I have not been to the Bistro in France (the fancy one).

You can also find romance is going to Illuminations and/or Fantasmic or Extra Magic Hours after dinner. My wife enjoys the 'hollywood moments' taken by PhotoPass in front of the Castle or Fantasia Mickey when most people have gone home.

Please note, in my opinion, getting to Boardwalk restaurants from Polynesian can be more of an excursion than is necessary to eat well....unless you take a taxi (really).

 

[aes74]

Thanks for the suggestions!

The monorail restaurants would definitely be great for convenience sake, but I haven't heard such good things about citricos and narcoossees, which makes me sad as I'd love to try them. Artist Point is one I've always wanted to try. BlueZoo has always sounded great as well. So many choices!

 

[FunFamily]

1. Shula's
2. Citricos
3. Narcoosee's

Enjoy!

 

[MickeyMoguls]

Our favorite meals that had the most romance we Citricos, California Grill and Artist Point. We were lucky enough to see the fireworks while we were at California Grill. We got a champagne toast at each of those meals. We were celebrating our anniversary and my 40th birthday on that trip.

 

[JZCubed]

The monorail restaurants would definitely be great for convenience sake, but I haven't heard such good things about citricos and narcoossees, which makes me sad as I'd love to try them. Artist Point is one I've always wanted to try. BlueZoo has always sounded great as well. So many choices!

I have heard/read more good things about Citrico's than Narcoossee's, yet I can tell you that Narcoossee's has never disappointed members of family during our three visits. Of all the things to say, "The best I ever had..." was the calamari with hot peppers at Narcoossee's. Believe me, it's not easy to say that the best I ever had (beyond a great time) was at Disney. Avoid the surf-n-turf because Spiney Lobster tails are not as good as those coming from Maine. And even though there may be little romance in hot peppers...I believe that you can see fireworks from Narcoossee's as well. I should finally be going to Citrico's in the fall. There may be fewer children at Citrico's, but only marginal.

Do not let dress code at CA Grill fool you into believing that it's enforced or that it would discourage children from dining here - neither are really true. I was nearly knocked down by the grown man in a hockey jersey (no, it was not the Ducks). And only at Disney would a child be laying with his/or her pillow in the middle of the dining room floor in anticipation of the fireworks display. It's still Disney! The food was a disappointment for me (I prefer fish to meat while on vacation in FL) because of seemingly few cooked options on my two visits. But for the money, nothing has a better or romantic view than CA Grill. This is also a 'no brainer' when we stay at Bay Lake Tower / Contemporary.

Some day, I'll make it to Artists Point. I have expressed to my wife that we will some day complete all of the places on our short list and have to move on the other list that includes Artists Point and Jiko to just name a few. But traveling afar for dinner has not yet been worth it for us. So some day, we'll stay in Wilderness & Animal Lodges. Finally, Blue Zoo is my favorite and voted by my family as the place where we are, "[M]ost likely to order another bottle of wine."....but not worth the trouble if my kid(s) was at Polynesian.

My vote for date nite is always CA Grill when on the Monorail line. Try for the firewroks too....but going to the Parks and eating ice pops with two margaritas for dinner can be fun without the kids.

 

[BLTLDZ]

I would say Jiko, for sure. AKL is such a romantic resort....And Jiko has such delicous food....

 

[Karabee]

Absolutely Citricos. By far the best meal I have had in Disney World. The service is always amazing, and the food is fantastic. Last time we had the veal shank and the filet and both were cooked to perfection. The best part for me is they do not rush you - which is what signature dining should be about! I'm not sure the negatives you have heard about Citricos, but I have never had another but positive experiences (and we're pretty picky).

 

[Karabee]

Absolutely Citricos. By far the best meal I have had in Disney World. The service is always amazing, and the food is fantastic. Last time we had the veal shank and the filet and both were cooked to perfection. The best part for me is they do not rush you - which is what signature dining should be about! I'm not sure the negatives you have heard about Citricos, but I have never had another but positive experiences (and we're pretty picky).

 

[3pletprincesses]

Citricos and far better then Narcossees IMO. The food is much better and Citricos is my more quiet too. The service was amazing too.

 

[spel]

My plan on our next trip is to put the kids in the Poly kids club & spend a few hours at either MK or Epcot with my husband doing fun stuff that we can't do with our young kids there- Space Mountain, HM, shops on Main Street. Another night we'll eat at blue zoo & put the kids in the *free* kids club there for two hours while we enjoy a dinner alone. Last time we used an in-room babysitter & loved our dinner at California Grill. Great view of the fireworks, although not exactly romantic with all the kids dining there. But, it is Disney! Enjoy your date night!

 

[ariel5884]

Well let's put it this way if you like steak, the only place to go for the best steak on property hands down is shulas. I have also loved their lobster tail and lamb chops. Their sourdough bread and apple pie are to die for.

 

[ElizabethB]

Since you are paying OOP, generally avoid any restaurant that takes DDP -- that includes the Disney Signature Restaurants. They have all declined in quality as a result of DDP, and the desserts at all of them are disappointing or worse.

So, among the really nice restaurants,that leaves basically:

V&A
Shula's
Kimono's
Blue Zoo

unless you go off property, which is rather inconvenient.

If I wanted a knock-out dinner, I would go to V&A. The food is amazing. It is out of this world with wine pairings. But, even without, it is by far the best meal you will find anywhere in Central Florida.

If you really like steak, then go to Shula's. Dh and I dined there a couple of months ago, and I had what I can only term the best steak of my life (other than the Japanese wagyu beef at V&A, which is in a class by itself). The other items are delicious and first rate, too. We love the barbecued shrimp, the creamed spinach, the salads, the soups, the chocolate souffle. It's all great. The only issue there is that it can be noisy and not very romantic -- especially if one or more convention groups are dining. Still, the steak makes up for a lot of other issues.

We recently dined at Blue Zoo. While it was good, we would pick one of the other two. We felt the wine list was lacking, but that would not matter to you.

We like sushi but avoid Kimono's because we hate karaoke.

We used to love CA Grill, Narcoosee's, Jiko and Artist Point. We don't bother with any of them anymore. We also have given up on Bistro de Paris.

We like Citrico's but have found it wildly noisy. And, the best food and ambience we have had there is when we got together with friends and reserved the Chef's Domain. That takes 4-6 people, however, for it to make economic sense.

We recently did the wine dinner at the bar at Flying Fish. That was fun, and the food was very tasty. We would do that again. But, it might not be as fun without the wine pairings. Still, I would consider it, though you sit at the bar with others, so not very romantic.

We have had very tasty meals at Fulton's, but it is now on DDP, unfortunately, so it is off our list or soon will be.

We have to face it. Except for a few notable exceptions, truly fine dining is a thing of the past at Disneyworld.

 

[bcrook]

Very informative elizabethb.