Celebration

[Sappermont]

I was just looking online at the restaurants in Celebration, Fl. Has anyone ever eaten at the restaurants in this Disney town? Are they worth trying out? Is there any Disney transportation to get there? Thanks so much!

 

[TheRustyScupper]

DOWNTOWN CELEBRATION EATERIES: (in our opinion)
. . . Antonio's - really, really good Italian
. . . Columbia - pretty good Cuban and Spanish
. . . Seito Sushi - better than Hara Kiri, but not much
. . . Shannon's - Irish food in name only, but a friendly place to drink
. . . Thai Thani - above average Thai cuisine
. . . Town Tavern - average comfort food
. . . Imperium - not sure what it want to be, and fails at it

NOTE: Take a cab from WDW for about $20 one-way.

 

[mom2of2]

No, there isn't any Disney transportation to Celebration although you could take a bus to the outskirts.

Avoid Market Street Cafe

 

[Sappermont]

DOWNTOWN CELEBRATION EATERIES: (in our opinion)
. . . Antonio's - really, really good Italian
. . . Columbia - pretty good Cuban and Spanish
. . . Seito Sushi - better than Hara Kiri, but not much
. . . Shannon's - Irish food in name only, but a friendly place to drink
. . . Thai Thani - above average Thai cuisine
. . . Town Tavern - average comfort food
. . . Imperium - not sure what it want to be, and fails at it

NOTE: Take a cab from WDW for about $20 one-way.

Oh, this is great. Thanks so much for the information. We are staying for 6 nights, 7 days. This will be my first trip back in nearly a decade and my husband's first trip EVER. Do you think Celebration is worth checking out with a trip this short? Thanks so much. I appreciate all your help.

 

[Sappermont]

No, there isn't any Disney transportation to Celebration although you could take a bus to the outskirts.

Avoid Market Street Cafe

When you say take a bus to the outskirts? Do you mean one of the park buses? Could we then walk to Celebration? I see that you live there. How cool! Do you love it? Is there a restaurant you would recommend? Do you think that it's worth checking out? Thanks SO much for all of your help. Oh, and do you simply call the restaurant direct to make reservations?

Thanks!!!

 

[DOOM1001]

The town was built and developed by Disney but was sold about 7 years ago and has no connection to Disney today other than being a 10 minute drive from the parks.I like visiting the town especially when they have special events like during the holidays or the pie contest.I would suggest eating at Columbia which is a very good Cuban/Spanish started in Tampa over 100 years ago and with a few other locations throughout Florida.I also ate once at Imperium food and wine with a restaurant.com certificate,pretty good sandwiches.

 

[Sappermont]

The town was built and developed by Disney but was sold about 7 years ago and has no connection to Disney today other than being a 10 minute drive from the parks.I like visiting the town especially when they have special events like during the holidays or the pie contest.I would suggest eating at Columbia which is a very good Cuban/Spanish started in Tampa over 100 years ago and with a few other locations throughout Florida.I also ate once at Imperium food and wine with a restaurant.com certificate,pretty good sandwiches.

Oh, wow. I didn't realize this. I guess I'm behind on Disney news. Thanks for the information!

 

[winterman]

DH and I enjoy the Town Tavern - mostly New England style food.

 

[Sappermont]

Yay, New England! I'm originally from MA!

 

[JimMIA]

DOWNTOWN CELEBRATION EATERIES: (in our opinion)
. . . Columbia - pretty good Cuban and Spanish

Columbia is old-line SPANISH (NOT Cuban) cuisine. There is some overlap in the names of dishes (and with other Latin cuisines), but the preparation and presentation are completely different. Columbia's oriiginal restaurant is in the historic Ybor City area of Tampa, and they're a local legend kind of place.

We eat there every trip without fail. Everything on the menu is very good, and the service is way above average. I usually get one os the snapper dishes. Their "1905 Salad" is legendary -- made right at your table, really good.

. . . Town Tavern - average comfort food

Agree. Average food, above-average casual atmosphere, good casual service. Sometimes have live entertainment, including some that is pretty awful.

This place is supposedly owned by the former owners of a famous South Boston seafood restaurant, but the food is not Boston quality. It's average...pretty good value, but nothing to write home about.

Both Columbia and The Town Tavern are moderately priced.

Another must stop is Kilwin's. Kilwins, right around the corner from Columbia and about a block down the street from Town Tavern, is a chocolatier/ice cream place. Required visit whenever we visit Celebration for any reason. Their ice cream is some of the best I've ever had.

 

[Sappermont]

Columbia is old-line SPANISH (NOT Cuban) cuisine. There is some overlap in the names of dishes (and with other Latin cuisines), but the preparation and presentation are completely different. Columbia's oriiginal restaurant is in the historic Ybor City area of Tampa, and they're a local legend kind of place.

We eat there every trip without fail. Everything on the menu is very good, and the service is way above average. I usually get one os the snapper dishes. Their "1905 Salad" is legendary -- made right at your table, really good.Agree. Average food, above-average casual atmosphere, good casual service. Sometimes have live entertainment, including some that is pretty awful.

This place is supposedly owned by the former owners of a famous South Boston seafood restaurant, but the food is not Boston quality. It's average...pretty good value, but nothing to write home about.

Both Columbia and The Town Tavern are moderately priced.

Another must stop is Kilwin's. Kilwins, right around the corner from Columbia and about a block down the street from Town Tavern, is a chocolatier/ice cream place. Required visit whenever we visit Celebration for any reason. Their ice cream is some of the best I've ever had.

Thanks for the information. So, you go to Celebration every trip? Have you noticed a difference since Disney pulled out? Do you rent a car or take a cab? Thanks again!

 

[Dax]

The pizza joint is also really good too...We go there a lot for a pizza when in the area

 

[mom2of2]

When you say take a bus to the outskirts? Do you mean one of the park buses? Could we then walk to Celebration? I see that you live there. How cool! Do you love it? Is there a restaurant you would recommend? Do you think that it's worth checking out? Thanks SO much for all of your help. Oh, and do you simply call the restaurant direct to make reservations?

Thanks!!!

no, not a park bus...the Lynx bus. You can take it from the TTC. It's a hike into town, figure a mile and a half or so. I do love it here and wouldn't live anywhere else in Florida. I go to the Tavern every Saturday night for dinner. There are a bunch of us locals that are early diners and we all seem to get there about the same time every week. I don't know about reservations about any of the other restaurants I don't think they are needed but I don't know for sure.

Come enjoy our town just don't feed the gators

 

[JimMIA]

Thanks for the information. So, you go to Celebration every trip?

Yes, primarily to eat at Columbia. We'll probably try Cafe D' Antonio next trip because we've heard nothing but good reports on it.

Have you noticed a difference since Disney pulled out?

Can't answer that because all our Celebration visits have been since that sale.

Do you rent a car or take a cab? !

Always have our own car because we drive up from Miami.

 

[DOOM1001]

Come enjoy our town just don't feed the gators

Is there a reason you mention to not feed the gators?I was at Celebration one day sitting by the lake waiting for a restaurant to open and saw a gator come from the far end of the lake towards a little overhang in the sidewalk where several people were at,it just sat there like waiting for someone to feed it.I would hope people are not feeding the gators as you don't want them to associate people with food.Is this something you see often?

 

[Sappermont]

Thanks for all the info. Totally want to work in a trip to Celebration!!

 

[diznygirl]

The town was built and developed by Disney but was sold about 7 years ago and has no connection to Disney today other than being a 10 minute drive from the parks.I like visiting the town especially when they have special events like during the holidays or the pie contest.I would suggest eating at Columbia which is a very good Cuban/Spanish started in Tampa over 100 years ago and with a few other locations throughout Florida.I also ate once at Imperium food and wine with a restaurant.com certificate,pretty good sandwiches.

Not totally accurate. Too complicated to explain it all. The sale you are talking about was the downtown shopping area. Disney still owns land in town and maintains some quasi-governmental control.

When you say take a bus to the outskirts? Do you mean one of the park buses? Could we then walk to Celebration? I see that you live there. How cool! Do you love it? Is there a restaurant you would recommend? Do you think that it's worth checking out? Thanks SO much for all of your help. Oh, and do you simply call the restaurant direct to make reservations?

Thanks!!!

You can take a public Linx bus to the outskirts - there's a stop on Celebration Avenue near Water Tower Place. It's a healthy walk from there into town. I'd suggest a taxi instead if you really want to check out the place, especially for dinner.

Reservations will be needed for D'Antonio's, but not necessarily for the the others.

http://celebrationtowncenter.com/dining-entertainment