Coral Reef for lunch? Opinions needed.

[fa mulan]

There are so many great choices in Epcot I want to try - I'm wondering if the Coral Reef's aquarium and food are worth a splurge lunch here? I recall reading some ho-hum reports on the food....

Also, I've heard that it's wonderful to watch the divers feed the fish - anyone know when/if this takes place during the day and if we'd catch it w/ an early lunch visit? Can the fish feeding be viewed from Living Seas? (Sorry, I'm a first-timer and don't recall if its the same aquarium or not....)

Thanks!

 

[ead79]

We ate there in Dec. 2001 for lunch. We did indeed see the a diver feeding fish (it was amazing--TONS of fish were following him and you could barely see the diver for all the fish). The atmosphere was really neat, and we got seated at one of the tables right next to the aquarium. The food was allright, IMO. It was certainly not bad, but it wasn't stellar and was pretty expensive. If you think that the experience would be worth the cost and mediocre (maybe a little better than mediocre) food, then give it a try--I am sure that others have really enjoyed it.

 

[jmkst58]

I loved it. My husband had the chicken and I had the shrimp and we were both blown away. Fabulous food. The atmosphere was great. I can't help you with the time for the diver though...sorry. You MUST have dessert too...yummy. Expensive, but worth it IMO.

 

[Jordan's MOM]

We ate there once and were glad that we did but it is not a repeater for us. The theme was awsome. We were sat right by the window and loved the view of the feeding of the fish. Our food was pretty good. Not great and not very big servings for the price. Much smaller than anywhere esle we ate. Our service was not good either. The CM was very cold and only one step away from rude. We however observed other CMs who seemed to be doing a wonderful job. If cost is not a huge factor, go once but not for the food but the resturant its self.


Jordan's mom

 

[fa mulan]

Thanks for sharing your opinions everyone.

I'm weighing Coral Reef against Chefs de France, Marrakesh, Akershus and Biergarten for lunch- too many choices, not enough Epcot days or money!

I know our girls (7 & 3) would like the theming, but aside from the character meals, I really want good food for my money. And we've been to aquariums and have seen divers feed fish. . .

I think I'll make a p.s. and mull this one over for awhile.... More thoughts?

 

[MikeWazowski]

I Know this is kind of off topic, but Akershus is a real good meal for the money. You get what you pay for. Great food and great staff. But, its not the best pick for the kids.

 

[Luv2Roam]

DH and I ate lunch at Coral Reef in May. Very good food. Great atmosphere. There were even two divers feeding the fish while we ate.
Glad we did it, but probably wouldn't do it again, due to co$t.
We have also eaten at Marrakesh for lunch and dinner.
In May, we planned on eating at the counter service in Morocco. But it was very hot and humid. And the pricing wasn't that much more to eat in Marrakesh than to eat at the counter service. We opted for the shade in the sit down, and the entertainment too. Much more refreshing and relaxing.
The day we ate lunch at Coral Reef, we also ate dinner at Marrakesh. The lunch almost cost as much as our dinner.

 

[fa mulan]

Akershus is a real good meal for the money. . . But, its not the best pick for the kids.

Thanks MikeWasowski - it's hard to believe, but my older daughter loves smoked salmon, all kinds of cheeses & has really 'grown up' tastes. I actually had her in mind when I read the menu for this place. And the little one likes fish generally so she'd be ok too.

Thanks Luv2Roam - I love middle-eastern food, and think Morocco would be better food-wise too (I thought Marrakesh was just as expensive, but I guess I should look at the menus again!). Both would be very entertaining!

 

[lulugirl]

We just ate at Coral Reef two weeks ago, it was wonderful! We have gone several times over the past few years and have always been pleased. The theming is incredible, this was our first time there w/ DD (3yrs. old), she just LOVED watching the fish!
I don't know what time the diver is in the tank feeding them....
Have a great trip!

 

[luvindisneyworld]

we went once and that was our last, to me it was not worth the money.

 

[Dancind]

We went last August for lunch, and really enjoyed it. I had the fresh fish special, I think my DD had pasta. We were seated against the aquarium wall by request. IMHO, Coral Reef has the best dessert I've had at WDW, the Chocolate Wave. We haven't been to California Grill yet, though! It helps to go during the week for lunch if you have an AP, you get 10% off! Diana

 

[MHopkins2]

If you'd like to soak in the atmosphere, but don't want to break the bank, you can easily make a meal of the (free) bread and the lobster bisque (~ $5). The bisque is by far the best I've ever had, and the portion is fairly large. It helps, too, that it's an extraordinarily thick and rich bisque - very filling.

 

[SamanthaL]

We went for lunch in Nov. and loved it. DD was chef for a day and they made a big deal. The chef came out and presented her with dessert. We sat by the tank and the divers came over to us about 5 or 6 times. Food was great . DD had chicken which she loved, I had haddock, DG had bisque and Dh had pirrahna. All very good and service was great. I will do it again.

 

[patsal]

We love it at coral reef. Yes, the portions are on the small side compared with other restaurant choices and they are expensive, but we found everything to be just wonderful. Our waiter was very friendly and helpful, he even took time to sit with the kids and help them turn their peanut butter playdough into "Mickey's". Check the menu, if the food and prices don't appeal to you perhaps you could stop in late in the afternoon for dessert? Next to Artist Point this was our favorite!

 

[d-r]

We just had lunch here over the MLK weekend - we sat next to the aquarium wall which was really nice and had a great server. I though the decor and theming were very nice - much better than I had expected.

I had the stirfry shrimp with noodles - good, but nothing extraordinary. DR had the swordfish which was very tasty and the wild mushroom risotto was very good. Our neighbors had the scallops as a meal and the mahi-mahi - both were very good. The chocolae wave was excellent as well. DR had the shrimp cocktail for an appetizer - only 2 shrimp, but they were large. I had the lobster bisque - which we all agreed was not very good. I MUCH PREFER the lobster bisque at Chef's de France or Flying Fish used to have one that was excellent as well. Both are very good on their own and IMHO waayyy better than Coral Reef's.

I'm glad we ate there for the experience - and would sometime again in the future down the road a long ways, but for 2 appetizers, 2 meals, 1 desert and 2 beers - $76.00. I don't mind paying a premium for good food, but I wasn't that impressed with the food. Again the service and setting were great and I'm glad we did it, but not a repeater for us.

Melissa