Coral Reef Opinions/Reviews

[gigi729]

Hello Everyone,

We are getting ready to make our upcoming ressies and we need your help. We have never eaten at the Coral Reef before, considered it many times but always decided to do a different Epcot restaurant. Well we are thinking of it again primarily for the kids, giving them an experience different from what we can get at a restaurant at home. We are still a little hesitant though because of the very mixed reviews.

Can you please give us your honest opinions on Coral Reef. Thank you so much for your help!

 

[chocovrdmicears]

Our family loves it! (Myself, DH and kids 6 & 7).
We have eaten there our past 2 trips and have dinner scheduled there for our first night in Dec.
DH LOVES the Mahi Mahi with the cashew-jasmine rice.
I LOVE the Creamy Lobster Soup (better than the Cheddar Cheese soup at LeCellier ) And the New York Strip steak I had there was melt-in-your mouth tender. This past June I had something that I don't see on the menus. Lobster Ravioli...it was wonderful!
Our kids love the smoothies that come with the kids meals. My daughter was able to get grilled fish here which she loved.
The kids get your run-of-the-mill Disney Make-Your-Own sundaes... But I LOVE Butterscotch Cremé Brulée.

The only 2 things that I would say were less than perfect..Our server was NOT good..she dissapeared sooo many times and was painfully slow..and whatever you do...do NOT order the sugar free option for dessert ..ICK.

 

[chell]

We ate there last year for our Honeymoon more for the atmosphere as I had mostly heard bad reviews about it. But after my husband had seen pictures of it he really wanted to experience the restaurant. I went in not really expecting anything either way. I was along for the ride I guess.

Since I don't eat fish and I really wasn't in the mood for chicken I ordered the NY Strip. Let me say that I'm not really a strip fan either. Yes, you can call me a picky eater! I'm a fan of ribeyes & filets when it comes to beef. Well, this steak was the best steak I had all week! And I did have several steaks since we were on the Deluxe Dining Plan.

Larry had the appetizer with the steak & shrimp (Sea & Land) and loved it. He had the Mahi Mahi and thought it was okay. He may have loved it but two days before he had the Crispy Mahi Mahi at Yak & Yeti and fell in love with it. After that no other Mahi Mahi can come close.

For dessert I had the Butterscotch Creme Brulee. AWESOME!!! Larry had The Chocolate Wave. He really enjoyed his too.

We are going back on our upcoming trip!

 

[Chkultr]

This is the only way we were able to try this place out. Sorry to say, but this is one of my favorites.

I had this...Pan-seared Ahi Tuna - Served with Wasabi mashed potato and Soy glaze. -The Chocolate Wave - Served with brandied cherries.
Amazing

Plus my wife is not a seafood eater and she found stuff on the menu to eat!

The bonus is that I got to participate in Dive Quest and see it from both sides.

 

[karen l]

We really enjoy our meals at Coral Reef. Family members have enjoyed the apps, chicken, steak & Mahi Mahi. Love the chocolate wave dessert!

 

[Schmoodle]

My kids just love this place for the atmosphere. The food is okay, we were satisfied with it. They were really sweet to my son on his birthday and gave him a special birthday surprise. For that reason alone, I will always like this place.

 

[Carol17]

iI you click on my trip report link below, you will find a review and pics of Coral Reef about half way down on page 4.

 

[aimeew5477]

We just ate there this past week and thought it was pretty good. I guess I expected more from the atmosphere but since we didn't sit right next to the aquarium, it didn't really stand out to me. We ordered the NY strip steak and lobster ravioli (still on the menu). Our meal came out barely luke warm but it was pretty tasty (the best steak we had was at The Wave). They did have GREAT desserts- we loved the chocolate wave and the creme brulee.

 

[michelleiada]

The atmosphere is great. The service was also great. The food was only good. The dessert menu left something to be desired. If I weren't using the Dining Plan and paying out of pocket I would say it is way over priced. Would I eat there again.....not sure...maybe. It isn't a place that we loved so much that we have to return...like Le Cellier. I guess if I were rating it on a scale of 1-10... I would give it a 6.5.

 

[aubriee]

Coral Reef seems to be very inconsistent. I've eaten there several times and it seems I either love my meal or hate it. The seafood entrees I've gotten there I have not particularly liked (and I love most seafood). However I ate there a few weeks ago (Sept 27th) and loved the shrimp with saffron risotto appetizer. I also like their lobster bisque. I've had their steak a few times and find it's one of the best on property. This last trip, I had the apricot beef short rib. I didn't taste any apricot flavor, but it was still fall off the bone delicious. I love their butterscotch creme brulee. I used to love their Wave dessert, but not so much now that they changed it a few years ago. One thing I don't like about it, is how loud it is and how the parents allow their kids to run up around the aquarium bothering the people there, who are trying to eat. We've had kids literally climbing on the back of our chairs, when we've been seated next to the aquarium.

 

[mlisa274]

Great I was so amazed by every bodies replies because it is so admirable.

 

[Lynn5700]

LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!! We go every trip. I love the atmosphere.

I always get the NY Strip Steak!! The flavor is delicious!!!!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Our nieces were the reason we booked our dinner here this past January...they love the aquarium so I thought this would be perfect, and it was for them to be entertained but they detested the food and hubby was not pleased with his NY Strip...I enjoyed my grouper but the risotto was very salty.

Would we go back? Probably not until they do a major menu change and put filet on the menu!

 

[Mom23Disneybelievers]

The atmosphere is great. The aquarium is wonderful. We have tried it three times, with large groups, and between the trips we have probably tried everything on the menu. The food is "OK" to us. We haven't had anything terrible, but not great either. Very high prices for the quality of food....we really go for the experience of eating there. The kids love it. Once they stop asking to go there, we probably won't return.

 

[2cats1kid]

We ate there at Easter and loved it. I have had to change a family rule to accommodate it as our rule is normally only one repeat restaurant per trip (too many other places to try to stick with the same ones), but the family refuse to choose between Ohana and Coral Reef for the repeat restaurant next time!

I had steak, DD had chicken and DH almost certainly had something fishy. Then for dessert DH had the chocolate wave, I had the creme brulee (yum!) and DD had sorbet.

I had heard bad things about the service, but our server was great and made a big fuss of DD who loved the attention (and also at 11 finally being old enough for the adult menus!).