Coral Reef or Teppan Edo for 7 yr old?

[binab]

Planning a surprise trip and only planning one Epcot day. We did Le Cellier last trip, so I want to do something different. (Not like I could get that ressie now anyway!) I currently have a Coral Reef ressie and noticed that a Teppan Edo ressie for the same time has opened up. Which do you think a 7 yr old would enjoy more?

We have Japanese grills at home, so is there anything Disney-spectacular about TE?

Thanks for your input!

 

[sassy2000]

I have only eaten at Coral Reef. Have not tried TE yet. TE gets good reviews but many say it is no different then any other teppan yaki style spot. If you are looking for a different dining experience, then I would try Coral Reef. It has a nice view of the aquarium and the food is pretty good.
Of course, if you are looking for a different meal, I would suggest Restaurant Marrakesh. We have been there twice and enjoyed it both times. During dinner they have live musicians and a belly dancer. The chicken kabobs and cous cous were yummy IMO. It seems to fly under the radar and is not hard to get a reservation there. We actually walked up without an ADR the last time we tried it and only waited about 15 minutes for a seat.

 

[2Tiggies]

Why don't you google some Youtube footage of TE and see if you think your DS would enjoy it? My 7 year old was fascinated.

 

[DW2010]

I've never eaten at either of these restaurants. BUT, we went to a local hibachi restaurant for my birthday last month. DD was fascinated and behaved so well there . I think it might be the better choice for a 7 year old unless he's been to hibachi before then choose Coral Reef for a different experience.

 

[MickeyNicki]

My then 6 year old niece did not like the food at CR and we were on the higher level so she really could not see that well

She is 7 now and we take her to a local Hibachi place all the time and she loves the food and the show

 

[2DisPrincesses]

My DD was 4 the last time we ate at Coral Reef. We were lucky enough to sit right next to the tank and she loved it. The cheese pizza she had was not so good. Next time we'll either share with her or order her something from the adult menu.

Teppa Edo was very good too! She loved the food and thought the "show" was fun too.

Probably can't go wrong eithe way IMO.

 

[Forever Fairy]

My sister just came back from her trip and took my Niece and Nephew to Coral Reef. According to her, she would never go back. The food was ok and she was sat the farthest away from the tank. There are no guarantees that you will get a seat next to the tank so the further you are away, the further you are removed from the experience.

With Teppan Edo,everyone gets an up front seat - even if you are sitting on the side, you can still see. They remind kids to be careful with the hot surface and not to get too close. I find it to be more entertaining and in my opinion, the food is better.

Here is a link to that menu from All Ears. http://allears.net/menu/menu_teppan.htm Most kids get the chicken I think unless you have an adventurous eater.

 

[CrabbyPatty]

With Teppan Edo,everyone gets an up front seat - even if you are sitting on the side, you can still see. They remind kids to be careful with the hot surface and not to get too close. I find it to be more entertaining and in my opinion, the food is better.

Last year, Teppan Edo was DD's favorite restaurant and she talked about it ALL year. There were 4 kids at our table and the Chef did this cute routine with the shrimp being Nemo and dancing around. They also liked the onion volcano a lot. DD had the shrimp, and really liked the noodles and rice, plus chocolate ice cream for dessert.

It's a good point that at Coral Reef, you may be seated away from the aquarium, while at Teppan, the kids have a front-row seat and can clearly see all the action.

 

[TruBlu]

Where you sit really makes a difference at CR. We've been by the tank, and it is amazing! The last time we dined there we were on the top level - furthest from the tank. We didn't enjoy the experience at all and haven't been back.

That being said, I think I'd still go with CR. Teppan Edo is wonderful. The food is fantastic, but there isn't anything "Disney" about it. It is no different from the Japanese Steakhouses we have here at home.

If you do go with CR, you could try requesting a table by the tank. It worked for us every time but the last one.

 

[FogliaFamily]

We have 3 DS, 7, 10, 11 and have gone to TE twice and are planning on going again on our next trip in a few weeks. They absolutely love it. The chef is very entertaining, makes space mountain, sesame street, etc. We have the local hibachi here in town also, but I think it's expensive to pay out of pocket, especially with kids, therefore with the free dining it's perfect. We've also been to CR twice, it's ok, nothing spectacular and hard to see the aquarium unless right in front, although my DS, 5 at the time did eat everyone's green beans, apparently his favorite! I would choose TE hands down.

Good luck and enjoy!

 

[NancyCnstn]

we ate at both, my daughter is 7 and we all loved coral reef. We asked for tank side tables and it was so much fun and the food was soooooo good. We also ate at teppon edo and unless you have a good chef (ours didnt do much) I and my daughter would not go back. I would rate teppon edo as so so......

 

[binab]

Thanks for the input all! I haven't made a decision yet, but I appreciate everyones thoughts on it. Some good points made here that I am still pondering. (...and then a spot opened up for the same time at Garden Grill, so throwing that possibility into the mix now.)

Thanks again!

 

[stayhomemom77]

I took my 5 year old son and 7 year old daughter to both restaurants in April and they loved them both.

The cuisine left something to be desired for them at Teppan Edo as they are not very adventerous but we got the "monorail" meal for each of them and they were perfectly content to nibble at the bits they did like and inhaled our desserts!!

We were celebrating both of their birthdays and they were given chef hats and free desserts to mark the occasion.

They were enchanted with the chef's antics and even nibbled a bit at some of the things in our adult meals once his "show" had ended.

However, the clear winner for my two was Coral Reef. We asked for a tank side table and they were so taken with trying to identify the marine life that they hardly ate at all. We kept having to remind them to take bites. They liked the food better here and were completely captivated by what was going on in the tanks. They were given plastic dolphin cut outs in recognition of their birthdays.

Coral Reef was the clear winner for our family, as they have requested that we go there again on our return trip to Epcot.

Hope this helps.