Coral Reef? Try again or stay away?

[bunkerchump]

Hello,
We used to love Coral Reef, but over the years thought it was going downhill, while it still maintained a hard-to-get res. For three years we skipped it. Now it seems Res are still available at relatively short notice (for December) and I'm seeing conflicting reviews. So, those who have had recent experience (last 6 months or so), can you give some advice on your food experience? Would you return?

On a separate note, we also used to love Garden Grill and made it a point to visit every trip and this will be the first trip we won't. Last two trips just seemed to go downhill there as well, IMO.

Thanks!
John

 

[HopperFan]

I usually give places a few chances to prove they are worthy, but Disney prices are simply too high for me to keep returning when there are so many other options.

I also know that everyone here has different palates and different expectations so the only one that matters is yours. If you have been disappointed a few times ... I don't see it changing. Note: We have taken both of those off our list when they used to both be favorites.

 

[Lisa F]

Coral reef is an old favorite of mine. it is the first TS I ever went to back in 1995 as a Jr. in high school. I ate the creamy lobster soup and my friend had tuna sashimi (before it was so common, it was a really big deal back then!) and we ate a big pile of rolls with those molded mickey butters and drank water, lol. Ever since then I go back every so often, I wouldn't say every trip but every few years. I have never had a bad meal there.

My last time there was december 2016 so more than 6 months ago (*SOB*) but recent enough. It was one of the best meals of the trip. The lobster soup was as I remembered it (i had the kid's app size, my kid would not touch any apps with a 10 foot pole and we did the CP package so it came with it), the app we had is no longer on the menu but it was quite good, and the shrimp and grits were EXCELLENT... far better than what I had at Narcoossees... perfectly balanced in every bite. My son had the kids steak, served with fries subbed for the mashed potatoes and veg and he loved it... it was a huge pile of tenderloin tips (must be the trimmings from the bigger steaks) cooked a perfect medium for him, seasoned well an the fries were hot, crispy and not greasy. For dessert he had the kid's cupcake and it looked like just a cupcake but was super cute... I had the chocolate wave. The cake was delicious but I was not a huge fan of the raspberry gelato - I found it a little strongly flavored and icy. I would get it with vanilla next time, as it used to be served "back in the day."

It was one of my son's top 3 requests for repeats on our next trip so I've booked it for lunch again. I like to book first seating (11:30) and show up about 15 minutes early and request a table by the tank... I have found that you always get it that time of day, and services is much faster before the restaurant is full and the kitchen is backed up. It's also much quieter in there before every table is full. It takes them a while to fill the whole place and we were leaving just as it was filling.

One of my favorites, there is a detailed review (with broken photos) in my link below if you care but I summarized the gist of it. I always read that it is no good or has gone downhill but I have always enjoyed it.

we enjoyed garden grill at breakfast but it's very basic. The menu for lunch/dinner no longer appeals to me... I liked it when it was more interesting and had fish and more interesting sides. I'm not big on that kind of a heavy aycte meal.

 

[AngiTN]

We really disliked it and won't return. As PP said, too many places that are good to waste going to one that we know isn't, and have no reason to think it's changed. It's an easy to get ADR because it's probably the worse TS at Epcot.

 

[bunkerchump]

I usually give places a few chances to prove they are worthy, but Disney prices are simply too high for me to keep returning when there are so many other options.

I also know that everyone here has different palates and different expectations so the only one that matters is yours. If you have been disappointed a few times ... I don't see it changing. Note: We have taken both of those off our list when they used to both be favorites.

Agree on different palates/expecations. Food is among the hardest to critique sometimes. HopperFan, if you don't mind me asking what are a few go-to's on your list now. For us, it's:
Tutto
Cape May Dinner
LTT (replaced GG)
Via Nap
Le Celier
Ohana

Heavily waited to EP places since our home is BCV.

Trying Tiffins, Morimoto, and Homecomin for the first time in Dec and maybe one or two others.

Thanks!
John

 

[DisneyDad2015]

Ate there in May and really enjoyed it. Wouldn’t say it was my best meal of the week, but it was still good.

 

[JZCubed]

Hello,
We used to love Coral Reef, but over the years thought it was going downhill, while it still maintained a hard-to-get res. For three years we skipped it. Now it seems Res are still available at relatively short notice (for December) and I'm seeing conflicting reviews. So, those who have had recent experience (last 6 months or so), can you give some advice on your food experience? Would you return?

On a separate note, we also used to love Garden Grill and made it a point to visit every trip and this will be the first trip we won't. Last two trips just seemed to go downhill there as well, IMO.

Thanks!
John

We enjoy Coral Reef, still.

But as someone who enjoys posting on the restaurant section at Dis'Boards, my suggestion is - move on.

Try a few new places before going back. Take your time.

If you go back too soon then you may still be seeing, "What once was."

Return at a later date, and you may again be able to, "Fall in love."

 

[shortnsassy730]

I loathe Coral Reef. But I grew up with access to fresh seafood from the Gulf regularly. To me its on par with Red Lobster. If you are used to Red Lobster style venues being your only source of seafood you will probably enjoy it. But if you're expecting high end fresh seafood, then I would always recommend to avoid. Every time I've tried CR, my fish has been overcooked and rubbery. I think it comes down to what your expectations are.

 

[supersnoop]

Out of all the restaurants at Epcot, I rank it in last place. There are too many better options for me to consider it. But, if you want to eat seafood while sitting next to a fish tank, it’s a good choice.

 

[KenHutch]

In 4 previous trips we have eaten there only once (last trip) but it did make the cut from the girls on going back. Don't know if its the food or the aquariums/

 

[bunkerchump]

Lisa F - thanks for the link to your review. I never tried the steak nor the lobster soup (lobster is local and plentiful where I am from, so never thought to seek it in FL - maybe I should have). The seafood I tried I figured would have been more local to the area and year's ago I thought they did it justice. I stopped going because that seemed to change (at least in our opinion).

ShortnSassy - that's kinda why I stopped. I don't think it was always that way, by the way. But the last straw experience there, the "fresh" fish I swear was previously frozen and prepared in a matter you described. I do quite a bit of recreational fishing up hear in the Northeast, so I have a pretty good idea of when something is fresh vs frozen.

I have a suggestion - around here farm to table is kind of a thing. Maybe Tank to Table at Coral Reef????

 

[Somnia]

Coral Reef will always be one of my favorites, the food has always been good and the atmosphere is great. However we're taking a year or two off as our service last time was pretty bad. Our waiter was barely around any of his tables (everyone was pretty upset near us looking for him), I never got a drink refill and out food took forever to come out. However to be fair it looked like something was going wrong in the kitchen possibly with orders so I let it slide for the most part. I was just upset as it was my Mom's choice for her birthday. We'll go back in a year or two though and hope it's back to normal for us.

 

[samsteele]

I had lunch there in Sept. It was different from the previous fall. Not worse but certainly the menu shakeup has dropped a few old fav entrees & desserts. Felt like a new cook was putting his/her own stamp on the place. I agree with @JZCubed and also suggest you check out some new experiences at different WDW restaurants if it isn't a must-do for your family. If the tank is the big draw and you can't tear yourself away, then know the menu is OK. Do look at the online menu first at Disney reservations to see if you still like what you see.

 

[Lisa F]

Lisa F - thanks for the link to your review. I never tried the steak nor the lobster soup (lobster is local and plentiful where I am from, so never thought to seek it in FL - maybe I should have). The seafood I tried I figured would have been more local to the area and year's ago I thought they did it justice. I stopped going because that seemed to change (at least in our opinion).

I live on Martha's Vineyard so I do actually know what fresh local seafood is like, but I still just buy shrimp frozen here (I don't think it's local to here at all). The lobster bisque is my favorite that I've ever had but I'm sure it's made with frozen lobster. My experience with just plain lobster (at Narcoossees) was abysmal and the lobster rolls around WDW look awful too (I just get a church lobster roll now and then here). I don't really go looking for the new england seafood experience in florida, but they did a delicious shrimp and grits (which is NOT a dish from around here) and the atmosphere is just lovely. Around here when I want fresh local seafood I do oysters (raw), steamers, mussels, bay scallops and sea scallops (even at the supermarkets they are local), black bass, grey sole... I don't care for bluefish (which is plentiful here too) and have never gotten in on it when one of the fisherman harpoons a swordfish yet. I do always keep a bag or two of IQF shrimp in my freezer as well when it goes on sale and I make several shrimp dishes regularly (6 shrimp defrost and peel easily for a quickie scampi for one, my kid won't eat fish lol) I do love the fresh spicy boiled peel and eat shrimp at a local seafood place but pretty sure it is not local. The shrimp and grits were delicious and so was the kid's steak.

on the other hand, Narcoossees is well loved here and I had a very mediocre experience years ago and a terrible experience in December (so bad Disney refunded the entire meal + tip back to me). I actually am much less interested in things like hibachi, chinese food, mexican, and pizza that people adores so much in Epcot because I can get amazing examples of all of those things locally and when I go to Disney, I like to do things I can't get anywhere else. The experience at Coral Reef nails that for me, so did Biergarten in Epcot, especially around Christmas. Always plenty of ADRs available for that even same day but the food was delicious and the overall experience was so much fun, so festive, so disney! that's just where I'm coming from though. Everyone has their own priorities. I AM tempted to try San Angel again because of the atmosphere but the menu isn't that great for my kid.