Coral Reef Was Great!

[mickeystoontown]

Before I booked our June 3rd ADR at the Coral Reef, I was super hesitant so I turned to you Disboard members for help. After having been convinced that the Coral Reef was an okay place to dine, I went ahead and booked our dinner reservations. I am so glad I did. The food, service and atmosphere was excellent.

The toasted bread and butter was very good.

My husband ordered the Land and Sea appetizer and he immediately fell in love with the beef side of the appetizer. Everything about it was great especially the polenta and sauce. If we could have ordered just the beef and polenta as an entree we would have! The shrimp were very well done but he didn't care for the cucumber salad beneath.

I ordered the Caesar salad as an appetizer and it was nice and fresh. Be aware though that the lettuce leaves are not cut, shredded or torn. They are full size on the plate and must be cut.

Our son was on the kids dining plan and ordered the apples with brown sugar as an appetizer.

For his entree, my husband had the blackened catfish and pepper jack grits. We are from the Deep South so catfish is a main staple at our dinner table. So are grits. Both were done just perfectly!

My entree was the steak and potatoes au grautin. Steak was seasoned and cooked just right!

Picky 9 year old son ordered the pizza and loved it!

For desserts, we had the Bailey's something or other cream and cheesecake. Both were very good.

Now, for the service. We were seated a full fifteen minutes before our ADR. We just happened to be nearby and checked in a little early but only had to wait about five minutes which was a plus 'cause we were able to see Illuminations (thought we would miss it). Our waiter was super nice. My son and husband asked questions about the huge fish in the aquarium. He said he knew it was a grouper but didn't know how old it was or how much it weighed (son's questions). The next time he came around, he said the grouper was at least 9 years old and weighed over 300 pounds. He had asked one of the castmembers who had worked at the Living Seas.

We really liked the atmosphere of the entire restaurant. We were seated in the very last table on the upper level. There was one more row of tables near us so we weren't on the very last row of tables and booths. While we were at the end, we could still see the entire restaurant and the aquarium.

We will definitely be going back to the Coral Reef next time. It was voted our best meal of a 10 day WDW stay!

 

[simonkodousek]

It is great to hear this. I was very hesitant about booking Coral Reef as our 1st night WDW dinner, but after this great review, I am glad I did!

 

[atisikitabasket]

We had a great meal there in Feb. of 07 i posted once we got back because I had thought about changing due to poor reviews but it ended up being our favorite and we will be celebrating DS4 birthday there in Dec.

I'm so glad you had a wonderful time!!!

 

[Epcotgal]

Thank you for your review. We have ADR's for dinner there during our November trip.

 

[jenjersnap]

Thanks for sharing! We're having our anniversary meal there and I was a bit concerned too.

 

[TreslovesWDW]

I am so glad to hear it was good. I have an ADR for Sept. and was really hoping it will be good, after some reviews I read I was a little scared it would be bad, and I also have a special diver note for my parents and husband. Can't wait !

 

[dwaddict]

I am so glad you enjoyed it!! This is one of our favorite places to eat. We eat there every year!! I agree with the catfish and grits!! My dh's fav!!!!
Hope all of you have a wonderful trip!!!!

We did the personlized menu and diver for our ds and my lil guy was floored when he looked over and saw a diver pointing and waving at him to get his attention!!! The menu turned out really well and is one thing he tells people about!!!

 

[disneyjammin]

So happy to hear you enjoyed it. We have ADRS there for free dining in August. Can't wait

 

[Snow_White]

I'm glad you enjoyed it! We like it so much that we'll be dining there twice in September! Free Dining, yay!!

 

[ktturner]

Thanks for your review! I went many, many years ago and it was very special to me, not just for the atmosphere, but also b/c of who we went with, and how much of a sacrifice a meal at that $$ was. (Long before DDP). I booked again for this trip, but have been nervous. I've almost backed out of it a few times based on reviews and have decided to stick with it, b/c at least I'd know if we liked it or not. . .

Thanks for your good words and advice! I can't wait to get there and try it again!

 

[Sabres2008]

I have always wanted to eat at the Coral Reef. I'm not a huge seafood person, but I like some things. The atmosphere seems so cool, and I like having nice meals at WDW.

I've been to WDW about 20 times in the past 5 years, and 32 times in my 26 years, yet I've never been there. It's at the top of my list, along with Mama Melrose.

 

[Barbi]

Thanks for posting, we have an ADR for Coral Reef in August and are very excited. I have a question though. What does catfish taste like?? I like to try new things and this is something I've wanted to try for some time.

 

[Claymax]

Yes thanks for the excellent write-up!

I tried on my 180 day out to reserve a Le Cellier ADR and was told there were none due to the reserving of tables for the CP. So I went with Coral Reef as I'm a salt water fish nut. I've seen varying reviews so was nervous myself.

As far as catfish, it's mostly farm raised these days and has a very light flavor. It's one of my favorites. It's a great fish for sauces. Also it's fairly inexpensive so try it at home. Catfish used to have a bad reputation as being seen as a 'dirty' fish as it's a bottom feeder in nature, however fish farms have changed it's taste for the better. (I've never given this a second thought but mention it as some may make this claim, which I find baseless.) Try it, I hope you like it.

Here's a Wiki quote, the only part the pertains to eating it;

"Judgements as to the quality and flavour vary, with some food critics considering catfish as being excellent food, others dismiss them as watery and lacking in flavour."

I would agree with that. If not prepared well, it can be a bit boring.

 

[MelanieC]

Great review - THANKs!

We are trying Coral Reef for the first time when we go next month. I'm really looking forward to it. In all our years to WDW we have never tried it. I plan on getting the catfish! Catfish is a favorite of mine. My mom was from Tennessee and my grandmother used to make the best catfish. It was a favorite when I was a kid. I think it's a very mild tasty fish!

 

[Tam1067]

I'm so glad to hear this! We've got a reservation there in a few weeks, and I was hesitant because so many people complain about the food. I hope our experience is as nice as yours was.

 

[wdwpirates]

My DH and I, for some reason, have always been leary of this dining spot. We decided to take a chance and make a ressie for our upcoming trip. I am glad to see this positive review. I am hopeful that our experience will be just as great as yours sounded!!!

 

[themudd4]

We too fell in love with this place on our trip in March and we were even lucky enough to see Mickey himself scuba dive. I have a pic of it on my myspace link...feel free to look it up (the link is in my siggie). My only complant was our waitress was rather slow, but nothing we would not put up with! My DH and I both had the steaks and loved them! Highly recommend!!!

 

[rluey29]

Our trip last year in may, Coral Reef was by far the best place we tried. I mean it was head and shoulders better.

 

[squitty]

I am really glad that I have read your review, I was a bit wary of booking the Coral Reef, we will be eating here for the first time in September, sounds like I have made a good choice.

Thank you.

 

[danjoan14]

Thanks for the review. We'll be trying CR for the first time during our trip in November. DS and I have no problem with food. DW is the picky eater. Although, I did notice on the dinner menu that they do have grilled chicken and pork.