Coral Reef

[mikera329]

Calling all Disers! Please give me your latest reviews on Coral Reef...good or otherwise. We have never eaten there and currently have it booked for our early March trip...service, atmosphere, fav meals...thanks!

 

[Jeanieblue114]

i'm doing a day trip tomorrow and checking it out for a lil lunch snack.
Some friends of mine loved it, but they got the steaks.
I've only heard good things if you get the steak.
I will not be getting steak and i'll be there at a slower time of day, so we will see.

 

[belle07]

My DH and I really liked it there. The service has always been good. It can get a little loud in there since the room is a bit small. Ask to sit near the tank if you can. I've gotten the grilled Mahi Mahi and its was good. Also try the baileys and jack daniels mouse, it's tasty.

 

[Dreamsdocometrue9112]

My fiance and I went this past August and I was pretty disappointed. The atmosphere is awesome, but the food was not what I expected. On the other hand, my fiance loved it. He says he would still recommend it. I may have been thrown off a bit in the beginning by the 60 minute wait (with ADRs) and the 5 children running around screaming uncontrollably while their parents ignored it and chatted the whole time.

I'm pretty sure we both had the seafood, so I can't speak for anything else!

Hope this helps!

 

[Mr Jack Sparrow]

Always a long wait to be seated but the atmosphere is awesome. I recommend everyone to eat there because it is so cool eating and being able to watch sharks, giant grouper, and many different kinds of fish. You cant go wrong with any of the seafood dishes or steak. They also have good desserts. Just a really cool place to eat. Enjoy.

 

[OhThePain]

It'll be a long time before we head back there again. CR used to be on my list of must do's, but the quality of service and food has dropped way to much over the years (this is one of the few cases where I think the DDP has ruined a restaurant). Once upon a time CR was a quiet, relaxing, fantastic restaurant. Now the food is no better than Red Lobster, the service is slow, our servers the last 2 times were very rude, and as a PP mentioned it's a bit of a mad-house in there. And if you are unlucky enough to sit next to the tank, you're in for a pretty bad meal. Last time we had kids screaming in our ears, eating bread over our table getting crumbs all over, puting their hands all over our table, chairs, us while we were trying to eat and parents who didn't care. CR is a shell of what it used to be and with all the other dining options out there it just isn't worth going back to anymore.

 

[MagicalMawMaw]

We have ate there the last 4 trips. It is my DH favorite & only requested meal.

This last Dec I got the grilled Mahi Mahi ...& it was excellant. I also had my best salad as an Appetizer here of the trip. I don't remember the name I just know it had nuts in it.

Our wait to be seated wasn't very long. We request a table by the tanks each time & tell them we don't mind waiting & we always get a table there...but we are also a party of 2.

We have never had any problem with kiddos crowding our table to look at the fish when we go.

Folks knock this place...but we love it!

 

[sambisc]

We ate at Coral Reef today and had a great meal. We were seated right next to the tank, no issues with children at the window. Restaurant was busy but relatively quiet (no different than other restaurants in the world). Waiter was friendly and efficient. Hubby had the lobster stuffed ravioli which he really enjoyed. I had the seared chicken breast which was quite tasty and not too heavy (have eaten alot of red meat and pasta). Key lime mousse was delicious, but the Bailey's and Jack Daniel Mousse was outstanding! Would definitely go back there again.

 

[Sam33]

Ate there in September and we loved it. DH got the steak and he said it was good (he's not a picky eater, though...he'll eat anything). I had the lobster ravioli and I loved it. I'm going back on my mom/daughter trip next year but just for the atmosphere. Food isn't "can't miss!" good.

I don't have pictures of the steak, just the ravioli. DH thought I was weird to take be taking pictures of my food and didn't let me take one!

 

[DisGirl1971]

We have eaten there many times over the years and have always had good food and good service. Their butterscotch creme brulee is one of my all time favorites. Can't wait to go back

 

[hailbug]

We eat here everytime we go to WDW. Last visit was in September 2011. We have always had good food and service. The atmosphere is wonderful! (Request a window seat) it makes it so much better! I always get the steak, which is always good.

 

[AlwaysEeyore]

Is there any difference to Lunch and Dinner really? The menues look the same. We have a 4pm reservation hoping to get close to the tank, we need to change it from 4 to 8 people and they only have 3:20 available.

 

[tink1953]

Coral reef....service was bad and the food worse...not sure if I would give it another chance??

BArb

 

[Jeanieblue114]

I went to Coral Reef yesterday.
We were there for lunch. I really recommend lunch because the crowd level was low. Our reservation was lost it seemed, but they still took us right in and gave us a table next to the tank. (Although the seating is tiered so I think that most seats will still give you a lovely view).

Our server was a young man and was very courteous and good with service. We made a few requests and he was quick to meet them, took pics for us, checked on us...no complaints.

The food was ok but we didn't have a lot of it.
We had dinner plans later and just didn't want anything heavy at lunch.
We shared the appetizer for 2. (16.99)
It had two small cups of lobster bisque (i thought it was good but a lot like a cup of heavy cream, my friend loved it...it was good dipping the dinner rolls into it.)
2 large breaded shrimp each...fine, not much different than the counter service breaded shrimp.
a crab cake each. Our first ones were cold and raw in the middle so we had to send them back. They brought out fresh ones with a mango salsa (was decent) and they were ok but a lot of filler.
There was also a slaw with the shrimp. It was taken away when the platter was removed to replace the crab cakes and no slaw was given on the return plate. I got a teenie taste of it before it was taken away and it was warm from the shrimp on it and very oniony...so i don't feel i was missing anything.

We also got the bailey's and jack daniels mousse dessert (7.99).
It was good. Very rich pudding basically.
We shared it as well. Might have been a bit much for one person depending on how rich you can handle.

I thought the prices were pretty high, even for disney, but there is the atmosphere to consider.

There were a decent amount of young children and lots of discussions of nemo, bruce, and crush since there was a huge turtle and a shark who kept circling.

Overall, I think it's definitely a fun experience. For the price, i think it's best to go if you are on the dining plan. Paying cash, I would opt for lunch and eat something smaller like we did and check it out (we also have the tables in wonderland discount).
I would definitely go back again, I'm not expecting much for the food, but it's as good as a Red Lobster definitely...just with a lot more pizzazz. But i find that most Disney one credit restaurants are on par with popular chain restaurants for quality. I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing. Don't go expecting a fine dining experience though. It is not a signature dining location.

 

[DisneyNic]

I just posted this on another thread. As always, this is JMHO!

We were a party of 6, with an ADR at 11:30 in Sept on Free Dining. If I had payed anymore than the tip, I would have been really upset. We were seated 45 minutes after our ADR time, the food options were limited (no dietary restrictions, just lack of choices IMO), our waiter disappeared for long lengths of time, and we were seated on the back row against the wall, center next to the door to the kitchen. My kids (6 & 4 at the time) couldn't really see the tank at all. I understand that not every table can be right up at the tank, but I chose this ADR for the atmosphere so I wouldn't do it again knowing that we could end up in the back again.