Daddy Daughter Dining Reviews- Complete!

[msteddom]

These are long overdue reviews from my August trip with my dad. We stayed August 23-26. We stayed at the Yacht Club and just loved it!!!
Here are the restauraunts I will be reviewing:

Citricos- Dinner
Chefs de France- lunch
ESPN Club- dinner
Yacht Club Galley- breakfast
Hurricane Hannah's- lunch
California Grill- dinner
ESPN Club- lunch

 

[msteddom]

We weren't sure how long it would take us to get to the Yacht Club, between possible flight delays, waiting for ME, ect. so we purposely did not make an ADR for tonight. Well things went remarkabley smoothly and we were settle into our room and ready to start thinking about dinner by about 6 PM. We decided that Citircos would fit the bill for tonight so off we went. Taking the bus to the MK then hopping on the monorail to the GF worked quite well.

We were able to make an ADR for the same evening before we left the Yacht Club, and we were seated after about a five minute wait. We were at a beautiful table for four (even though there were two of us) overlooking the quiet pool in the far room.

We started with the sauteed shrimp with lemon, white wine and feta chesse. I have always loved this appatizer, and this time was no exception. The flavors are just exqusite.

For entrees I chose the filet sicilian and dad had the grilled swordfish. Both were quite good, but fell a bit short of excellent. There was nothing wrong with either dish, but neither of us seemed to be licking our plates clean. It could have been the long day we spent travelling.

For dessert we shared the lemon cheesecake and the warm chocolate banana tart and a press pot of coffee. Both desserts were wonderful, and they complimented eachother quite well. As an added suprise, Wishes began just as we were finishing our dessert. sp we were able to stay and watch them. It was neat seeing the fireworks from such a different perspective.

Our service was outstanding. Our waiter was always present to attend to our needs, but did not hover. He was also able to suggest a wonderful glass of wine to go with my steak, as I do not normally drink red wine. Overall it was a very pleasant evening and we would not hesitate to return.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Sounds like you're of to a good start!! Was Citrico's crowded that evening?

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Thanks for the review. We will be dining at Citrico's for the first time in December.

 

[TigerKat]

Looking forward to Chefs & ESPN!!!!

 

[wilma-bride]

Off to a great start - love the sound of that chocolate banana dessert at Citricos

 

[msteddom]

Sounds like you're of to a good start!! Was Citrico's crowded that evening?

I wouldn't call it crowded, but most of the tables were full.

Melissa

 

[msteddom]

Lunch at Chefs is a tradition with Dad and I. Our first lunch of the trip is always here, and this was no exception. Our reservation was for 1 PM. We arrived promptly and waited for under ten minutes. We were seated at the second row of tables on the sun porch. One thing that struck us while we were there was how empty both the restaurant and World Showcase in general both were. The restuarant had maybe 15 tables occupied, and we could look out the window periodically and see absolutly nobody.

We were both hungry and tired from a long morning at the Animal Kingdom, so we ordered right away. I went with the chicken crepe, which was good, but I probably won't order it again. Dad decided to be all healthy and have the goat cheese salad which continues to be a favorite. Dessert was one creme brule and two spoons.

Service was unremarkable, not great and not bad. OVerall the meal was quite enjoyable, and we will contunue to make Les Chefs de France a first day tradition.

Melissa

 

[Disney owl]

thanks for sharing

 

[wilma-bride]

It's good to have family traditions - Chefs de France sounds great

 

[msteddom]

It was raining cats and dogs this night, so we didn't want to venture too far from the Yacht Club for dinner. The rain finally let up enough for us to venture across the bridge over to the Boardwalk,so we made a run for it!

After looking at all the Boardwalk menus we decided that the ESPN Club sounded wonderful. We grabbed a seat at a table in the bar without having to wait. Our server was wonderful! She was obviously busy, but we never had the chance to need anything, because she was constantly checking in on us.

We decided to split a plate of nachos to start and they were fantastic! The plate was so huge and so good that what was intended to be a starter ended up being dinner.

I love the ESPN Club, in part because I love sports. So I really enjoy having all the TVs around. The atmosphere is fun, the food is good, and the service is attentive. It isn't gourmet, but it isn't intended to be. So if you like sports give ESPN a try!

 

[msteddom]

We ate breakfast at Yacht Club Galley two out of the three mornings we were there. It was never crowded and the service was friendly and attentive. My dad loved the breakfast buffet, and I was happy with my Mickey waffles. Dad is a big breakfast eater, and he loved the YCG. In fact that restaurant was one of the reasons why he wants to stay at the Yact Club again on future trips. I don't think this restauraunt merits a special trip, but if you are staying at the YC/BC it is convenient and tasty!

 

[TigerKat]

We have some really great places in our line-up for dining, but DH would be just fine if we ate at ESPN every night. We're all sports nuts and really love the place but DH lives for those hot wings!!

 

[msteddom]

There was a break in the rain today long enough to get a few hours in at the pool, so lunch was poolside today. The lines at Hurricane Hannah's were long and moved slow. It seemed like everyone was ordering for a family of ten, and none of them understood how to use the dining plan. The staff patiently walked each confused guest through the plan and got the food out as fast as they could. Still, I stood in line for at least 20 mins. Lunch was a simple meal of chicken strips and fries, which were quite good, but getting them was quite an ordeal. I don't think Hurricane Hannah's could have done anything more than they were already doing to reduce my wait. They were fully staffed and working as quickly as they could. Maybe have one register for the dining plan and one for everyone else? Verdict: the food was good, but the wait was not.

 

[msteddom]

We didn't have any dinner plans for tonight, so after going back and forth between several choices we decided to try the California Grill. We didn't have an ADR, so we decided to try our luck at the bar. If it didn't work out we would try something else else on the monorail line.

We decided to walk through Epcot to the monorail, and the weather was taking a turn for the worse. In the space of a few minutes the wind whipped up and the sky got really dark. We just made it to the Epcot monorail station when the sky opened up! We got absolutley soaked in the three minutes it took to transfer from the Epcot line to the resort line. By the time we made it over the Magic Kingdom it had been raining rediculously hard for about 30 mins. People were streaming out of the Magic Kingdom and onto the monorail. They couldn't have been any more wet than it they had jumped into the lagoon with all of their clothes on. We were all wet, so it didn't really make a difference.

We finally made it to the Contemporary and asked to sit at the bar at the check in desk. We were shown right up, but were cautioned that there might not be any seats immediatly available. As luck would have it there were two seats at the far end of the bar.

The game plan was to order drinks, then order food as we saw fit. That format works well for our family. That way if the atmosphere and service aren't what we hope we aren't comitted to a full meal. So I had a glass of wine and dad ordered a gin and tonic. We had a great time chatting with the bar tender and the people next to us and watching the incredible thunder storm that was going on outside.

We were really enjoying ourselves so we ordered another round of drinks and food. I had the goat cheese ravioli which was outstanding and dad had the lobster salad. We both really enjoyed our food and it ended up being more than enough food to fill us up. The couple next to us also let us sample their BLT flatbread, which was wonderful.

We had a fanastic time here, and we loved just being able to order from the bar without the pressure of eating a full three courses. The bartender was wonderful as well. He let me sample several sauvignon blancs before I settled on my favorite,and he poured a great gin and tonic for my dad. It was an unforgettable evening and I can't wait to return.

 

[msteddom]

IT was back to the ESPN Club for a quick lunch before we headded out to the airport. This time we asked for a table in the dining room. The restaurant was not full at all, there were maybe about six occupied tables. I ordered the burger and dad had the chili dog. Both were quite good. The service was attentive, but not overbearing, and it was another satisfying ESPN meal!

 

[Minniespal]

Excellent