Dining (dinner) recommendations for someone with very simple palate?

[suzu]

Completely agree with other posters on the fancy wording on the TS menus. The more adjectives and exotic sounding the description, the more they are able to charge.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Others have mentioned it, but I'll plug it again. I would seriously consider Trail's End at Ft. W. It's cheaper than most WDW restaurants, the food is good and it's simple. Plus the whole atmosphere at Ft. W is unique IMHO. The WDW stables are right next door so you can visit the horses (and take a pony ride if your kid's are short enough), visit the general store and play on the playground. Ft. W is easily accessible by boat from WL, MK and CR.

If you are looking for Italian (you mentioned Tony's), consider Trattoria al Forno on the Boardwalk or go to Via Napoli in EP where you can keep costs down by sharing a pizza, a salad, etc. Spice Road Table is also excellent. Really good, huge steak (portions here are gigantic). For a family of four, you could split two apps and two entrees and have more than enough food.

 

[Klayfish]

The buffet at Trails Inn is great and so worth the money, its a short boat ride from MK.

Oooooohhhhh...Winner, winner, chicken dinner (sorry, couldn't resist, it was just hanging there ). That sounds perfect. We all love a buffet, the menu looks right up our alley and soft serve ice cream is our kids favorite dessert, and mine too. Think we may go there. Some other really good suggestions we may keep in mind for some of our other trips this year. We still plan to pack our own meals 95% of the time. For any trip over 4 or 5 days, we try to eat at a restaurant at least once, just used to always be offsite.

 

[Arielfan98]

If you're looking for the unhealthy option since you're on vacation, why not give Sci-Fi Drive In a chance? Their menu has burgers, fries, shakes, and a few other options like steak or pasta. Plus, the theming is cool and it's cheap to pay out of pocket.

 

[JerseyJanice]

I agree with @Arielfan98. Sci Fi is a really fun and unique place with simple foods. The best thing there are the burgers, and they cost only a few dollars more than QS burgers.

I mentioned it above, but Whispering Canyon would be a good choice. The AYCE skillet comes with a great salad and tasty cornbread though I'm a northern girl so IDK how authentic it is. The meats are smoked in the Wilderness Lodge's own smokehouse, but they don't taste cured or oversalted. Chicken, ribs and beef brisket are all cooked in the smokehouse.

The waiters do goofy things with the kids, and one thing boys really like is that they can order bottomless milkshakes. You may (or may not) be surprised at how many shakes teenaged boys can suck down and still eat.

 

[Klayfish]

Yes, Sci Fi is one of the restaurants we have looked at before and could be on our short list too. Seems like a cool place. We also looked at the '50s diner, but liked Sci Fi menu a bit better.

I'll look at Whispering Canyon, sounds good. Ribs....mmmmmmmmmmmm....... And great, bottomless milkshakes to match DS13's bottomless pit of a stomach.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

We're also pretty plain eaters, and several of our favorites have already been mentioned - Via Napoli, Sci-Fi, 50's Prime Time, Whispering Canyon. We've not been to Trail's End, but we have been to Hoop Dee Doo Revue, and I think the food is the same or similar. (Trail's End is on my list for a possible last-minute ADR on our upcoming trip should we decide to visit Fort Wilderness.) Others we've enjoyed over the years include Mama Melrose (pretty basic Italian), Garden Grill (very fresh-tasting food, fun characters), Tutto Italia (we really enjoyed this).

 

[Jules76126]

I think this is a really interesting thread. We eat all our dinner meals as TS because when I am on vacation, I am not cooking (I hate to cook so definitely not on vacation). I love Via Napoli and Spice Road table. Both were very very good. I would also recommend Grand Floridian Cafe and the Wave.

 

[GillianP1301]

Almost every TS restaurants has a few more "plain" items on the menu, usually a steak and a chicken option and if you really want to go even more plain, you can just request they not put whatever sauce normally comes with it. For pub/tavern or more "american" or plain type food then I would suggest trying Sci-Fi, Whispering Canyon, T-Rex, Rainforest Cafe, Rose & Crown. If you like Italian both Tony's and Mama Melrose may suit the bill as neither are very fancy at all.

 

[NYCgrrl]

I'm not a "plain eater" but am earnest about eating healthily. I will say that a chicken breast without seasoning wouldn't appeal to me yet to each their own.
Best pizza for me would be Via Napoli as far as crust (important in my life). Simplistic or complex toppings are for you to decide but the ingredients are top notch.
Still haven't seen a decent burger @ Disney but I'm looking. I can say that I definitely haven't seen a QS burger that looked appealing to my palate.
I only eat fries about once or twice a year so no help there.

I suggest you peruse the menus at WD. Each site at MDE has one and see what appeals to you. Oh and use those filters to narrow down your choices.

 

[IrishNYC]

I would say most of the food at WDW is on the plain side, even the more "exotic" places. We tend to think the food is pretty bland, and it's all processed stuff for the most part, so we don't have high expectations for gourmet food there.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I would try the Wave.

 

[bootlord9000]

We are very much the same way (but less healthy about it). We hardly made any ADRs last trip because we were too worried about spending the money and finding nothing we'd like. We usually stick with eating breakfast at table service restaurants since everything is usually pretty basic. We spend the majority of our meals at counter service locations.
It's hard to make suggestions for picky eaters, but here's what we've had and what we are eating next trip (TS only, but I can give you a list of CS if you want):
Have Eaten:

• San Angel Inn: Was a lovely atmosphere, but not Tex-Mex enough for us.
• Crystal Palace Breakfast: Can't go wrong with breakfast food
• Be Our Guest Breakfast: I had a simple breakfast, but there's other options

Future Trip Plans:

• Via Napoli: Pizza
• Boma Breakfast: We're staying at AKL, so we wanted at least one meal at our resort
• Tusker House: Looks like there's some basic meats and sides. We wanted to do the ROL dining package, but already had Boma scheduled for breakfast.
• Sci-Fi Dine-In: Burgers and fries. I think this one is closest to a TGI Friday's
• The Plaza Lunch: burgers, sandwiches

 

[goofyintoronto]

I think this is a really interesting thread. We eat all our dinner meals as TS because when I am on vacation, I am not cooking (I hate to cook so definitely not on vacation). I love Via Napoli and Spice Road table. Both were very very good. I would also recommend Grand Floridian Cafe and the Wave.

Oh yes, I agree with these suggestions. Via is my #1 fave (love the candele pasta and the pizza), The Wave is my 2nd choice, and 3rd is GFC. All three are so very yummy!

 

[PollyannaMom]

i second SciFi or Garden Grill to fit your criteria. (Trails end is also on my own list. I haven't tried it yet, but want to.)