I loved reading other's dining reviews before I left so I thought I'd chime in with my own. We were at WDW 1/13-1/16 and had to stay offsite because it was a last minute trip and we couldn't get ressies onsite. A bit about us-- I'm a pescetarian (I eat fish, but not meat, poultry, etc) but my husband is a full blown carnivore.
1/13-
Breakfast, contental at the motel
Snack, fruit and veggies from the fruit stand in Africa at AK
I was surprised but these were pretty good, everything was fresh. I'm picky about produce. Would do this again, it was so refreshing to eat something light and tasty.
Dinner, Sweet Tomatoes, I-drive
Good selection, especially of vegetarian options. I really liked that they clearly labled what was in everything. Great meal for the price and the soup was yummy.
1/14-
Breakfast-- contental at the motel
Latte at Contemporary Grounds at CR-- fabulous, this was a great way to start the day!
Lunch-- Liberty Tree
We were able to get last minute ADRs, called about an hour in advance. It was a bit loud and there was a very limited selection of veggie options (only one entree, no soups). I had the crab cake appetizer as my entree, my husband had soup and a salad, and we shared the shortcake for desert. The crab cake was good size and the suquatash (sp?) was very good. The waiter brought the wrong soup the first time and DH said the first one was overly salty. But when the waiter brought the correct bowl, he said it was pretty good. The shortcake was amazing. Wonderful strawberries and blueberries, giant portions of biscuits, lovely vanilla ice cream, and fresh whipped cream. Share this one because you won't be able to finish it alone.
Dinner-- California Grill -CR
This was the highlight of our trip. We had a beautiful window view right at sunset. The waitstaff was amazing and the whole experience relaxing. We shared four cheese flat bread-- tasty but nothing too unusual. Second course was California Roll made with dungeness crab. The crab was almost too delicate. For our main course my husband had grouper which was supposed to come with sausage. The waitress had them bring the sausage on the side so that I could taste his dish as well. It was a perfectly cooked piece of very fresh fish with lovely mashed potatos. I had a beautiful goat cheese ravioli that was in a delicious tomato broth. For desert we shared the Chocolate, Chocolate Caramel with champagne and it was wonderful. The white chocolate ice cream was to die for and the warm chocolate lava cake a perfect compliment.
1/15
Breakfast-- Denny's on I drive
Wasn't expecting much, but the food was cold and service was bad. Would not recommend.
Lunch--Brown Derby MGM
We just wanted a light lunch out of the crowds. We shared a cobb salad, which was more than enough. We were even able to have the turkey and bacon served on the side which I really appreciated. My husband really liked the salad dressing. The waiter was gracious and treated us well even though we weren't a large bill. The warm freshly baked rolls were also delicious.
Dinner-- Mama Melroses MGM
We did the Fantasmic dinner which was definately worth the cost. It was so nice to stroll in 20 minutes before the show and have great seats. We were seated in the restaurant overlooking the kitchen as you enter. It was fasinating to see the chefs work. I wasn't feeling well and didn't enjoy my food very much. I ordered spaghetti di fravilo (sp?) which was supposed to be seafood in a spicy tomato sauce. The seafood wasn't very fresh and it was not at all spicy. My husband enjoyed the steak and the salad with the gorgonzola cheese. We both liked the pesto flatbread, the goat cheese was really good. The spumoni was ok for desert and my husband enjoyed the chocolate cake.
1/16
Breakfast-- Ihop on I drive
Standard breakfast fare but the food was hot, the service was great, and it was super quick.
Snack-- Americano near Innoventions East at Epcot
My husband said it was one of the best he's ever had.
Lunch-- Tangerine in the Morroco Pavilion at Epcot
We had made ADRs that morning for Marrakesh (sp?) but it was way too loud so we didn't stay. (We had been doing sit down meals at lunch for the nice quiet break from the crowds). We ended up at the couter service and I was glad we did. I had a vegetarian sampler tray with olive salad, hummus, lentil salad, couscous, and bread. Everything was very good. The hummus was on the salty side, but I still enjoyed it. My husband had couscous, hummus, chicken slouvaki, and bread. He found the hummus too salty and said the chicken was salty as well but good if he ate it with the bread. It was a quieter spot and we got to eat outside which was nice.
Snack-- Churro in Mexico pavilion
My husband's first (I still don't understand how you get to be 31 and never have a churro). It was good, but not the best ever.
Snack-- Latte from the stand between Italy and American Pavilions
Fabulous, much better than Starbucks. Full rich flavor, smooth without even a hint of bitterness.
Dinner-- Bistro de Paris, France Pavilion
The atmosphere is a bit dated and it's showing it's age. The view was nice but I wouldn't pick it as a spot to watch Illuminations. The service was not absolutley awful but certainly wasn't up to Disney standards. We were not served water until we asked for it. My wine wasn't served with my dinner. We asked for a cheese plate to share after dinner and then for desert to be served after. The cheese plate and desert were served at the same time. I ordered an after dinner drink which never came, but we were charged for it anyhow. I give waitstaff a lot of credit-- my grandmother was a waitress for over 50 years. Everyone is entitled to an off day. But when a meal costs this much you expect a higher level of service. I think the waiter thought we wouldn't spend much money since we're young, but what he didn't realize is we would have spent more if he was just more attentive-- no offers for a second glass of wine, coffee, etc.
The food itself was wonderful. But a big warning-- there wasn't a single vegetarian option on the menu! They served us a wonderful salmon mouse as an amuse bouche which was a very nice touch. The fresh rolls were wonderfully crusty outside and soft, flaky inside. I had a perfectly done organic salmon fillet. The chanterrels were so good. My husband had the boulabaise which was also good. The cheeses on the cheese plate were all wonderful and they were served with perfectly dressed greens. We had the crepes suzette for desert. The table side prep show was fun and the crepes were very yummy.
Summary-- I would absolutely eat at the CG again. It was worth every penny. I would go out of my way to get coffee in Epcot. And I would skip Bistro.
1/13-
Breakfast, contental at the motel
Snack, fruit and veggies from the fruit stand in Africa at AK
I was surprised but these were pretty good, everything was fresh. I'm picky about produce. Would do this again, it was so refreshing to eat something light and tasty.
Dinner, Sweet Tomatoes, I-drive
Good selection, especially of vegetarian options. I really liked that they clearly labled what was in everything. Great meal for the price and the soup was yummy.
1/14-
Breakfast-- contental at the motel
Latte at Contemporary Grounds at CR-- fabulous, this was a great way to start the day!
Lunch-- Liberty Tree
We were able to get last minute ADRs, called about an hour in advance. It was a bit loud and there was a very limited selection of veggie options (only one entree, no soups). I had the crab cake appetizer as my entree, my husband had soup and a salad, and we shared the shortcake for desert. The crab cake was good size and the suquatash (sp?) was very good. The waiter brought the wrong soup the first time and DH said the first one was overly salty. But when the waiter brought the correct bowl, he said it was pretty good. The shortcake was amazing. Wonderful strawberries and blueberries, giant portions of biscuits, lovely vanilla ice cream, and fresh whipped cream. Share this one because you won't be able to finish it alone.
Dinner-- California Grill -CR
This was the highlight of our trip. We had a beautiful window view right at sunset. The waitstaff was amazing and the whole experience relaxing. We shared four cheese flat bread-- tasty but nothing too unusual. Second course was California Roll made with dungeness crab. The crab was almost too delicate. For our main course my husband had grouper which was supposed to come with sausage. The waitress had them bring the sausage on the side so that I could taste his dish as well. It was a perfectly cooked piece of very fresh fish with lovely mashed potatos. I had a beautiful goat cheese ravioli that was in a delicious tomato broth. For desert we shared the Chocolate, Chocolate Caramel with champagne and it was wonderful. The white chocolate ice cream was to die for and the warm chocolate lava cake a perfect compliment.
1/15
Breakfast-- Denny's on I drive
Wasn't expecting much, but the food was cold and service was bad. Would not recommend.
Lunch--Brown Derby MGM
We just wanted a light lunch out of the crowds. We shared a cobb salad, which was more than enough. We were even able to have the turkey and bacon served on the side which I really appreciated. My husband really liked the salad dressing. The waiter was gracious and treated us well even though we weren't a large bill. The warm freshly baked rolls were also delicious.
Dinner-- Mama Melroses MGM
We did the Fantasmic dinner which was definately worth the cost. It was so nice to stroll in 20 minutes before the show and have great seats. We were seated in the restaurant overlooking the kitchen as you enter. It was fasinating to see the chefs work. I wasn't feeling well and didn't enjoy my food very much. I ordered spaghetti di fravilo (sp?) which was supposed to be seafood in a spicy tomato sauce. The seafood wasn't very fresh and it was not at all spicy. My husband enjoyed the steak and the salad with the gorgonzola cheese. We both liked the pesto flatbread, the goat cheese was really good. The spumoni was ok for desert and my husband enjoyed the chocolate cake.
1/16
Breakfast-- Ihop on I drive
Standard breakfast fare but the food was hot, the service was great, and it was super quick.
Snack-- Americano near Innoventions East at Epcot
My husband said it was one of the best he's ever had.
Lunch-- Tangerine in the Morroco Pavilion at Epcot
We had made ADRs that morning for Marrakesh (sp?) but it was way too loud so we didn't stay. (We had been doing sit down meals at lunch for the nice quiet break from the crowds). We ended up at the couter service and I was glad we did. I had a vegetarian sampler tray with olive salad, hummus, lentil salad, couscous, and bread. Everything was very good. The hummus was on the salty side, but I still enjoyed it. My husband had couscous, hummus, chicken slouvaki, and bread. He found the hummus too salty and said the chicken was salty as well but good if he ate it with the bread. It was a quieter spot and we got to eat outside which was nice.
Snack-- Churro in Mexico pavilion
My husband's first (I still don't understand how you get to be 31 and never have a churro). It was good, but not the best ever.
Snack-- Latte from the stand between Italy and American Pavilions
Fabulous, much better than Starbucks. Full rich flavor, smooth without even a hint of bitterness.
Dinner-- Bistro de Paris, France Pavilion
The atmosphere is a bit dated and it's showing it's age. The view was nice but I wouldn't pick it as a spot to watch Illuminations. The service was not absolutley awful but certainly wasn't up to Disney standards. We were not served water until we asked for it. My wine wasn't served with my dinner. We asked for a cheese plate to share after dinner and then for desert to be served after. The cheese plate and desert were served at the same time. I ordered an after dinner drink which never came, but we were charged for it anyhow. I give waitstaff a lot of credit-- my grandmother was a waitress for over 50 years. Everyone is entitled to an off day. But when a meal costs this much you expect a higher level of service. I think the waiter thought we wouldn't spend much money since we're young, but what he didn't realize is we would have spent more if he was just more attentive-- no offers for a second glass of wine, coffee, etc.
The food itself was wonderful. But a big warning-- there wasn't a single vegetarian option on the menu! They served us a wonderful salmon mouse as an amuse bouche which was a very nice touch. The fresh rolls were wonderfully crusty outside and soft, flaky inside. I had a perfectly done organic salmon fillet. The chanterrels were so good. My husband had the boulabaise which was also good. The cheeses on the cheese plate were all wonderful and they were served with perfectly dressed greens. We had the crepes suzette for desert. The table side prep show was fun and the crepes were very yummy.
Summary-- I would absolutely eat at the CG again. It was worth every penny. I would go out of my way to get coffee in Epcot. And I would skip Bistro.
