LoveWDW
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 14, 2005
- Messages
- 1,253
WDW Restaurant Reviews 12-05
Marrakesh: We had the Marrakesh Feast sampler. The soup and beef roll were my favorite parts. The chicken was just chicken, the beef in my shish-ka-bob was tough. The couscous were good. The mint tea was excellent. The desserts were good. The baklava was very tasty. The service was excellent, and the dancer moved well.
Marrakesh has been my favorite restaurant at WDW because the Moroccan pavilion is so beautiful and the service so good. This time the food let me down a bit. My husband said the beef that he had was not tough. But I give it a B for food and an A for service. A for atmosphere.
Spoodles is my favorite restaurant in WDW now for the food. I had the flatbread and dips, the salmon, cookies for dessert (that I took back to the room). My husband had the pasta and added the shrimp and scallops (included in the dining plan.) The service was friendly and efficient; we sat in a booth in the corner and so could talk with the company we had invited. The restaurant was noisy and busy, as we expected. The sangria was tasty. A for food, B for atmosphere, A for service.
The Swan: Garden Grove Café (not in the Dining Plan). I have had Cobb Salad there for several years, and it is the best Cobb Salad Ive had. The server brought pretzel bread, which was delicious. My husband had a chicken salad sandwich. We would both order the same things again. The service was friendly and efficient. Food A. Atmosphere B. Service A.
Le Cellier: We were told right off that the Dining Plan did not include lobster. I had the salmon. It was cooked as I requested and accompanied by an interesting slaw-like vegetable with a maple syrup glaze. My husband had the pork tenderloin, but he said it was tough. I had the cheese soup, and it was everything that people said. My husband had the beef and barley soup and liked it. He said there was lot of beef in it. For dessert we took the cake back to the room and also had the cheese sampler- (it was included in the dining plan). The sampler included three kinds of cheese (small portions) in an elegant presentation- a blue cheese, a goat cheese and one other. They were very good, but I am glad that I didnt pay $13 for them. The server was courteous, and if you asked for something he would rapidly take care of it, but we sat for 20 minutes before he even came to the table, then another 20 minutes before we had anything to eat or drink- even water- both times he apologized for the delay. He didnt refill my water or iced tea until at the end of the meal I requested it. He was knowledgeable about the food, but in an obvious hurry- its why I cant remember the names of all the three cheeses- he dropped them off and left, and it wasnt until he swung back through that I asked and he spoke so quickly and ran off again that I didnt hear. This was the worst meal we had. We didnt mind the half hour wait past our reservations time so much, but the waits after we had been seated, the inattentive service, the noise and crowds, did not make for a magical experience. I will never go back. Food B or A. Atmosphere C (it was overcrowded and noisy). Service D.
ABC Commissary: We stopped there twice to split the scrambled egg breakfast. It was fine and fast. There was enough for two for a light meal. Food B-. Service (friendly, it is counter service). Atmosphere C (average, nothing special.)
Flame Tree Barbecue: We split the ribs. It came with a small ear of corn and baked beans. The ribs were average, as was the corn. The beans were good. The best thing about the place was the available seating was spread out and very scenic. The gentleman in charge of cleaning up was most pleasant and came over and talked with us for a while.
Food- B-, Atmosphere A. Service (counter service but all friendly people.)
Rose and Crown: We split a fish and chips counter service meal. We got there mid-afternoon and there was no line, otherwise there always was a long line anytime we walked past it. The portion was adequate for a light meal for two. There was a taste in the fat that I didnt care for, but otherwise the fish were pretty good. For the included dessert we got a tiny package of shortbread cookies. We ate on a bench near the water. Food C. Atmosphere B. Service B.
Hurricane Hannahs: We picked up some wraps for the trip home. We explained that we wanted something without the dressing, so that it wouldnt get soggy, and there was one of the sandwiches without dressing, so we got it- Cape Cod Wrap. It did hold up well. For dessert we got Mickey Bars that we ate immediately, of course. Rootbeer and chips. Food B. Atmosphere (none). Service A.
Norway counter service: Open face sandwiches- I got the turkey, my husband got the ham. They were good. We got the Rice Cream and the Mousse both nice. And fruit cup- a small bunch of grapes and a strawberry- should have got the green salad (because I was getting salad-deprived), although the fruit was fresh. The School Bread was the best thing I ate the whole trip! The sweet pretzel was good, too, but the School Bread is so good. For the meal itself Id say food B+, atmosphere C, service A. The School Bread gets an A+.
Boma for supper: Id recommend going after 6:30- it got a bit less hectic then. We were there at 5:30 and there was a very long line at the meat station and some jostling around the other stations. We tried all 5 kinds of soup. The squash soup was excellent. I liked three of the soups, and the other two had a taste I didnt like, but my husband liked them all. The meat was OK. The pap was good- I had an extra serving. The food was all fresh and bright. I wished that I could have eaten more it was all so good. The zebra domes were my favorite of the desserts. I got a sampler plate of many of the desserts and split them with my husband. I would go back for sure. We tried the Kenyan pressed pot of coffee (not included in the DP). It was very tasty- a little more bitter than the Kona pressed pot- but the more bitter flavor did not make it a bad cup of coffee- it was good, and Id get it again. Our server was helpful and attentive. He brought me a second glass of iced tea before my first was even finished. We left a sizable tip. Food A. Atmosphere B+. Service A.
Kona Café for lunch. We were seated pretty quickly even though it was crowded. We ordered the pressed post of Kona Coffee, and my husband liked it so much that we had to go back the next day to get more. We had the barbecued pork sandwich- very good. We took half home, and it was good cold, too. We each had the crab cake appetizer. 4 small croquettes with a tasty sauce. For dessert we had the caramel banana crème brulee, which was delicious, and the Kilauea Torte- that was hot liquid fudge enclosed in a cake, it came with ice cream included in the DP. It was such a treat! Food A. Atmosphere B (wed heard that it was like eating in the hotel lobby, but we didnt find this to be the case- the one wall is open- but it is off to the side of the room). Service B+. The server was attentive and knowledgeable, but his personality was just a little arrogant.
For snack credits we got two Mickey Bars and 8 Rice Krispy Mickeys (that we brought home for souvenirs. I figured that we saved $220 with the DP (that cost us $350- 2 adults, 5 days). If we hadnt had the plan we would not have ordered appetizers and desserts. But we also would not have tried so many different places. We found it was easy to split the CS meals, and we had no trouble spreading the CS meals out over breakfasts and lunches- we never felt as if we didnt have enough to eat. With the desserts that we took back to the room, we had them for snacks and for a quick breakfast. The plan was worth it for us, not necessarily because of money saved- since we just wouldnt have eaten so many TS meals, and I would have brought cereal for breakfasts, but because we enjoyed visiting the different restaurants and ordering whatever we thought wed like.
Marrakesh: We had the Marrakesh Feast sampler. The soup and beef roll were my favorite parts. The chicken was just chicken, the beef in my shish-ka-bob was tough. The couscous were good. The mint tea was excellent. The desserts were good. The baklava was very tasty. The service was excellent, and the dancer moved well.
Marrakesh has been my favorite restaurant at WDW because the Moroccan pavilion is so beautiful and the service so good. This time the food let me down a bit. My husband said the beef that he had was not tough. But I give it a B for food and an A for service. A for atmosphere.
Spoodles is my favorite restaurant in WDW now for the food. I had the flatbread and dips, the salmon, cookies for dessert (that I took back to the room). My husband had the pasta and added the shrimp and scallops (included in the dining plan.) The service was friendly and efficient; we sat in a booth in the corner and so could talk with the company we had invited. The restaurant was noisy and busy, as we expected. The sangria was tasty. A for food, B for atmosphere, A for service.
The Swan: Garden Grove Café (not in the Dining Plan). I have had Cobb Salad there for several years, and it is the best Cobb Salad Ive had. The server brought pretzel bread, which was delicious. My husband had a chicken salad sandwich. We would both order the same things again. The service was friendly and efficient. Food A. Atmosphere B. Service A.
Le Cellier: We were told right off that the Dining Plan did not include lobster. I had the salmon. It was cooked as I requested and accompanied by an interesting slaw-like vegetable with a maple syrup glaze. My husband had the pork tenderloin, but he said it was tough. I had the cheese soup, and it was everything that people said. My husband had the beef and barley soup and liked it. He said there was lot of beef in it. For dessert we took the cake back to the room and also had the cheese sampler- (it was included in the dining plan). The sampler included three kinds of cheese (small portions) in an elegant presentation- a blue cheese, a goat cheese and one other. They were very good, but I am glad that I didnt pay $13 for them. The server was courteous, and if you asked for something he would rapidly take care of it, but we sat for 20 minutes before he even came to the table, then another 20 minutes before we had anything to eat or drink- even water- both times he apologized for the delay. He didnt refill my water or iced tea until at the end of the meal I requested it. He was knowledgeable about the food, but in an obvious hurry- its why I cant remember the names of all the three cheeses- he dropped them off and left, and it wasnt until he swung back through that I asked and he spoke so quickly and ran off again that I didnt hear. This was the worst meal we had. We didnt mind the half hour wait past our reservations time so much, but the waits after we had been seated, the inattentive service, the noise and crowds, did not make for a magical experience. I will never go back. Food B or A. Atmosphere C (it was overcrowded and noisy). Service D.
ABC Commissary: We stopped there twice to split the scrambled egg breakfast. It was fine and fast. There was enough for two for a light meal. Food B-. Service (friendly, it is counter service). Atmosphere C (average, nothing special.)
Flame Tree Barbecue: We split the ribs. It came with a small ear of corn and baked beans. The ribs were average, as was the corn. The beans were good. The best thing about the place was the available seating was spread out and very scenic. The gentleman in charge of cleaning up was most pleasant and came over and talked with us for a while.
Food- B-, Atmosphere A. Service (counter service but all friendly people.)
Rose and Crown: We split a fish and chips counter service meal. We got there mid-afternoon and there was no line, otherwise there always was a long line anytime we walked past it. The portion was adequate for a light meal for two. There was a taste in the fat that I didnt care for, but otherwise the fish were pretty good. For the included dessert we got a tiny package of shortbread cookies. We ate on a bench near the water. Food C. Atmosphere B. Service B.
Hurricane Hannahs: We picked up some wraps for the trip home. We explained that we wanted something without the dressing, so that it wouldnt get soggy, and there was one of the sandwiches without dressing, so we got it- Cape Cod Wrap. It did hold up well. For dessert we got Mickey Bars that we ate immediately, of course. Rootbeer and chips. Food B. Atmosphere (none). Service A.
Norway counter service: Open face sandwiches- I got the turkey, my husband got the ham. They were good. We got the Rice Cream and the Mousse both nice. And fruit cup- a small bunch of grapes and a strawberry- should have got the green salad (because I was getting salad-deprived), although the fruit was fresh. The School Bread was the best thing I ate the whole trip! The sweet pretzel was good, too, but the School Bread is so good. For the meal itself Id say food B+, atmosphere C, service A. The School Bread gets an A+.
Boma for supper: Id recommend going after 6:30- it got a bit less hectic then. We were there at 5:30 and there was a very long line at the meat station and some jostling around the other stations. We tried all 5 kinds of soup. The squash soup was excellent. I liked three of the soups, and the other two had a taste I didnt like, but my husband liked them all. The meat was OK. The pap was good- I had an extra serving. The food was all fresh and bright. I wished that I could have eaten more it was all so good. The zebra domes were my favorite of the desserts. I got a sampler plate of many of the desserts and split them with my husband. I would go back for sure. We tried the Kenyan pressed pot of coffee (not included in the DP). It was very tasty- a little more bitter than the Kona pressed pot- but the more bitter flavor did not make it a bad cup of coffee- it was good, and Id get it again. Our server was helpful and attentive. He brought me a second glass of iced tea before my first was even finished. We left a sizable tip. Food A. Atmosphere B+. Service A.
Kona Café for lunch. We were seated pretty quickly even though it was crowded. We ordered the pressed post of Kona Coffee, and my husband liked it so much that we had to go back the next day to get more. We had the barbecued pork sandwich- very good. We took half home, and it was good cold, too. We each had the crab cake appetizer. 4 small croquettes with a tasty sauce. For dessert we had the caramel banana crème brulee, which was delicious, and the Kilauea Torte- that was hot liquid fudge enclosed in a cake, it came with ice cream included in the DP. It was such a treat! Food A. Atmosphere B (wed heard that it was like eating in the hotel lobby, but we didnt find this to be the case- the one wall is open- but it is off to the side of the room). Service B+. The server was attentive and knowledgeable, but his personality was just a little arrogant.
For snack credits we got two Mickey Bars and 8 Rice Krispy Mickeys (that we brought home for souvenirs. I figured that we saved $220 with the DP (that cost us $350- 2 adults, 5 days). If we hadnt had the plan we would not have ordered appetizers and desserts. But we also would not have tried so many different places. We found it was easy to split the CS meals, and we had no trouble spreading the CS meals out over breakfasts and lunches- we never felt as if we didnt have enough to eat. With the desserts that we took back to the room, we had them for snacks and for a quick breakfast. The plan was worth it for us, not necessarily because of money saved- since we just wouldnt have eaten so many TS meals, and I would have brought cereal for breakfasts, but because we enjoyed visiting the different restaurants and ordering whatever we thought wed like.
