dinner recommends in Downtown Dis

[babyatlas]

we will be arriving on a saturday afternoon and we are not going to the park that day. but i would like to go to Downtown Disney, walk around and have dinner. there are 4 adults and two kids (ages 6 & 8) in our group. my girls are pretty fussy eaters. i had thought about the rainforest cafe but after everyone pointing to storytellers over the rainforest i have to wonder if this would be a good choice.

looking for something decent and moderately priced - similar to rainforest prices with kids meals.

appreciated.

 

[gunka]

ESPN Zone or Rainforest will be moderately priced with Kids Menus. If price was not an option - I would suggest Goofy's Kitchen - but like Storytellers it's expensive.

 

[DizMe]

We like RFC, but it seems many do not. I would AVOID Naples. It's just not good. I've not eaten at Tortilla Jo's but many on DIS seem to really like it. I love Jazz Kitchen, but it doesn't seem as kid friendly and I wouldn't think it would appeal to fussy eaters as it definitely has a Cajun touch (crawdad mashed potatoes, for instance).

My girls are sometimes fussy, but either RFC or Storyteller's would accommodate that. My girls hate kids menu items and dh and I would rather have them share adult entrees anyway as you often spend the same amount but get something high quality as opposed to the ubiquitous macaroni and cheese or hot dog meal.

 

[Cheshirecatty]

How about the Earl of Sandwich? Lots of great food to choose from (sandwiches, yummy sides, and desserts), and kid friendly as well!

 

[pixiewings71]

My girls are picky, they like RFC, Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen and House of Blues. They did not like ESPN Zone or Tortilla Joe's.

 

[emij]

If House of Blues is of interest to you, they participate on restaurant.com for discount gift certificates.

 

[carisa81]

I love Catal! It's great and you can sit on a balcony outside overlooking people walking around. It's one of my favorites. I know someone said they didn't like Naples, but we actually really like it, and you can sit outside there, too. They have pizzas, pastas, etc. So if your kids like pizza, then that seems like a good choice.

 

[GenGen22]

We like Rain Forest Cafe and the kids love it. They have a lot of "Kid friendly Food". My kids are picky and want hamburgers, pizza etc and RFC has it as well as Adult choices. They have a fun environment w/the jungle style decor and the huge fish tank and a shop to buy stuff in. We didn't really like the ESPN Zone's food and also that distracts the kids from eating because all they want to do is go and play games. As it is going to DL is expensive but IMHO who needs video games when your at DL??? I mean you can go to Chuck E Cheese when you are at home...

 

[bolty717]

We found Rain Forest Cafe really good for my rather picky 6 year old - she loved the food and enjoyed all the animals etc. Even though we went fairly early (about 5pm) there was still up to an hour's wait for a table inside - instead we sat on the balcony but were able to have a look around inside which she was perfectly happy with.

 

[rentayenta]

Rainforest is good. My kids always liked Naples too. The kids' pizzas were big. My girls could share one.

We do love Storytellers though and it's inside of the beautiful GCH.

Catal is good. Tortilla Joes wasn't good. I liked Ralph Bremnen's, DH did not. UVA bar is good too.

 

[DizMe]

Did you guys who liked Naples find the pizza ok? Ours smelled delicious but was soggy in the middle and the pepperoni was so spicy none of us could eat it. I thought maybe we just had an off night but then I read so many other similar complaints that I figured that's the way they are. Maybe it's just another "personal taste" thing, although it's rare for me to dislike ANY pizza unless it's frozen! The staff was very nice but it took an hour for us to get our pizza and they seemed understaffed for the amount of traffic. I went again in January and the food was ok but again, the service was incredibly slow and the pizza was soggy in the middle.

 

[thankudrivethru]

I Would also go with Storytellers. I like Naples, and the pizza is good,but with kids who are fussy eaters i am not sure it go well.I think that ST has buffet for dinner.

 

[thankudrivethru]

Did you guys who liked Naples find the pizza ok? Ours smelled delicious but was soggy in the middle and the pepperoni was so spicy none of us could eat it. I thought maybe we just had an off night but then I read so many other similar complaints that I figured that's the way they are. Maybe it's just another "personal taste" thing, although it's rare for me to dislike ANY pizza unless it's frozen! The staff was very nice but it took an hour for us to get our pizza and they seemed understaffed for the amount of traffic. I went again in January and the food was ok but again, the service was incredibly slow and the pizza was soggy in the middle.

wow! i never had soggy pizza at Naples. I know their pizza is super thin crust, but not soggy. I think they have laid off table waiters last time i ate there we had a wait too, but not too bad

 

[carisa81]

Did you guys who liked Naples find the pizza ok? Ours smelled delicious but was soggy in the middle and the pepperoni was so spicy none of us could eat it. I thought maybe we just had an off night but then I read so many other similar complaints that I figured that's the way they are. Maybe it's just another "personal taste" thing, although it's rare for me to dislike ANY pizza unless it's frozen! The staff was very nice but it took an hour for us to get our pizza and they seemed understaffed for the amount of traffic. I went again in January and the food was ok but again, the service was incredibly slow and the pizza was soggy in the middle.

You know, maybe the reason I love it is because I LOVE me some pasta! The pasta I got was excellent! So I didn't even get the pizza. My kids liked it. I didn't notice the middle though. I will go next week and I'll be sure to take note. Now I'm curious.

 

[Heymy]

We love eating in DTD. Top of the list for us are Uva Bar (before the big menu changes, haven't tried it since), Tortilla Jo's and Naples. They all have great kids menus. Tortilla Jo's and Naples have balloon people walking around (always a highlight for the kids). DD's love going to Rainforest Cafe, but we just can't seem to get a good meal there. Jazz Kitchen offers a kids menu, but I think it was too exotic for my picky girls. I was afraid Catal was going to be too fancy for the kids, but they were very nice and understanding. One DD fell asleep just as we went up the elevator and they let me bring up the stroller and wheel it to our table. Older DD loved that she could get a steak. You really can't go wrong with any of the choices.

 

[MagicFan75]

We always go to House of Blues at least once during every Downtown Disney visit.

 

[Caramel]

When our kids were 6, and fairly picky eaters, we went to both Rainforest and Tortilla Joe's. They loved both. Rainforest will have a more varied menu to choose from. While they waited for their food, or once they were done, they wandered within our eyesight and checked out all the animals and the other cool effects. I would recommend reservations as their was a big line when we went.

Tortilla Joe's has excellent service and we didn't need reservations. If your kids like Mexican food there will definitely be something on the menu. In fact, I think we ordered something semi-custom. My girls love nachos (which is to say they love chips piled with cheese and nothing else on top.) We ordered that with a side of sliced avocado and they were very happy.

 

[DSNY4ever]

I was going to suggest Ralph Brennan's Jazz kitchen as we have never had a bad meal there, but after opening this and seeing you have picky kids then go with Rainforest. They have blah food that kids will eat (and you probably won't be very impressed with), but the atmosphere is fun for kids. Noisy, chaotic...they will probably think it is awesome.

For quick eats try Earl of Sandwich and Tangeroa Terrace- both yummy.

 

[pixiewings71]

I was going to suggest Ralph Brennan's Jazz kitchen as we have never had a bad meal there, but after opening this and seeing you have picky kids then go with Rainforest. They have blah food that kids will eat (and you probably won't be very impressed with), but the atmosphere is fun for kids. Noisy, chaotic...they will probably think it is awesome.

For quick eats try Earl of Sandwich and Tangeroa Terrace- both yummy.

My picky kids love the Jazz Kitchen.

 

[egritz]

We hated Catal but that was back in 2005 and we haven't given it another chance. Ralph Brennans Jazz Kitchen was great, highly recommend it! Goofy's Kitchen is soooo expensive. We went last week and for 4 adults it was $180 with tax & tip after a 10% discount. And we only saw 4 characters (Aladdin, Belle, Dale, and Minnie), PLUS the restaurant is dark, so not great for pictures if you don't want to use a flash.