Earl of Sandwich Review

[pennyplanner]

Thanksgiving Week Trip
Cast includes me, Disney Nut 48 and two teen DSs. Dad stayed home!
We were on the dining plan.

Earl of Sandwich

This was a late afternoon meal after a visit to Disney Quest. The restaurant was rather messy. Tables were not bussed or wiped down. The staff seemed disinterested and sluggish. Not a good start. I was so looking forward to a really good counter service but unfortunately the "Earl" did not deliver.

I opted for the All American which is a turkey sandwich. My boys both had the Cannonballs which is meatballs. I found the quality to be mediocre. The sandwich seemed soggy and rather bland. The cookies that counted as dessert were a mixed bag. The boys had chocolate chip I think but I had the white chocolate macadamia nut cookie. It was so cloyingly sweet that I ended up throwing it away. A first for me! All in all, I was disappointed. I would give it another try just because of the diverse menu. But I think that maybe Wolfgang Puck's Express might be a better choice.

I just wish the place was better maintained. It was an in between time and not overly crowded. For that reason, I would have expected a cleaner venue.

Food
C-
Service
D
Atmosphere/Cleaniness
D

Next up Tusker House Breakfast

 

[cara loves the poly]

Wow we are going to try that for lunch while we are there,, I've only read good things so far. Thanks for your post.

 

[maggs]

Thanks for the review, but our experience and that of my friends has been the opposite - excellent food and great service . We have been on many occasions and it has always been good. In fact I cant wait to go back. Our experiences are all different, arent they?

Maggs

 

[goofy4tink]

I ate there with friends last Dec and had a good experience. We didn't eat there though, so I can't say how clean the tables were since we weren't going to sit at one. But our sandwiches were quite good. I was actually surprised at how yummy they were. We only bought two sandwiches for 3 of us and there was plenty for all to have some of each.
I'm really sorry you had such a bad experience. I'll be keeping an eye out for others experiences since I'm planning on going back again next fall.

 

[mommystieg]

Sorry that you had a bad experience This is one of our favorite places -- we usually eat there at least 2 times on each visit

 

[Piglet42]

I'm sorry to hear you had a bad experience. I've been there once and thought it was great. It was very busy and I can see where you are coming from. I am glad to hear that you will be returning. Hope your next experience goes better!

 

[DVCJEN]

We have always had a great experience at E of S. Other than being very busy, service is friendly and the food is excellent. Yours is the first negative review I have ever read. Sorry it wasn't what you expected. It is always on our must do list.

 

[dixiedizfan]

I have to agree with the OP about the food quality. I had the original, which was supposed to be a roast beef sandwich. The beef was a chipped and soggy mess, and it came on a flat, crusty type of bread. It was like eating a Hot Pocket. The rest of my family had mediocre sandwiches as well. All the sandwiches are $4.95, so I chalk it up to ... you get what you pay for!

 

[dsneygirl]

Sorry you caught them on an off day. We have eaten there half a dozen times and the sandwiches are always delicious. Also I usually noticed a couple of employees working the floor and cleaning up.

 

[welovedis]

I'm sorry to hear of the experience you had there. I wonder why they didn't have better busing of tables & such, esp during such a busy time of the year.

We went there 2xs during our latest trip (Jan 5th-13th). Our first visit was on the 5th and we were starving. DH got The Original 1762 (roast beef, cheddar & creamy horseradish sauce), I got the Beef & Blue (roast beef, bleu cheese, lettuce & tomato) and DS got the Pizza Sandwich and we were all pleased.

Unfortunately it was a really busy at lunchtime, but we were greeted at the door near the end of the line. The CM asked if we had any questions, I had her ask about some food allergies I had and she was back quickly with my answers. I noticed one other CM who had been filling the ice machine and he was now wiping down tables, resetting chairs, etc..

Though the line was long, it passed thru really quickly and we were sitting down within 5-7 mins. Our food was ready a couple mins after that and we were all pleased. I also tried the Earl Grey Lemonade, it was fine, nothing fantastic IMO and I am an avid tea drinker.

We were so pleased with our meal that we ended up there on the day we left WDW, I had the same, DH tried the Caribbean Jerk Chicken and DS just shared, we had plenty.

Hope this doesn't spoil your impression of Earl, maybe it was just a bad day on their part!

 

[dismom9761]

Sorry you had a bad experience.My family loves it and it was one of my DD6's requests last trip.She loves the pizza sandwich.

 

[Muffy]

Wow, sorry it did not live up to your expectations. We love the place. I hope it hasn't gone downhill! Thanks for the review!

 

[ead79]

Sorry your experience wasn’t too good. Earl of Sandwich is one of our favorites. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from being here on the DIS so long is that everything has its off days. I only tend to avoid places that get LOTS of negative reviews. Perhaps it was just an off day for them. I had a similar experience my first time at Le Cellier. Luckily I gave it another try since it’s now one of my favorites and a must-do for us.

 

[rileyroosmom]

We went on our last trip in May. It was busy, but clean and the service was fast. My kids hated their PBJ sandwich. It came on a thick bread and it was warm! I didn't blame them for not liking it. I thought they would be uncrustables like in the parks.

 

[akline]

Seems to be a trend here, and it's too bad about all the bad experiences. However this is a must do for us, and the three times we've gone we've been pleased with both the service and the food. With that being said, the lines have always been long, but seem to move quickly. I can see where the tables and floors seem messy. The times we've been, they've seemed to be a bit behind the crowds, and we've had to wait for tables, and end up taking one that's not clean (for the sake of seating). The food has always been worth it however (and the baby wipes I carry around came in handy for cleaning the table).

As for Wolfgang Puck Express (as someone mentioned), we've been there too, and I didn't think the food was as good.

 

[kabbie]

We ate there in Dec 2005 and it was very busy. Of course this was a Saturday around 1pm so didn't expect anything else. The line to order was very long...reached outside. But once you placed your order and moved down the counter, the food was ready. The kitchen staff, who put the sandwiches together, obviously rock and are very speedy! I loved the Earl Lemonade (cross between iced tea and lemonade) and the sandwiches were good. I'm still partial to Wolfgang Puck Express as my fave DnD lunch spot.

 

[Buzz2001]

Earl of Sandwich - The sandwiches were very, very good. I was pleasantly surprised. I had a tuna melt and it must have had 2 cans of tuna on it. I like the way they grill the outside of the bread. My DW had The Original - fresh roasted beef, cheddar and creamy horseradish sauce and DD had The Full Montagu - roast beef and turkey with cheddar and swiss cheese, romaine lettuce, tomato and English mustard sauce. All very good especially for $4.95.

 

[maggiew]

Sorry you didn't enjoy the meal. I had the meatball sub on our last trip and I thought it was great.

Maggie

 

[liznboys]

Sorry you had a bad time! We ate there for the second time this past December. It was very, very busy so the line was long. But it was worth the wait, our sandwiches were delicious!!! We shared the Earl's Club, the All American, and two more I can't remember the names of...one with avocado in it and the other was like a Thanksgiving Dinner in a sandwich -had stuffing in it. All good! It was clean too.

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

No bad experience here. We actually ate here twice the other week. Great food, awesome prices. No wonder the line is always so long. Goes faster than you think too.