ESPN Zone vs. Rainforest Cafe vs. Tortilla Jo's

[lntsmom]

Since it seems we'll be having two early evenings during our trip, thanks to Grad Nights, I am now looking for someplace in Downtown Disney I know folks on the Dis seem to love Tortilla Jo's. Trip Advisor reviews on the restaurant are largely negative, and I've been unable to find pics of the interior. If you've been recently, especially if you have photos, could you share?

Then, in general, which do you prefer: ESPN Zone or Rainforest Cafe? We've eaten at the first and enjoyed it...and have been to the second, but not at Disney. If you've been to both, which had better food and service during your visit. If anyone has RC photos, I'd love to see them.

TIA

 

[DizNee Luver]

The only people I know that ate at Tortilla Joe's didn't feel so hot after their meal.

We ate at Rainforest Cafe for breakfast & dinner in March & the ESPN Zone in April. Both were very good!!

Rainforest Cafe you can make reservations by calling: 714-772-0413 which cuts down on your wait time.......by a lot!!!
The food was excellent & the service was very good! (has been everytime we've eaten there)

ESPN Zone has a MVP club you can join & I think then you can make resies....but not sure how that all works. We had a good 30 minute + wait time before being seated. The food was good & the service was good as well. Our only complaint about this place is the noise.....very very loud in there with all the games upstairs going. So not the best place for a quiet dinner.

I have pics for both restaurants in my trip report.....click the link below:
Rainforest: page 14, post 197 & page 22, post 322
ESPN: is in the Mini report....don't have the page or post #

Both very good & we love going every trip!!

 

[bluegrizzlies1]

Tortilla Jo's inside overpriced get it outside it is not to bad.

Rain forest I did not care for

espn never tried may have to try it in a month

 

[mechurchlady]

ESPN Zone is hearty bar food/Ameican with sports going on. The best thing is to get the barcolounger in front of the many screened wall.

Rainforest is more tropical in nature and the inside is cute and it is nice to sit near the fish tank.

Both are good restaurants but I am not going there due to my celiac. Look at the menu and see which food you like better, I would go with ESPN if there are men in the group who love sports. Rainforest tends to have more kids.

 

[Mike_M]

I ate at Tortilla Jo's in 2006 and thought it was pretty good back then. haven't been back lately though so don't know if it has changed.

The DTD Rainforrest Cafe is the worst Rainforest Cafe I have ever eaten at and I've been to at least 4 different ones across the country (The best one I've tried is on the Canada side of Niagra Falls). The food at this one was bland, the service was terrible (Waited almost an hour between being seated and getting our food) and I doubt we'll ever go back to that one again.

I've never eaten at the ESPN Zone so nothing to report there.

 

[Barbossa]

The food at ESPN Zone and Tortilla Joe's is average at best, IMHO. Rainforest Cafe is good, as is Naples Ristorante. By all means avoid Jazz Kitchen. They've really gone downhill in the last couple years.

 

[Kayla's Mom]

We thought the food at Tortilla Jo's was just ok. We eat at the Rainforest Cafe everytime we go to DL.

 

[kerickson]

We ate at Rainforest Cafe in 2006 and I remember our food was ok and service was SLOOOW, but it's all my DD talks about from our last trip, so we'll be going again in 2 weeks....
I remember being pleasantly surprised with ESPN zone. Both are usually crowded and noisy which is tough after a day in the parks with little ones.

I'm thinking of taking our kids and food back to our room/Concierge lounge when we eat at ESPN Zone and let my husband stay behind for some alone sports/beer/hot wings time! Maybe I'll score an afternoon at the Spa out of it

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

We love Rainforest, good food and the atmosphere is really neat. We tried the ESPN zone last year. I wasn't really impressed. They messed up my order, and everyone ate without me. Then after I did get my food it gave me some serious heartburn!

Haven't tried Tortilla Joe yet, some said it made them sick here, so I've been kinda afraid.

 

[pixiewings71]

We've never eaten at ESPN Zone but we love RFC. We try to eat there every extended (more than just a weekend) trip we have to DL/DCA. Tortilla Joe's, we ate there once, at the takeout window outside, and it was DISgusting!!!!! HATED it and we haven't been back since. The food was gross and we felt sick for a few days after. YUK!

 

[disney4metoo]

We have only eaten at the Rain Forest Cafe and like it very much! It is a good choice, but please make sure you make reservation!

 

[ghoulish delight]

Rainforest Cafe and ESPN Zone are the two Downtown Disney restaurants my fiance and I frequent most. I personally think the food is better at ESPN Zone, but the atmosphere is, of course, awesome at RFC. Either one is a great choice.

I've never eaten at the Tortilla Jo's, but I'm very picky about my mexican food anyway.

 

[disneydreamer74]

Score one more for ESPN Zone. I strongly believe that it is one of the best kept secrets at DTD. I have never eaten at Tortilla Joe's But have heard good things about it. LAst summer, we waited forever in line at RFC, so decided to go to ESPN. The food was soooo good. Typical american fare, but we liked it so much we ended up ordering take out and eating back in the room a few times. Never ate one thing that I would not order again. The hot wings, yummy, ribs- fall off the bone,my DD2 got a chicken finger/fries meal and literally devoured it. The noise is loud, but my little ones thrive on the noise, lol!

 

[scanmom]

RFC is the same anywhere.. we have been to the ones in Orlando, Dallas and Anaheim.They are all the same. but the atmosphere is fun. ESPN zone is ok, but nothing to write home about. And if your kids see the big gameroom, you better be ready to spend some money on that. when we went, our Disney tickets each had $10.00 free play there, so we used that. In fact, that was the only reason we tried it. Now Tortilla Joes... I tried it with my DD when we went on a mom and me trip (she was a sr. in high school). We wanted the chicken nachos for an appetizer, and the waitress said that they were HUGE, and that we should share them, and not even order an entree. We were not sure about that, but took her advice... and we were SO glad we did! There was such a mound of nachos that even with 2 of us eating it as our meal, we didn't finish them. and they were GREAT!! when I went with DD #2 a couple of months later, we went back, and got the nachos with half chicken and half beef, and LOVED them again! That is the only thing I have ever had there, but we still talk about how good it was. and with us splitting an appetizer, it was a cheap meal. The food at the other tables looked good.. but we stuck with the nachos!!!

 

[Aussie Princess]

We didnt eat any DTD but i did stop by ESPN in times square and it was awesome - the food the atomsphere and of course the TV's filled with sport.

If your a sports freak its a must.

 

[shansar]

I have eaten a few times at both the Rain Forest and ESPN both were great. As stated before ESPN is LOUD at times with all the games there.
I would AVOID Tortilla Joe's! JUST SAY NO.
I tried it once and it was NOT good at all. No one in our party liked their food and we were hungry!
Just my thoughts.
Have FUN!

 

[wendylady36]

I ate at Tortilla Jo's once a couple years ago. I had the nachos and I really didn't like them. I don't remember what my friend ordered, but he didn't really care for it. The margaritas were good though.

Rainforest Cafe - I really don't care for this place. I'm a really picky eater and don't care for their selection of food. I agree about the service, it is slow. The last time I was here was for my 21st birthday. The bartender made me my drink from scratch instead of using the premixed stuff they usually use, and it was very yummy.

ESPN Zone - I've never actually been, so I'll refrain from giving any opinion about this place. I would try it if the chance every came up though.

Naples is my favorite. No real reason why. The food is really hit and miss here, but they do have my favorite wine, so that makes up for it.

 

[momto2nenas]

We've been to all 3. We will only go back to ESPN Zone. DH is a sports nut so he likes it for the obvious reasons but the food is pretty good too and its energetic which is fun for our kids.

RFC -- the food is pretty bad IMO but the atmosphere is pretty cool IF you get a decent table. We were by a wall the shook a lot and it freaked my girls out and we had to move, lol.

Tortilla Joe's is pretty BAD. We went there 1 time, we didn't get sick or anything but definately not "true" Mexican food. The mariatchi dudes are fun though and will play requests!

 

[BunnieGene]

We lurve the ESPN Zone...we've sat (ok, reclined) in the lounge chairs...so much fun...we make it a point to go there every trip, sometimes twice...the nachos are our fave...but really haven't had anything that wasn't good...

Side note...my nieces loved their "You can't spell princess without ESPN" shirts

 

[caligirl stuck in va]

Personally our trips to Tortilla Joes have all been VERY good - inside and outside at the Taqueria window. They have fabulous guacamole! We were a party of 10 so we did have to wait a bit for a table (maybe 15 min) but our server was AWESOME (never had to wait even one second for a drink refill) and the manager came over to check on us at one point and traded cooking secrets with DH. Everyone in our party enjoyed TJ and we can't wait to go back on our next trip. To those of you who think that their Mexican food is not very good at TJ, I say you should be forced to eat Mexican food on the East Coast - you would then know what bad Mexican food is!

ESPN Zone is really good, too. We really enjoyed our meal there on our last trip - especially that they had something different to offer children vs the old burger/fry lunch. We all enjoyed our food here (ribs, sandwiches, salads, etc) and our server was very good. If you know how to say NO to your children, you will be fine with the game room temptation. Games are all upstairs and they are not allowed to go up without an adult. I did take my DDs up to check it out, but we did not spend any money. We are in DLR to go to DLR, so ESPN was just a meal to us.

We have also been to RFC and we do not care to go back. Service is SO SLOW and food portions were small. It is super loud in there and the food is average at best. I would much rather have McDonald's than RFC.