Favourite Counter Service?

[albertamom]

Can you please share your favourite counter service restaurants, and explain why? With the half board dining plan, we're planning a nice sit-down dinner each night, but will be looking for a quick mid-day fuel-up.

 

[zavandor]

1° Cowboy Cookout BBQ. It's in Frontierland. It ties perfectly with the land background. It's themed to a community hall of the growing city, where people used to bring their home chairs from home when a big event was done. That's why all the chairs are mismatched inside, a nice touch one could miss. Sometimes there is also live entertainment. The theme is executed brilliantly and the food is nice (which is high praise for counter service food at DLP).

(1° tied: Gold Nudget Saloon: the food is mostly the same, themed like a Saloon, but unfortunately they don't do live entertainment anymore. I think when the park opened it was a table service with a live Can Can show, but it's long gone)

2° Fuente del Oro. In Frontierland as well, decent Fajitas and outside tables are nice to relax and people watch if the weather is good.

3° just for theming: Toad's hall. It's as small as it's charming. It serves just fish and chips which is nothing to write home about, but the theming is one of the best

I've read good reviews of Hakuna Matata, but I've never eaten there.

Just avoid anything serving hamburgers or hot dog. And never ever ever eat at Visionarium. If someone offers you money to enter and eat there, refuse, it's a trap! It's the only restaurant in the world where I had to go the manager and ask for a refund.

It will probably be more a matter of "let's see what's open", restaurants are often closed or have weird opening times.

In the studios, the Blockbusters Cafè has some edible options, but theming inside is terrible. When in the Studios, I prefer to exit and eat at the Village, Earl of Sandwitch being the best option and best value for your money.

Key point to be satisfied by food at DLP: keep your expectations low.

 

[elena_n2o]

In Disneyland Park:

1. Hakuna Matata, we love the food there, really tasty.
2. Toad Hall, my DH loves their fish & chips, and their chicken burger is really tasty. I really enjoy the theming too, and it's usually one of the quieter restaurants (so is Hakuna Matata, by the way)
3. Cowboy Cookout Bbq, their bbq sauce is really yummy, the ribs are delicious... Great theming as well

In the Studios, the only one I can recommend for a quick meal is the Cafe des Cascadeurs. They count it as a table service not counter service, but menu and prices are similar to the other counter service restaurants. They do have the best burgers in the parks

If you do a google search for restaurants in DLP you can find websites that list the opening hours, depending on when you're going you could find plenty closed.

It's in French but easy enough to understand, here they have the opening hours for May and June. There are some phone apps that also list the restaurant opening hours (when we're in the parks we usually use Park Pal on IOS)

 

[albertamom]

Thank you both SO much! That's exactly what I was hoping for!

We're definitely not foodies, and are fine with "low expectations-type" food, so we've got no worries there.

I love the tips about theming. That's really part of what makes Disney so magical!

 

[Ms Poppins]

Hakuna Matata and Earl of Sandwich in the Village are our favourites.

 

[albertamom]

Hakuna Matata and Earl of Sandwich in the Village are our favourites.

Both definitely on my list! Thank you!