Flying Fish Chef Table Review

[Forever Fairy]

My DH and I love the Flying Fish Café and it has become a MUST do for every trip. We love the food and the service has been spectacular every time. I recently found out that they offer a chef's tasting at the restaurant, so during my last trip I signed up.

The Chef's Tasting Wine Dinner allows up to six guests to sit at the granite counter overlooking the on-stage kitchen where they will be able to see their meals being created. When we attended, there were only the two of us and we loved sitting at the bar and watching everything.

The days for the Chef's Tasting are Sunday through Thursday and seatings are offered at 5:45 pm and 8:15 pm. The cost for this experience is $135, $85 without wine pairings.

Listed below is the menu. I will be posting pics with descriptions of the food/wine pairings to follow.

 

[Forever Fairy]

OK - Pics will be up as soon as I figure out how to post them.

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

Joining in and can't wait to read the review...

 

[Leota]

I am dyin' to hear all about this. I'm hoping to talk DH into doing this in Oct.

 

[Forever Fairy]

Place Setting -

When we arrived there were just two place settings at the bar for us. There was another person eating dinner at the bar, but they were about 2 seats away. Ladies, they have hooks under the bar to hang your purse, camera case, etc. and it was very helpful.

Here is the place setting. You can see how close to the grille we are. Note: I am ALWAYS cold in restaurants. Since we were sitting so close to the fire, this is the ONE place I didn't need a sweater.

Course 1 - Amuse Bouches: Chilled Curried Cucumber Crema
Wasabi Espuma, Yuzu Tobikko, and Crisp Maine Lobster and Hijiki "Tostada" - served with Lucien Albrecht Cremant d'Alace Brute.

Ok - even if someone hates cucumber, the will LOVE this appetizer. It was spicy yet not overpowering. The only issue I had was eating the "Tostata" - it ended up crumbling as I took a bite. However, my trusted fork saved the day and I was still able to enjoy.

Special Note: The Chef or Sous Chef will usually bring out your dish. We also had a wine sommelier explain all the pairings. Also, we had some of the chefs describe what they did to complete our meal. It was very enlightening.

 

[Forever Fairy]

OK - Those of you who have been to the Flying Fish have to know by now that they have one of the BEST crab cakes on property.

This course took that to a whole other level. The crab cake was spectacular but what made it really special is the Lobster Vinaigrette and Sauce Verde. When you mixed everything all together, it melted in your mouth.

This course was paired with a white - Clayhouse Adobe White '08. I prefer reds to whites but this complemented the dish very well.

Overall I have to say this should take the BEST presentation for the day.

 

[Forever Fairy]

First let me say that Mahi-Mahi is my favorite white fish, Snapper is probably my second. So I was VERY excited to see that we were going to get to try some specialty made fish!

Overall, this was quite different than a "normal" fish course as it was paired with a red - Pinot Noir.

We actually asked the chef about this, as we always followed the "white for fish, red for meat" rule. He let us know that what allowed the fish to be paired with the red is the sauce and the duck confit with the sauce.

NOTE: Keep this in mind if you ever order their signatured dish - Potato crusted snapper. It's paired with a red reduction sauce and is better paired with a red than a white.

Overall, the fish was very fresh and the duck confit with the rich poultry sauce allowed the red wine to pair very nicely. It was a light entry and one I would order if offered on the menu.

 

[Forever Fairy]

OK - I probably was had bias on this dish because we were sitting directly in front of Joaquin (sp) who was making it for us. We asked him how he kept everything straight when working with orders and he let us know he used to work at Jiko's where they didn't utilize tickets. That allowed him to really pay attention to what was needed. It also kept him on track to listen and ensure everything was to the pass on time.

So to sum it up, not only was he working on our special dish, he was also responsible for all the side dishes and some of the special steak dishes as well. Needless to say, we were very impressed with him.

I love pasta. This was better than any pasta I had EVER eaten before. The pasta was al daente and the meat sauce was delicious. Of course, how could anyone go wrong with Prosciutto Cracklins? Can anyone say BACON???? This was my second favorite course and loved it with the red Sartori Regolo Corvina from Veneto Itali. We even got the leftovers in a to go container - perfect for the next day snack.

 

[Forever Fairy]

So the next course wasn't on the menu - it was a sorbet. To be honest, I can't remember if this was after this course or the fish course but it was light and refreshing. There was no specialty wine served with this.

Again, this is something I would order from the regular menu if it was offered. It was very light and refreshing. We really enjoyed the presentation.

 

[Forever Fairy]

OK - I probably should have skipped lunch and all snacking I did for the day. This was the steak course and it was melt in your mouth wonderful.

I need to provide some back story here - up until now, I've thought I was allergic to mushrooms. So for the past 15 - 20 years, I have dutifully turned them down and NEVER eaten them. Honestly, I finally got tired of really not knowing and went through the painful testing and blood work for the allergy. All came back negative - YA HOOOOOO!

So in essence - this was my very first mushroom dish in over 20+ years. I was no only doing a food tasting, but a mushroom tasting as well.

The steak melted in your mouth and when you paired it with the mushrooms, sauce and compliments - to me it was delicious (of course I may not know any better, since this was really my first mushroom dish). The wine was of course a red - Mettler Family Cab 2007.

Take a look and let me know what you think.

 

[Forever Fairy]

Honestly, Peach is probably my least favorite fruit. Wait - banana beats that but it's close. I was really reluctant to try this - but was enthused when it came out and the pastry chef also came out with the head chef to give an explanation of how it was made and what it was.

Well - I always believe I should try things 2x (in case the first time something weird was going on) and I do have to say - this was a really good dessert.

Of course by the time I got here - I was sooooooo stuffed I didn't think I could eat anymore. However, because I didn't want to hurt the pastry chef's feelings I gave it a try.

The pastry was light and refreshing as was the entire dish. This was paired with a white from Italy - Saracco Moscato d'Asti, Piedmont-Italia - It was a perfect way to end the evening.

 

[Forever Fairy]

Overall, if you have the extra funds I'd highly recommend that you do this dinner. The food is spectacular and the chef interaction is wonderful.

BAD - The fact that you're eating with other diners and your directly in the path of the main walkway for the restaurant. However, this was hardly noticeable. And it was fun to converse with patrons that stopped to look at the grille.

GOOD - the food and the chef interaction. We learned a lot and will know to ask more questions for next time.

CONCLUSION - I would definitely do this if you can. Even though somewhat cheaper than something like a Victoria and Alberts, the food is still spectacular. Bring your appetite though, it is a lot of food!

Here is a picture of Juaquim who made our Bolognese (he was making nachos here) and Seth the Sous Chef. Sadly, I didn't get a picture of the head chef Michael or the other chefs. I'll remember for next time.

 

[Redwitch]

We shared your experience about a week before you were there! Our menu was pretty much identical. I agree the pasta dish was amazing; pretty funny to go to a signature restaurant know for seafood and steak and fall in love with the pasta! I also was amazed at the "corn pudding" served with the steak. As you mentioned, I was stuffed at that point and could not do it justice. Thanks for the review and for bringing back a wonderful memory.

 

[Forever Fairy]

I am dyin' to hear all about this. I'm hoping to talk DH into doing this in Oct.

When are you going in Oct? We are planning on attending the F&W fest this Oct and may do this dinner again - maybe on on the 24th. I'm trying to squish it in among all our other wine fest events I want to do.

 

[Krissalee]

I loved you review and photos! Thank you so much for sharing them.

We usually go to WDW for our anniversary in October, and are always looking for new ideas to celebrate! I hadn't ever heard about the chef's table at FF - we may want to try it in the future! Maybe this fall, depending upon our F&W Festival events.

 

[Leota]

When are you going in Oct? We are planning on attending the F&W fest this Oct and may do this dinner again - maybe on on the 24th. I'm trying to squish it in among all our other wine fest events I want to do.

We're going the 13th - 22nd. I can't wait to show DH your review. I'm sure he's going to want to do this. Since FF isn't doing a Signature F&W Fest event, maybe we could do this instead.

Thanks so much for the wonderful review & beautiful pictures. We have been so interested in this since we saw it announced on the Disney Parks Blog. It's nice to hear an accounting of the experience. From your account, it sounds like a Must Do!

 

[Northern_Julie]

Thanks for the review. It has me really excited. We are trying this on October 5th

 

[christinou]

thank you for sharing what a wonderful experience how is the seating is it a straight counter, there would be 4 of us going, and if it is 4 people in a row, it is not as nice for interactions.

 

[disneystick]

Great review...loved the pics...got me very interested so that I tried to book it. However, Disney dining had no idea about the dinner without wine pairing and don't have any idea how to reserve it for me. Any idea how I can book the chef table experience without the wine? I'm allergic to wine, cannot drink it.

 

[Leota]

Ok, DH loved the pix & review. He is interested in going, BUT, we'd have to choose between this & PftS. (We spent too much on dinners/CdS shows in Vegas this spring & have too many signature dinners planned with friends this Fall to afford both)

If you had to choose between PftS & FF Chef's Table, which would you choose? We're seriously torn. We have done PftS 3 times & love it. But, the pros of this are that we love FF, it is something new, you have a seat, you don't have to wait in lines..... Cons: DH doesn't do Salmon & I don't do Veal, so it's a gamble that we may not be able to eat a course... (Do you know if they offer an alternative if there is something you just won't eat?)