Garden Grill an OK Choice?

[MindyMouse76]

I actually never heard of this place before today. How bad is it for dinner? I have seen mixed reviews. I think my DD4 will LOVE the characters. And like the idea it is easier to get to vs. going to Animal Kingdom or a hotel for dinner.

Will it work out for a family of 3? From what I read - is it all you can eat, but they bring it out?

Thanks!

 

[kevgraub]

I actually never heard of this place before today. How bad is it for dinner? I have seen mixed reviews. I think my DD4 will LOVE the characters. And like the idea it is easier to get to vs. going to Animal Kingdom or a hotel for dinner.

Will it work out for a family of 3? From what I read - is it all you can eat, but they bring it out?

Thanks!

It is all you can eat, served family style (big platters of food for everyone to share).

Like sooooooo many places to eat at Disney, the reviews are simply all over the place. Some people love it and eat there every trip. Others act like it is the nastiest place on earth and they'd rather eat urinal biscuits than set foot in the place.

As with other places, I'm sure it is somewhere in between. Its not going to be great, gourmet, fine dining. Similarly, it is not going to be the horrible, nasty, gross place either. We have never eaten there, but we are going to try it on our upcoming trip because my son's only request so far has been to eat with Chip and Dale.

My suggestion would be to try it out and see what you think.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

I've eaten there several times and think it was better in 2003, but it is fine.
They bring the food to you and it is all you can eat. I like the buffets better as you can get what you want. It is a hassle to ask for more of anything and we were a family of 5 and really would not bring enough so we stopped going there. However, my kids are getting older so the characters are not such a big deal. I think with younger kids it is still a great place to eat.

 

[jesseiann]

It's fine. The food is nothing special, but we all found stuff that was edible. They bring out a special platter of kid friendly foods for the kids as well as the adult platter, so you have a fairly good variety. The characters are fun. We really liked that the restaurant rotated while you ate. There are lots of other kid friendly meals in Epcot (the princess one comes to mind) if the menu really doesn't appeal to you.

 

[sabrecmc]

We did this in 2007. The characters were really good and it was neat to see the "scenery" change as you rotated. The food was meh, but not terrible or anything. Just very basic. If I could've brought up some food from the Sunshine Seasons below, I'd have been a lot happier! But, you are there for the characters.

 

[jesseiann]

It's fine. The food is nothing special, but we all found stuff that was edible. They bring out a special platter of kid friendly foods for the kids as well as the adult platter, so you have a fairly good variety. The characters are fun. We really liked that the restaurant rotated while you ate. There are lots of other kid friendly meals in Epcot (the princess one comes to mind) if the menu really doesn't appeal to you.

 

[RFrank9504]

Just like your title, an OK choice. I did this once, I like to try new restaurants every trip. Like a previous poster stated, you have to flag down the server for more and if I'm gonna do that type of meal-I'd rather just buffet it.
I think there are better places to dine; however, you should try it once.
Good luck

 

[koolaidmoms]

We just returned to this restaurant after many years of passing it by for something else. We were pleasantly surprised. The food though not gourmet was fairly tasty and the kids loved the character interaction. This was their favorite character meal all week.

The kids choices of mac and cheese and chicken nuggets were standard kid fare but they don't have to eat those and can eat the adult platters just as you can taste theirs (though we had no desire to). The warm rolls and salad were delicious. The buttermilk dressing was just right (not too much and not too little). We all had seconds on this.

The flank steak with the balsamic reduction and roasted potatoes were good (top of the platter) as was the turkey with cranberry sauce and corn bread stuffing (middle of the platter) but the catfish with roasted garden vegetables was by far my favorite. The first batch we recieved was slightly dry and when I pointed this out to the waiter he immediately brought us a new platter of them. They were moist and delicious.

As at any restaurant it really matters who your servers are, the mood of the cooks, the staff whether a delivery truck came in with the correct order as to your experience there. The problem with WDW is they usually have one shot to impress you. Someone else suggested they liked Seasons. We had a horrible experience there and I can't imagine wanting to eat there. So, go give it a try for yourself and have fun!

 

[keywestbride]

I agree with most of the pp's. The food is fine- not great, but not bad. Our service was excellent. The atmosphere is much more laid back and relaxed than most other places, which was really nice for a change. The best part was the character interaction. It was the best of our trip by far. Mickey played cars with DS. Chip and Dale posed for so many pics I lost count. Pluto goofed around- I have probably 15 great photos of just that.

Don't go for the food, go for the characters, and you won't be disappointed.

 

[jcemom]

I'm not usually a big fan of fish, but I really like the catfish at GG. (The bread and salad are good too.) The character interaction has always been terrific there, and I like the high-backed booths. It feels more private when the characters are at your table.

 

[jimmalru80]

It's OK; we've had better and we've had worse. We are just not big fans of the "family style - all on one plate" type meals.

 

[J3nn78]

We love it. The food was good, service was good, and great character interaction.

 

[ejsmomma]

Friends of ours went here during their trips a few weeks ago and they said it was BEST meal they had all week.
My boys are eager to see Pluto so we picked here for our 1st night of Disney Dining. I heard their Gluten free meal options is very good and that the chef goes above and beyond for GF. That was all I needed in addition to a friend's recommendation to convince me given that my ds1 has a gluten sensitivity.

 

[monkeyknuckler]

Others act like it is the nastiest place on earth and they'd rather eat urinal biscuits than set foot in the place.

As a connoisseur, I take exception to your name calling. They are called pucks.

 

[eeyoregon]

As a connoisseur, I take exception to your name calling. They are called pucks.

OH. I thought they were called "purse holder air freshners"

 

[vcgirl925]

This is the worst meal we had on our last trip. The food was inedible.

 

[Doug7856]

We ate there last November and the food was "average". Nothing special, but not bad either. The service was excellent. The best aspect was the characters. The characters came by our table at least three times during the meal. They took individual pictures with our party (10 people). I have a great picture of my grandmother (81 years old) and Mickey. The restaurant does rotate and my wife did not like it. The rotation was very slow and did not bother me, but she felt a bit disoriented by the rotation.