Garden Grill Any Good?

[cd&kids]

We are trying to fill one final slot for our Disney dinners...and want to try some place new. Garden Grill is one of our nominees. Can we get some in depth opinions please?! (Mom, Dad, three kids....14, 10 and 6). Thanks!!!

 

[becka]

I don't know about an in-depth opinion but we have eaten there twice in the past few years and we have always liked it.

The food is nothing spectacular but it is quite good and we always find the character interaction here to be better than the other character meals we have attended. It is at the top of my list for a return visit on our next trip as well.

 

[disneyvoice]

We love this restaurant, it is always on our return list. I think the food is some of the best at WDW. The veggies are fresher there than at the other restaurants. The character interaction is by far the best here, especially if you make your PS for one of thr earliest seatings. It's also kind of a cool atmosphere - the restaurant slowly revolves and you get a view of the Living with Land ride. I do know that some people don't think much of th food here though. We usually don't eat at places like the Flying Fish Grill or California Grill because we prefer to stay right in the parks. I think that if you strictly compare this place to the other restuarants within the theme parks, it's one of the best. If you compare it to some of the nicer resort restaurants I'm sur it is not on par.

 

[erikthewise]

It is not pretentious but the food is very good. Some of the veggies are grown right there in the Land pavilion! It is the "safest" sit-down restaurant in Epcot if there are some in your party who are not adventurous eaters.

It is all-you-can-eat, but not a buffet. The meal is "pre-plated" in that they bring you the standard meal in a metal platter and you eat whatever you wish. You can ask for more of anything. And if you know you don't want any of something, you can tell your server ahead of time. The meal includes both standard beverages and dessert. For a menu see http://wdwig.com/menu/menu_gg.htm

It is a character meal with "Farmer Mickey", Pluto, Chip and Dale. We've had good character interaction both times we've eaten there. It is also a revolving restaurant and you can see various parts of the boat ride attraction called "Living with the Land" while you eat.

 

[allshookup]

Sorry but I am one of those people that doesn't think much of the food. I thought it was all rather bland and my kids did not care for even the dessert. The characters were fun and my dd was thilled with the spinning of the restaurant, but we will not be venturing back there anytime soon. On the other hand, we really enjoyed others places in the park such as the food at Coral Reef (which has had many mixed reviews), the Teppanyaki steak house in Japan and we look forward to trying Le Cellier next time since I have read so many positive things about the breadsticks, cheese soup and steak.

 

[zulaya]

Another family that loves Garden Grill here. This is DH's favorite WDW park restaurant - he always has to go here whenever we are there. The food is home cookin' - you know what it is when you read the menu line-up - there's no wondering "What the heck is this?". It's just a good relaxing meal.

If you are looking for exotic, this ain't it. If you are looking for just good normal cooking like Mom used to make, then pull up a chair and dig in.

 

[MickeysMommy]

We love this place! We've been two or three times and are trying to make it a regular stop. We have always found the food to be great and love being able to have the characters come right to the table. Not too busy so they can spend more time with you. I also like it because it's one of the few places with Mickey. The salad and veggies (as said before) are grown right in the land so it's kinda cool to be eating those too. My recommendation is to go for it.

 

[Aprille's Mom]

Garden Grill is always at the top of our "must do" list. We have never been disappointed and we dine there each trip.

 

[jwfla422]

ANOTHER THUMBS UP!!

I think we've eaten here at least 5 times in the last 2-3 years and have YET to be disappointed. We've eaten both lunch and dinner (dinner has the salad)--the food is ALWAYS good. This past trip which was just 2 weeks ago my dm and db and family joined us and they all loved it.

Character interaction is always good here and MOST of the time the service is good. I think there was one time that we had slow service but the other 4 times the servers were excellent.

This past time they had an amazing dessert if you're a chocoholic like me! Some kind of mousse thing, it was to die for!

I recommend GG highly, that's about as in depth as I can get unless you want a meal description

 

[capegirl]

Another thumbs down for the food. I'm sorry, but that catfish really turned us off. But then again we're from New England where catfish is never on the menu. On the other hand, Chip, Dale, Minney & Mickey were awesome!

 

[Safari Steve]

I think Catfish could be a regional dislike. I grew up eating it, and I like it better than other "fishy" tasting fish (like salmon and tuna).
GG is my favorite. I take family and friends whenever we're at Epcot. They recently replaced the sunflower bread with pumpkin bread, which is much more memorable, very good flavor with roasted seeds on top. The chicken was also recently replaced with roast turkey breast, which is much better imo. Initially, they bring out a skillet with everything (catfish, veggies, stuffing, turkey, and flank steak) and after that you can request more of anything you want. Just like a buffet, if something is not to your taste, there are other options that you can enjoy instead, which is why it's pretty good for picky eaters. Adult dessert choices change from time to time, but they're always very good and in generous portions. Non-alcoholic drinks and dessert is included in the price.

 

[nutz4dzny]

I give another thumbs up to the GG! It is a must do on our list each visit. We love the freshness of the food. The veggies are so good and the salad is actually grown in The Land. Try it and then post your reviews.

 

[anne60]

In case any of your kids are like my youngest....in addition to the "regular" food, your picky eater can also get their own skillet of chicken fingers, mac 'n' cheese (looked very good and my little one ate it all!),and fries (not sure about the fries, but I think they served them). They start with bread (very good) and salad with a ranch dressing that we all love. Of the 3 "family style/buffets" in EPCOT, (Akershus, Biergarten, Garden Grill), this was our favorite. After our first time, we skip the catfish, and they just bring us more of the other 2 meat choices instead. The vegetables were by far the best we had the entire trip.

 

[cindala]

We ate here for the first time last year and loved it!

The serving is family style, which is very convenient. It eliminates the numerous trips up to the buffet, especially if you have smaller children who must be supervised.

The food was delicious, and a very nice selection. You start out with fresh hot bread, and a salad. Then skillets of corn, potatoes, and other veggies along with chicken, flank steak and catfish. This is all you can eat, so if you run out of something you just ask your server.

All this goes on while the restaurant slowly revolves and gives you various views of the land. The character interaction is great too. We opted to do the rehitching ceremony which comes with a cake, but we asked for the regular dessert which was lemon meringue tarts that night. The dessert selection changes.

If you opt to do the rehitching ceremony, beware that it will add time to your dinner. Our server had to coordinate the ceremony with another CM, so if you are anxious go get back to the park you might want to skip this.

We have put this back on our list of restaurants to eat at this trip!

 

[chell]

No one has mentioned a warning about the Garden Grill yet!





You will eat WAY too much here and have to be rolled around Epcot for a few hours!!!



The Garden Grill is tied for 1st place in my book! I can't go to WDW and not eat there.

 

[Safari Steve]

You will eat WAY too much here

I must agree... I have caused myself great pain at least once at the GG. Remember to pace yourself, try a little bit of everything you think you might like, but don't feel like you have to finish everything, and remember to save room for dessert!
I have that problem almost everywhere I eat, perhaps as a result of being raised with a "clean plate" / "there are starving children in Africa" mentality... of course, I may just be a glutton...

 

[Buckalew]

We have done GG twice and loved it both times. Next trip, I will try not to go there but to try a new place. THAT will be very hard to do.