Garden Grill Lunch??

[Mom2JoeyandBen]

Can I get some feedback/opinions from those who have dined at the Garden Grill for lunch? It would be my DH, our 2 sons(ages 3 and 1), and myself. We wanted to eat somewhere new in Epcot, and have already trield Le Cellier, San Angel Inn, and Biergarten. None of the other countries menus seemed to really excite us. Garden Grill looked exciting because of the characters and I know our 3y/o will love that part. But how is the food?

 

[bamagirl@hrt]

This is on our "to try" list too. I haven't been here yet, but a dear friend of mine said it was their favorite meal all week. She said the food was fresh & delicious and the characters were great.

 

[Samsma]

We had a last minutes lunch there last Nov. It was pretty good and the character interaction was great.

 

[jake&samsmom]

We were just there last Sunday, and it was great!

They had yummy flank steak, the potato casserole was delicious, turkey was a little on the dry side (not a turkey lover anyhow), fish was good, green beans was OK.

Character interaction was awesome, lesser people meaning more time with the character, we loved trying distinguish chip from dale (chip has a brown nose, dale has a red one).

One word of caution though, I get dizzy very easily, and the restaurant revolves around the living with the land attraction (very, very slowly), but still enough for me to get a teeny bit motion-sick. Still loved it, though, and will be on our list for our next trip.

 

[lake queen]

We have been there for Lunch twice and have loved it!

Its also alot cheaper at lunch than Dinner!!

 

[flexbarbie]

Realy good, fresh food at the garden grill! I couldnt enjoy it tho because i got motion sick from the revolving no one else in my family did tho, so if you don't suffer you'll have a great meal

 

[kimsuenew]

We did not like the food whatsoever (we ended up eating the mac & cheese and chicken nuggets). The characters came around and are quite cute. Our server was pleasant. We made the mistake of sitting on the upper level so you cannot see the scenery very well. We would not go back, even if it was free!

 

[micmacmissy]

We really, really loved this lunch and so did our kids (ages 3 and 1 at the time!).

Great, low key character interaction. The way the restaurant is set up really minimizes noise and crowding...so it's actually relaxing! I am surprised that another poster got "motion sick" here...the restaurant rotates (veeeerrry slowly)

We really enjoyed the food (and we're kinda food snobs). It was basic, but well cooked and good.

We're going back again next trip! A great way to take a break from a busy day at Epcot.

 

[Mkrop]

We did lunch and we really enjoyed. We almost cancelled bc of some bad reviews I read but kept it for the characters. We were pleastantly surprised that we really like the food. I am not dessert person but the dessert was yummy. Characters were great. I thought the place moved too slow, we were done eating and we hardly got anywhere. Dh didnt even realized we moved. This is very laid back but the characters are great. Not crazy like Chef Mickey. You will see Farmer Mickey, Pluto, Chip and Dale

 

[gregrmike1]

Our family: me-30, dh 34, ds 9, dd 7 have really enjoyed the food and character interaction. We have reservations for our upcoming trip in April of 2008.

 

[Stitchfans]

We have an ADR for this restaurant too for our upcoming trip. Glad to hear good reports about the food. I made the ADR mostly because of Chip and Dale. On our last trip we never got to see them. Those two are always a riot. Since they are no longer at CM I booked this meal.

 

[Samsma]

Be sure and ask for a seat on the lower level of the restaurant. If you end up on the top you won't be able to see anything while revolving!

 

[PlutosFriend]

We just ate there for lunch this past Wednesday. It was our 2nd time eating there. I really like it We had great service and the food was all good. They have a potato casserole that I just LOVE! I can't think of one negative thing to say about it. They even have sweet tea. Both of my kids enjoyed decorating their cupcakes for dessert.

 

[praline3001]

This is my families Fav compromise place to eat!!
I think its a real hidden gem for Epcot dining.

Make sure to request a booth! This makes your dining experience more private. The booths are REALLY high backed so you dont see any other guest unless you stand up haha

We really liked the food too, which character meals are not known for the best of foods

To make this dining experience more educational for your kids, make sure to take them on the Living with the Land ride before hand. They use all the veggies from that ride for the dining experience at Garden Grill. The kids can say.. hey I saw where they grew that! LOL

The characters are great too! Its really hard to get time with Mickey all to yourself (especially during peak park dates) IF you get a booth, when Mickey comes around to your table he is ALLLL yours! There are no kids (other than your own) tripping over you or Mickey... it makes for some wonderful pics without having a bunch of other tourist in the back ground of your pics.
This gives YOUR child a special time with the king himself!
As my children are well behaved and not pushy kids, they are often pushed out of character encounters. There have been kids (and worse, parents with kids) who have shoved their way in front of my kids (even so much as while we were at a table and the character was at our table) in order to meet Mickey. This completely takes the magic that is Disney away from kids.
I REALLY ENJOY not having to be pushy or my kids be pushy and just let the magic happen. This happens for us EVERY TIME at the Grill.

It is also not near as loud as other character meals. This means mom and dad can go over the plans for that afternoon and hear each other talk and carry on a conversation!!! Add in a nice coffee after your meal and you have a tasty little midday break and are ready for an afternoon of GO GO GO


NOTE::: I seem down about character meals and I am not. They have their place! Its just as character meals go, this one gives you the best one on one experience and is nice and quiet for a midday break!

 

[becka]

Garden Grill is a great character meal. The food is pretty good - nothing to write home about - but tasty and the character interaction has always been great. Some of my favorite memories from our trip when DD was 12 months old and DS was 3 1/2 were at GG.

 

[edk35]

WE had lunch there in Aug. and enjoyed it. We would do it again. Worth a try that is for sure.

 

[Pumbaa_]

My DH and I like it here too. It's not the fanciest plce Disney offers, but the food is good, the restaurant isn't crazy and the character interaction is very good.

 

[bnk1120]

We ate here in February and I thought it was ok. The food was a little too salty for me. The dessert was really good. Pluto was hilarious and we got some good pics with him! The restaurant could use an update, IMO. My husband had me add this to our list, he loved the food. So we have a lunch ADR in April...I'll give it another try...