Garden Grill or Coral Reef?

[4forMe]

Hi. We will be in Epcot on the day of my twins' 7th birthday. I am trying to figure out where to eat for lunch. I think they would really enjoy either restaurant. I know they would love the atmosphere at Coral Reef. I also think they would love the character interaction at Garden Grill. I haven't read too many reviews regarding the food at Garden Grill. Any help or advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Tinkerspell]

Well, I just asked the experts: my kids. DS is 12 and DD is 10. My son's favorite characters are Chip and Dale. His vote was for Garden Grill. Not only are the chars there, but he likes the moving restaurant and being able to see parts of The Land ride. He loved the food too, except for the catfish. The favorite for him was the cheesy potatoes. (I personally liked the veggies, so good! And hubby loved the turkey.)

DD said Coral Reef because she liked seeing the fishies. I seem to recall my kids not eating so well there for us because DD is not much on fish at all, and DS picked something he didn't like. So I was surprised when she asked to go back. Go figure.

My opinion? Garden Grill is absolutely faboo and the meal is great. At Coral Reef, the fish was good, but I could have quit after the lobster bisque and been content.

 

[summerlandjeff]

Tough choice!

We've eaten at both and enjoy each differently...

Garden Grille food was surprisingly good! My DW actually ate catfish and liked it ! The service is excellent but the restaurant is a little hectic. The characters were a big plus....

Coral Reef was an amazing visual restaurant, dark and mysterious, the aquarium can be mesmerizing ! The food was good, but you have to like seafood! Again, the service is excellent and the restaurant doesn't seem so crowded.

For your children's age, Garden Grille might be the better choice.

 

[irene_dsc]

We did Garden Grill on our trip for our 1st night, and it was a great intro for the kids, I thought. They loved the rotating restaurant, tho since their favorite part of Living with the Land was the exotic veggies part, the view wasn't as big of a deal for them. They had great interaction with the characters - they got to see each of the 4 twice, iirc. The food was basically like a Thanksgiving dinner, but well prepared and tasty. Plus, we had some of the fresh veggies from the Land.

I also like all-you-can-eat for the kids, since they are picky eaters, and you aren't stuck with the menu, and maybe trying to mix & match to get what they want, etc. (My kids are 3.5 & 6, fwiw) Oh, and I didn't find it hectic at all. It might be more hectic at lunchtime, with everyone trying to get on Soarin', but we did dinner, and all the Soarin' FP's were gone, so The Land was pretty deserted. The only goofy thing was that the bathrooms are outside the restaurant proper, so each time we went in and out, not only did we have to explain that we had already been seated, we also had to guess how far to get to our table!

 

[Mousemom]

We have never eaten at Garden Grill but I am enjoying reading how others like it because we are planning to eat there our next trip.

We did eat at Coral Reef our last stay and loved the food. Our server was the most rude and the service he gave us was awful. It was the worst we have had while in WDW. We were on the meal plan and the gratuity was included but I really felt like this guy did not deserve much. We sat right by the fish tank and our family thougt it was so cool! My kids are older but I think they would have loved it when younger and I noticed that the kids around us were really enjoying the fish.

 

[Shmily1]

Coral Reef is our favorite. The food is great, the servers are attentive, and the fish are just an added touch!!!

 

[Disney Ron]

I vote for Coral Reef!!! We enjoy the atmosphere and food.

We tried garden Grill on our last vacation. All 7 of us determined it was our worst meal of the entire trip. I will say Chip & Dale interaction at GG was great. Food was extremely poor, meat was tough everything else seemed dried out and cold.

Mrs. Disney Ron

 

[slo]

For me it would The Garden Grill - without a doubt!!!!

No offense to those that like Coral Reef - we didn't like it at all
The atmosphere is awesome, but the menu for us, isn't
I can actually say, we will never go back to Coral Reef because of the food.

Now, even if I did love the food, I would still say to go to The Garden Grill because of your children's age - they will have more fun there!!! The fish at Coral Reef is great, but remember, not everyone sits right by the tank window, and they may be frustrated with that (I know my girls would be (they weren't with us when we went to that restaurant) ).

Either way - have fun on your trip!!!!!

 

[slo]

I vote for Coral Reef!!! We enjoy the atmosphere and food.

We tried garden Grill on our last vacation. All 7 of us determined it was our worst meal of the entire trip. I will say Chip & Dale interaction at GG was great. Food was extremely poor, meat was tough everything else seemed dried out and cold.

Mrs. Disney Ron

Isn't it funny that we had the exact opposite opinion
I'm sorry you had a bad experience at The Garden Grill

 

[kimis]

We will be trying both in a couple weeks for the first time. Both have good points so can you do both? At CR you could call and try to get a diver with a birthday sign and at GG they will see the characters. A hard choice for sure. Keep us posted.

 

[4forMe]

Thanks for all the suggestions. After reading everyone's opinions and reviewing the menus again, I think we will go to the Garden Grill for the birthday meal and try to have lunch at Coral Reef later in the week. One of my sons is a very picky eater so Garden Grill would probably be more suitable for him. I know they will enjoy seeing the characters as well.