Garden Grove? Have you eaten there???

[imthatgirl]

I was going through my dining and wasn't happy with one of my days...while looking through available reservations I ran across Garden Grove.
I've never been there and know nothing about it.
It also says there are characters there....which ones?
Thanks!

 

[mandibc11]

We will be eating there again this trip (making it my second overall). I really love the decor, and the food is delicious. Made to order omelets of course, but also Belgian waffles, which isn't as common in most of the Disney buffet breakfasts. Overall, I would highly recommend it!

 

[RichmondTiggerFan]

I have been to this restaurant multiple times (for the Monday/Friday seafood buffet w/Lion King characters) & I can definitely recommend it.

Food: For dinner, Garden Grove has a rotating buffet. Depending on the day, the buffet focuses on Mediterranean food, Southern food, or seafood (of course, they have a few other things & they have kids items). From my experiences, the buffet here has had things that you won't find on most WDW buffets (probably since they don't take DDP). Also, the waiter will bring bread & salad to your table & you can order alcohol.

Characters: There are characters every night for dinner and for breakfast on Saturday/Sunday. I know that on Monday/Friday nights, the characters are Timon (my favorite!) & Rafiki; other nights, Pluto & Goofy. On the nights I've been there, the characters have plenty of time to spend at each table & they may come around multiple times.

 

[Cptnkirky]

We ate there on a meditteranean night I believe...and it was AWESOME!!! We loved the food, the atmosphere was great, and it is a hidden gem! Not a lot of poeple know its there or go to it, therefore it is never crowded which equals more time with the characters per table. The kids at our table had so much fun with them for a long time (pluto and goofy). Definitely worth a try!!

 

[vitamingirl]

Im interested in hearing about this restaurant too. DD loves Pluto and we are staying at BC. What is better breakfast or dinner (not seafood)? DS has nut allergy

 

[Robert P]

Garden Grove is a great choice for breakfast. We find the food to be just a notch below Fresh at the Dolphin, and much better than the WDW buffets.

For dinner, we've been twice.
The Mediteranean (sp) nights, well, it was pretty darned good, especially considering that we were trying for the Southern night, but they had recently changed the rotation (and none of the online fans site menus had picked that up yet). We would go back.
Fisherman's Feast night (or whatever it is called), well, not so much. There were a few good items, a few bad ones (the daily catch was overcooked and dry) but overall, just not worth the money. We won't be going back for that one anytime soon.

Characters - we have never, at any meal, seen the place above 50% occupancy, so the character interaction is great. Multiple visits, and they actually take their time instead of a drive by visit.

 

[dina7]

We were there a few yrs ago when we stayed at the Dolphin & we ate there several times. The food was very good & the characters were an added bonus. Besides the breakfast buffet, you can order off of a menu instead, which is what we did. It is a much more affordable alternative to the other Disney character breakfasts. It is also MUCH less crowded. We enjoyed it. We haven't returned since we started using the Dining Plan though, as the restaurants in the Swan & dolphin don't participate in the DP. Enjoy!

 

[ntsammy5]

Ate there once, but honestly don't remember much - must have been unremarkable -

 

[Mickey_Man]

Ate there once, but honestly don't remember much - must have been unremarkable -

We had a similar experience with the food. we were there on a BBQ night, and it was a little later in the evening and the food was awful. The characters were great, but the food wasn't fresh, never really got turned over, and it just wasn't that good. I am interested again after reading a few other posts here of people having a good experience so thanks for sharing your experiences.