As Garden Grill has always been one of our favorite restaurants, we refused to believe all the hundreds of negative postings we read about how bad it had become. So out of loyalty and misbelief we included it on our last trip this past week and all I have to say is WHAT A MISTAKE! All the postings were right, this once great restaurant has gone down the tubes.
Even without comparison to the great menu before the renovation, this place serves some of the most expensive and worse food in Epcot. The menu was obviously changed with only two things in mind: microwaveability and cheapness!
The thick garden salad with ranch dressing has been replaced by a bitter tasting wilted assortment of leafy things covered in a mouth puckering vinegarette dressing. The wonderful sunflower and pumpkin bread that used to come with flavored butter are now chewy breadsticks with microwaved "dipping" sauces which range from lumpy to oily.
If we had been at a regular restaurant in any city, we would have walked out when we were given the menu. But being at Disney's mercy and willing out of loyalty to try anything once we reluctantly chose our entrees.
No more unlimited catfish, stuffing, chicken, steak, potatoes or turkey. You now are forced to choose between one of a half dozen entrees that are reminiscent of the old TV dinners. Small portions of not very good tasting food with almost no choice or nutritional value. Between the seven of us, we had virtually everything on the menu and not one of us was happy with our choice. I had a stringy chunk of steak with some rock hard mashed potatoes and three string beans. There has been some discussion on the boards as to whether or not you can ask for seconds but it really doesn't matter because most people barely finish their first portion even though its tiny by comparison. The food really is that bad.
To make matters worse, even though there were empty tables, the service was horrible. Our waiter was good natured enough but explained that Disney fired all the bus staff so wait staff now had to serve, get drinks, bus, clean their own tables AND scrape plates. He disappeared for long periods of time (probably doing dishes and taking out the trash) as we desperately wanted more water and ice tea.
The great cobbler and "worms and dirt" desert has been replaced by warm Bosco, stale pound cake and canned pineapple chunks. The desert reminded me of something a bunch of college kids would put together during a midnight munchie raid on a refrigerator. Not at all a worthy desert but it did complement well the poor entrees. At least their lousy food was consistent from appetizer through desert.
Even worse insult to injury, they had the nerve to raise their prices and consider children nine and above to be adults! $25.00 to feed a nine year old who barely picked at his inedible entree. They really should be ashamed.
I feel like an absolute sucker for not having listened to the posts I read. So to all the regular patrons of Garden Grill I implore you to stay away. Only a boycott and dramatic drop in business will get their attention and change things back to the great down on the farm style meals they used to serve. It used to be a nice country style meal - now it's a third world country style meal.
To all those who are thinking of trying the place out for old times sake (thinking it can't have gotten that bad) I say DON'T DO IT. Save your money - don't be a sucker. It is really as bad as everyone says.
To those who want to try this place for the first time, I assure you that you can do a lot better at a dozen other places in Epcot. Even if you have no basis for comparison to the old format, you will be disappointed in the quality, quantity and price of food and the poor service.
The only thing Garden Grill has going for it is its great revolving scenery (none of which makes any sense now that the menu has changed) and the characters coming to the tables. But even with that be careful. When Dale came over to pay a visit, his costume was so dirty that none of us wanted to shake hands with him. It was a little gross. We also noticed the same to be true of the other characters, except Mickey. Perhaps Disney has them also doing dishes in the kitchen or maybe the waiters are now supposed to take the costumes home and wash them with their own laundry. These guys needed a bath, especially being around food.
It's sad to see such a major change to what used to be such a great place. What were they thinking? I wonder if the people who actually put these meals together ever sit down and have to eat them. I think too many fresh out of school accountants are trying to make changes that do not need to be changed and are getting involved in areas in which they have no experience.
Please let your voice be heard by staying away from the Garden Grill until they bring back the old format.
Shame on Disney!
Even without comparison to the great menu before the renovation, this place serves some of the most expensive and worse food in Epcot. The menu was obviously changed with only two things in mind: microwaveability and cheapness!
The thick garden salad with ranch dressing has been replaced by a bitter tasting wilted assortment of leafy things covered in a mouth puckering vinegarette dressing. The wonderful sunflower and pumpkin bread that used to come with flavored butter are now chewy breadsticks with microwaved "dipping" sauces which range from lumpy to oily.
If we had been at a regular restaurant in any city, we would have walked out when we were given the menu. But being at Disney's mercy and willing out of loyalty to try anything once we reluctantly chose our entrees.
No more unlimited catfish, stuffing, chicken, steak, potatoes or turkey. You now are forced to choose between one of a half dozen entrees that are reminiscent of the old TV dinners. Small portions of not very good tasting food with almost no choice or nutritional value. Between the seven of us, we had virtually everything on the menu and not one of us was happy with our choice. I had a stringy chunk of steak with some rock hard mashed potatoes and three string beans. There has been some discussion on the boards as to whether or not you can ask for seconds but it really doesn't matter because most people barely finish their first portion even though its tiny by comparison. The food really is that bad.
To make matters worse, even though there were empty tables, the service was horrible. Our waiter was good natured enough but explained that Disney fired all the bus staff so wait staff now had to serve, get drinks, bus, clean their own tables AND scrape plates. He disappeared for long periods of time (probably doing dishes and taking out the trash) as we desperately wanted more water and ice tea.
The great cobbler and "worms and dirt" desert has been replaced by warm Bosco, stale pound cake and canned pineapple chunks. The desert reminded me of something a bunch of college kids would put together during a midnight munchie raid on a refrigerator. Not at all a worthy desert but it did complement well the poor entrees. At least their lousy food was consistent from appetizer through desert.
Even worse insult to injury, they had the nerve to raise their prices and consider children nine and above to be adults! $25.00 to feed a nine year old who barely picked at his inedible entree. They really should be ashamed.
I feel like an absolute sucker for not having listened to the posts I read. So to all the regular patrons of Garden Grill I implore you to stay away. Only a boycott and dramatic drop in business will get their attention and change things back to the great down on the farm style meals they used to serve. It used to be a nice country style meal - now it's a third world country style meal.
To all those who are thinking of trying the place out for old times sake (thinking it can't have gotten that bad) I say DON'T DO IT. Save your money - don't be a sucker. It is really as bad as everyone says.
To those who want to try this place for the first time, I assure you that you can do a lot better at a dozen other places in Epcot. Even if you have no basis for comparison to the old format, you will be disappointed in the quality, quantity and price of food and the poor service.
The only thing Garden Grill has going for it is its great revolving scenery (none of which makes any sense now that the menu has changed) and the characters coming to the tables. But even with that be careful. When Dale came over to pay a visit, his costume was so dirty that none of us wanted to shake hands with him. It was a little gross. We also noticed the same to be true of the other characters, except Mickey. Perhaps Disney has them also doing dishes in the kitchen or maybe the waiters are now supposed to take the costumes home and wash them with their own laundry. These guys needed a bath, especially being around food.
It's sad to see such a major change to what used to be such a great place. What were they thinking? I wonder if the people who actually put these meals together ever sit down and have to eat them. I think too many fresh out of school accountants are trying to make changes that do not need to be changed and are getting involved in areas in which they have no experience.
Please let your voice be heard by staying away from the Garden Grill until they bring back the old format.
Shame on Disney!
Thanks for bursting my bubble. We were going to try it for our first time in October. My DS4 was excited about seeing Mickey at a character dinner. I guess we'll have to change our plans. I wanted to avoid CM. I've seen to many bad reviews about the dinner.
