"Good" vs. "Good for Disney"

[Pygoplites]

What WDW table-service restaurants do you think are good enough to stand on their own? (i.e., if they were in your city you would dine there AND--here's the catch--be willing to pay the same price)

Here are a few of mine:

Victoria & Albert's, Flying Fish Cafe, Hollywood Brown Derby (but only for select items on the menu)

 

[Uncleromulus]

Interesting thread. To start, I must say that the Disney restaurants appeal to me BECAUSE they are at Disney and I get a chance to visit the Resort Hotels when I dine.
If they were local to my area, (Baltimore/ York Pa.) I'd say all the Signatures (except V&A) would need to expand their menus. Most local spots at the same prices have dozens of selections etc while Disney restaurant menus are limited to but one page. Some have only 6 or eight entrees. Beer selection is poor (tho they do pretty well with wine).
All that said- I'd go to V&A, Flying Fish, Blue Zoo and MAYBE the California Grill (because I love their flatbread appetizers and I don't see those around these parts that often).

 

[oybolshoi]

Vickie & Al's
Flying Fish
Bluezoo
Il Mulino
Bistro Paris

CA Grill is on the fence for me ... we've had some great meals there and then we've had a couple that were just "meh." I do love their cheese plate, though, and I think they're much better at making seasonal menu changes than V&A is.

 

[daisyduck123]

DH & DS11 love The Yachtsman. We'd dine there if it were in our hometown.

My family also loves 'Ohana for dinner. We'd go there.

 

[tony67]

I would not include Blue zoo, Shula's or Il Mulino since they are not really Disney and they already do stand on their own, IMO.

Based on the price vs. quality argument I do not feel that ANY Disney restaurant can really stand on its own, except maybe V&A. But I do not think that if V&A was outside of Disney it would take a year to get a reservation.

I do not think ANY of these restaurants would need to be booked more than a week in advance, and most would just be walk in.
The only reason any these restaurants are so busy and popular is mostly related to the DDP. They would not make it in the real world in their current form.

Bistro Paris would need to add some real French items, like Foie Gras, to compete with local French restaurants and even then I would have a tough time picking Bistro over some of the local places.

Le Celler is way overpriced for the quality. I can get a better steak at Bugaboo Creek or outback for half the price.

The Yachtsman needs to add some actual quality meat for the prices they charge. They would not be able to compete with places like the Capital Grille, Morton’s or Shula's. I would pick Capital Grille over Yachtsman every time.

They would all also need to add daily specials and give the chefs some flexibility so they can actually do their jobs.

I really like Kona when I am in Disney, but just to put it in perspective I can eat at Jean Gorges new place (Market) in the W hotel for about the same price as Kona.
Why would I ever pick Kona?

 

[shellybaxter]

I think it depends on where you live. I live in a small rural town. We have few restaurants and the quality is not any better than Disney. Almost all Disney restaurants would do as well here as the current restaurants. If the food were too "different" than what the locals are used to (Morocco, Norway, etc) that restaurant probably wouldn't make it. I love eating at Disney because there are so many choices and its all "good". We also visit Las Vegas quite a bit. We eat at higher end restaurants when we are there and I don't think most Disney restaurants stand up to the Vegas restaurants we've eaten at. For example, of all the steak houses (Le Cellier, Yachtman, and Shula's) I believe only Shula's stands up to Delmonico's or the Country Club Steakhouse at the Wynn

 

[So_Money]

I like the atmosphere of some of the restaurants but I'd have to say zero would survive outside of Disney.

 

[eaj1228]

Kona breakfast is great and is probably less expensive than alot of the restaurants that I would go to here in Seattle.

 

[udsweetpea]

I think Fulton's and Portabello Yachtclub would be able to survive on their own.

 

[bangzoom6877]

I would eat at Biergarten for dinner and pay the same price if it was here in Brooklyn, NY. I loved the German food, it was plenty authentic (I am picky with German food), and the entertainment also makes it well worth the price! Atmosphere is amazing also.

The only other TS restaurants I have eaten at in WDW were Boma (dinner), Chef Mickey's (breakfast), 1900 Park Fare (dinner), Crystal Palace (dinner), Liberty Tree Tavern (dinner back when it had characters), and H&V character breakfast. All but one of these were character meals so I know that even though the food was decent, they would not survive here because the whole reason for going to them is the characters, not the food. However, (and I know this is VERY unrealistic), if we had the opportunity to go to a Disney character meal in NY I certainly would go and pay those prices, every once in a while!

I think Boma would survive in Brooklyn, NY at the prices they currently charge for dinner because it has excellent food and is very unique. Not all of it agreed with my stomach (I get heartburn fairly easily and the unique spices were not all for me), but for people who can handle the spices it really is a wonderful place to try!

IMHO though, Boma and Biergarten would be more expensive if they were in NY.

 

[SuzieN]

I don't think I would pay those prices at any restaurant outside of WDW. Honestly, if we weren't on the DDP we probably wouldn't go to TS places. There are several restaurants I would frequent (with lower pricing) if they were local for me. LOVE both 50's Primetime and Sci-Fi, for food and atmosphere. Also, Yak & Yeti, Biergarten, San Angel Inn, and Liberty Tree Tavern. I'm sure there are more but those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head!!!

 

[PhillipA82]

I don't think I would pay those prices at any restaurant outside of WDW. Honestly, if we weren't on the DDP we probably wouldn't go to TS places. There are several restaurants I would frequent (with lower pricing) if they were local for me. LOVE both 50's Primetime and Sci-Fi, for food and atmosphere. Also, Yak & Yeti, Biergarten, San Angel Inn, and Liberty Tree Tavern. I'm sure there are more but those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head!!!

Well said!

 

[zhazhazsu]

I know it's not a ts, but if flametree opened up a location near me ( north of Boston ) it would be very popular carry out for the work lunch crowd, or for a quick take out dinner on a week night. The Plaza is very simmilar to Brighams which used to be a very popular icecream/ sandwhich chain that recently went out of business but was popular for decades prior.

 

[iloveeeyore]

We live in NY metro area and so have tons of dining options at various price points. The only WDW restaurants I can think of off the top of my head that we would visit here at the WDW prices are Biergarten, Rose & Crown and 'Ohana, because we enjoy the food and atmosphere, and don't have anything similar in our neighborhood.

HDDR is our favorite Disney dining experience, and while we think it is a GREAT value for the price, I doubt we would do it at home, since part of the magic for us is the setting IN WDW. So many other restaurants in Disney do that for us. They're fun and interesting MOSTLY for their setting.

Of course, we haven't tried every WDW restaurant, haven't yet tried most of the signatures...yet.

 

[oybolshoi]

I think this is really interesting.

We have nothing like Bluezoo or Flying Fish where I live so I have to include it on my list, same goes for Bistro Paris. And while there are a ton of good Italian restaurants in the St. Louis area, we've never had Italian the way it was prepared at Il Mulino, so it goes on the list, too.

On the other hand, living in the heart of "beef is what's for dinner" country, there isn't a single steakhouse at WDW, with the possible exception of Shula's, that can hold a candle to some of the places around here. So I would never add 'em to my list.

It's all relative.

 

[tony67]

I would eat at Biergarten for dinner and pay the same price if it was here in Brooklyn, NY. I loved the German food, it was plenty authentic (I am picky with German food), and the entertainment also makes it well worth the price! Atmosphere is amazing also.

I stand corrected, somewhat.

I do think that Biergarten could do quite well outside of Disney with a few minor changes.
Get rid of the group seating.
They would have to change the Weiner Schnitzel back to pork or veal though.
They would also need a lot more options for beer.
I would also like to see the option of ordering from a menu, not everyone wants a buffet.

One thing there is just not enough of in most of the US is German restaurants.
The nearest thing we have in Boston is an Alsace Restaurant in Harvard Square.
(It is Northern France\German Type food)

We have a place that claims to be German (Jacob Worth's) but it is not German.

I really miss the Wurst Haus in Harvard square, it was a lot like Biergarten, but better IMO.

 

[bangzoom6877]

Oh yeah, if they sold Dole Whips where I live I would definitely buy those!

Also, to add to what I wrote earlier....as for CS, the only CS I would go to if it was here is Tangierine Cafe (Morocco at Epcot). We thought that was excellent. As for other CS...although we enjoyed them for our lunches, I would only eat them at WDW. I still think WDW has the best CS food out of any theme park I have been to in recent years, by far!! Those parks are Hershey Park, Dutch Wonderland, Sesame Place and Six Flags Great Adventure (which was by far the GROSSEST!!!).

 

[Pygoplites]

I guess it really does depend on where you live. I'm very spoiled being in Chicago, so I don't think hardly any of the WDW spots would survive if they were transplanted (not counting Il Mulino, Shula's, and Fulton's...all of which have Chicago locations). Places like Yachtsman and Narcoosees are blown away by dozens of similar restaurants. Bistro and Chefs de France aren't even as good as our cheap neighborhood bistros, let alone our more upscale French places. But Victoria & Albert's is as good as anything we have, except for Alinea and Charlie Trotter's (which are both even more expensive).

 

[drenalin'junkie]

Having eaten in NY,London,Denver,Paris,Amsterdam,Dallas,Houston,San Antonio,New Orleans,Brussels,Munich,Istanbul,Chicago,Indianaoplis and a whole lot more that don't stick out particularly....mostly islands and places where many items are proscribed by custom,religion and law I can say.....

Very few places come close to the theming WD does,nor the freshness and originality of ingredients and menus not to mention the wine list for wineaux.To get specific,if the restaurants most of those non-WD food fans rave on were plopped into the World I think we'd get a better perspective.

I have always gotten an excellent value for what I ordered and not one mis-cooked or bad server story.Out of a couple hundred meals in the parks and resorts.Had mediocre a few times but I've had worse at highend chains like Morton's etc...and dropped a $C per person for that experience.

That being said not everyone has had my experience or has similar tastes.

Learning how to dine was harder to learn than where.I don't order chicken at a steakhouse,pork at a seafood place nor Western food at an Asian restaurant..just sayin' and I don't expect a Wagyu beef tenderloin covered in a demi glace served with truffled potatoes and fresh local veg to cost what a meal does at the Golden Trough

 

[Pygoplites]

You must be truly charmed when it comes to Disney dining. As much as I love all things Disney, I've had enough seriously bad meals to realize that it just seems to go with the territory. For some reason, when something goes wrong, it's always bad food OR service; never both (thankfully). Overall, the good still outweighs the bad and I will keep returning unless the ratio swings the other way.

But I definitely have to take exception to your comments about freshness and originality of ingredients. In WDW it runs the whole gamut from impeccable to horrendous. When it's good, it doesn't get much better. Perfect, in fact. When it's bad, it's rotten (literally, sometimes). Fish shouldn't smell like ammonia, bread shouldn't be stale, pasta shouldn't be mush, and lettuce shouldn't have have liquidy brown edges.

Having eaten in NY,London,Denver,Paris,Amsterdam,Dallas,Houston,San Antonio,New Orleans,Brussels,Munich,Istanbul,Chicago,Indianaoplis and a whole lot more that don't stick out particularly....mostly islands and places where many items are proscribed by custom,religion and law I can say.....

Very few places come close to the theming WD does,nor the freshness and originality of ingredients and menus not to mention the wine list for wineaux.To get specific,if the restaurants most of those non-WD food fans rave on were plopped into the World I think we'd get a better perspective.

I have always gotten an excellent value for what I ordered and not one mis-cooked or bad server story.Out of a couple hundred meals in the parks and resorts.Had mediocre a few times but I've had worse at highend chains like Morton's etc...and dropped a $C per person for that experience.

That being said not everyone has had my experience or has similar tastes.

Learning how to dine was harder to learn than where.I don't order chicken at a steakhouse,pork at a seafood place nor Western food at an Asian restaurant..just sayin' and I don't expect a Wagyu beef tenderloin covered in a demi glace served with truffled potatoes and fresh local veg to cost what a meal does at the Golden Trough