Has *ANYONE* really liked Coral Reef???

[LSchrow]

It was the best meal of our trip last year. The steak was far better than the one at Le Cellier.

absolutely
CR is one of both DH & my favorite restaurants.

 

[paintnolish]

We love it, too! We are eating there a thrid time this trip. The mahi mahi is one of my faves. We also had great service there- Dawn. The atomosphere, of course, is nice.

 

[hgbluesparkles]

I thought the food was good (I had the catfish), the service was excellent (and they gave us free champagne!) and seeing the fish was cool. All that being said it is very loud and the ambiance aside from the fish tank was not good. I had also seen negative reviews on here but DH really wanted to go. We found it to be better than "meh" but not outstanding.

 

[ilandrazdsw]

We were there in December and the steaks were cut-with-a-fork tender and very tasty. They were running at least 1/2 hour behind on ADRs, but our CM provided great service. We would return!

 

["Cinder" Ella's Mom]

We had dinner there on the DDP and loved it. It was crowded and our server was pretty busy, but we sat right by the tank and our kids loved it. DH and I had a couple of glasses of wine, steak, etc. All good!

 

[chocovrdmicears]

It was the best meal of our trip last year. The steak was far better than the one at Le Cellier.

Exactly my thoughts.

 

[bcrook]

One of our family favorites. We love the atmosphere, the food, and the service has been really good for us. We are scheduled for lunch in July. The lobster soup is great as were all of our entrees. I have to agree with the steak comments - mine was outstanding. Because I am a bit obsessed with the all this, I printed a spreadsheet of all the disney restaurants we have tried and forced my teenagers and dw to rate them all with 1-5 stars. Coral Reef got a 5 star from all four of us. I am not sure if my children can be trusted though, they gave Boma 2's! Grrr. I really like Boma too!

 

[MiMi2Three]

We ate at Coral Reef during the weekend after Thanksgiving 2008 and were very pleased with the overall experience. We had the steak and it was as good as the steak we had at LeCellier in Feb 2008, my DGD5 loved the aquarium and the service was prompt and friendly. This was a very crowded night, the room was packed and the noise level didn't seem any worse than any other Disney restaurant. We will go again in the future.

 

[Millie12591]

I'm hoping to hear some good things too! We're really looking forward to CR in June, but would hate for 8 people to walk away disappointed.

I learned a long time ago about reviews here, and going in with an open mind, but it's hard to keep that nagging feeling that I should have changed it out of my mind


I'm really hoping we find another happy surprise like we did with Tony's and San Angels

Inspite of the reviews and not knowing what would be the end result going into it.....
We loved the experience eating here! We celebrated my daughters birthday here, and sitting next to the aquarium was a total hit, especially when the diver brought a sign by saying happy birthday to my girly (something I read about and set up). The whole area around us started clapping and saying Happy Birthday to her.
The service was very good, had it's minor hicups but it was still good. However I would not go here to eat without the DP.
I thought our food was very good, but not sure I would want to pay that much out of pocket for a dinner there (I realize how silly this sounds considering I've paid for the DP, but that's how I roll). The atmosphere is fun and shouldn't be missed, it should be a must do at least once while being in The World.

 

[J&J]

the food has not been good hereuse to be.

 

[DVC Mike]

We like Coral Reef. Our last meal there in March was fantastic.

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

We really liked it.

In 2008 we ate at:
Garden View Tea Room
Kona Cafe- dinner
Yachtsman Steakhouse
Coral Reef
Artist Point
Jiko
Les Chefs de France
Le Cellier
California Grill
Narcooossee's

Coral Reef and Les Chefs de France were our top two favorites by far. Coral Reef was definitely my mom's fave and mine was Chefs, but they we 1 & 2 for both of us.

I could say our seats could be any better, right next to the aquarium. We were by a family who got some divers to say 'Happy Birthday' to a little girl and the turtle wasn't staring at our table but he passed by a fewe times.

The service was wonderul which was surprising since our server seemed to have a lot of people to take care of. We also booked our dinner for 4:30PM, or when they opened back up for dinner. Why? Because of the DIS, I had heard many reports of slow service and wait times to be seated so I didn't want to ruin my experience only because I prefer to eat at a certain time.

 

[bluejasmine]

I have been twice for lunch and both times I thought the food was good. Service is slow and the restaurant is loud, I think it must have something to do with the way the sound must bounce of the aqarium tanks or something but its really beautiful! Dont let bad reviews keep you from trying it, I have liked several places others didnt. Just check out the menu b/c it is kind of limited and make sure there is something on their everyone in your party will like!

 

[Joshua_me]

Apart from the waitress pocketing our change on top of her tip and trying to tell us it was normal in Florida the meal was great. Had a couple of glotinis sat right by the tank which the kids loved.

^ THAT is outrageous ! I would have had the manager over to our table in record time.


As far as the food. It kind of breaks my heart, really. We've been eating there since the late 80's, back when the service and quality of food was incredible. Since then, the portions keep getting smaller and smaller while the prices go higher and higher. To the point where it's almost criminal the sheer profit Disney is making from us.

If it's important to your son, then by all means go. Just prepare to leave feeling *very* ripped off....

 

[roselark]

I loved Coral Reef. DM did too. It was her #1 request for our May trip. She had the Mahi Mahi and said it was the best she had ever had. I had the steak and loved it.

 

[Rudy6]

We got sick there in 2004 and have not been back.

 

[cymbaldiva]

I had the blackened catfish and it was wonderful ... I hope to have it again someday.

 

[drenalin'junkie]

Love it.The bisque was always one of my favorites but we haven't been iin about 18 months.
I fish for a living part-time so I am awfully picky about fish and theirs has been good.
It is not what it used to be but nothing ever is.

Service is often a relection of how you treat people,we are polite but let our servers know we are not yahoos.

 

[GreyGooseCosmo]

Coral Reef for us was just "meh". It was VERY LOUD in there, and the food was average in quality. I had the scallop appetizer, the strip steak, and the celebration dessert. The scallop appy was just OK, the steak was cooked well (but I've had comparable strip steaks at LongHorn or Outback), and the dessert was the saving grace of the meal. I didn't pay attention to price when ordering as we were on the DxDP. However, the meal for my DD and I, with tip, would have cashed out at about $70.

If you're paying OOP, my vote is to either lunch there, or just have drinks and dessert.

 

[KSG'sDisneyMem]

Ate there with DSIL, DD and DGD. We had a 10 day trip in Dec 08, and this was DSIL's favorite meal/restaurant. We all enjoyed it and DGD loved the giant turtle she saw in the fish tank.