Having trouble picking a place for no kids dinner

[Nancy for Disney]

DH are going without kids. We are there for a short trip so we are doing QS dining except for one night. Needless to say this will be our one shot at having a nice dinner. I had originally thought of going to O'hanas. I thought it would be nice to eat there and then watch fireworks on the beach. I keep hearing mixed reviews so I am thinking about changing my mind. The pictures I have seen of Kona don't appeal to me. I want to spend around $25-31 per dinner (not including drinks and dessert). This of course leave out signature dining. I am considering GF Cafe. I won't be on the DDP so a restaurant not on the plan is not out of the question. As a matter of fact it may be preferred since we will be there during free dining. We have no vehicle so we will have to rely on disney buses. Another place I have considered is HoB. What I am looking for is a sit down restaurant with good and reasonably priced food. I also want to try some place that wasn't on our last trip which are LTT, CM, CR, CP, Teppen Edo, 1900, Boma and
50'sPT, Anyone else out there have any suggestions?
x

 

[bangzoom6877]

How about trying the new Kouzzina (Cat Cora's new restaurant) at the BoardWalk? The menu is on allears dot net, and it is mediterranean and greek cuisine. It looks wonderful and seems to fit withing your price range. It has gotten excellent reviews so far. And after dinner you and your DH could walk around the BoardWalk, and catch some of the Epcot fireworks from there too. It could make for a very romantic evening without having to spend the money on a signature restaurant!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I was going to suggest Bistro de Paris upstairs in France until I saw your price range. It is as close to child-free dining as is possible at WDW (other than V&A). And you can see IllumiNations from some parts of the restaurant. I think it is much nicer than any of the DDP Signature Restaurants.

 

[tink519]

DH and I enjoyed Wolfgang Puck upstairs last time. We are going to The Wave for our Adult's Night out this time.

 

[wedance6]

Wave is good....but there will still be some kids. Try Sanna at Kadani...if you like the menu, that is bound to be quiet and you can get a table to overlook the savannah. Now you say you don't want Kona, but i would take that hands down to ohana, great prime rib for $22 and good desserts too. Ask for a table twd the window there where you can look out at the palm trees. We also like Coral Reef, that place is always quiet, and a bit more in cost, that's why we go at lunch time, it feels like it's dinner time at lunch because it is so dark in the restaurant.

 

[MouseMomx2]

My vote would be for The Wave at the Contemporary or Tutto Italia in EPCOT. Both are great!

 

[Debonna]

If you can swing it, I would recommend late reservations at the California Grill (maybe appetizers and dessert?). If you can be there during fireworks at MK...all the better. DH and I had a very romantic dinner there a few years ago. Not too many kids as I can recall.

 

[Nancy for Disney]

Thanks for all the great responses. I am going to try and add a poll. Boy this is hard.

 

[Nancy for Disney]

trying again to add the poll.

 

[eeyoresnr]

we love 'Ohana'a...when we ate there in May my husband asked if we could have a window seat to see the fireworks....a few minutes later we were sat with an awesome window view and the fireworks were great...the food and the service was awesome...it is a must do for us

 

[Nancy for Disney]

bumping to get more people to vote

 

[Colleen27]

Of the choices on your poll, we've only tried Kona and Grand Floridian Cafe. Kona has great food, but I don't know that I'd recommend it for a romantic evening. It is pretty noisy at popular meal times, which during free dining is all the time, because it is open to the Poly lobby and you get the noise from families waiting to be seated at Ohana next door. Grand Floridian Cafe is good, but the tables are kind of close together and the dining room is brightly lit and not what I'd call romantic. It is more a family cafe atmosphere, and again, not somewhere I'd choose for a kid-free evening.

Some other suggestions:

I don't know if you'd find the menu appealing, but my first thought would be Tokyo Dining. There's a view of Illuminations from the dining room, and since most families with children are more interested in the hibachi grills over at Teppan Edo, TD seems to be quieter and have more adult patrons than other World Showcase restaurants.

I haven't heard much about it on the boards, but my BFF recently came home from Disney with nothing but good things to say about Mangino's at Shades of Green. I don't know how the atmosphere is, but it isn't on the dining plan so that would make me think it would be a little less nuts than most Disney restaurants, and the menu looks pretty good.

Also Italian and a little pricier is Il Mulino at the Swan. I've read nothing but good reviews, and most of the menu is within your target budget though there are a few more expensive choices as well. And like Manginos, its not on the dining plan so likely to be on the quieter side.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

As another poster stated, you're best hope of a romantic (quieter meal) in most of these restaurants is to pick late ADR's. Sanaa/Kouzzina because of most parents apprehension of the African/Greek menu may have less younger diners.

 

[Lynn5700]

Hands down The Wave!!! We love it there.