Help me choose--Tchoup Chop, Mama Della's or Islands?

[jewell]

I have already made a reservation at Tchoup Chop, but have just read a review that wasn't so great, average food and small portions. My family are large eaters so I know my husband and son would be very disappointed in small portions, especially for the cost of the food. I haven't completely ruled out Tchoup Chop, but now I'm starting to doubt a bit.

I've looked at all the menus and they all look great, we love all types of food. Please tell me which of these three restaurants you'd choose for really nice sit down dinner? I didn't mention Mythos because we will be eating there for lunch one day. My party will consist of myself, DH, (both somewhere in our 40's ) DS age 13, my sister, and two nieces, ages 11 and 8.

 

[kellymonaghan]

Well, you certainly won't complain about the portions at Mama Della's. Food's pretty good too. And they serve it family style, so the big eaters can fill up their plates. A lot of people say this is their favorite restaurant at Universal. It's in the Portofino Bay Hotel.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I just read the review that prompted your thread, & I have to agree with the OP. We are definitely in the minority, & I've been reprimanded & sent to bed early for dissing Tchoup Chop in the past. We've eaten there twice. During these visits, we've tried 7 appetizers, 7 entrees, & 7 desserts. My DS ordered the filet on our last visit & said it was great. Other than that, we honestly think it's no better than what we can get at the mall food court. Some of it, mostly desserts, was downright awful. No worries! I have now figured out the magic combination for a great meal there. You must start with a Mai Tai or other similar concoction. Then, it's all good. Hi, Fan2CSkr. Seriously, I've decided they must have good nights & bad nights. Although we never really cared for the food, the service was very attentive the 1st time we went. That wasn't the case on our 2nd visit. The entire team seemed to be on break at the same time. On that night, they were apparently out of every wine we requested too. They tried to upsell us on a ridiculously priced wine. Maybe, we've just hit them on bad nights.

We've only eaten at Mama Della's once. That was last July. Between the 3 of us, we ordered 3 appetizers, 3 entrees, & 3 desserts. We like to sample different things, so we all order something different & share. Everything we ordered was great! There wasn't one thing all of us didn't like. The salad is delicious. The portions are huge though, & we left a lot of food. So, sharing is definitely possible. There has been a recent bad review of MD's too. Hopefully, others will try it & get back to us soon.

We haven't eaten at Islands. We do love Emeril's at CW, but it's more expensive than TC. Many like TC better.

 

[damo]

I haven't tried mama della's but I do like Islands better than Tchoup Chop.

 

[jewell]

Thanks for the replies! I didn't see the bad review for Mama Della's, but I also know that not everyone is going to like every place, but by doing the search on these three places, Mama Della's usually have great reviews, The Islands...well, I can't find many reviews, except for the buffet (which we don't want), but their regular menu looks very good and Tchoup Chop gets the most diverse reviews, either people love it or hate it. I'm still leaning towards Mama Della's (heck, we might splurge and eat at the Islands too since we are staying at RPR). Tchoup Chop is just a maybe now---and that will definitely be at lunch.

You guys are so helpful! I love this board!

 

[keishashadow]

@ Islands a guidebook (older one) recommended their Polynesian themed buffet; indicating that the food was good & price was right (approx $25)?

Is it a bad choice?

 

[goofy!]

I just read the review that prompted your thread, & I have to agree with the OP. We are definitely in the minority, & I've been reprimanded & sent to bed early for dissing Tchoup Chop in the past. .

I would choose Mama Della's. But then, I will be joining tarheelmjfan in going to bed early for dissing Tchoup Chop. We ate there for our anniversary several years ago and while the setting was absolutely gorgeous, the food was horrible. And we regularly eat in good restaurants so do have some comparison experience. It must have been pretty bad that night because the couple next to us was making a huge scene with the manager. We didn't say anything - just picked at it, paid our bill, and swore we would never return. And we haven't in all our subsequent trips down there.

 

[Motherfletcher]

I will stand up for Tchoup Chop. Our last visit found the chef's tasting menu to be sensational. Dinner is better than lunch. TC is better than Emeril's CityWalk. Emeril's Miami Beach was bad.

 

[goofie4goofy]

Just returned from a GLORIOUS trip from USO and dined at both Tchoup Chop and Mama Della's. I am also basing my reviews on dining at both these restaurants many times in the past.

We have always loved Mama Della's and was very disappointed in it this past trip. The menu is the same but the food is not. I always order the spaghetti and meatballs (always a fav of mine for years) and this time it was horrible. The meatballs used to be light and moist this this trip it tasted as though they were boiled. They were ping pong balls - hard compacted and rubbery. The bread basket had half baked bread (raw dough in center) the spaghetti was mushy and over cooked...it used to be al dente. We returned for another night due to exhaustion (we stayed at the PBH and was the most convenient restaurant) We ordered the calamari to share and it was like fried rubber bands, for an entree I ordered the lasagna (which I also have had in the past). I asked for no extra cheese on top - what I got was a gross bowl of slop. Globs of cheese, very mushy lasagna noodles and bitter meat sauce. It was just a big bowl of disgusting looking mess for $22.00. Both nights the salad had waaaay too much dressing - literally swimming in dressing. This was not the Mama Della's I remember. Also it was not as crowded as it used to be - again comparing apples to apples as we go the same time every year. If I had to guess there must be a new chef. We always loved the food there, but it is definitely not the same. We give Mama Dellas 2 thumbs down. We did not complain, we just paid the bill and left. We will not return there on our next trip. Very disappointing.


On the other hand Tchoup Chop was just great. The food was excellent. I don't know how anyone can call the portions small, I find the opposite to be true. Always a huge plate of food. The menu is unchanged with a list of specials every night. The cocktails are very large and potent (and delicious). Not only is the food wonderful, but the staff is as well. I have found the food here to be consistantly excellent. I had the Ahi Tuna wrap appetizer, mu DH had a shrimp appetizer - both excellent - very fresh tuna. I had a special, halibut with a swet and spicy saue oer rice. The fish was topped with banana sauce - it was teriffic. We very much enjoyed our dinner at Tchoup Chop.

So you can guess wher this is going but I would avoid Mama Dellas at all costs and stick with Tchoup Chop.

 

[Motherfletcher]

My kids are pretty picky eaters so they have joined us at TC 4 or 5 times. My daughter always gets chicken fingers. TC may be a little adventurous for the kids. Mine prefer to eat at the Bula Bar by the pool.

 

[goofy!]

I should clarify that our bad experience at TC did not include small portions. In fact, the very opposite. You could hardly see any plate beneath all the food.

I am not a fan of the trendy bite size meals once common in "fancy" restaurants. We ate at a restaurant in Denver which was the height of "in style" bite size meals. $X00.00 later for a group of 4 and we all felt the need to hit McDonald's afterwards. DH's steak was literally 2 bites - about the size of his thumb. Tchoup Chop certainly does NOT fall into this trendy thing with their portion sizes. Portions were liberal - if you could swallow them

Our problem was that it was so salty it was almost unedible. And this is coming from a woman whose husband regularly jokes about giving her a salt block for Christmas as I salt everything I eat. For me to say something is too salty is about as likely as everybody here winning the lottery on the same day.

And as I mentioned, it must have been an off night there as the people next to us were livid about both their food and their service.

It is unlike us to not give a restaurant a second chance. But since we rarely ever stay at RPH anymore, it just seems too much of a hassle to head over to RPR for mediocre food (our experience), when we have plenty of other fine dining choices between PBH and RPR.

 

[Fan2CSkr]

Not a secret that I love Tchoup Chop and eat there regularly. I did once have an issue with my entree and they corrected it and removed it from the bill. I also love Mama Della's and have always enjoyed my meals there. We're heading back this week and will be eating at both, 7 of us. I will report back how all the meals were!

I also love to eat at The Island Dining room but dont put the ambiance in the same category as TC and MD's. The food and service is excellent.

 

[jewell]

It's so hard to believe that one restaurant can get such different reviews!!! I think for now I'll keep my dinner reservations at Tchoup Chop, (it's not until August anyway) and keep checking on the reviews all summer, by the time I go maybe I can make up my mind whether to keep it or cancel it. I appreciate all your reviews and thank you for responding to my post!

 

[G8r4evr]

I should clarify that our bad experience at TC did not include small portions. In fact, the very opposite. You could hardly see any plate beneath all the food.

I am not a fan of the trendy bite size meals once common in "fancy" restaurants. We ate at a restaurant in Denver which was the height of "in style" bite size meals. $X00.00 later for a group of 4 and we all felt the need to hit McDonald's afterwards. DH's steak was literally 2 bites - about the size of his thumb. Tchoup Chop certainly does NOT fall into this trendy thing with their portion sizes. Portions were liberal - if you could swallow them

Our problem was that it was so salty it was almost unedible. And this is coming from a woman whose husband regularly jokes about giving her a salt block for Christmas as I salt everything I eat. For me to say something is too salty is about as likely as everybody here winning the lottery on the same day.

And as I mentioned, it must have been an off night there as the people next to us were livid about both their food and their service.

It is unlike us to not give a restaurant a second chance. But since we rarely ever stay at RPH anymore, it just seems too much of a hassle to head over to RPR for mediocre food (our experience), when we have plenty of other fine dining choices between PBH and RPR.

Tchoup Tchoup definitely fit into the trendy bit side meal category during our visit this past Sunday. We were surprised when the springroll appetizer arrived and there were only 2 ( weare used to getting 6 at Longhorn), my husbands filet was tiny (I would guess 4 ounces) and my swordfish, well we wont even go there. We actually ended up heading straight from TC to TCBY.

I really wish we had tried Mama's or Islands instead, but there is always next time

 

[goofie4goofy]

I don't know when you guys last dined at mama Dellas, but we were there April 28th - just a few weeks ago. We were so disappointed as we always loved MD, one night of bad food is understandable, 2 nights means something isn't right. Without Mama Dellas and Bice PBH really does not have any great places to eat anymore. We did not go to Bice this trip. Not only did we hear how the restaurant went downhill, it was also EMPTY. A real shame, my husband and I have also enjoyed some wonderful meals there in the past.

 

[chobie]

Put me down in the not going back to TC again. The place was lovely. The food was excellent, but we found the portions to be tiny. We had 4 appetizers, 2 kids meals and 2 adult meals. We spent over $200 and were still hungry. We skipped dessert there and went back to HRH for some Emack and Bolio's.

 

[sha_lyn]

It's been about a 1 1/2 yrs since we dined at either.
I certainly would not consider the portions at TC to be small. In fact we all ordered what we thought would be smaller meals to save room for dessert. We are not small eaters by any means. None of us had room for dessert however, the portions were huge.
I thought by just ordering miso soup and the ahi tuna rolls that I would still be hungry... well no way could I have eaten a dessert.
DH ordered the mix hawaiian plate, it was loaded. DS had a steak which must have been 18-20 oz. DD's kids hawaiian plate would have filled up most adults that I know.
We went back a day or 2 later for just desserts and hot tea.... mmmm yummy

We also love Islands Diningroom and eat there frequently when staying at RPR. I believe we ate there 4-5 times during a 4 day trip (our last trip there Dec 2005)

 

[chobie]

It's been about a 1 1/2 yrs since we dined at either.
I certainly would not consider the portions at TC to be small. In fact we all ordered what we thought would be smaller meals to save room for dessert. We are not small eaters by any means. None of us had room for dessert however, the portions were huge.
I thought by just ordering miso soup and the ahi tuna rolls that I would still be hungry... well no way could I have eaten a dessert.
DH ordered the mix hawaiian plate, it was loaded. DS had a steak which must have been 18-20 oz. DD's kids hawaiian plate would have filled up most adults that I know.
We went back a day or 2 later for just desserts and hot tea.... mmmm yummy

We also love Islands Diningroom and eat there frequently when staying at RPR. I believe we ate there 4-5 times during a 4 day trip (our last trip there Dec 2005)

I guess the common theme is that it is unpredictable. We did think the food was excellent, but the mahi-mahi could not have been more than 3 oz and it was served over a tiny scoop of rice.

Oh, I should add we spent a small fortune on bottled water that night, but that was our fault, we should have asked for tap.