Hidden Gems of On Site Restaurants?

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

So we have been to WDW three times now and dare I say...not super excited about making upcoming ADRs due to the fact I feel we've tried out all the good/doable with 4 kids, restaurants. Here is where we have eaten...please tell me any others we should try out!!

Chef Mickey's - probably do yet again since the kids like it - food has always just been okay

1900 Park Fare - won't go again - food = yuck!

Ohana

Le Cellier

Coral Reef

Garden Grill

Sci-Fi

Crystal Palace

Liberty Tree Tavern

CRT - great experience but won't go back for the food

 

[vicki_c]

50s Prime Time Cafe in DHS is a favorite of ours. Also the Plaza in MK for casual eats.

 

[carrie1626]

50's Prime Time is alot of fun. And I like the Cape May Buffet at the Beach Club. Beautiful resort to look around especially if you walk outside .

 

[asdfghjkl13]

Loved Boma-- food was brilliant and the hotel (AKL) was great to visit.

 

[HomerHog]

Boma, Yak & Yeti, Biergarten, Tusker House breakfast

 

[Tiggr88]

50's Prime Time.

Not only is the entertainment good, but it offers different selections than most other restaurants at WDW. I believe the Pot Roast, Meatloaf and Fried Chicken are the three most popular. We have had the Pot Roast and Fried Chicken several times on enjoyed them each time.

Just be sure to eat all your veggies!!

Save some money and go for lunch. Its a nice way to break up the day at DHS as well.

 

[tkgdisney]

Via Napoli is very kid friendly and adult food is good too!

 

[jlcd]

Tusker House over Chef Mickeys if you are doing breakfast and want characters. We also like Kona and Teppan Edo. Kids love Hoop Dee Do. We are trying Sci Fi for lunch for the first time this year. We have friends that came back recently and loved Cape May and Grand Floridian Cafe.

 

[ajchambers1]

50's Prime Time Cafe is great if you have a good sense of humor. The Earl of Sandwich at Downtown Disney is fun too. My kids love Rainforest Cafe and T-Rex.

 

[baler31]

Not sure there really are any hidden gems but we enjoy: Flying Fish, Citricos, The Plaza, 50's PT, LTT(lunch menu only), and BlueZoo.

 

[homedad]

we loved Jiko. FF and Spoodles last trip when kids were 6 and 8. My younger DD not very adventures but older DS will eat and try anything.....but even at the more exotic restaurants the kids don't get many authentic options

 

[mitchwebb]

Hoop De Doo - food ok kids loved the show

The Plaza Restaurant- nice lunch spot for kids and parents to put their feet up

Teppan Edo - kids loved watching the chef. We shared meals.

Sushi bar outside of Kona - Took dinner down to the beach to watch Electrical Water Pageant

Rainforest at Animal Kingdom - some people do not like the food but we have our order down to what we all like and have never been disappointed.

Brown Derby - we enjoyed our lunch

Yatchmans Steak house - kids at Sandcastle *we only had two, four would be expensive

 

[WindFlower]

Whispering Canyon Cafe is great!

 

[bicker]

There are a lot of very well-regarded and popular restaurants, but hidden gems are by their very nature less well-known. I think The Wave is probably the best example. It is overshadowed by the California Grill up above, but I have found The Wave to be just as rewarding a dining experience.

It used to be that Maya Grill would fall into this category. It's so far off the beaten track for folks not staying at CSR that it was surprising to find such a great restaurant there. Unfortunately, Maya Grill has changed a lot since it opened, and is no longer good enough to be called a "gem" imho.

I think Seasons (at the Disney Institute) may also have qualified, but that was a while ago.

 

[BoomNLeon]

We have had several good lunches and dinners at Turf Club at SSR. It might be worth a visit.

 

[NJEeyore]

Also have triplets. First trip when they were 3, 10 family trips since. 4 more trips w/o kids for business or wknd getaway. Just looking at OP list of favs, IMHO, I think you need to expand your horizons a bit, get a little adventurous. HDDR is a must for family fun. Food just ok but experience is the best. Look at Epcot, Teppan Edo, R&C have been good with the kids. Did Boma, when kids were maybe 10yr and they found enough to eat. If you kids need characters that changes restaurant situation. By the time mine were 11 the character thing was over for them(not DW), so food and experience took top spot. It would appear you have some more time to go with that so maybe the dining experience needs to take a back seat for a little while longer.
One more thing my kids hated both WCC and PrimeTime Cafe. They didn't get the 50's TV theme thing, Thought CMs were just weird. At WCC didn't get CMs as funny they took it as rude and loud. But thats just us.

 

[ChattyKathyinMI]

50's Prime Time Cafe is great--make sure to try the S'mores!

Jiko is good.

 

[nolanboys]

Kids loved Teppan Eddo, Chefs de France and Garden Grill. Brown Derby is hit or miss. Had one great meal there and one so so.

 

[Vickis3js]

My kids LOVE WCC! We did Christmas breakfast there this year and the kids are still talking about it. The staff had us rolling. It was great. Food wasn't amazing but it was good and the atmosphere and the staff made the meal.

HDDR is another one of my kids favs but it is $$$

Tusker House breakfast was one of our fav character buffets this past meal as well.

Kona was also a big hit with my kids. They loved the Kona kone!

We seemed to be trying the same things over and over so we decided to try all the restaurants in WDW for all the meals offered. I made a list of all the TS and CS restaurants in WDW and we cross them off as we do them. I even color coded them for if we will return to it or not. Makes our trips a little more interesting but planning a lot harder!

 

[JennyMP03]

California Grill was my favorite dining experience. I had the best filet mignon, and we were able to watch Wishes from our table. Unforgettable! I'd recommend it to anyone.

DH and I also loved Boma. AKL has a great atmosphere and the food choices are interesting. I'm a picky eater, but I found plenty to eat there, so I wouldn't worry too much about the kids.