If you could eat at one signature...

sam_rogers

painting with all the colours of the wind
Joined
Feb 26, 2008
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Dh and I are going for 2 weeks in September and will be celebrating our 30th birthdays and 3rd wedding anniversary (only our anniversary is in September but hey we're at wdw, let's celebrate everything!!). I didn't think a signature would fit in to our budget but I think I might be able to save enough to have a surprise booking for dh. If you could pick one signature restaurant to dine at, what would you choose?
For a bit of info, dh and I aren't fussy eaters, he's not a massive fan of seafood but if there's a bit of choice on the menu he's happy. The only one that's not an option is V&A... As much as I would like to dine there! As an FYI, our other reservations are kona breakfast, art smiths, raglan Road and grand Floridian cafe dinners. We aren't on dining plan. Looking forward to seeing your recommendations :thumbsup2
 
I would pick California Grill. It's wonderful to watch the fireworks and they really do celebrations nice. Even if you can't get a reservation at the fireworks time, if you go for an early dinner and save your receipt you can go back up and watch the fireworks from the observation area.
 
We've only eaten at a few signatures, but we LOVED Narcossees. It was quiet and the view was nice looking out over the lake. The food was fantastic - especially that almond crusted cheesecake desert.
 
bluezoo, Shula's, Jiko, Tiffins, CG but only for the Brunch at the Top. Our last couple of trips we have found the other Signatures to be more or less disappointing. The menus seem to be trending on the safer side, with none of them having a dish that really stands out. Don't get me wrong, the food is still better than most other TS restaurants, but the mundane menus and higher prices was, as I said, disappointing.
 

We usually do one signature a trip and our last two trips it's been Tiffins. If you do the ROL dining package you can even save money (it's pretty easy to get above the $67 package price with app/entree/dessert).
 
We've eaten at most of the signature restaurants before and we are dining at Tiffins on my 40th birthday this year.

I picked it because I have not dined there yet, the reviews seem to be pretty good and with the River's of Light dining package, you get your choice of appetizer, main course, dessert and non-alcoholic beverage for only $67.00/person. I thought it was a decent value.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en_CA/dining/animal-kingdom/rivers-of-light-dining-package/
 
Tiffins! The Rivers of Light dining package would be an added bonus. I'm here to recommend the passion fruit dessert again, but everything was very delicious. The iced tea is even especially good iced tea. :woohoo:
 
Most Signatures are solid to very good. . .most nights--any restaurant has off nights. Depends on your mood.

Celebratory
CA Grill - While the Brunch is a better meal, you'd have to go on a Sunday during the day. The dinner fits more into the lines of celebrating something/someone special. It has a certain buzz and energy to it and, of course, there are the fireworks later that night or while you're there if you can manage the right ADR.

Relaxed elegance
Jiko - Typically, some of the best food and service on property. While the menu looks exotic, it's not terribly so if you actually break it down to what's being served: beef, boar (which is just a pig, essentially), potatoes, et. al. The herbs and spices are a little different, but not so much that it should offend most tastes.

Romantic
Artist Point - Tucked away at the lovely WL, it's one of the easier Signature ADRs to secure. Quiet, serene ambiance, perfect for a couple wishing to celebrate each other. After dinner, you can stroll the lush grounds of the Lodge and listen to crickets while lanterns are flickering. Stop by Geyser Point for an after dinner drink, and you can see parts of the MK fireworks from there, too--and they pipe in the music!

Wild Card
BiCE - You'd have to drive or ride the 15 minutes or so to the Dark Side, but this Italian eatery is upscale and downright delicious. It's located at the Portofino Hotel and well worth the effort to get there. It's not pretentiously good; the chefs have a sure hand on classic dishes, and their osso buco is one of top two I've ever eaten. Highly recommended.
 
My pick, in this case, would be California Grill. Though it doesn't have the best food out of the signatures, IMHO, the view is amazing!

For food and a quieter, more romantic atmosphere I would pick Artist Point, which is my favorite signature in WDW!
 
Jiko is by far our favorite restaurant at Disney, and perhaps even outside of "the world!" A very special dining experience with just amazing flavor combinations and top notch service. We loved it so much we went twice last trip!

Also had a great experience celebrating our anniversary at Narcoossee's - food was delicious and we had a window table that gave us a perfect view of the fireworks and electrical water pageant. A night to remember for sure!
 
I would eat at Narcoossee's. Have eaten there multiple times and love the food and service, plus you can see the fireworks at MK from there. Eating there again in November and can't wait.
 
Most are pretty good, I've had off nights at some so won't be going back to them just because there are so many to choose from there is no reason to repeat.

Tiffins - by far one of our favorite TS restaurants on site, it's just about the only one we repeat at least once a year. We have never had a bad experience there, service is always good to excellent and food is always good. Bonus is going to Nomad Lounge before dinner and getting a drink. We like to sit at the bar because the bartenders are always good.

Flying Fish - this is one we won't be repeating for a while. We started our night at Abacadabar and the service there was great. We moved on to Flying Fish for dinner and the service was close to the worst we have had on property. The food was good, really good but our server just wasn't doing well. The hostess had mentioned the specials when she sat us, just in passing not in detail and when it came time to order the server didn't mention them, I had to ask. He was slow between every course, to the point where my son and I ended up sitting there and making up stories about the picture by our table, which was fun but a 1 hour meal at best took us close to 2 just because of the slow service. The odd part was he was the same server for the table behind us and did a much better job with them, I'm not sure if it was because they were a bigger table and he was hoping for a bigger tip from them or what.

Hollywood Brown Derby - another of our favorites, although lately we have just been getting lunch at the outside lounge. We love the atmosphere inside and have never had a bad meal or service there. It can get loud since it's a big space so probably not the best place for romance.

Chef Paul's - Another one and done for us. We made a late ADR there one night, we made the ADR during the day while walking around, I think it was for around 8 or 8:30. We had to wait about 30 min. to be seated, we were seated in a booth type table where we could see the fws later on. There was a family next to us with 2 smallish kids. Our server wasn't the greatest, she tended to pay more attention to the family since the kids were tired and a little whinny and a couple of times would come check on them, see our water glasses were empty or our plates done and just ignore us. The noise level was pretty high since it's a small space. Our food was o.k. not great but not bad. I think with drinks and dessert with coffee, our meal came close to $200 and we felt for that price the service and food should have been higher.

Jikos - Another one and done for us. Again the bar was great and in hindsight we should have just eaten there. The service was o.k. the food o.k., neither bad nor great. One of my complaints was that both my son and I ordered a wine flight, he a red, me a white. When the flight came, my white flight actually had two of the same red's his had and only one white. Say what? Who gets two heavy reds in a white flight and it would have been nice had the server mentioned that when we ordered. I wouldn't have ordered a flight had he since I'm not a fan of heavy reds. Again for almost over $150 for an entre and wine flights each, we didn't feel it was worth it. Neither of us got appetizers since we had that at the bar and we were just so disappointed we didn't order dessert either.

California Grill - great experience here. Our ADR (again made the same day and for later in the night) was around 9:30. We got there around the time the FWs started at MK and since it was before our ADR expected to wait at the bar but we were seated. It was loud, I'm talking you couldn't hear a word loud. Our table did face the MK so we could see them but it was loud and got even louder when everyone who had been out on the deck came back in after the show. It did calm down about 5 min. after everyone came in. Our server was great, his recommendations were spot on, they don't do wine pairings or flights but he offered to do a pairing for me if I would trust him and it was spot on. The food was very good. I think our bill was between $200 and $250 when it was all said and done and that was with TIW discount but it was worth it and we would eat there again.

We have eaten at both Mexican restaurants at Epcot. Chef de France, Le Cellier, the hibatchi at Japan, both restaurants at Morocco and Rose and Crown, some were good some o.k. some we wouldn't go back to but I don't think any are worth a special meal. We have also eaten at Sanaa, which was by far our worst meal we have ever had on property in over 30 years of going - bad food and bad service - but even had we had a good experience it probably isn't somewhere to go for a special meal.
 
Thanks for your advice everyone! I'm a bit spoiled for choice here, I think I've narrowed it down to jiko, tiffins, narcosees, cg and artist point.. That's still a hell of a list :rotfl:
 
For my wife and I, we have been to WDW for multiple birthdays and a few anniversaries. When we look for a signature restaurant to celebrate, we look for a place that is romantic, quiet, and has excellent food. For those reasons, this is why we celebrate at the following restaurants:

Monsieur Paul ---- The staff is excellent yet very French. To many Americans, they might appear "rough around the edges" but if you find something to talk about, they are very enjoyable to talk to and extremely helpful and full of information. Our first time there, the waiter was very quiet and short with his responses but then my wife asked him about the breads and mentioned that she makes our breads at home. Wow....he quickly had a huge smile on his face and became very cheerful. Near the end of dinner, he pulled up a chair and we all talked about different types of breads. The food on all three visits is excellent and the atmosphere is quiet and romantic. They also have an excellent wine list. On one dining, we mentioned it was my wife's birthday and our anniversary so they sat us at a window table. I had purposely booked a late dining time and we were able to very Illumination from our table. They also presented us with a special dessert for our anniversary.

Artist Point ---- The food is excellent and cooked properly no matter if it is the cedar plank salmon, venison, buffalo strip loin or the filet mignon. We also love the artisan cheese board. For one anniversary, they surprised us with glasses of champagne at the beginning of dinner to toast for our anniversary and after dinner we got chocolate-covered strawberries. For us, this is one of the most romantic restaurants on Disney property. We typically eat later (around 7:30 - 8:00 or later) on vacation so when we dine, there are usually not many kids around, the lights are turned down, and staff don't rush you. If we are doing a celebration Disney trip, this restaurant is always on the list or if we just want a romantic dinner during our trip, then we go here.

Le Cellier ---- This is a very popular restaurant but like I mentioned earlier, we typically eat later so most of the crowd at this restaurant is usually adults out for a quiet romantic dinner. We have never had a bad meal here. On our last celebration, the staff even signed a birthday card for my wife and as we were one of the last guests to leave the restaurant, the staff (including the chef) came out to wish my wife a happy birthday. That went above and beyond making that dining experience that much more magical.

IMHO (or IOHO....in our humble opinion), California Grill is so overrated with good food (NOT great) and that the only thing it has going for it is the view. It was very noisy including the bar area. It was not a quiet romantic restaurant as all the other signature dining restaurants (except The Hollywood Brown Derby, which is why we don't eat there either) are. The food was just okay but nothing to "write home" about. I have had better sushi at Kona Island. I think the only thing it has going for it is the view to watch the fireworks but then again you can find great other great views at 'Ohana or the beach of the Polynesian Village. If you take the view out of the picture, California Grill would not be a signature restaurant and I am sure that most people wouldn't love it as much as they do. We were there in 2013 and I understand that they have changed head chef's since then. I have also been told to ask for the Monterey Room if we ever go back as it is quieter than the main dining room. I want to give it another try but my wife also wasn't very impressed with it on the first time. I know there are a lot of people that rant and rave about the California Grill but to us, it is the most overrated signature restaurant at WDW. When you look at the signature restaurants throughout WDW, they are all quiet romantic couple restaurants and for us, California Grill is the furtherest from that.
 
My two cents.... I would do California Grill. I think all those other restaurants are great but there is something about CG that feels more celebratory. Its also so perfectly Disney!

PS - I would swing by the Tiffins lounge for a drink when you need some downtime at AK.
 


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