Is it just me, or are the dinner menus "fancy"?

[Mermaid_Ariel]

I'm browsing through dinner menus trying to find some more casual dinner options. My fiance and I wanted to have dinner at CRT but was disappointed to see that it was a little too "fancy" for me.

I guess I'm used to eating sandwiches and eating at restaurants like Fridays and Houlihans. I don't like seafood and I guess I just prefer casual dishes, I tend to make a lot of chicken and pasta at home. I'm a cheap date!

I'd still like to have a nice sit-down dinner with my fiance but now I don't know where to go. Any thoughts?

 

[2forMe]

Well I would try some of the restaurants in Epcot.. CRT is certainly a fancier meal.. but try Raglan Road, Biergartern..,Yacht Club galley is also nice.. but not too fancy

 

[Quinn222]

I'm browsing through dinner menus trying to find some more casual dinner options. My fiance and I wanted to have dinner at CRT but was disappointed to see that it was a little too "fancy" for me.

I guess I'm used to eating sandwiches and eating at restaurants like Fridays and Houlihans. I don't like seafood and I guess I just prefer casual dishes, I tend to make a lot of chicken and pasta at home. I'm a cheap date!

I'd still like to have a nice sit-down dinner with my fiance but now I don't know where to go. Any thoughts?

In the MK The Plaza would be a perfect choice for you. Close by the Grand Floridian Cafe might suit you as well.

 

[pugluver31902]

I went to CRT with my husband, and ate off the childrens menu. I paid for an adult meal so I wasnt trying to be cheap or anything, the food just didnt suit my taste and I wanted the experiance. The waiter was really understanding and even brought me an adult size portion. Lol. I had a cheese platter, chicken fingers and mashed potatoes, and then a HUGE ice cream sundae with a choclate princess crown on top. I loved it!

 

[helenabear]

I do understand where you are coming from. I am not a "fancy" eater myself and we normally do not sit down for dinner because of that (only lunch). I agree that the Plaza is a great restaurant. Some of the buffets are good as well (Crystal Palace, Chef Mickey's). I also love Marrakesh. It looks fancy, but it really isn't all that exotic or anything like that. Though I usually go for lunch for the cheaper prices

 

[Eeyore2003]

We are basic home grown down to earth nothing strange type of eaters. We have tried many of the restaurants at Disney World. These are our favorites

NOT TO BE MISSED
Artist Point
OK, expensive and fancy, but if you want one VERY nice meal, this would be my recommendation.
We usually get the Cedar Plank Salmon and Berry Cobbler, but have also tried the Pork Chop, Tenderloin and Chicken, all very good. You can also "mix and match" sides if you want. My husband loves the sweet potatoes, so he gets them, I'll usually get what comes with the meal. But ask for the fingerling potatoes or mac and cheese sidedish instead if you'd like.

Grand Floridian Cafe
We love this place. We've tried all kinds of food here. Great atmosphere, not overly expensive, excellent food and service. Our not to be missed here is the Chocolate Fondue YUM!!!

Wolfgang Puck Cafe
Here I get the Pumpkin Ravioli with grilled chicken and my husband gets the Macadamia Nut Crusted Chicken. The Carrot Cake is excellent here too.

OTHER GOOD ONES WE GO TO
Olivia's
We had the best prime rib here last time. Also love this place for breakfast. Have tried many things here, always good, family atmosphere, great prices.

The Plaza
Great fresh sandwiches. We think this is the best restaurant at Magic Kingdom. Nothing fancy, but we've tried all of them in Magic Kingdom except Tony's and would eat here.

Big River Grille and Brewing Company
We like this place for a nice hamburger and beer. I'd limit it to that. We've tried the meatloaf and didn't care for it, but their chicken we did.

Yachtclub Galley
Nice breakfast brunch. Nothing HUGE like the character meals, but excellent food, nice atmosphere and great service. You can get the brunch or order off the menu. Also good for dinners at a good price.

Chefs de France
Very good food, sounds fancy, but it's pretty basic and well prepared.

Rose and Crown
This is a nice restaurant for a good price.

Sci Fi
We like this for lunch. We get a shake and sandwich. Cute atmosphere.

Fresh at the Dolphin
Good for breakfast.

For counter service, we haven't tried as many, but we did like Earl of Sandwich and Tusker House (excellent), although I'm not sure when this meal will be changing to a character meal, too bad!!! You can also get a nice sandwich at the Bakeri at Norway.

Our favorite character meals would be Chef Mickey and the Castle

PLACES WE WILL NOT RETURN TO
Jiko
Boma
Raglan Road
Mama Melrose
Brown Derby
Cape May Cafe Clam Bake
Nine Dragons
Liberty Tree Tavern (basic food but not prepared well)
Le Cellier (used to be our favorite, but it's gone down hill, horrible service and the food is no where near the quality of Artist Point in our opinion, not worth the hassle)
Ohanas (meat was good, and we'd go back if kids wanted to do the coconut races, but we didn't care for the sides here)


I'm not one to mention things we haven't eaten at, but the menu looks pretty good and basic and we'll be trying the Turf Club in November. We'll see. It's gotten good reviews, but I don't go based on that too much anymore. Different strokes for different folks.

 

[dunbarfamily]

We're much in the same boat. I don't eat seafood (though my dh does) and we eat pretty simple. Chicken, pasta, hamburger, pork chops, etc.

I like it when we get free dining because it allows me to try some "fanicer" stuff, though most of the time I'd be happier with just a plain ol' burger!

We will try some of the suggestions in this thread for our Jan trip. Thanks!

 

[JennyMominRI]

We're much in the same boat. I don't eat seafood (though my dh does) and we eat pretty simple. Chicken, pasta, hamburger, pork chops, etc.

I like it when we get free dining because it allows me to try some "fanicer" stuff, though most of the time I'd be happier with just a plain ol' burger!

We will try some of the suggestions in this thread for our Jan trip. Thanks!

Honestly, a lot of the food is not as fancy as it sounds...Sometimes a steak is just a steak KWIM?
I mean you can put Cheeseburger and fries on the menu or you can put.
Gound sirloin in a patty, placed on french roll, topped with imported Emmentaller cheese and garnished with Heirloom Tomatoes and fresh greens.
Served with sliced , yukon gold potatoes, fried in olive oil , imported from the Tuscan region of Italy.
Either way it's still a cheeseburger and fries

 

[helenabear]

I forgot to mention... Beaches and Cream! They are great for sitting down and just getting a sandwich. My DH loves the burgers there. ESPN club as well is good.

 

[JennyMominRI]

I forgot to mention... Beaches and Cream! They are great for sitting down and just getting a sandwich. My DH loves the burgers there. ESPN club as well is good.

ESPN's wings ,fries and nachos are the reason I went on a diet the day I came home....Good stuff

 

[followme2disney]

I don't like "fancy" too much either. I do however love Cape May and 'Ohana. We have gone 2-3 times a year for the past couple years. YUM!

 

[solferino]

50's PTC is mostly comfort-type food IMO. Love the atmosphere there.

Dinner at Garden Grill in epcot is good too.

LTT dinner is basic food, but I don't think it's anything wonderful. We probably won't go back.

I hear what you;re saying about the dinner at CRT. Would lunch be another option for you?

 

[Family Fun Mom]

We are not fancy eaters either. One of our favorite meals from our trip was Whispering Canyon at the Wilderness Lodge. Good old fashioned meat and potatos, BBQ, and bottomless milkshakes. Yum, yum, yummy! It has a fun atmosphere, too.

 

[Mermaid_Ariel]

Thank you SO much for all the responses! I've been looking at the menus at some of the suggested places and this has really been helpful. I thought I was weird for posting this topic.

pugluver31902 - I think that's a fantastic idea to order off the children's menu and pay the adult fee, I'm either going to do that or maybe go for lunch. Although, I still think I would prefer the chicken fingers! LOL! I'm really a burger and fries kinda gal.

 

[missmun52]

Honestly, a lot of the food is not as fancy as it sounds...Sometimes a steak is just a steak KWIM?
I mean you can put Cheeseburger and fries on the menu or you can put.
Gound sirloin in a patty, placed on french roll, topped with imported Emmentaller chese and Ganrished with heiloom tomatoes and greens.
Served with sliced fried yukon gold potatoes, fried in olive oil ,from the Tuscan region of Italy.
Either way it's still a cheeseburger and fries

There are not many things on here that make me really laugh out loud but this did and it is sooooo true!!

 

[dunbarfamily]

Honestly, a lot of the food is not as fancy as it sounds...Sometimes a steak is just a steak KWIM?
I mean you can put Cheeseburger and fries on the menu or you can put.
Gound sirloin in a patty, placed on french roll, topped with imported Emmentaller cheese and garnished with Heirloom Tomatoes and fresh greens.
Served with sliced , yukon gold potatoes, fried in olive oil , imported from the Tuscan region of Italy.
Either way it's still a cheeseburger and fries

Very true!
Thanks for putting this in perspective.

 

[JohnathanS]

Generally speaking, I have the opposite reaction to most of the dinner menus. For the prices they charge, I am usually looking for something I can't get at home. If I can get it at Applebee's then I don't want it at my sitdown meal at Disney. But I am an adventurous eater as well as a competent cook myself. The signature restaurants seem to be the "fanciest" while most of the standard table services (the ones that require only 1 TS credit) are pretty straightforward. But even the signature restaurants have dishes that will appeal to more conventional tastes. You shouldn't have a problem at all.

 

[pugluver31902]

Thank you SO much for all the responses! I've been looking at the menus at some of the suggested places and this has really been helpful. I thought I was weird for posting this topic.

pugluver31902 - I think that's a fantastic idea to order off the children's menu and pay the adult fee, I'm either going to do that or maybe go for lunch. Although, I still think I would prefer the chicken fingers! LOL! I'm really a burger and fries kinda gal.

My husband pretty much thought I was nuts when I could have the choice of "blah blah blah served with something I couldnt pronounce and vegetables" Lol. If I cant picture it, I dont want to be eating it. The chicken fingers were great! F.Y.I. You can order off the childrens menu anywhere as long as you pay the adult fee. My hubby and I went to the Aloha Dinner show, but the menu again was just not food that I really like. I asked the waiter if it would be an inconvience if I ate off the childrens menu (there is no menu, they just bring the food to your table) and he told me "not at all". He brought me an all you can eat plate of chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, mini hotdogs and fruit, and then let me have the adult dessert. I enjoyed the show and really enjoyed the food!

 

[Evil Genius]

Honestly, a lot of the food is not as fancy as it sounds...Sometimes a steak is just a steak KWIM?
I mean you can put Cheeseburger and fries on the menu or you can put.
Gound sirloin in a patty, placed on french roll, topped with imported Emmentaller cheese and garnished with Heirloom Tomatoes and fresh greens.
Served with sliced , yukon gold potatoes, fried in olive oil , imported from the Tuscan region of Italy.
Either way it's still a cheeseburger and fries

Jenny, if I ever open a restaurant will you write my menu?

Seriously, She has a point some of it is all wording.

I would say try Rose and Crown or the Plaza.

Have a great trip!

 

[New_DIS]

I'm browsing through dinner menus trying to find some more casual dinner options. My fiance and I wanted to have dinner at CRT but was disappointed to see that it was a little too "fancy" for me.

I guess I'm used to eating sandwiches and eating at restaurants like Fridays and Houlihans. I don't like seafood and I guess I just prefer casual dishes, I tend to make a lot of chicken and pasta at home. I'm a cheap date!

I'd still like to have a nice sit-down dinner with my fiance but now I don't know where to go. Any thoughts?

Your diet sounds exactly like mine, chicken and pasta but always PLAIN! I ate at CRT. I had the cheese tortellini but I only ate the tortelini (none of the veggies mixed in). I didn't like any of the appetizers or desserts so they brought me chicken noodle soup and a sundae off of the children's menu.

Don't skip restaurants you really want to experience because of the menu. They will always bring you an adult portion of a child's meal.