Is the food really that bad?

[honeydiane1953]

Although Carrabba's is a chain it is sooo good.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

I've seen some reviews where people compare the steak at LeCellier to Outback. Come on... Outback's sirloin steaks are tough and chewy like rubber (at least where we live). Le Cellier wasn't the best steak I've had but certainly better than Outback. Either people have a better Outback where they live... or there's some negative exaggeration going on...

Well, an Outback sirloin is going to run you about $15, while one at Le Cellier is $30 plus. It's simply misleading to state that Disney restaurants are on a quality level to local restaurants at a similar price, at least compared to the restaurants in Atlanta.

 

[vicki_c]

Well, an Outback sirloin is going to run you about $15, while one at Le Cellier is $30 plus. It's simply misleading to state that Disney restaurants are on a quality level to local restaurants at a similar price, at least compared to the restaurants in Atlanta.

I don't think that's what he was saying - just saying that Le Cellier was better than Outback (and I would agree with that). In fact, my example way up in the thread was about Le Cellier vs. a very good local steakhouse we have in which I said for the same price as Le Cellier I could have a much better steak locally.

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

I think the signatures deserve their status too. By the way, Citricos and Flying Fish are awesome.

And the reviews don't always favor Brown Derby but we had 2 excellent meals there earlier this month (lunch and dinner on 2 different days). The appetizers were great and very interesting. Even just a cobb salad was incredible.

I'm sure bad experiences can happen but it's hard for me to imagine complaining about the signatures unless someone's basis for comparison is really fine dining at home. But they would be paying more $$$ too. When we are at home, dining out usually means the local cafe or pizza! I live in a major metro area and dining out here is every bit as expensive as Disney. That's why we don't go out much! So dining at Disney is a real treat.

I've seen some reviews where people compare the steak at LeCellier to Outback. Come on... Outback's sirloin steaks are tough and chewy like rubber (at least where we live). Le Cellier wasn't the best steak I've had but certainly better than Outback. Either people have a better Outback where they live... or there's some negative exaggeration going on...

And I agree with others, there's only a few I'd rank among the chain restaurants like Applebees or Olive Garden. And even Tony's is better than those chains. I won't even eat at places like Applebees.

Well, I agreed with your last post but take great exception here.

FF & Citrico's may be awesome to you but I'm here to tell you that they are but a shadow of what they once were. So am I to just shut up about my knowledge? When Chef John was at FF there was no restaurant on property better. Today? It's good. Maybe very good on occasion but nothing and I mean NOTHING compared to what it was.

Brown Derby? The Cobb is good but I've had better and some of them have been at the Brown Derby.

Complaining about the 'Signature's' is easy. Just compare them to other five star restaurants in your area. The WDW restaurants just don't stand up.

You must have a really lousy Outback because Le Cellier is absolutely no better than ANY Outback I've ever been to. Ever. Sorry but that's the way it is for me.

And for the life of me I can't understand how you could eat at Tony's and not eat at Appleby's. Appleby's is way more consistent than Tony's.

 

[wcpamotm]

There is bad food to be found at WDW (last trip, I found mine at 1900 Park Fare), but mostly it's just been dumbed down a lot over the last 5-10 years.

The food may be good (or in a few cases, very good), or may be mediocre, but it will likely be not as good as it would have been 10 years ago.

The menu selection is likely to be narrower, although this is not necessarily a bad thing as I'd rather a restaurant do a few things really well than to serve mediocre food from a menu that's all over the map. Not every Disney restaurant has benefitted from doing this though.

It has truly become a pain to eat at table service restaurants because you need to know up to 6 months in advance where you want to eat, or you may not get an ADR for where you want. (How quaint are the Unofficial Guides from 20 years ago which commented on how much trouble it was to eat at a World Showcase restaurant, because you actually had to make a reservation as you entered the park!)

And as with WDW as a whole, the prices have gone up much faster than inflation as a whole. I understand and am OK with a resort premium, but (for example) was it really necessary for Biergarten's prices to increase from $19 to $33 in the last ten years? (Source: Unofficial Guide)

A first-timer perhaps should not care about any of that, save for ADRs. Just look for menus which sound appealling, go in with lower expectations but an open mind, and allow yourself to be surprised!

ps. Oddly enough, on the last WDW trip, we had dinner with my sister's family at Outback - and it was much better than I remembered Outback being.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

Well, I agreed with your last post but take great exception here.

FF & Citrico's may be awesome to you but I'm here to tell you that they are but a shadow of what they once were. So am I to just shut up about my knowledge? When Chef John was at FF there was no restaurant on property better. Today? It's good. Maybe very good on occasion but nothing and I mean NOTHING compared to what it was.

Brown Derby? The Cobb is good but I've had better and some of them have been at the Brown Derby.

Complaining about the 'Signature's' is easy. Just compare them to other five star restaurants in your area. The WDW restaurants just don't stand up.

You must have a really lousy Outback because Le Cellier is absolutely no better than ANY Outback I've ever been to. Ever. Sorry but that's the way it is for me.

And for the life of me I can't understand how you could eat at Tony's and not eat at Appleby's. Appleby's is way more consistent than Tony's.

No offense intended... I hear that the signatures used to be even better. I wish I could step back in time and try them. Honestly, we don't do much fine dining at home, certainly not 5 star restaurants for a few reasons mostly because of the cost. But there are some less formal restaurants around Baltimore that have really good food.

Outback is really bad here, even when the steak is cooked medium or less. It's just tough to cut, harder to chew. Now, we have another chain called Texas Roadhouse... and for the same price, MUCH better than Outback. Le Cellier was about equal to a Texas Roadhouse. I don't even like steak in a restaurant... to me it's just plain... I usually order seafood. DW still says California Grill has the best filet. If I want steak, I prefer to buy a good cut and cook it myself. Now, open pit beef cooked slowly and basted.... I'd pay money for that more than any steak in a restaurant.

Only been to Tony's once in 2008. It was a decent meal, but only went there once. Didn't go back because we wanted to go to Liberty Tree Tavern instead in 2009... and Crystal Palace is a must do for us. For dinner, there are better places in the resorts or Epcot.

We really don't do the chains at home anymore because there are so many independent cafes and restaurants that are just so much better. And I'd rather support local businesses anyway.

Now, I'd really like to see what Victoria and Alberts is like at the Grand Floridian... I'm just afraid that fancy food like that would be wasted on my common taste buds! But one year for a special occasion, I'd like to go.

 

[vicki_c]

Hey DisneyFamily123 - just realized we are from the same neck of the woods - maybe that's why we seem to agree! Happy dining in any case!

 

[larryz]

But many here defend the mediocre food because Disney is a business, because they can get away with it, because it's just theme park food or worse because they actually think it's top notch.

Interesting point, but every restaurant I've ever dined in also was a business, was the only restaurant I was in at the time, and whether or not "they" thought it was "top notch," I generally enjoyed it.

If not, I walked out, and that always remains an option at Disney.

 

[Tara]

Complaining about the 'Signature's' is easy. Just compare them to other five star restaurants in your area. The WDW restaurants just don't stand up.

Now this is where I take exception. If we're really talking about 5-star restaurants, then I think it's unfair to compare Disney restaurants to any 5-star establishment, save V&A. There are what - 50? 55? 5-star restaurants in this country. No signature restaurant at Disney even pretends to be 5-star IMO. There are certainly plenty of lackluster Disney restaurants, and some good ones and a small handful of very good ones (and one great one), but if we are to compare Coral Reef or Liberty Tree Tavern or The Turf Club to French Laundry or The Inn at Little Washington...or to Victoria & Albert's, for that matter, then Disney chefs might as well throw in their aprons. I don't mind when people lend a critical eye (or palate, as the case may be) to Disney dining in general, but it should at least be a fair one.

You must have a really lousy Outback because Le Cellier is absolutely no better than ANY Outback I've ever been to. Ever. Sorry but that's the way it is for me.

I've been to Outback 3 times in 3 different states. Each time the food was horrid. I've been to Le Cellier probably 3 times in 12 years, most recently spring of 2009. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of my steak. It certainly isn't worth the hype it receives, but it is far and away better than Outback in my experience.

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

No offense intended... I hear that the signatures used to be even better. I wish I could step back in time and try them. Honestly, we don't do much fine dining at home, certainly not 5 star restaurants for a few reasons mostly because of the cost. But there are some less formal restaurants around Baltimore that have really good food.

Outback is really bad here, even when the steak is cooked medium or less. It's just tough to cut, harder to chew. Now, we have another chain called Texas Roadhouse... and for the same price, MUCH better than Outback. Le Cellier was about equal to a Texas Roadhouse. I don't even like steak in a restaurant... to me it's just plain... I usually order seafood. DW still says California Grill has the best filet. If I want steak, I prefer to buy a good cut and cook it myself. Now, open pit beef cooked slowly and basted.... I'd pay money for that more than any steak in a restaurant.

Only been to Tony's once in 2008. It was a decent meal, but only went there once. Didn't go back because we wanted to go to Liberty Tree Tavern instead in 2009... and Crystal Palace is a must do for us. For dinner, there are better places in the resorts or Epcot.

We really don't do the chains at home anymore because there are so many independent cafes and restaurants that are just so much better. And I'd rather support local businesses anyway.

Now, I'd really like to see what Victoria and Alberts is like at the Grand Floridian... I'm just afraid that fancy food like that would be wasted on my common taste buds! But one year for a special occasion, I'd like to go.

I really appreciate that you're reading and understanding what I am saying.

I think you must have a really bad Outback near you because in my experiences Outback is just about the same as Texas Roadhouse for steak, maybe even better overall. So my experience at Outback is better than you and a couple other posters.

I agree with you about eating local if possible. Usually better and good for the local economy.

And I am with you on V&A's. I know it would be a great experience but fine french cuisine is kind of above my comfort level and at that price I haven't been willing to take the chance ... yet.

Tara, my use of hyperbole got the best of me. Certainly V&A's is the only truly 5 star possibility at Disney. I should have referred to it (more accurately) as 'fine dining'.

larry, there is nothing wrong with enjoying the Disney restaurants but people should be careful about describing them in such glowing terms that may cannote true 'fine dining' to other dis'ers. Again, the original premise of "Signature Dining" was the 'fine dining' demographic. Disney still refers to "Signature Dining" but it is no longer supported by Disney as it was originally.

 

[drenalin'junkie]

Reviews can be helpful but we find the food pix to be much more helpful along with the menu.Quite frankly with food being such a subjective subject it's difficult here on a long thread to get a concensus most times.Not to offend anyone specifically but my mother and MIL used the same phrase a lot"some peoples taste is all in their mouth and sometime not even there"Not everyone has a palate or experience enough to know good food they simply like what they like and that's it.

We have rarely been disappointed(Tutto)but Disfood is for the most part priced as to relative quality with a few delightful gems(Kouzzina)who's food is far better than the price would indicate.Food is not as good as it was nor could be but it is still for the most part pretty good if you go in informed.

 

[Tricia1972]

larry, there is nothing wrong with enjoying the Disney restaurants but people should be careful about describing them in such glowing terms that may cannote true 'fine dining' to other dis'ers. Again, the original premise of "Signature Dining" was the 'fine dining' demographic. Disney still refers to "Signature Dining" but it is no longer supported by Disney as it was originally.

I definitely agree with this! My first two trips after I found the DIS were filled with many dining disappointments because I put too much weight into the reviews/opinions of others.

In my experience, expectation can have a lot to do with experience. One example is the fried chicken at Mama Melrose. I'd heard so many reviews that this was the best fried chicken ever. It was fine fried chicken, but a bit of a let down when you're going in expecting amazing things from fried chicken, the tonga toast made me sick to my stomach and so on.

After those two trips, we used the method bolded below to help us find our sweet spot for Disney dining and are much happier. It helps that we go wtih more realistic expectations. The food is fine or good, but very rarely the best food ever (exception is V&A, where I did have some of the best food that I've ever had).

Reviews can be helpful but we find the food pix to be much more helpful along with the menu.Quite frankly with food being such a subjective subject it's difficult here on a long thread to get a concensus most times.Not to offend anyone specifically but my mother and MIL used the same phrase a lot"some peoples taste is all in their mouth and sometime not even there"Not everyone has a palate or experience enough to know good food they simply like what they like and that's it.

We have rarely been disappointed(Tutto)but Disfood is for the most part priced as to relative quality with a few delightful gems(Kouzzina)who's food is far better than the price would indicate.Food is not as good as it was nor could be but it is still for the most part pretty good if you go in informed.

 

[eliza61]

I bought the deluxe dining plan for 12 days. This is our first trip and we will be staying at the Boardwalk. I keep reading all these posts about how bad the food is, and how it has gone downhill. Any suggestions on a good strategy to come away satisfied with the food. I'm a little discouraged by all the bad reviews I have read. I'm going to keep the deluxe dining plan because I don't wan't my hubby to freak out when he sees the prices. I have already checked out the menus on allears All of us our foodies. We love gourmet cooking even my 9 year old. Should we eat at mostly signatures. Those seem to have the best reviews. Any suggestions?

OK, this is just my personal opinion.

If you are a foodie, you will be disappointed.

The food is not horrible, it is edible but it cannot in no way be called gourmet. My standard answer is any time you go to a steak house (Le Cellier) and the best thing they talk about is the soup, that should be your clue.

It is primarily Olive garden, applebees quality.

I think your hubby hit on the primary frustration. It's outrageously expensive and the quality does not reflect the price.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

I don't think that's what he was saying - just saying that Le Cellier was better than Outback (and I would agree with that). In fact, my example way up in the thread was about Le Cellier vs. a very good local steakhouse we have in which I said for the same price as Le Cellier I could have a much better steak locally.

Apologies for any misunderstanding

 

[Planogirl]

I would agree that most of the food at WDW is about on the same level as Olive Garden or Applebee's. I personally don't even have a problem with eating lunch at those places under the right circumstances. I just find the prices way over-inflated at WDW even though I know that some of that is inevitable with it being a tourist destination. I also don't like the ADR hassle. It's way too hard to eat at WDW nowadays.

As for Outback, it's been a while since we've been but I had a nice piece of steak the last I was there. It seemed to be a decent place particularly for the price.

 

[larryz]

larry, there is nothing wrong with enjoying the Disney restaurants but people should be careful about describing them in such glowing terms that may cannote true 'fine dining' to other dis'ers. Again, the original premise of "Signature Dining" was the 'fine dining' demographic. Disney still refers to "Signature Dining" but it is no longer supported by Disney as it was originally.

I get what you're saying, but to my palate, the Disney signature dining designation is strictly a comparison to other Disney options.

Is Yachtsman anywhere close to a Fleming's? (That's a serious question -- I've not eaten at Yachtsman, but I can compare to HBD, which is quite good [for a Disney restaurant] but I have to say our local Fleming's is several notches above it).

 

[coopersmom]

Reviews can be helpful but we find the food pix to be much more helpful ...

Except that Disney, in my (admittedly limited) experience cares a LOT more about how the food looks, which is normally pretty good, but not so much how it tastes.

OK, this is just my personal opinion.

If you are a foodie, you will be disappointed.

The food is not horrible, it is edible but it cannot in no way be called gourmet. My standard answer is any time you go to a steak house (Le Cellier) and the best thing they talk about is the soup, that should be your clue.

It is primarily Olive garden, applebees quality.

I think your hubby hit on the primary frustration. It's outrageously expensive and the quality does not reflect the price.

Agree 1000 percent. I've been called a foodie, but I'm really more a home cooking gal. (I love to cook a lot myself and we eat about 98 percent of our meals at home.) When we do go out to eat, which is pretty rare (excepting when we travel and have no choice), it's usually true fine dining and, frankly, Disney doesn't even get close to that experience, except perhaps with prices.

This is big chain food all the way, AT BEST. Sometimes I would preferred a Chili's, frankly, and I never eat at Chili's if I can help it. I would have loved to find a P.F. Chang's or a Chipoltle. That would have been a big step up from what we had.

Really nothing we ate at the Disney dining was worth the calories in my book and Le Cellier seemed EXACTLY like Outback to me ... Perhaps my husband had slightly better plating on his sandwich (a little fancier), but at double or triple Outback prices, no, I'm not seeing it. The restaurant is noisy, the service we had was terrible and it's super-crowded. The famed pretzel bread was, 'Eh,' <shrug> (It's a stick-shaped mall pretzel with less flavor, served with butter). The food at Le Cellier was totally edible--good even after what else we'd had--but nothing was outstanding, or even close. I will say the exterior grounds/gardens around the restaurant are beautiful, even when it's 30 degrees out, but you don't need to eat there to enjoy them. With the closest Outback about a 3 min. drive from Disney property--making it only slightly less inconvenient for 1/3 the price--I truly can't imagine why anyone bothers.

I see again and again people say something along the lines of: but I live in a small town, we don't have restaurants, so we think it's really good, etc. Well, unless you live in an area literally removed from all civilization--the kind of place you drive 75 miles each way to get to the one Wal-Mart in the state--you DO have these types of restaurants. I guess if you live on drive-thru (and, yes, I know lots of people do) and frozen meals or Ramen noodles, and never bother to go to a restaurant with a waiter in your hometown, Disney dining might seem like a step up. But that's about the kindest thing I can say. If you want to eat on property to save time at the parks, then, yes, I can get that logic, but that's really the only reason to do over-priced, underwhelming Disney dining. (That, and I guess, character meals for the kids.)

I think if you do find the "free" dining plan to be your family's best discount, then I totally understand trying to find the best-of-the-worst in Disney dining options. The ones that are slightly better than others. But even if you love staying on Disney property, but do deluxe, or "free" dining isn't an option for whatever reason, I really think you'd be better off renting a cheap car and going off site for at least one meal a day. The food quality will be better, prices will drop more than enough to pay for a deal car and you won't have to decide six months in advance at what sub-par eatery you'd like to dine.

Victoria and Albert's is the exception. Also, as a total aside, when we went to V&A last month it was NOT French cuisine. It was really new American and, in my view, quite well done. I often find French fine dining way too rich for my palette. V&A was very high quality food, cooked and severed extremely well, which is kind of my dining sweet spot.

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

I get what you're saying, but to my palate, the Disney signature dining designation is strictly a comparison to other Disney options.

Is Yachtsman anywhere close to a Fleming's? (That's a serious question -- I've not eaten at Yachtsman, but I can compare to HBD, which is quite good [for a Disney restaurant] but I have to say our local Fleming's is several notches above it).

Got it.

IMO, Yachtsman's is a step below Flemings. Flemings would be more like Shula's. I think neither Flemings or Shula's serve actual "prime" beef but have their own specific criteria that may or may not equal prime depending on personal opinion I would guess.

Steak at WDW = Shula's UNLESS you are looking for the famous charred NY Strip at Flying Fish or the Buffalo steak at Artist Point. If your taste is filet mignon then it seems there are many choices (probably any of the Signatures).

 

[Colleen27]

No offense intended... I hear that the signatures used to be even better. I wish I could step back in time and try them. Honestly, we don't do much fine dining at home, certainly not 5 star restaurants for a few reasons mostly because of the cost. But there are some less formal restaurants around Baltimore that have really good food.

Outback is really bad here, even when the steak is cooked medium or less. It's just tough to cut, harder to chew. Now, we have another chain called Texas Roadhouse... and for the same price, MUCH better than Outback. Le Cellier was about equal to a Texas Roadhouse. I don't even like steak in a restaurant... to me it's just plain... I usually order seafood. DW still says California Grill has the best filet. If I want steak, I prefer to buy a good cut and cook it myself. Now, open pit beef cooked slowly and basted.... I'd pay money for that more than any steak in a restaurant.

Only been to Tony's once in 2008. It was a decent meal, but only went there once. Didn't go back because we wanted to go to Liberty Tree Tavern instead in 2009... and Crystal Palace is a must do for us. For dinner, there are better places in the resorts or Epcot.

We really don't do the chains at home anymore because there are so many independent cafes and restaurants that are just so much better. And I'd rather support local businesses anyway.

Now, I'd really like to see what Victoria and Alberts is like at the Grand Floridian... I'm just afraid that fancy food like that would be wasted on my common taste buds! But one year for a special occasion, I'd like to go.

We're the same way at home. We don't do much 5 star dining because we're not interested in a 2-3 hour round trip for a meal, and there are no 5 star restaurants out here in the cornfields. We have one excellent seafood restaurant in a nearby town, which is probably why Narcoosees is my least favorite of the signatures - the local place is about the same price-wise, but with larger portions and preparations that better suit my tastes (simpler, so the natural flavors of the seafood come through).

The closest Outback to me only lasted a year. They opened at the same intersection as a Texas Roadhouse and a local bar known for their excellent grill (steaks and a number of other things), and went out of business in pretty short order. In the time they were open I didn't here a single good thing about them, but being a creature of habit and a member of that local bar's frequent customer club, we never did try Outback so I can't speak personally to their quality.

We don't really do chain dining either. There aren't any of the big chains in our town, and if we're in the suburbs/city there are better independent restaurants we'd rather go to. Chilis isn't bad for their $6 soup, salad, and chips & salsa lunch if I happen to be near the mall, but Applebees bordered on inedible both times I've been there. The one and only chain I'm really a fan of is Buffalo Wild Wings; it isn't fine dining by any stretch, but they have some darned good wing sauces if you're like me and love spicy foods and sometimes a sports bar meal just hits the spot.

DH & I are planning on booking V&A for our 10th anniversary dinner in fall 2012 if my mom joins us on that trip to give us some kid-free time. Otherwise it'll wait a few more years, until the baby is old enough to stay at one of Disney's kids' clubs and the oldest is old enough for me to be comfortable leaving him at the resort by himself (since he's too old for the kids' clubs). I think we'd enjoy the meal, but our kids have never been with a non-family babysitter so I don't know how they'd be for an in-room sitter on vacation.

 

[NMW]

No, the food is not really that bad. We have had wonderful meals, especially at the signatures restaurants in WDW.

FWIW, I do agree with the posters that wrote that Le Celliar is not as good as Outback. Our Outback at home blows it away. We have dined at Le Celliar twice and the only reason my kids want to go back is that they liked the cheese soup. I think it is so over-rated on these boards and I have no idea why. Maybe because it was the only steakhouse that was 1 credit on the dining plan?? Trust me, if our Outback was not good, we would not continue to dine there. We have a Texas Roadhouse (also consistantly good) a Shulas Steakhouse, and a ton of private steakhouses. It would not survive if it was not good.

We dined at Ruth Chris for my Dad's birthday about an hour away (right near my parents house). It was very good, but my entire family thought our Outback was just as good. Maybe its the manager, cooks, waitstaff, etc. I'm not sure.

As for Italian food at WDW...well, in the northeast there are so many Italian restaurants that it's hard to compare them to places like Tonys and Mama Melrose. To compare them to chains around here I would say that they are maybe a step above Olive Garden and a step below Carrabbas. Our Carrabbas is very good though, so that's saying something.

Restaurants have to be good where I live because they have so much competition, and unlike WDW, we are not a captive audience. We have every chain known to man within 10-15 minutes of me. Go, 25-30 minutes and you start duplicating them. Not to mention all the private restaurants that are not chains...Mexican, Italian, Korean, Chinese, steakhouses, seafood, Japanese, etc. the list goes on and on. We also have higher end chains like Shulas and Emerils.

We eat out a lot. It's just something we like to do. We have a lot of good restaurants where we live. When we go to WDW, we do the deluxe plan and have a great time. Please do not worry about enjoying the food. We have never had bad service or food at a signature in WDW. We have had pretty good to very good food at tons of non-signatures at WDW. I think you will be fine. There is always the chance of bad food or service at ANY restaurant, but it will be the rare meal, not the norm at WDW.