well, I had to come back and post about my experience.
Kouzzina-WOW, what a disappointment. I cannot believe Cat Cora would put her name on that restaurant. Maybe they are working out kinks still..but I will not be going back. It was one of the few dining experiences that was more than just "not good"...it was insulting. We have not felt that way since we ate at Fulton's on our 8 year anniversary. We skipped our Kouzzina breakfast ADRs the next day, we were still sulking over our pitiful meal.
Look, I "get" small portions. I "get" high prices. But dammit...the food better be good! We started with an appetizer for 2 for $18.99. Lamb meatball skewer, "prawn" skewer, spiced cashews, kalamata olives, hummus with pita bread and some of that greek yogurt cucumber sauce.
Two TEENY meatballs, 3 TEENY shrimp that were rubbery, two tablespoons of hummus, and two tablespoons of sauce. About 10 olives, about 10 cashews. I mean, come one, you can't be generous with the hummus and tsatziki???
Everything tasted good, except the shrimp, which was a shame because DH ordered the Fisherman's Stew as his entree and we realized we would be getting more of the same. Teeny portion, more rubbery shrimp, one small (2 oz?) piece of fish in there, all swimming in a bland tomatoey sauce....just a rip off and did not taste too good. I got the Flank Steak...tender and cooked a perfect med rare...but so salty it was almost inedible. The few potatoes served with it were good, and cut the salty flavor thank goodness. But trust me, the steak was NOT meant to be that salty. We noticed tables around us were being served bread, but we had to ask our server for bread (after we got our entrees and realized we were gonna be HUNGRY.) Bread was a sliced mulitgrain, not warm, perfectly fine but not exciting. Butter was good although hard as a rock. No greens served, so we ordered a side of brussels sprouts which were DELICIOUS! Not overcooked, had some sort of vinegary sauce on them and parmesan cheese...really good. Service was "eh". I cannot complain about the ambiance because it was what I expected...Spoodles. We did wait for a booth, which always adds to our dining experience for some reason. If the food was good, it would have been fine on the romance level.
Again, I am surprised Cat would put her name on it, but hey, I guess WDW offered her a chunk of $$$ for that name, can't say I blame her. Just like Tom Colicchio hawking Diet Coke on TV, or Tyler Florence in commercials for Applebees. I will never forget Joan Jett had an offer to do a commercial and she turned it down, saying she is an "ärtist" and won't do commercials. Years later, after her popularity had waned, she said she regretted it because hey, it was a chunk of money and it wasn't like everyone was patting her on the back for being such a great artist that would not sell out. No one even remembered or thought of her.
Anyway, I hate being a downer about Disney dining. The restaurants are a HUGE reason we go, and I WANT to see them succeed. I realize everyone has a different experience. I also brace myself for the inevitable question that DISers are famous for..."Well...did you let the restaurant know you were unhappy? Did you send your food back, talk to the manager, etc?" Listen, I am the first one to send something back for not being cooked properly. What was I supposed to do, tell them every single thing that was wrong that night? I can't do their job for them. I also wanted to salvage whatever was left of the evening, and *****ing to management would not help that. No, this was basically a dining experience that gets chalked up to "live and learn.... and never go back there!"
) and cooking is a hobby of mine so I almost always cook from scratch.
