bleeps
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2003
- Messages
- 2,265
(Links to my other recent reviews from this same trip [with more to come!]:
Monsieur Paul
Artist Point dinner
Rose & Crown
Tutto Italia)
San Angel Inn
Kouzzina breakfast
Kona Cafe breakfast
Coral Reef lunch)
Although we've taken 9 trips in the past 10 years to WDW, this was only our second time eating at Mama Melrose's. I had avoided this place for years, based on resoundingly poor reviews I'd read here. (Word to the wise -- even though you are reading a review, and even though I am sitting here writing it, the best bet is always to try the places that have menus or locations or special elements to them that interest you and take every review with a huge grain of salt -- YMMV!) Anyway, a friend of DH's is a DVC member with something like 27+ trips under his belt, and he'd always told DH that we were missing out by not trying this place. Indeed, this second visit was almost as good as our first (they took my favorite entree off the menu -- it had clams and sausage over pasta and was incredible!).
We like to go with the DDxDP so that our meals are all paid ahead of time and so that we can freely visit an array of signature and TS places (the food is always an important part of our trips).
This was the last Saturday of Star Wars Weekends, so I knew it was going to be critically important to have a mid-day ADR at a TS with air conditioning. (BTW, if you're ever considering visiting during SWW, I'd say go for it! DS (15), DH and I all loved it even though yes, it was crowded -- had so many wonderful character interactions that it was totally worth it.)
So back to the food! Although I always preach making ADRs, and although there have been countless times we've seen families turned away (not even walk-ups available), I'd say this was the most critical time ever -- people were desperately trying to find places to eat. We probably had to wait about 20 minutes past our 1:30 ADR time, but we were grateful to be in AC and to know that a meal would be forthcoming. (One thing I have noticed both times we've been here is that there will be lots of people waiting in the entry area to be seated but there seem to be quite a number of empty tables. The place is pretty big and I don't know if they choose to under-staff it or what.)
We kind of collapsed into our chairs when we were seated, and ordered our usual round of iced teas. I will say that throughout the meal, our CM really kept the iced teas coming -- it was a perfect day for someone to be so on top of that for us!
For appetizers, DH and I each ordered:
Mixed Greens Salad - with fresh tomatoes, cucmbers, artichoke hearts, shaved Sopressata, and red wine-oregano vinaigrette. Crisp, cold, fresh, and flavorful -- not overly swimming in dressing, and with just enough of everything so that each forkful had lettuce plus one or two of the special bites of sopressata or artichoke heart, etc. Totally pleased with this.
DS got:
Caesar Salad - with crisp romaine lettuce, Caesar dressing and herb croutons. If you've read any of my other reviews so far from this trip, you've probably noticed this is a recurring theme for him; he loves a good caesar. This one was a *little* on the small side; it wasn't an issue for us because in this case it meant that he still had plenty of room for his entree, but here's a case where it's good to know that the appetizer salad probably isn't enough to be a meal for someone. DS found it funny that it was really just one giant crouton, but he liked the flavor and the dressing.
For my entree, although I'd really been hoping for that clam/sausage dish I'd had last visit, I went with:
Penne alla Vodka - with Pancetta and Sweet Onions finished with Tomato-Basil Sauce, Cream, Vodka, and Pecorino Romano, with chicken. One thing I will say about the majority of TS places at WDW generally, and in the parks very specifically, is that I wish they went with more seasonally varied menus. Now, this dish was very good -- pasta cooked just right, bright, zesty sauce, a nice amount of chicken and a very decent portion size -- but in that FL heat I always wish there were more light, summery dishes to choose from. This tasted great but was a little heavy for the day/weather (as I thought all the entrees kind of were). The signature places certainly tend to offer more seasonal variety, and I'd love to see more entree salads or lighter dishes offered elsewhere during the broiling hot summer months down there. Just sayin'.
DH tried:
Chicken Campanelle - wood-grilled chicken over Campanelle pasta tossed with four-cheese sauce with broccoflower, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh spinach and sweet onions. He loves any kind of chicken and pasta dish, although he usually avoids overly creamy sauces. I was kind of surprised he ordered this, but he ate every bite. It wasn't gooey or gloppy at all -- again, pasta cooked just right and a nice mix of ingredients.
DS went with:
Penne pasta with meatballs in red sauce. Because his salad was on the small side, he did a really great job on this; he liked the meatballs very much (moist, tender, with a zesty blend of spices). He would have liked a little more red sauce and probably could have asked for more on the side, but overall was quite satisfied with this.
For dessert, both DH and I ordered:
Chocolate gelato. I know the way I took this photo and cropped it, it looks like this was served in a shot glass, but actually this is a regular-sized glass very densely filled with two scoops of gelato. Cold and chocolately -- what's not to love?
DS went with:
Vanilla gelato. A nice, frosty way to end the meal.
We do enjoy this place. We noticed both times that the loop for the soundtrack (with some really great tune selections!) is a little short; we talked with DS about the subtle and not-so-subtle ways that restaurants have of getting people to, ah, eat and leave (rather than linger). Realizing you are hearing the same songs you've heard before makes you think -- wow, we must have been here a long time and it's time to go. Not an issue for us as we make it a point to eat our meals comfortably but not linger (always others waiting for tables), but kind of funny just the same. As with every other meal on this trip, courses were served right after the other, and sometimes a little right on top of each other -- but we see that as an issue with how many ADRs each place has to take for each meal and not as a failure on any CMs part. Also I respect that for the places IN the parks, many guests really are trying to get in and out to maximize park time.
Having kind of burned out on the other TS choices at DHS, Mama Melrose's continues to earn its place on our list.
Monsieur Paul
Artist Point dinner
Rose & Crown
Tutto Italia)
San Angel Inn
Kouzzina breakfast
Kona Cafe breakfast
Coral Reef lunch)
Although we've taken 9 trips in the past 10 years to WDW, this was only our second time eating at Mama Melrose's. I had avoided this place for years, based on resoundingly poor reviews I'd read here. (Word to the wise -- even though you are reading a review, and even though I am sitting here writing it, the best bet is always to try the places that have menus or locations or special elements to them that interest you and take every review with a huge grain of salt -- YMMV!) Anyway, a friend of DH's is a DVC member with something like 27+ trips under his belt, and he'd always told DH that we were missing out by not trying this place. Indeed, this second visit was almost as good as our first (they took my favorite entree off the menu -- it had clams and sausage over pasta and was incredible!).
We like to go with the DDxDP so that our meals are all paid ahead of time and so that we can freely visit an array of signature and TS places (the food is always an important part of our trips).
This was the last Saturday of Star Wars Weekends, so I knew it was going to be critically important to have a mid-day ADR at a TS with air conditioning. (BTW, if you're ever considering visiting during SWW, I'd say go for it! DS (15), DH and I all loved it even though yes, it was crowded -- had so many wonderful character interactions that it was totally worth it.)
So back to the food! Although I always preach making ADRs, and although there have been countless times we've seen families turned away (not even walk-ups available), I'd say this was the most critical time ever -- people were desperately trying to find places to eat. We probably had to wait about 20 minutes past our 1:30 ADR time, but we were grateful to be in AC and to know that a meal would be forthcoming. (One thing I have noticed both times we've been here is that there will be lots of people waiting in the entry area to be seated but there seem to be quite a number of empty tables. The place is pretty big and I don't know if they choose to under-staff it or what.)
We kind of collapsed into our chairs when we were seated, and ordered our usual round of iced teas. I will say that throughout the meal, our CM really kept the iced teas coming -- it was a perfect day for someone to be so on top of that for us!
For appetizers, DH and I each ordered:
Mixed Greens Salad - with fresh tomatoes, cucmbers, artichoke hearts, shaved Sopressata, and red wine-oregano vinaigrette. Crisp, cold, fresh, and flavorful -- not overly swimming in dressing, and with just enough of everything so that each forkful had lettuce plus one or two of the special bites of sopressata or artichoke heart, etc. Totally pleased with this.
DS got:
Caesar Salad - with crisp romaine lettuce, Caesar dressing and herb croutons. If you've read any of my other reviews so far from this trip, you've probably noticed this is a recurring theme for him; he loves a good caesar. This one was a *little* on the small side; it wasn't an issue for us because in this case it meant that he still had plenty of room for his entree, but here's a case where it's good to know that the appetizer salad probably isn't enough to be a meal for someone. DS found it funny that it was really just one giant crouton, but he liked the flavor and the dressing.
For my entree, although I'd really been hoping for that clam/sausage dish I'd had last visit, I went with:
Penne alla Vodka - with Pancetta and Sweet Onions finished with Tomato-Basil Sauce, Cream, Vodka, and Pecorino Romano, with chicken. One thing I will say about the majority of TS places at WDW generally, and in the parks very specifically, is that I wish they went with more seasonally varied menus. Now, this dish was very good -- pasta cooked just right, bright, zesty sauce, a nice amount of chicken and a very decent portion size -- but in that FL heat I always wish there were more light, summery dishes to choose from. This tasted great but was a little heavy for the day/weather (as I thought all the entrees kind of were). The signature places certainly tend to offer more seasonal variety, and I'd love to see more entree salads or lighter dishes offered elsewhere during the broiling hot summer months down there. Just sayin'.
DH tried:
Chicken Campanelle - wood-grilled chicken over Campanelle pasta tossed with four-cheese sauce with broccoflower, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh spinach and sweet onions. He loves any kind of chicken and pasta dish, although he usually avoids overly creamy sauces. I was kind of surprised he ordered this, but he ate every bite. It wasn't gooey or gloppy at all -- again, pasta cooked just right and a nice mix of ingredients.
DS went with:
Penne pasta with meatballs in red sauce. Because his salad was on the small side, he did a really great job on this; he liked the meatballs very much (moist, tender, with a zesty blend of spices). He would have liked a little more red sauce and probably could have asked for more on the side, but overall was quite satisfied with this.
For dessert, both DH and I ordered:
Chocolate gelato. I know the way I took this photo and cropped it, it looks like this was served in a shot glass, but actually this is a regular-sized glass very densely filled with two scoops of gelato. Cold and chocolately -- what's not to love?
DS went with:
Vanilla gelato. A nice, frosty way to end the meal.
We do enjoy this place. We noticed both times that the loop for the soundtrack (with some really great tune selections!) is a little short; we talked with DS about the subtle and not-so-subtle ways that restaurants have of getting people to, ah, eat and leave (rather than linger). Realizing you are hearing the same songs you've heard before makes you think -- wow, we must have been here a long time and it's time to go. Not an issue for us as we make it a point to eat our meals comfortably but not linger (always others waiting for tables), but kind of funny just the same. As with every other meal on this trip, courses were served right after the other, and sometimes a little right on top of each other -- but we see that as an issue with how many ADRs each place has to take for each meal and not as a failure on any CMs part. Also I respect that for the places IN the parks, many guests really are trying to get in and out to maximize park time.
Having kind of burned out on the other TS choices at DHS, Mama Melrose's continues to earn its place on our list.
Very sorry to see that they removed it.
