"Minnie" Food Review of Weekend Trip

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Let me start by saying, I do a lot of reading and not a lot of posting. I have never posted a review so it could be a little rough. I wanted to give back to all of the wonderful posts that I read and hopefully add a little bit of something someone can use in their planning. A little background, my husband, myself, and two children (now 21 and 19) have been traveling to Disney for the last 15 years. We go almost once per year (sometimes more) and almost always travel in the summer or Christmas. I am a teacher, so my travel schedule is not flexible. My husband had a work trip pop up in Orlando, and we decided I would go for the weekend before his meetings. This was very last minute. I almost always plan at least 11 months in advance (we are DVC members), but this time we had less than 3 weeks of planning time. No 60 day advance reservations this time! I booked and rebooked for our dining and our room! We stayed at the Grand Floridian (first time staying there) and had an amazing trip. We were there from February 3-6. We visited Ohana's (dinner), Boma (breakfast), Citrico's, LeCellier, and Grand Floridian Cafe. There were a few drink spots as well as quick service, but I am going to stick to the TS for my review. I hope I can provide some information to help in your planning. Up first will be Ohana's. Thank you for reading!

 

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Ohana's

I made a reservation for 3:50 on Friday, Feb 3. We arrived to the Grand Floridian around 1 PM and within about 15 minutes of our arrival, our room was ready! After settling, we found the walkway from the GF to Poly. It isn't much of a walkway right now with the construction, but it was still nice not to have to take Disney transportation. I would say it was about a 10 minute walk. We got to the Poly around 3. We popped into Trader Sam's just to see what the wait was like. We wanted to grab a drink before our reservations. The wait at 3 was quoted at 3 hours for 2 people. She said that was only getting into the bar, no guarantee that we could sit down. We did give our name thinking if we were still at the Poly when our name was called, we would check it out. We went ahead and went up to the bar at Ohana's to grab a drink. It was really busy! There was quite a line already checking in. I didn't bother checking in yet, as we were going to grab drinks and I would check in closer to our reservation time. We found a seat at a small table near the windows and were immediately greeted by a waitress who brought the drink menu to us. We had some drinks and about 3:45 my husband checked us in. We were seated within 10 minutes of checking in.

First, I should say that we are fans of Ohana's. We have loved it since the first time we went years ago. Yes, a lot has changed, but we still go back. We still enjoy it. What can I say, I love the noodles, pot stickers, and wings!

We were greeted almost immediately upon sitting down. We already had drinks from the bar, but were offered additional beverages. Within 5 minutes we had the salad and bread. I preferred the previous salad that was all mixed with dressing, but I still enjoyed the salad. It was slightly different than before. I think maybe some of the ingredients in the salad are different. The bread wasn't very warm, but still good. I'm not sure that it still has the same amount of pineapple flavor as before. Maybe I am not remembering it correctly.

The favorite part for me came next. I love the pot stickers, wings, and noodles. They were as good as ever! They were fresh and hot. I really enjoyed the sauce on the wings. I wish they still served the sauce with the appetizers and meats, but they no longer serve those. There was plenty of sauce on the wings, but I would have liked something for the pot stickers. I know some people have complained about the servers bringing the items too close together, but the timing was OK for us. I ate at my own pace anyway. They also served the noodles and the vegetables with the appetizers. All of it was wonderful.

Next came the meats. I'll be honest, I fill up on the course prior to this, so I didn't eat a lot of meat. I tried the chicken. I didn't like the sauce on it at all. It was also very dry, but once again, I really didn't care because I had already asked for additional chicken wings. The steak was good. I ate a couple bites and it was flavorful and not too tough for sirloin. It has clearly been marinated, so I think that helps. I did eat almost the whole bowl of shrimp. My husband ate a couple of them, but I finished it off. We did not ask for additional helpings of the meat. We did get additional wings, pot stickers, noodles, and vegetables though. The second serving of the wings was not as "saucy" as the first but still good.

Of course, we then had the bread pudding with ice cream and the amazing sauce. It was as good as ever! I was stuffed but still managed to eat quite a bit of it. She also brought rice crispy treats which I thought was nice. We didn't ask for them. I noticed people with kids were getting them, but I just figured it was for the little ones that didn't like the other dessert. I didn't touch them, but when our waitress brought our check, she brought us a container to put them in. It was nice to have something later on in the evening.

Before we left the resort we wandered around the building and looked in the gift shops. We didn't get "called" back to Trader Sam's before we left about 5:30. More to come on that....

 

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Enchanted Rose

After leaving Poly about 5:30ish we took the walkway back over to the GF. We decided to go up to the Enchanted Rose (a lounge/bar on the second floor near Citrico's). There was staff seating people when you walk up. They walked us over to the room next door which also had wait staff from the lounge. We just sat down and my husband got a text from Trader Sam's that we could now go in. We replied that we wouldn't be coming. It was a little over 3 hours which was exactly what they told us it would be. If we hadn't already sat down at the Enchanted Rose, we may have walked back over but we were tired from traveling and a huge dinner. We enjoyed a couple of specialty drinks. It was quiet and relaxed. Several people were getting appetizers off of their menu. The food comes from Citrico's next door. It looked good! Next up Boma for breakfast.

 

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Boma Brunch

I made a reservation for 11. When I first booked the reservation, I thought we were going to have to be switching rooms so I thought what better time to go over to AKL than at the time we would need to be out of our room. We didn't end up having to change rooms, but it was still a perfect time to eat since we were not going to be eating again before our dinner that night at Citrico's. It was fairly busy when we checked in, but we were seated almost immediately. Unfortunately, we sat next to a large group that was rather loud (more than your average large party). The ceiling in there makes it loud as well. It was definitely hard to hear each other. We love AKV -- that is our home resort. We have stayed there almost every tip we have taken to WDW. Boma is a tradition for us, but I will be honest, I am not sure that I need to go back the next time we visit. It wasn't bad, but it also wasn't great. They have crammed a lot of tables in and it seemed to be louder than normal (may have just been the party next to us or how busy it was). I also didn't like the new way the buffet was set up. It used to be they had a plate rack near every little station. This time there were plates at the end by the wood oven and then not again until about the middle. Before you could go up to whichever "station" you wanted food from, but this time there was an actual line that started on the other side of the wood oven and went all the way down to the pastries. This made for a very long line. It seemed by the time you got to the end, your food was starting to get cold.

My husband's favorite part is the omelette station. They no longer have that. They now have mini omelettes being made with set ingredients. The carved ham was very good. I also enjoyed the bread pudding with pecan sauce, but for the amount you pay for breakfast, I have higher expectations. I also enjoyed the yogurt parfait. My husband got a Bloody Mary. He loves them, but he just said it was OK. The jungle juice was excellent as it always is and our server was great. The food was good, but not great, and the atmosphere just wasn't the same this time. Maybe my expectations were higher than reality. I am sure we will be back, but maybe not the next trip. Up next will be Citrico's.

 

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Citrico's

We had a reservation for 7 on a Saturday night. We showed up about 6:15 because we wanted to get drinks in the bar first. They asked if we wanted to be seated early but we told them we were early to get drinks and they didn't have a problem with that. They then called us at the time of our reservation. We had not been to Citrico's before. If Narcoossee's would have been open and we been able to get a reservation, I would have tried for that. We enjoyed the atmosphere a lot though at Citrico's. Our drinks and food was also good. I had the butter-poached mahi mahi and it was very good. It was served over some potatoes that were also excellent. I started with the strawberry salad. It was OK. My husband enjoyed it, but it really wasn't much of a salad. There was a little bit of greens, a few strawberries, and goat cheese. The sunflower seeds had excellent flavor and the dressing was very good, but I honestly felt like I was missing the greens. My husband had a fish special that is not on the menu. It was a tilefish. It was also very good. It had almost a BBQ seasoning flavor to me. I preferred mine, but his was good too. We also had a dessert -- the blackberry tartlette. It wasn't too heavy and was beautifully presented. Service was phenomenal.

 

[DLo]

Following along. Looking forward to reading more.

 

[Counting Stars]

Really great start- thanks for sharing your experiences. Sorry to hear about Boma - was considering the breakfast for our spring trip, we have been before and enjoyed it... seems like the service and/or quality of the restaurants can really vary these days.

 

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Following along. Looking forward to reading more.

Thank you! When you start writing reviews, you never know if anyone is actually reading and enjoying them or if you are just talking to yourself (Probably why I have never written one before.) Although I do that a lot! I teach high school, so I feel like I talk to myself all day long. Haha!

 

[NSL]

Really great start- thanks for sharing your experiences. Sorry to hear about Boma - was considering the breakfast for our spring trip, we have been before and enjoyed it... seems like the service and/or quality of the restaurants can really vary these days.

I wouldn't necessarily rule it out on your next trip. My expectations may have been too high. Like I said, the food wasn't bad, but we had been so many times in the past, I just felt things had changed. They have definitely added more tables which I think has really changed the experience. I never saw long lines at the buffet or felt it was overly loud at breakfast in the past. Dinner was always louder in my opinion. It's a very expensive breakfast so that is probably why my expectation is higher. I am also not a huge eater. Don't get me wrong, I love to eat and I love food! I just don't eat a ton, so I never get "my money's worth" as some would say. I know that going into those kinds of places and it doesn't bother me. I enjoy the atmosphere and the ability to sample a variety of foods.

 

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Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie (QS)

When we originally planned on visiting for our short trip, we did not have plans to go to a park. One of my husbands coworkers flew in a day early and has a annual pass, so he asked to meet us at Epcot. Then another coworker who had never been to Disney also decided to join. Perfect for me! My husband would have not wanted to spend the money on park tickets, but since he was asked by coworkers he suddenly was OK spending the money This worked out perfectly because we had to check out of one room and into another on this day. I woke up bright and early to make my GoTG virtual check reservations, and we checked out of our room. We rode the monorail over to Epcot and were there before 8:30 (park opening for resort guests).

On to the food! Originally I said I was only going to review the TS restaurants, but I have decided to add a couple QS as well. After riding Remy, we walked over to the French bakery Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie. I had read about it and saw some amazing French bakery items that I wanted to try, so we decided to make a visit. First of all, it is very busy. The line was long, but it went quickly. There are also not a lot of seating options, but one happened to open up so we had a place to sit. I chose the Croissant Jambon Fromage. This is an egg, bacon and cheese croissant. It was very good. I didn't care for the thin, folded egg but the croissant was delicious. If I were to go back, I would probably order a croissant or a French baguette even if it were breakfast. The treats look delicious but I didn't want to carry something around for later, and I wanted breakfast food. My husband ordered the same thing. I would like to go in around lunch and try something new next time.

 

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La Cantina de San Angel (QS)

This has always been one of my favorite QS spots at Epcot. I love the empanadas. The line was long again, but it seemed to go quickly until the very end. Once you order, it takes quite a while for your food to be ready. It wouldn't be a big deal but it is a confusing set up because once you order they tell you to move to the middle line (where there is very little room and a lot of people waiting for their food). They call your number almost immediately to give you your drink(s) and then it is another wait for the food. I would say I waited somewhere between 5-10 minutes for the food. That seems reasonable to get fresh, good food. But as I said before, it is a congested, confusing set up while you wait. They take the orders considerably faster than the food comes leaving a lot more people standing around waiting.

I ordered the empanadas from the children's menu. I know this seems strange, but I don't care for the rice and beans that it comes with on the adult menu and I don't want a lot of food. The empanadas are the same, just a lesser amount of them. I want to be able to enjoy other items from other countries as well! The empanadas were good, however, previously they have sprinkled the queso fresco over the empanadas. I believe this would still have been on them had I not ordered off of the children's menu. Also, the children's menu empanadas come with a side of chips and cheese. The cheese wasn't great -- it was rather thick almost hard. I love the green salsa that is available.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

How were your drinks at Enchanted Rose? I'm a huge Beauty and the Beast fan and have it on my list of things to do. BUT - I'm a lightweight drinker so I always like to hear about what people had and what was in it so I can make an informed choice.

 

[NSL]

How were your drinks at Enchanted Rose? I'm a huge Beauty and the Beast fan and have it on my list of things to do. BUT - I'm a lightweight drinker so I always like to hear about what people had and what was in it so I can make an informed choice.

I am also a lightweight! Big time! I had already had two glasses of wine at Ohana -- one before dinner and one with dinner. That is usually my max for drinking. I ordered the B&B which was off of the nonalcoholic menu. It was described as Freshbrewed Twinings Tea with Lemon, Blueberry and Basil. I should start by saying I LOVE iced tea but not sweet tea. So I asked the waiter if it would be a sweet tea and he said that the blueberry portion of the drink was a "sort of" syrup. I went ahead and got it because well, why not?!? It was good. It was not sweet, but it didn't taste like tea. It was much more flavored but also not overly sweet. Hard to describe. My husband ordered a Rye Not and an Old Fashioned. Clearly, he can drink more than me! He enjoyed his drinks.

 

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Le Cellier

After a long day at Epcot (rope drop at 8:30), we had a reservation for 7. I was exhausted, so I arrived around 6:15 and sat outside the restaurant (I didn't check in) while my husband and his coworker enjoyed drinks at the Rose & Crown bar. They walked over a little after 6:30 and my husband checked us in. They seated us within about 10 minutes. I was glad they got us in early. It had been a long day, and I was ready to sit and relax. My husband's friend ordered the whiskey flight. I couldn't tell you if it was good or not because they had already had at least one whiskey flight at Rose & Crown and I don't even know how many beers as we walked around the world showcase.

For dinner we all ordered the filet. I got the beer cheese soup to start. It was very good, but also very rich. I really only got it so that I could dip my pretzel bread into it The risotto they serve with the filet is so good! I can't say one bad thing about the steak. We are from Iowa, so I know what good beef tastes like and this was good. We all ate every single last bite of our plates. I think we were hungrier than I originally thought when we sat down. I did not order dessert. I would have, but I was exhausted and ready to get back to the room by that time.

We have been to Le Cellier many times over the years, but it has been quite a few years. I was a little skeptical since the reviews have changed more negatively over the past few years. I didn't feel that the quality was any different than my previous visits. I will go back again!

 

[ambula603]

Loving your "Minnie" report! My mouth is watering reading about Le Cellier. We have never dined there because we always go to Epcot during festivals and my family prefers to eat at those. But I want to try it!!

 

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The Grand Floridian Cafe

We have never dined here before, and to be honest, I never really had any desire to. Since we were staying at the GF, I decided to make a reservation for our check out date. Why had I not been there before?!?! It was so good. I will be making it a priority to dine there on our July trip. If you have read my full review, you will read that we also dined at Boma for breakfast. Boma has always been our favorite breakfast spot at WDW. It is no longer my favorite. The Grand Floridian Cafe is now my favorite! If you have been reading along, you also know that I don't eat huge portions so Boma isn't the most cost effective choice for us. Boma was $35 per person at breakfast and my breakfast entree at GFC was $16 .... so I would prefer to go twice to the GFC.

I ordered the Brioche French Toast. It came with a choice of sausage or bacon. I chose bacon. There is also a vanilla cream that is drizzled over the top of the French toast. So good! The bacon was your traditional WDW bacon -- nothing to write home about. My husband ordered the Grand Breakfast. It was two eggs with choice of breakfast meat and a cheesy hash brown casserole that was very good. I've had some cheesy potato casseroles on various buffets on property and they have always been OK, but this one was fresh and delicious. They also serve biscuits that come with a butter that has bits of citrus in it. These were amazing! I would go back for that alone. They brought 3 to our table, and I ate all 3! To be fair, I did offer one to my husband and he declined. I couldn't let it go to waste Both of our entrees together were still less than the price of one person at Boma. Granted that price does not include our beverages, where it does at Boma.

The atmosphere at GFC was also very nice. It wasn't overly loud but not stuffy either. We had excellent service and enjoyed our breakfast very much! We will definitely be back!

 

[erinch]

Great report!