Mixed feelings about Coral Reef

[mousefan215]

I have been hearing mixed reviews from people about Coral Reef...This will be the first time I have ever been able to get ressies for it and have been SO excited about eating there, but now with so many people telling me that the food is horrible, I'm a little apprehensive about trying it What is your HONEST opinion of it...I want the good, the bad, and the ugly!

 

[jillyb]

I've only been to WDW once (but hopefully not the last time!). We had lunch at the Coral Reef and it was the best meal we had our entire trip. Our server was a bit slow but we didn't mind because we were using lunch as our break. I had the Mahi Mahi. This was the first time I'd ever eaten Mahi Mahi and it was delicious! I'm looking forward to going back there in the future.

 

[emmabemmainc]

I think it really depends on the day--we went last year and the Land and Sea appetizer was amazing, but my steak was NOT good. However, there are many people on here who love it--so it's the luck of the draw. The atmosphere is cool, but we were seated in the back row and I honestly thought it was too far away--people say that there are no bad seats, but I have to disagree with that.
Just go, relax and have fun!

 

[Neesy228]

We had a horrible experience at Coral Reef in September...however, I would definitely encourage you to try it for yourself -- especially if you're excited about it and looking forward to it! If you poll a large population (like the DIS) you are going to get many "I hated it" and just as many "I loved it" opinions. But in the end, the only opinion that matters is YOURS!

Enjoy your meal there -- I hope it's awesome!

 

[Pakey]

I cannot even count the number of times I have eaten at Coral Reef. It's always on the list when we take first timers (I've been there twice this year alone). Out of every place I've eaten at WDW, I think this place is more hit and miss than most. Some of the dishes here are good and some are terrible. It's generally very noisy here and they are often behind in seating and service is known to be slow. People are impatient, want to get in and out, and this is the wrong place to eat if that's important to you.

Personally, I think the mahi mahi is pretty good but have not been blown away by any of the other things I've eaten here. But it's not fine dining, it's an amusement park restaurant. I think the food is fine for what it is. The noise, however, can be brutal here, depending on when you go and the makeup of your fellow diners. Our last time there this year was awful. There are people who think it's fine that everyone should listen to their screaming children and that its cute to let their kids bother the diners up by the tank. So on a slow service day when the noise level is high, it can be painful to dine here.

But I'll be there again in 2 months, taking my 3 year old grandson for his first time to dine there.

 

[Colleen27]

The food wasn't horrible or even bad. It wasn't great either, but it was decent-to-good. We enjoyed everything we ordered, but none of it really stood out in comparision to 11 nights of deluxe plan dining. I had to look at our notes from the last trip to refresh my memory - DH & I were a bit disappointed by the crab legs, which were about the same as what you'd get at Joes Crab Shack, we loved the shrimp cocktail because it had a nice little kick, both thought the lobster soup was just okay, and DS really liked the fact that they have mahi-mahi on the kids' menu but still ended up swapping some of his fish for some of my crab. What really makes an impression there is the atmosphere - there aren't many places where you can watch a giant turtle swim laps while you eat!

 

[space ranger 1]

We ate there in Sept 07 and really enjoyed the food. We all thought the lobster soup was great, even the kids.

I say be excited about it and go and enjoy. Just remember that there will always be people who have good and bad experiences at any restaurant. This is your chance to try something new and enjoy it.

 

[MeLaNie9]

We loved it and the only reason we do not have ADRs there for our upcoming trip is that we are going with my MIL and SIL who do not like seafood (and I still pouted some when they nixed it as a restaurant choice). DH and I shared the blackened catfish dish (the pepper jack grits were awesome) and a mahi mahi dish that seems to not be on the menu anymore (which was also very good). We were seated right next to the big tank and it was just beautiful and our server was probably one of the best we have ever had at WDW.

 

[emh1129]

We ate there last December and really enjoyed it. We look forward to eating there again eventually.

 

[jenjersnap]

We've only ever had decent to good food there and the environment is lovely ... stay excited, go and have fun.

 

[FJL]

We had lunch there and the family loved it! The food and service was very good.

 

[MomPOM]

Honestly, I didn't think the food was all that great. But, the atmosphere is fun and the service was pretty good as well. We're going to DW in February and I'm not going back to Coral Reef. I'd say go at least once to experience it.

 

[cndnchicky]

My family absolutely loves Coral Reef!!!! We never miss it when we go to WDW!!!! I always get the steak when i go and it is amazing!!! I look forward to it every time we visit. The kids love it, and they especially like watching all the fish in the big tank and waving to the divers. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do if you go!!!!

 

[jonw]

We were there on nov. 26, hour wait after our ADR time, service wasn't great. Food was good. Overall, we've never been there and I guess I'm glad we experienced the atmosphere, but I wouldn't do it again.

 

[ElizabethB]

We were there for dinner in Sept. Food was fair. The place was an unbelievably noisy zoo. We've also been disappointed with lunch. After our Sept. meal, we won't go back.

 

[jenb1023]

We just ate there on 11/15/08. Food was very good! We loved the atmosphere and had good service as well. We were seated quickly but we were the first ADR time for dinner service - - I could see how it may get backed up later on as patrons linger over dinner.

 

[tracirae1105]

FOOD: The best thing there IMHO is the Lobster Bisque. I'm a girl who HATES any kind of shellfish, but I tried this after reading a bunch of good reviews and fell in love with it. Its one of the food items I look forward to on every Disney trip. DBF lives for the Mahi Mahi. I usually get a steak (again, not a big seafood girl) and its pretty good. Desserts are so-so, nothing special.

SERVICE: Every time we've been there the place has been half-deserted, but service was still incredibly slow. Each server we've had was very nice, helpful with questions, etc. - just really really slow! Not a restaurant to go to if you have somewhere to be afterward.

ATMOSPHERE: And last, that view. Even from the top tier (furthest from the tank) the view can't be beat. DBF and I have fun waiting for our food by using the chart they give you and trying to find every fish on it. The noise in the waiting area borders on deafening, but the eating area is much better (not quiet, but better!).

I definately think you should give it a try!

 

[mousefan215]

Thanks for the reviews! Keep em coming...I'm still trying to decide whether or not to keep my ressies there

 

[Dawn68PA]

This is from my TR from November:

We are early and have to wait, but it's totally worth it. I must say, if you ever get to request a waiter, Tony is awesome! This guy is worth his weight in gold. He keeps on top of my high maintenance family and then some. He laughs with us, kids around with us and gives us tips on things in the park and in the tank. He brings DD19 refills of Coke by 2's. The kids kept asking for the pineapple out of my alcohol drink and he would play games with them to get it. Now keep in mind these are 17 & 19 year olds and he has them totally entertained. When we ordered dessert he brought them each a bonus plate of pineapple. What a guy. I stopped by the desk on the way out and asked them to tell the manager that we will come back because of Tony.

Oh yes, the food. DSIL had the mahi mahi and it was delish. DD19 & I had the pork tenderloin and it was very yummy. DH had the steak. My other DD19 had the salmon, DD17 had the chicken. All of the food here was excellent and full of flavor. Another place I'd highly recommend and go to again. Tony is a bonus

 

[TinkrLiz]

We ate dinner there last Saturday (11/29). My DH had steak, he said it was ok, not great. I had chicken with spaetzel. My food was excellent. Unfortunately the service was horrible. The girl at the front desk checking people in was rude to the person in front of me checking in. She seemed overwhelmed when dealing with us but wasn't rude to us. We were seated after a short wait which surprised us since there seemed to be people waiting around everywhere. After being seated we were promptly forgotten and left alone for a long time. A waitress for the table next to us was very apologetic and said she would send our waiter. He finally walked by and said he would be back in a minute. He never came back. The same waitress who had to go get him the first time went to get him again and he finally came back blaming something about the computer. We didn't even get to give him our drink order for about 35 minutes after being seated. The only thing that made the entire experience tolerable was that at least we could sit comfortably and watch the tank while we were being ignored by our waiter.

Had it not been WDW with table service hard to come by without ADR's and the fact that we were on the dining plan I would have just walked out and found somewhere else to eat.