Most Overrated Restaurants

[Imagineer2Be]

For me they are Sci-Fi Dinner, Coral Reef, and Tony's. I didn't mind (but don't need to do again) Chef Mickey's breakfast. It was ok and we chose it because we were staying there and leaving that day after only one night. Not much character interaction, but we did meet great people who were going on the cruise with us later that day.

 

[frozengurl]

I am honestly surprised when I read these boards at how many people have had unpleasant experiences with Disney dining! We really enjoyed all of our meals, there is not one I'd complain about! However, if I picked our least favorite it would definitely be Chef Mickey's! Although it was nice to meet the characters it was so very crowded, I felt like we were dining with the families next to us we were all so crowded in there. The food wasn't awful, I just don't really have anything memorable about it!

 

[AlohaAnnie]

Well one thing this thread proved is that the quality of food and restaurants is highly subjective. It also proved all the restaurants are loved and hated, depending who you talk to! AKK

I agree



.

 

[frozengurl]

Tusker House: It was good (some things were very good), but no better than any other buffet. I would go back for the characters, not for the food. People describe Tusker House like the second coming, but I didn't find Hollywood & Vine to be any worse.

It's the juice man!!!!

 

[TooExcitedCantSleep]

Chef Mickey's! cannot imagine how anyone can find that food tasty is beyond me, plus the crazy noise factor. horrible.

YES!!!!!! Chef Mickey's is overrated...though I felt the food was pretty good for a buffet.

I tend to agree that Ohana's is overrated now but back in the day before they botched up the menu and they had those good cheesy potatoes....it was the bomb----not overrated!

Cinderella's Royal Table dinner is overrated too since they took away prime rib and changed the menu. I don't know why LeCellier is two credits....they're overrated now too!!!!

 

[jeffbear]

I am honestly surprised when I read these boards at how many people have had unpleasant experiences with Disney dining! We really enjoyed all of our meals, there is not one I'd complain about!

Note that most complaints about Disney dining are about a lack of value for cost ... which sort of ignores the fact that you're in a theme park setting and those kitchens have to be able to handle HUGE volume. It's tough to do well and Disney does a very, very good job overall.

When you get home and look at a Visa receipt indicating that you plunked down $100 per person for Cali Grille (or somewhere else on the high end of the Disney food universe) ... yeah. It sometimes does hit you in the gut a bit. Especially if you have a favorite fine dining experience local to you that costs half that much.

 

[poeticdiabetic]

Ok, here's my $0.02-

Hollywood and Vine: I've never walked away from the a restaurant angry before. Whatever taste I had in my mouth was politely taken away by that bland food! I ordered 3 or 4 glasses of Cranberry juice so I can get full with something that had taste.

Chef Mickey's: You go there for the characters. They take great photos. That was great! But if you actually want some food to eat, you will be disappointed. Again, where's the taste?

Le Cellier- good food, but not worth 2 credits. Let's make it just one credit and we're good, ok?

OK, now on to the Counter service:

ABC Commissary: Stick with the burgers and fries, people. If you get ANYTHING else, you'll be sorry! You were warned!

Tamu Tamu Refreshments- Question: Do they still serve those hamburgers? And seriously, are they beef?

 

[2Tiggies]

ABC Commissary: Stick with the burgers and fries, people. If you get ANYTHING else, you'll be sorry! You were warned!

I loved my mixed greens and Quinoa Salad with grilled salmon from ABC Commissary. I was looking forward to going back.

To me, an over rated restaurant is any restaurant where I have to either get up super early to make and ADR as soon as my 180 day window opens. If I'm going to be sitting worrying about "Will I get it?" (like BOG and the way CRT was until 2009/10, Le Cellier when it was a single credit for dinner) then it's not worth it.

 

[L&Lfan]

I had the seafood platter at the ABC Commissary and it was decent, on a par with Long John Silver's. I used to like the Cuban sandwich but it's long gone from the menu.

 

[Sunday]

My most overrated:

1) CRT Dinner. Yes, I've booked again. No, I really didn't want to. My three year old likely won't care about the slap-dash service or the barely reheated food.
2) Akershus. I pride myself on being the least picky person I know. I eat everything. Everything. And I couldn't chew the kjottkaker. Now, I'll concede it may have been a poor entrée choice rather than anything wrong with the restaurant, but it was bad enough not to want to ever return.
3) Boma. I was so looking forward to it. It was so, so, so meh.
4) Biergarten. German polka band = good. Fun dancing = good. Great beer = good. Food = so very bad. Nothing was restocked and we waited ages to get simple bread and salads.
5) Ohanas Dinner. The food was salty and inedible, the entertainment was loud and obnoxious. And I was so looking forward to it.

 

[tinkerbellybutton]

To me the most overrated restaurant was Le Cellier. Now that it's a signature I don't hear as much about it, but before that I could never understand what all the hype was about. We tried it twice and didn't understand the appeal.

Boma is another one that gets rave reviews, but we actually thought our meal there (dinner) was pretty disgusting. I will try to give it another chance one day, but it's been 7 years since we tried it and I haven't had the heart to try it again just yet.

Perhaps not overrated, but 1900 Park Fare was the worst meal we have had/paid for inside or outside of Disney. This is probably the one place we will never return to. And I always give places a second chance incase we just hit it on an off night. It was awful!

 

[MrsDuck]

1900PF
Brown Derby

 

[MatoMany]

I am honestly surprised when I read these boards at how many people have had unpleasant experiences with Disney dining! We really enjoyed all of our meals, there is not one I'd complain about! However, if I picked our least favorite it would definitely be Chef Mickey's! Although it was nice to meet the characters it was so very crowded, I felt like we were dining with the families next to us we were all so crowded in there. The food wasn't awful, I just don't really have anything memorable about it!

With me I just had a really bad experiences with some restaurants.. One restaurant served me food I was allergic to then tried to blame me for not telling them I was allergic. I figured if I said to the server don't put x, y, z on my food several times and asked when it was served it if had it on it that it was ok, wasn't figuring that they would put it on then scrap it off when they realized I didn't want it. I didn't realize I needed to put it in writing to ensure I got a dish that I asked for. According to the waiter I was at fault because I hadn't had it written on our reservation that I was allergic to that particular food item. Allergic reactions while pregnant suck.. On top of that it was WCC and I saw the waiter rag on a child (8 or 9 Id say) until they were sobbing while all the other adults around him laughed. I can't stand when adults pick on children, to me its just wrong. So, not a restaurant I can trust to serve me food I can eat and not a restaurant I like the environment of. I wouldn't return to that restaurant.

The other two I mentioned I just didn't care for Id still go back to. In fact Im going back to one of them this coming trip and giving it a second chance. I try to always give restaurants two chances before discounting them, anyone can have an off night.

 

[bumbershoot]

What restaurants do you constantly hear great things, but you just don't get what the fuss is all about?

For us it was Via Napoli. Pizza was awful. DH had literally just been in Italy and loved the pizza in Italy. And did not care for it at vn. He was really hungry so he ate more than we did. I had two bites. The second was to make sure new stopped at one slice and if you knew him and pizza you would see how different that is.

Worst, the server didn't care that I had only had two bites. And they weren't big bites. She just cleared my plate and didn't ask anything. Not even I would like anything else. I wouldn't, because if you can mess up a margharita (don't think hate spells right for the pizza ) pizza you probably can do other things, but she should have asked.

That and the horrible noise in the place add up to us never having a need to try it again.


Whereas we like Brown Derby, but that's likely because we only get the tofu noodle bowl. I have heard maybe one complaint about that while all the meat dishes consistently get "meh" reviews.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

To me the most overrated restaurant - where the food was inedible by most of our party was CRT for lunch. After spending over $400 for 7 of us to each lunch - 4 of us couldn't eat their food. My kids are excellent eaters and they didn't like the food. Plus our server seemed like he would rather be somewhere else. Would rather go to Akershus for the princesses plus we like the food there.

 

[lovelyvacations]

Fultons crab house
(I've had better crab at home, and I live in Wisconsin). It was that bad.

 

[Eastern]

Somebody hated Marrakesh but we loved that one. You get a variety of food for about $12 (meal has a few things on the plate), they are happy to give you a cup of tap water, and no tipping. I'd say that one is underrated.

And btw I am not saying all Disney restaurants are bad, just that they are overrated for the price. eg People absolutely rave about Via Napoli, but it is really just a pizza joint that charges $25 pp (without drinks).

 

[Planogirl]

My least favorites are Chef Mickey's and 50's Primetime. The food just isn't good at those places.

I love Boma and Via Napoli though. DS and I shared a large pizza at Via Napoli and it was way too much for us. I thought that it was a decent deal.

 

[lovin'fl]

Somebody hated Marrakesh but we loved that one. You get a variety of food for about $12 (meal has a few things on the plate), they are happy to give you a cup of tap water, and no tipping. I'd say that one is underrated.

Marrakesh is the TS place with belly dancers (that we couldn't see from our table)...so there is tipping. The CS place there, Tangierine Cafe, is AWESOME!!!!!

 

[ArthurKing1220]

You know what's sad reading through many of these suggestions (many of which I also agree with)? At one time, many of the places that are being mentioned really weren't overrated and in fact were fantastic dining experiences. Indeed, I'd suggest that one of the reasons you're seeing some of the same names pop up again and again is, ironically, because of the fact that, back in the day, they really were excellent places to eat and those reputations have survived even as reality has changed.

For example, Le Cellier. No question, I think it's one of the most overrated restaurants in the park -- the quality of the steak is abominable. But I also will completely admit that, at one time -- think back in the beginning of the Eisner era -- Le Cellier was probably producing fantastic quality meals with excellent product.

Same thing with Coral Reef. Again, no question, it's on my "most overrated" list too. The place has needed a rehab for ten years. But I can also tell you that, back in the 90s, the Coral Reef really was a superb dining experience.

I could go on -- Ohana's, California Grill, etc. I still think you can get excellent dining experiences at Disney but it takes much more strategy and planning and thought to do so -- under Eisner's Dining Renaissance, you could pretty much just throw a dart at a restaurant list and know that, wherever you ended up, you were going to have a good experience. Not so much anymore. And I think one of the repercussions of the decline in dining has been a rising sentiment that many places are now "overrated."