We ate in both last week (along with Citricos).......and Narcoossee's was reaffirmed as our favorite signature dining experience to date. Note that we haven't eaten at Cali Grill, Artist's Pointe, or Flying Fish....but none of those menu's appeal to us.
Narcoossee's is just an overall better experience for us. We always plan the meal for a night with MK fireworks, and time our reservation accordingly. So not only to we get a great meal, we get the Electrical Water Pageant and a great view of the MK fireworks.
As for atmosphere, we prefer Narcoossee's. I like to call it casual elegance. It's upscale and romantic, while being relaxed and an appropriate place to bring well behaved kids as well. The service is excellent, and slightly less formal than Yachtsman's, which work for our family of five.
As for the food, if you desire is to have a big fat steak, than Yachtsman's would be the better choice. Of course, if it is a steak you want you can get just as good a one at Le Cellier for a single table service credit. Overall my wife preferred the Mushroom Filet at Le Cellier to the Yachtsman's filet, and my Kansas City Strip at Le cellier was superior to my $59 Wagyu loin at Yachtsman's. Mind you, I've got a good amount of steak eating under my belt, from Ruth's Chris, the Palm, Morton's, most of the big NYC steakhouses.....so I'm pretty confident of which I speak. While my wife's filet at Yachtsman's was excellent, the sides (a heap of merely average mashed) were underwhelming. My $59 Waygu strip was disappointing, although I don't know if all the inedible fat was typical of the cut, or a bad butchering job. Oh, and the truffle mashed with that was underwhelming as well. On the other hand, the surf and turf at Narcoossee's was excellent. It comes with two smaller twin medallions of filet, but those are tender and flavorful. The butter poached rock lobster tail we got last week was humongous. I ordered the steamed Maine lobster and it had great flavor. The potaoes gratin at Narcoossee's are far superior to Yachtsman's mashed pot. We were on the deluxe dining plan and I have to say apps are about even between the locations, with a slight nod to Narcoossee's. Deserts were about even between the two locations, with a slight nod to Yachtsman's.
So all in all we like the food at Narcoossee's more than Yachtsman's. The food at Citiricos was also superior to Yachtsman's. My wife had the filet at both locations and Citiricos was the hands down winner. But what seals the deal for Narcoossee's is the atmosphere. Yachtsman's is elegant, but it doesn't offer anything unique, as Narcoossee's does on the waters of the Seven Seas Lagoon with a view of Cindarella Castle and the fireworks.
Oh, and as another aside, the staff at Narcoossee's is much more accomodating when on the dining plan. We always get a cappuccino, cafe mocha, or pressed pot of coffee at Narcoossee's with desert and we never have a tab to settle at the end of the meal. At Yachtsman's we were billed seperately for the coffee.
You really can't go wrong with either, but we prefer Narcoossee's.
