Need help deciding on restaurants!

[Jhinchey3]

Hi there!

I'm going to Disney in January with my boyfriend for the first time together and his first trip since he was 11. We're having three dinners there and he's a chef and both of us really love food so we're trying to make the most of our experience while we are there. We have a reservation one night at Monsiuer Paul's and I'm having a hard time deciding on the other two places! Some of the places I have narrowed it down to are Yachtsman steakhouse, Le Cellier, Jikos, Tiffin's, and Artist point. We are having breakfast at Boma one morning and Kona Café another and still need 1 more. I would love any insight and suggestions from people who have been to any of these or have a favorite that I have not listed here thank you in advance! Also not sure if this would make a huge difference but we are doing Magic Kingdom one day, Epcot the next with possible park hop if we have extra time and Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios the last day.

Thank you!!

 

[Pygoplites]

I'd definitely recommend Tiffins, which you can do for lunch or dinner. Yachtsman and Le Cellier are good, but might be less interesting for a professional chef. I would put Flying Fish and Jiko ahead of those 2. Artist Point could be a good choice, but my meals there have been wildly inconsistent--even more than the usual "Disney unpredictability."

There is so much to do at Animal Kingdom, it might be difficult to combine with DHS. I would make a day of it at AK, starting with Tusker House for breakfast, maybe a light lunch of sharing food at Satu'li Canteen or Nomad Lounge, dinner at Tiffins and finish with the Rivers of Light Show. If you need to go to DHS, go there at opening and power through the rides and then had to AK.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I would do Jiko and Artist Point. We've eaten at both multiple times and I've found both the food and service to be consistently good, plus the resorts are gorgeous.

If you are looking for another breakfast, I would consider the Wave at CR or Grand Floridian Cafe.

 

[Dumbo7]

Not high brow but we love Grand Floridian cafe. We often eat a late/breakfast lunch there. As a chef I’d go to Tiffins. There are a lot of former servers there from Victoria and Albert

 

[gharter]

My first votes would be JIKO and Artist Point. However, if you will be in AK for the evening, Tiffins is really good and you will not be disapointed. That also gives you the opportunity to stay for RIver of Light and do the evening package if you like.

 

[need2travel]

Jiko & Citrico's get our vote. Awesome food & service at both and great wine pairings too. Enjoy your decision!

 

[foodiddiedoo]

Can you do Victoria and Albert's? That would impress any chef.

 

[goofy4prez]

Tiffins, Jiko and Artist Point would be my top choices to select from to fill your last two. If I had to eliminate one of them it would be Artist Point by the slimmest of margins. Yachtsman Steakhouse is decent, but behind these three and Le Cellier isn't even in the same league as any of the mentioned restaurants. Of course with all of us here, this is opinion... But only mine is 100% spot on. LOL...

 

[gharter]

Jiko & Citrico's get our vote. Awesome food & service at both and great wine pairings too. Enjoy your decision!

We were at Citricos last month, don't recall any wine parings offered. Lot of wines by the glass. The food was good, but nothing memorable.

 

[BriLovesDisney]

Yachtsman. I have to say no to Artist Point. In our experience it's mediocre (at best) food with abysmal service.

 

[Jhinchey3]

This is great! Thank you all so much! When choosing a time is it better to do an earlier reservation and come back to the park or try to do it at the end when the park is closing? Also is it easier to combine Epcot with Hollywood studios or animal Kingdom with Hollywood studios in park hopping ?

 

[greentea]

This is great! Thank you all so much! When choosing a time is it better to do an earlier reservation and come back to the park or try to do it at the end when the park is closing?

Are you staying onsite? If so, are you driving or using Disney buses? Since there are no buses from resort to resort, if you have a late dinner, you'd either have to bus to a park and transfer to a resort bus or take a lyft/uber/cab.

I don't think there's a right answer, though. Do you like to eat later? Will you want to see any of the nighttime shows? Are you okay with getting caught in the mass of people all leaving at the same time, or would you rather be at dinner and avoid that?

Also is it easier to combine Epcot with Hollywood studios or animal Kingdom with Hollywood studios in park hopping ?

Epcot and Hollywood Studios are very close to each other. You can walk between the two parks or take the boat, so they're very easy to travel between.

 

[halfpintpeggy]

Our favorite restaurant at WDW (although not run by Disney) is Shula's Steakhouse, hands down the best meal & service you will receive on property.

 

[Jhinchey3]

Are you staying onsite? If so, are you driving or using Disney buses? Since there are no buses from resort to resort, if you have a late dinner, you'd either have to bus to a park and transfer to a resort bus or take a lyft/uber/cab.

I don't think there's a right answer, though. Do you like to eat later? Will you want to see any of the nighttime shows? Are you okay with getting caught in the mass of people all leaving at the same time, or would you rather be at dinner and avoid that?

Epcot and Hollywood Studios are very close to each other. You can walk between the two parks or take the boat, so they're very easy to travel between.

We are staying at the carribean beach resort and will have our car so we will be driving a lot of days just trying to find out the logistics of if there's Central Park we should park at and take a bus from there or if they're all OK to park at. I heard Magic Kingdom can be kind of tricky to drive to and park at. Is that the case? The day I'm having a hard time figuring out is the day we are doing Magic Kingdom. I definitely want to see the nighttime show there which is at 8 and there are extra magic hours that day at night time so I'm trying to figure out if I should choose a signature restaurant kind of near there and leave and come back or watch the show and then trying to rush out of the park and get to a dinner. What do you think as far as getting out of the park and get to dinner?

 

[revdon64]

Definitely Tiffins! The food was outstanding. Try The Wave at CR for breakfast... and get those sweet potato pancakes!

California Grill is great. Hollywood Brown Derby is worth the trip as well. Le Cellier has gotten mixed reviews recently, but we haven't actually tried it.

 

[JerseyJanice]

This is great! Thank you all so much! When choosing a time is it better to do an earlier reservation and come back to the park or try to do it at the end when the park is closing? Also is it easier to combine Epcot with Hollywood studios or animal Kingdom with Hollywood studios in park hopping ?

Q1. You’ll want an earlier ADR when the park you plan to be in the evening at closes early. It’s easier to have dinner after the park closes than trying to hurry through a meal so you can make it back for the night-cap show.

Q2. Distance wise, Epcot and the Studios are an easy hop, but I think you should focus most on where you want to do the most attractions, and not the quickest, easiest transportation.