"Non-popular" restaurants at Epcot?

[CJ]

I pretty much make all of my dining decisions based on this website.
It may sound silly, but I really trust the opinions of the people here.

So my question is: how many of you base your opinion of restaurants (in particular for my own interest: Nine Dragons in China at Epcot) on experiences you had years ago? I know personally, if I have a bad experience at a WDW restaurant I am reluctant to ever go there again! There are so many choices that it's easy to "write a place off"...... but restaurants do sometimes evolve.

So, for example, does Nine Dragons, 2010 version, deserve its less than stellar reputation?

 

[PixieDustandEeyore]

I don't know. I look at the Menus ahead of time and pick from what sounds good to me.
I didn't have any interest in Le Cellier (as Im canadian and was like wth?? this isn't canadian food this has alot of Italian influences) anywhoo when I saw poutine on the menu (ahh real Canadian food) I was like awesome we're going.

On the other hand I really wanted to see the fish tanks at Coral Reef but I tried and tried and could not get excited about the menu. So I just base it off of what food sounds exciting at the time not on bad experiences etc. If I went based on bad experiences I wouldn't go anywhere eventually as you can get a bad day with every restaurant.

As far as Nine Dragons I do read reviews religiously and ive recently seemed some good reviews for Nine Dragons
Im not being flamey that people decide based on other people's reviews or past experiences...I'm just stating how I do it...

I think no matter what I always remember im in WDW so who cares if I end up with a burger teehee

 

[jlhill4444]

I am not sure. We ate there in May and really enjoyed it. My kids both love Chinese and it was much better than the takeout where we live. It compares with PF Changs which our family loves. I am not sure if the current opinion is based on past experiences or not, but we have only eaten there recently and would go back.

I know that I tend to write a place off if I had a bad experience. There are so many great places to eat at Disney it is hard to justify giving a place a second chance.

 

[hart6066]

We are pretty picky about food, and I have to say, that I think the food at Epcot has gotten a lot BETTER over the last 5 years or so. I used to think that it was pretty bad, but the last few times it has been quite good. DH and I often share a CS meal for lunch even though we're on DDP, so we often use another CS as a snack for the whole family. This way we have sampled lots of places--especially at Epcot. And I have to say that I'm pretty impressed--and we live just outside a major city with very good restaurants.

What I think has gone down are the buffets--I think they are really awful. We are skipping them (except for the princesses!) this year b/c the kids say it's not important and we are SOOO happy! Even Boma was just pretty awful!

But Epcot was really quite good--haven't tried everything, of course, but have yet to be disappointed!

 

[Eeyore's Pal]

I enjoy reading reviews, but use that only as part of making a decision.
Restaurants change as chefs and cooks change, so old reviews can be misleading.

I also find that where a person lives -- big city with lots of cosmopolitan choices v. more small towns/rural areas where you are more likely to have good homestyle cooking -- gives the reviewers different perspectives on different types of cuisines.

Looking at the menu to see if there's something I would like is a bigger part of my decision.

 

[KathyK]

I have completely written off Fulton's based on our dinner there in 1998. The food and service were both terrible. I've never been to Nine Dragons, and probably won't based on the reviews I've read (some reviews dating back to 1996).

 

[BYC]

I don't know. I look at the Menus ahead of time and pick from what sounds good to me.
I didn't have any interest in Le Cellier (as Im canadian and was like wth?? this isn't canadian food this has alot of Italian influences) anywhoo when I saw poutine on the menu (ahh real Canadian food) I was like awesome we're going.

On the other hand I really wanted to see the fish tanks at Coral Reef but I tried and tried and could not get excited about the menu. So I just base it off of what food sounds exciting at the time not on bad experiences etc. If I went based on bad experiences I wouldn't go anywhere eventually as you can get a bad day with every restaurant.

As far as Nine Dragons I do read reviews religiously and ive recently seemed some good reviews for Nine Dragons
Im not being flamey that people decide based on other people's reviews or past experiences...I'm just stating how I do it...

I think no matter what I always remember im in WDW so who cares if I end up with a burger teehee

AH..POUTINE!! My daughter spent 3 weeks in Canada showing dogs. All she could talk about was poutine! She ate it every day!

 

[gillep]

I read the reviews but I am willing to try anything once!!!!

On our last trip friends of ours went to nine dragons on the night DH and I went to Le Cellier, as it was one of the only places in epcot that they could get a same day reservation. They both really liked the food and only had good things to say about it (they made it sound so good that I wished we had gone with them instead of our mediocre Le Cellier experience). Our friends are from NYC and eat really good Chinese food regularly so while I am sure it wasn't as awesome as some of the Chinese they have had it had to have been pretty good to get such reviews from them!!!

 

[Pixiedust34]

I had the kids pick an Epcot restaurant for our upcoming trip, and they said that they want to give Nine Dragons a try so I booked a lunch ADR there.

Nine Dragons has always been under my radar because we can get pretty good Chinese food at home inexpensively. After I made our ADR, I started paying attention to Nine Dragons reviews and have been pleasantly surprised with many positive comments about the food and service. I'm looking forward to giving it a try!

I just posted on another thread (about resort choice) that it's good to try something new once in a while. If you don't try new restaurants, you'll never know if you're passing up on what could be a new favorite meal. If you'd like to eat at one of the less popular restaurants, give it a go.

ETA: Nine Dragons had a rehab within the past couple of years, so if you're looking at reviews the more recent ones would be most helpful.

 

[Dsny4fun]

I ate at Nine Dragons last Sept with DS16...and we both really enjoyed it. Food & service were some of the best we had all week.

 

[Happy2BMommy]

We liked this place as well....and the French place!

 

[Nadjalu]

While I value all opinions and everyone's insight on these boards....I don't listen when it comes to reviews of restaurants.

Personally I have found that there is good and bad of every restaurant and people don't really know until they go for themselves, so with this in mind, I look at the menus and pick based on what I LIKE.

I will read all reviews but have not listened to any and have never been disappointed with my choices and have visited many unpopular places.

Views and opinions of restaurants can be based on anything, for instance I read alot of "we hated the food, it was gross". But what about it was gross? It is to general...that isn't enough for me.
So I know what I like and will choose based on the dishes I like whether or not someone else thought it was good.

 

[nytimez]

I didn't put too much stock in reviews, unless they're from people whose opinions I already know are similar to mine.

People tend to be quick to write about a bad experience, and not as quick to write about a good one. That's less true here on the DIS, but I think it still colors the experiences of many.

That said, I enjoyed a dinner at Nine Dragons years ago, but haven't been there lately. I had the Peking Duck, and it was fantastic. I understand that's not on the menu anymore. A lot goes into making that dish.

 

[JCMHutch]

I tend to read the reviews, but will still try a restaurant if the reviews are bad. Two of my favorites, San Angel Inn & Coral Reef, get a lot of bad reviews but I've had great experiences there. One restaurant that has good reviews, Sanaa, DH & I thought was just ok (I do not like dark meat chicken and that is what they used in the Chicken Curry dish).

One place we went this past trip was Kouzinna and we were surprised at how quiet the restaurant was. There were only 3 tables with people seated when we arrived at 6:30 pm for dinner. When we left around 7:30 most tables were full but there was no one waiting in the entrance. I'm surprised because DH & I loved this place it is on our must go back list.

 

[gigi1313]

nine dragons is one of our family's fave epcot restaurants... san angel was very disappointing back in the day, but with the refurb, we will likely consider trying it again in the future...

 

[CJ]

Based on the responses here, I've decided to make my own opinions and give many new places a try this trip. I'll let you all know what we think of Nine Dragons, Tutta Italia, Kona Cafe, and Jiko when we return (we've never been to any of them!).

 

[LisaxMarie]

I usually base it off the menu or past experinces with either myself, or people who I know share that same "resturant brainwave."

 

[phyllis1966]

The only time I pay really close attention to a restaurant's reviews is when they're mostly all bad, otherwise I like to see for myself (well, actually, all of us). That said, Biergarten seems to get good reviews, but the one time we ate there, with extended family so there were 7 of us, we all disliked it, except for the entertainment. That was back in 2003, and we've never had the desire to go back.

Restaurant Marrakesh and San Angel Inn consistently get bad reviews, but we enjoy them both and have never had a bad meal at either place - maybe not always mind-blowing, but always good.

 

[TDC Nala]

I don't think anyone should pick a restaurant they've never tried based on reviews on a message board from people you don't know. If the menu looks good to you, try it.

Be careful about Le Cellier's poutine. Unless they've changed it since last year, even according to the Canadians who work at Le Cellier it's not "authentic" poutine because they don't use cheese curds. What they were serving was basically fries in gravy.

 

[TheBig2na]

My wife and I ate in Morocco and it was terrible. loud, bad food, our worst dinner in Disney period. Haven't tried China or Japan, not big on it to be honest. Mexico is hit and miss. half our group loved it, half didn't. Being Canadian I had no interest in Le Cellier, and now I will never miss it again. Great food.