Norway food?

[labdogs42]

The menu looks pretty weird for the Norway princess lunch and dinner. Do they have any "normal" food there? I would love to eat here with my Stepsister and her girls, but I don't want everyone to starve because they don't like the food. Do they have something there for picky eaters? How about for the kids? Any input is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[aripantaloon]

I was wondering the same thing about kids' food at the Akershus Princess lunch. I was just reviewing the menus on allearsnet and realized that DD4 will be eating bread for lunch if they don't have anything like chicken tenders or other typical "kid" fare. Oops on my part!

 

[stopher1]

It's "normal" to Norwegians!

Seriously though, the food choices are good, and they do have "typical" kids fare that you would find elsewhere. The childs menu includes hot dogs, cheese pizza, & raviolis and fruit along with the more traditional fare. Even though it's a character lunch, it's still in one of the WS pavillions, and the more traditional foods prevail. We've eaten there (pre-princess invasion when it was just the Norwegian experience) and our once very picky 9 yr enjoyed the selection greatly. Since it's a buffet setting, they can pick and choose from a lot of different things.


From the DIS restaurant pages...

Prince & Princesses Royal Feast - For Guests 9 & under - The Royal Feast begins with a Taste of Norway, choose from a variety of sliced deli meats, cheeses, prepared salads, and breads. The Lunch Entree Selections include: Grilled Chicken Breast or Grilled Salmon (served with corn and boiled potatoes), Cheese Ravioli, Pasta and Meatballs, Hot Dog (served with corn), Cheese Pizza, and Viking Turkey & Cheese Roll Up (served with grapes). Includes choice of juice, 1% milk, or bottled water and dessert from the Royal Chef's Dessert Plate, which features Tradional Rice Cream, Chocolate Mousse, and Lingonberry Cheesecake.

 

[Katiebell]

We went for breakfast, and it was great "American-style" breakfast food. We looked at lunch and dinner, but opted not to, because the choices didn't look appealing to us. We like trying new things -- loved Boma and Tangierine -- but it just didn't do it for us. Breakfast was

If you want a princess-y dinner (but not as expensive as CRT) you might try 1900 PF -- that's Cinderella and Friends

 

[MickeyNicki]

That is why we took our nieces to the breakfast instead. Kids always love breakfast food...but they were too rapt up in the Princesses to eat a bite!

 

[MississippiMamma]

We went for lunch. Only the appetizers are buffet; the meal is off the menu. The kids menu is very "normal." DH ordered the sandwich & salad and it was great. I had one of the traditional dishes (started with a k??) and it was just a very good meat-loaf. The princesses were wonderful. DD10 thought she was too old to care about princesses but she was wrong. DS12 tried to act cool, but when Jasmine ran her fingers through his hair I thought he would split his face grinning. They brought a selection of desserts for the whole table and it was good too. When you go in they take a picture of you with your family and a princess (Belle was ours) and come around and sell it to you. Ours was great and we bought it. I think they're about to raise the price and make the picture part of the package.

 

[tink22]

It's "normal" to Norwegians!

So true! I just spent 10 months living in Norway and actually what is served in the restaurant is not really even close to some of the yummy foods they have in the REAL Norway.

I don't know why pizza, ravioli, chicken, lamb, ribs, salmon, shrimp, salad and cold cuts are not 'normal' but maybe most people just go in to this thinking they won't like it or it's 'weird' or have certain expectations.
If you eat in Akershus you are eating in a Norwegian restaurant that just happens to have princesses in it. Fortunately for most pickey eaters they do have a kids menu (which I see many adults order off of as well) so I am sure your little princesses (and maybe stepsister?) will be fine with the pizza, pasta selection. The koldtbord or 'cold buffet' is good too and has a fairly large selection of things for an appetizer.
I recommend the kjøttkaker w/ potatoes for a tasty entree. Unless you go for lunch and then you HAVE to try the salmon sandwich with seafood soup. Det er veldig bra! Nam nam!
Lykke til og god reise!

 

[M 'n C]

We went in 06 and enjoyed the food. I was a tad nervous as well as to whether I'd like it or not but I am pretty adventurous so I was not disappointed. I did find that the food was pretty close to other things I'd eat like their version of meatloaf mentioned above, fish dishes, etc. There wasn't anything off the wall like liver or squid (my opinions - not shared by all) that I would run from.

 

[HeatherinVT]

im a little nervous too but to but the kids menu looks pretty good...heck i woudl love for her to have an actual chicken breast rather then chicken nugget like all over the rest of the world.

Im going to wing it! Wish us luck!
i figure if its bad we will grab a snack later!


What are you all going to order?

 

[Katiebell]

Not that the food wasn't "normal", just the traditional flavor combinations from the menu didn't sound appealing to us: venison with lingonberries, rutabagas, and Jarlsberg cheese; kjottkaker (which I understand is a type of meatloaf) with cauliflower and red-wine beet sauce; lamb with thyme-oil and cabbage; trout with stewed red cabbage, apples, bacon, roasted onion and beet jam. And there was quite a bit of seafood on the menu (naturally), which DH doesn't eat, and I only occasionally order fish, so...

I know a lot of people love this place, but we decided to stick with breakfast

 

[KatMark]

DH and I went last year (not for the Princesses...he wanted to try the food). It was just okay. The cold buffet was good; the entrees were fair--nothing spectacular. My DH had the braised lamb and said it was okay. I had the Traditional Kjottkaker and did not like it. The desserts were pretty good.

 

[MJMcBride]

Do they have something there for picky eaters?

I think the troll meat is pretty good

 

[labdogs42]

I think the troll meat is pretty good

That's what I'll tell by DH to order!

I think We're going to try 1900 Park Faire this time. Norway is sounding a little too adventurous for us. Thanks for the scoop!

 

[stopher1]

I think We're going to try 1900 Park Faire this time. Norway is sounding a little too adventurous for us.

I hope you enjoy it! We did 1900 Park Faire last Sep, and our kids were not all that thrilled with it. DW and I were not that impressed either, but the atmosphere was fun... we really liked the characters, though. By the end of the trip, both DS9 and DD4 were lamenting the fact that their only real choices on the DDP were mac and cheese, chicken fingers or pizza. They were quite bored - and honestly aren't looking forward to the meal part of our upcoming trip.

The WS restaurants really are an experience in and of themselves, and definitely aren't your typical fare. That's what our family likes best about them, though. We always make a point of trying at least one new restaurant every trip, and make a point of not looking at the menu first so as to not go into it with any pre-conceived notions. We tried Marrakesh last fall for the first time, and I was quite apprehensive going into it - not from reading the menu, but from personal knowledge of some of the food types from that part of the world. DW's family is half white, half middle eastern, so she grew up with that similar kinds of food and had no problem making that ADR... the kids like that kind of food too since grandpa makes it for them every visit he makes to our house....but I don't. HOWEVER, when we went, the food was incredible, and the entertainment was awesome. We're going back again this fall!!! Conversely, I am Norwegian, and grew up with the offerings at Akershus plus many, many more that many "typical" Americans would find wierd... and I "made" DW try it on our honeymoon, and we've been back numerous times as a family...and they all love it.

A year ago we went to Italy - hadn't been back since our honeymoon - and were quite disappointed. We went to Rose & Crown in the UK on our honeymoon and haven't been back since because we didn't like it then, but we're planning a return visit this time around to give it another try. We loved Coral Reef on our HM, but in '06 the food and service were terrible so we won't go back for a few years to soften the opinion from that experience. Yak & Yeti is one we really want to try this time around, too.

There's nothing wrong with "sticking with what you know" - it's just fun to try new things and expand your horizons... IMHO.

 

[tink70]

I was also worried about the food being a picky eater, so we went on thanksgiving, and I got to eat traditional turkey.
It was Delicous!!! Other diners with me had the "Norwegian " food and also enjoyed their meal.
I think you may be pleasantly surprised.

 

[myAAbatteries&aTD]

Dh and I ate their on our honeymoon and really enjoyed it..... not nearly as much as his favorite Biergarten, but we thought the food was good. We're going for lunch in June and I'm excited about eating there again....

 

[WeRDisBound]

We had lunch there summer before last. No offense intended, Norwegians, but the food was atrocious!!! Adult meals were basically inedible! Children's meal grilled chicken was cold. If it weren't for the princesses, the whole meal would have been a bust. But the second I saw the smile on DD's face when the princesses started making the rounds, it was worth going. That being said, we're going to 1900 PF in July!

 

[Katiebell]

Again, it really is a matter of personal taste. Some people really enjoy the traditional flavors and ingredients of Norway -- beets, cauliflower, cabbage, rutabaga, lingonberries, seafood, venison, lamb, Jarlsberg cheese, caraway, dill -- and some just...don't

I lived in a town when I was growing up that had a large Norwegian and German population. They had a big Norwegian dinner every year and made this stuff called lutefisk -- dried salted cod prepared with lye But some folks just loved it. The Germans hosted a big Oktoberfest each year, and I loved the sauerbraten sandwiches and peach kuchen...

I hope you enjoy it! We did 1900 Park Faire last Sep, and our kids were not all that thrilled with it. DW and I were not that impressed either, but the atmosphere was fun... we really liked the characters, though. By the end of the trip, both DS9 and DD4 were lamenting the fact that their only real choices on the DDP were mac and cheese, chicken fingers or pizza. They were quite bored - and honestly aren't looking forward to the meal part of our upcoming trip.

I am a little confused by this. I thought Akershus had a typical WDW kid's menu (hot dog, pasta, cheese pizza), but at 1900 PF, the kids could eat anything on the buffet -- including all of the choices available to adults?

 

[stopher1]

Again, it really is a matter of personal taste. Some people really enjoy the traditional flavors and ingredients of Norway -- beets, cauliflower, cabbage, rutabaga, lingonberries, seafood, venison, lamb, Jarlsberg cheese, caraway, dill -- and some just...don't

I lived in a town when I was growing up that had a large Norwegian and German population. They had a big Norwegian dinner every year and made this stuff called lutefisk -- dried salted cod prepared with lye But some folks just loved it. The Germans hosted a big Oktoberfest each year, and I loved the sauerbraten sandwiches and peach kuchen...

I am a little confused by this. I thought Akershus had a typical WDW kid's menu (hot dog, pasta, cheese pizza), but at 1900 PF, the kids could eat anything on the buffet -- including all of the choices available to adults?

UGHH - lutefisk is terrible IMO - my grandmother used to make it every New Year's Eve - blech. Just my opinion though. So many other wonderful options to cook and that's what she made every single year...

When we last ate at Akershus as a family (I've been there once since on a solo trip while in FL for business), the DDP didn't exist yet, and the kids ate off of the buffet like anyone else. We are planning on going back to Akershus this Oct trip though. When we ate at 1900 PF this past Sept., the entire family was not all that thrilled with the buffet choices - most were just ok, some were down right lousy - in our opinion. DW and I ate there years ago, and remembered it was great, so we included it in our 07 ts line-up. That time around wasn't as great as previously - to us. As a whole - our DS9 and DD4 were very, VERY tired of having to eat pizza, chicken tenders or mac n cheese throughout our week at WDW last Sep. It just seems like those are the "standards" on the kids menus, and it just stinks, IMO. There are so many other wonderful things to eat on the adult menus, but the kids get stuck with just 3 or 4 options (if you also factor in PB&J).

Buffets are a great option to counter this, but very often the practical side of me comes out and you don't get the same value for the money at buffets as you do at traditional sit down meals (even on free dining). I always keep the receipts from our trips, and write down the total "cost" of the meal when on the DDP, to see how we "did" - and hands down, you "spend" more at almost all of the traditional ts restaurants than the buffets. Then when compared to the cost of the DDP, you can see how much you "saved" by using the DDP vs. paying cash. But the buffets give a much greater variety of food options for the kids, so you give up some of the "savings" by selecting greater variety. That then translates into "savings" for me since i don't have to hear about how terrible the kids menus are all week long. We've got 5 buffets out of 8 ts meals on our agenda for Oct.

 

[Katiebell]

When we last ate at Akershus as a family (I've been there once since on a solo trip while in FL for business), the DDP didn't exist yet, and the kids ate off of the buffet like anyone else. We are planning on going back to Akershus this Oct trip though. When we ate at 1900 PF this past Sept., the entire family was not all that thrilled with the buffet choices - most were just ok, some were down right lousy - in our opinion. DW and I ate there years ago, and remembered it was great, so we included it in our 07 ts line-up. That time around wasn't as great as previously - to us. As a whole - our DS9 and DD4 were very, VERY tired of having to eat pizza, chicken tenders or mac n cheese throughout our week at WDW last Sep. It just seems like those are the "standards" on the kids menus, and it just stinks, IMO. There are so many other wonderful things to eat on the adult menus, but the kids get stuck with just 3 or 4 options (if you also factor in PB&J).

Buffets are a great option to counter this, but very often the practical side of me comes out and you don't get the same value for the money at buffets as you do at traditional sit down meals (even on free dining). I always keep the receipts from our trips, and write down the total "cost" of the meal when on the DDP, to see how we "did" - and hands down, you "spend" more at almost all of the traditional ts restaurants than the buffets. Then when compared to the cost of the DDP, you can see how much you "saved" by using the DDP vs. paying cash. But the buffets give a much greater variety of food options for the kids, so you give up some of the "savings" by selecting greater variety. That then translates into "savings" for me since i don't have to hear about how terrible the kids menus are all week long. We've got 5 buffets out of 8 ts meals on our agenda for Oct.

My understanding is that Akershus still has the Koldtbordt, but the lunches and dinners are ordered off a menu -- and the kid's menu is typical WDW kid's food And you know, if I was in the mood, I'd probably give the lunch or dinner a try, because I really do like to try different international cuisines. Problem is, I would really have to be in the mood and feeling adventurous, and I can't plan that mood 180 days in advance! The breakfast was fabulous, though, the restaurant is quaint and lovely, and the princesses were so...princess-y it really was a great meal I almost scheduled another breakfast ADR, but we opted for Mary Poppins and Alice at 1900 PF instead. Yeah, I'm 44 going on 4

I always recommend buffets to people who say their kids are sick of or don't get enough to eat with the kids' meals. Yes, dollar wise, a sit down is a more "valuable" use of DDP credits (some restaurants much more than others), but really a buffet is the best overall deal -- all salads, appetizers, entrees, sides, desserts, and non-alcoholic beverages are included. And I know a lot of people knock buffets, but we loved Boma for dinner, are really looking forward to Tusker House. Biergarten has lots of fans. We scheduled CP, Boma, and 1900 PF for breakfast -- yes, I know, breakfast isn't the most bang for my DDP buck, but we like breakfast buffets. Especially a late seating when it's more for brunch and will usually tide us over until dinner (as long as we get a Dole Whip Float midday!) But I'm sure we'll end up paying for at least one of those breakfasts OOP to make better use of our DDP credits.