Ok, I've narrowed it down...

[penguinande]

I've narrowed down my list of potential PS's to these:
Le Cellier
Liberty Tree
Mama Melrose
Rainforest Cafe
Sci Fi Dine In
Tony's Town Square
San Angel Inn
Hollywood and Vine

These guidelines might be a little too complicated, but this is what we're taking into consideration:
a. We're on a budget, so we can only do 3-4 (5 at the absolute most) sit downs
b. We want to spend 1 day at each park. After AK and MGM close we might go to one of the other parks that are open later, so we might do more than one PS at the same park.
c. If possible, we would like to make one breakfast, one lunch, and one dinner PS.
d. We love mexican and italian food!

Please let me know what you would do. Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[phyllis1966]

Hi! Reviews of restaurants are so subjective that you may get lots of conflicting advice, but here are my family's opinions of the places on your list:

Le Cellier - DH, MIL, FIL, DD(5) and I tried dinner here for the first time this past November and we all loved it! It was pretty expensive, though. If this will be the only splurge, with the other meals being more casual and kid-friendly, I'd strongly consider it. DD is not too picky, but she only wanted pasta with butter (and she loved the soft pretzel breadsticks!).

LTT - A great character dinner that everyone loved - this time my Mom and Dad were also with us. Of the 7 of us, no one had any complaints. I don't know if you have kids or what their ages are, but even the adults enjoyed the character interaction!

Mama Melrose - I've never been there. I have been to the 50's PTC at MGM and the whole family had a good time and enjoyed the homestyle food.

RFC - The food's pretty good, but there's always a long wait and slow service (in my experience), even at the RFC in my local mall. I'd check the wait and let that help you decide.

Sci-Fi Dine-In - I'd like to try this someday because it sounds like fun!

Tony's Town Square - I'm Italian and my family and I were not impressed with the food here (or the atmosphere).

San Angel Inn - We love authentic Mexican food and we love this place! Our parents complained that they couldn't see because of the mood lighting, but we really like this place, esp. if you can get a table by the water!

I've never eaten at H&V.

In MK, the Crystal Palace has a great character buffet breakfast. 1900 PF at the GF has a great breakfast and dinner (both character). The GF Cafe has nice casual atmosphere and serves a yummy 3 meals a day. Gosh, we like so many places that it's too hard to list them all!

Have fun planning and enjoy your trip!

 

[penguinande]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that we don't have kids. We wouldn't necessarily be opposed to a character meal as long as it's adult-friendly.

 

[penguinande]

Anyone else?

 

[ufgator]

DH and I don't have kids yet either. We both love Le Cellier. It's dungeonlike, and I think the food is really good for the price. Try the cheddar cheese soup and pretzel bread. I had the salmon, which was great. We had a reservation right before Illuminations and we went out and watched show, and food was ready when we came back. Definitely try Le Cellier.

I've eaten lunch at LTT (no characters at lunch) and it was good. It really wasn't that much more than counter service and it was nice to sit down and relax. Good food, esp. strawberry viniagrette on salad, and good service.

Rainforest cafe - Great atmosphere. I like the plant sandwich. The food is not as good as the atmosphere. I would suggest lunch there.

San Angel - haven't eaten there in a long time. Don't like Mexican, but atmosphere is nice.

Haven't eaten at the others.

 

[kpm76]

DH and I love Le Cellier...we had lunch there on our last trip and cannot wait to return. DH had the French Dip (he still talks about it) and I had the chicken sandwich which was delicious! We split the soup and the pretzel bread was yummy....lunch was a great value (I think the total bill was around $30).....

I love mexican too but nothing on the menu at San Angel appealed to me....I'm pretty picky so when I say I like Mexican, it means I like plain tacos and quesadillas.....DH would have liked to try it but it was a struggle for me to find anything I'd order.....

We do not have kids yet but love character meals and found Cape May Cafe to be the most adult friendly and the food was great! That's not to say the other character meals are not good for adults but there were plenty of other childless couplkes at CMC....

We've had the character meal at LTT and it was quite good.....

Good luck with your choices...

 

[DisneyDotty]

I like most of the restaurants you've chosen. That said, here are some things to consider:
1. Do you have a Rainforest near your hometown? We think it's a bit overpriced and weren't impressed by the food and wouldn't choose it as a dining experience at WDW.
2. How about the 50's Prime Time Cafe instead of the Sci Fi DriveIn? I have never been happy with the food at Sci Fi.

We really like the San Angel. (We're going there to celebrate our anniversary--it's very romantic.) I think it's fairly authentic, and much better than Taco Bell kind of Mexican food.
Liberty Tree is such a nice break from the heat/crowds at MK. We also liked lunch at Cinderella's.
And Cape May--yummy!
Bon appetit!

 

[Luv4Disney]

I've narrowed down my list of potential PS's to these:
Le Cellier
Liberty Tree
Mama Melrose
Rainforest Cafe
Sci Fi Dine In
Tony's Town Square
San Angel Inn
Hollywood and Vine

My boyfriend and I go...obviously without kids and here's our opinions.

Le Cellier: Love it, love it! Love it so much we'll be going there twice this year. Once for lunch and once for dinner.

Liberty Tree: Love that too! Flank steak is delish along with all the side dishes. Characters are cute.

Mama Melrose: Boyfriend likes it more than me. We've eaten there a few time on the FDP. Pretty tasty but we'll be trying a new place this year.

Rain Forest Cafe: We've never eaten at the one in Disney because we have one 10 minutes away in our mall. They're all the same, except the one in Disney being a little pricier.

Sci-Fi: Love it. Awesome atmosphere. I had a great sandwich and BF had a great tasty ribs.

Tony's: Lots of bad reviews but we really like it. We've eat there many times and have yet to have a bad experience. Love the pesto to dip the bread in as well.

San Angel Inn: Never eaten there but have been told by many to try it there.

Hollywood & Vine: Will be eating there for the first time this year.

Enjoy! Looks like you've got some great choices!

 

[lajones81]

Love:
Liberty Tree

Like:
San Angel Inn

Didn't Enjoy:
Mama Melrose's
Rainforest Cafe
Sci Fi Dine In

Haven't Tried:
Le Cellier
Tony's Town Square
Hollywood and Vine

 

[aubriee]

The only bad food experience we had this past January was at the Mexican pavillion. This is coming from a native Texan who loves good Mexican food. My son and I both left our plates virtually untouched. My 8 y/o GD was hungry and really tried, but finally said 'this is not Mexican food. Can we go someplace else?' We left and had to buy another meal elsewhere. The food just wasn't edible to us. Of course, we are used to authentic Tex-Mex.

Of the other restaraunts on your list. I have PS for my trip in May at LeCellier, Mama Melrose (Fantasmic Pkg), Rainforest Cafe (at AK), and Sci Fi. We ate at Hollywood & Vine in January and it was just OK. I don't plan on going back, but it's the cheapest of the Fantasmic Pkg options.

We ate at Crystal Palace for dinner and I plan on eating there again for breakfast in May. The characters were wonderful. There was a young couple next to us and they got just as much attention as the kids. They were great.

If I was only going to do 3-4 sit downs, I would choose #1 Le Cellier, #2 Mama Melrose, #3 Crystal Palace, and #4 Rainforest or Sci Fi for the atmosphere. You might also want to think about the castle for dinner and make an early PS to ask to sit next to the windows. Bomas would also be a good option if you're a little adventurous.

 

[gilld]

We have found the quality/temperature of food at Sci Fi awful each time we've been there, service as very poor as well, though it is a fun place. We've given it 5 chances so far but won't go again. The others sound great.

 

[lmhall2000]

Here's our opinion...we're pretty easy to please...so if it's bad, we really don't care to give it another chance...

Le Cellier...KEEP IT!

Liberty Tree...KEEP IT...however, if you've never eaten at the castle...we really enjoy eating there each trip...but the characters at LT are the best...food is simply my grandma's at Thanksgiving.

Mama Melrose...KEEP IT

Rainforest Cafe...DUMP IT...nothing Disney about it...food so-so..would do Donald's Breakfastsaurus or stick to Tusker House for counter barbecue.

Sci-Fi Dine In...KEEP IT...we've tried this twice and loved it both times..thought the food was very good.

Tony's... DUMP IT!! Can not say this enough...I would rather do Cinderella's castle for lunch or dinner ANYDAY than eat here..our worst experience ever. Plus you've got Mama Melrose's so think you'll have the pasta taken care of.

San Angel Inn..Maybe keep it...my dh is not a big mex fan but have never heard bad things and the ambience is amazing here!

Hollywood and Vine...DUMP IT...just so so and no charm...if you need another MGM rest. I'd go with Brown Derby...it is pricey..or I'd even go to a resort restaurant and try Beaches & Cream, Kona Cafe, Boma's to enjoy visiting another resort...Beaches & Cream would be around the Boardwalk and Kona is at Poly where you could see the electric parad and Boma's is at AK where you could see animals.

There...hope that helps!

Enjoy!!!
Tara

 

[ducklite]

Le Cellier--This one's a keeper. Lunch is much less expensive and still excellent.

Liberty Tree--I prefer lunch to the family stle dinner here. Never had a bad lunch, never had a great dinner.

Mama Melrose--Yum!

Rainforest Cafe--Don't waste the time or $$--there are SOOO many better choices!

Sci Fi Dine In--There are better choices, but it's not terrible.

Tony's Town Square--Mama Melroses is MUCH better Italian for less $$

San Angel Inn--YUCK, YUCK, YUCK!! Worst meal I ever had at WDW.

Hollywood and Vine--There are lots of better choices, 1900 PF is a MUCH better character dinner

Anne

 

[java]

Hmm No kids....I would do Le Cellier for sure..and we like San Angel Inn(this is not a taco place...) the only problem I have with it is the mushy rice. I have never had good food at MGM(although sci fi has yummy shakes!)Rainforest at AK is overpriced IMHO and typical rc food. Would you ever branch out to a hotel for a park break? Like a dinner at Flying Fish or Spoodles? The other restaurants on your lists are ones we go to but only because we are with our 4 children. If we were adults only no way. Tony's was one of the worst meals I have ever had(now that was a few years ago so maybe it is better but I doubt it)

 

[Terk-1]

Here's my 2 cents:

Le Cellier -- This is a great place to dine
Liberty Tree -- Not bad here. Would strongly recommend Crystal Palace.
Rainforest Cafe -- Did not care for the food here at all
Sci Fi Dine In -- Was very disappointed last trip. Would strongly recommend 50's Primetime instead.
Tony's Town Square -- Just ok

 

[Stiff]

did not enjoy H&V or Rainforest

San Angel is hit or miss...Ive eaten there 3 times...liked it two times, hated it once....the atmosphere is great though

havent eaten at Sci Fi in years (going to go there this trip) but we really enjoyed it last time we were there

tonys town square was mediocre

havent tried the rest, but we have a PS for le cellier this trip and Im very anxious to try it

 

[java]

Oh I wanted to add one of my favorites without the kids was Artists Pointe in the Wilderness Lodge- Their salmon was delicious! One of our favorite meals.

 

[jenr812]

I love reading everyone's opinions

 

[PamNC]

It's true - dining is so subjective. Out of the ones you listed my favorite is Le Cellier. Excellent food, both steaks, chicken and salmon. I also recommend San Angel. The atmosphere is wonderful...so beautiful and romantic. I'm not big fans of the other places you listed, but again, that doesn't mean anything. If you're on a budget, may I suggest Concourse Steakhouse - I feel like it's a hidden treat. Not that it's physically hidden obviously but because it's not talked about a lot on the boards. We like it a lot - for breakfast, lunch or dinner and the prices are moderate as far as Disney dining goes. Same goes for the Kona Cafe at the Poly. I would also suggest Beaches & Cream.

PamNC

 

[dkrause716]

Your choices all look good. I would suggest the Crystal Palace for a character breakfast. My two teenagers loved it as did DH and myself. The food is wonderful and the whole environment is very nice with the added bonus of Pooh and friends! You will love it!

Here is another suggestion to sve some money too-- Last year we had meal vouchers called Vacation Kingdom Lunch certificates. Sadly they are no longer available. Anyway , because these were good for lunch only I made our PS for the latest possible lunch time seatings. This varies by restaurant but many times it meant a 4:00 or 4:30 seating. Lunch prices are cheaper than dinner and many restaurants have the same menu. This also worked out nicely for us because we love to do the parks at night. Our early dinners left us free for the evenings. You can ask about times when you call for your PS.

Enjoy!