Uncleromulus
Plain grey will be fine
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2001
- Messages
- 15,529
Not sure why we never visited this place. It's been there nearly 20 years. It's probably just as much a "Disney" restaurant as --let's say--Fultons or Palio, and the Wyndham is w/i easy walking distance of the marketplace area at DD. I suppose it's because we always went to the Empress Room and after that went away, V&A. But thanks to some earlier posts on this board (and the fact that we already had our dress-up clothes with us) we decided to try Arthur's.
It's located on the 27th floor of the Wyndham Resort hotel--part of that "hotel plaza" area that's on Disney property, just down from the DD/Pleasure Island area. Our reservation was at 6:30 on Thursday evening and tho we arrived a bit early, we were still promptly seated. Should note that there is NO formal dress code for this restaurant. It wasn't terribly busy, and most diners had on what we wore--sport coat and slacks for me, pants suit for Mrs. U. But we saw one gentleman in just slacks and a ban-lon type shirt, and one lady in what appeared to be peddle-pushers and sandles. Oh well--
This is a circular, large, open restaurant with lots of windows. The servers are dressed in tuxedo-type outfits, very similar to the servers at Yachtsman Steakhouse and Fultons--except at Arthur's the uniforms are blue, not white. We had two servers wait on us that evening and both were vey friendly and competent. A word about our table--. I had read that you dined in "booths", but this is not the case. Instead, we had a horse-shoe shaped cushion-type seat with a table in the middle. We faced a large window area, with a fine view of DD. There may be some tables around the other side of Arthur's that have a better view of the Theme Parks, but most seemed to be oriented more towards DD.
The menu features two Prix-Fixe offerings (4 courses at $55 or 5 courses at $69), or you can order ala carte. We decided on the 5 course dinner, and that has an appetizer, soup, salad , entree, and dessert. For drinks Mrs. U had a Sterling Merlot, while I searched in vain for a good beer. Not much offered, so I had to settle for Bass Ale. Should note that there appeared to be no wine pairings available, nor did the menu offer any suggested wines to go with each type of food. WE found this a bit odd, given that many WDW restaurants now have those pairings. Mrs. U also commented (as our wine expert) that the wine glass in which her Merlot was served was not "correct" and resembled more of a water glass than a wine glass.
The meal began with a complimentary chef's appetizer of a small crab lump. Mrs. U ordered a crabcake appetizer, while I had scallops. Both were good. She ordered beef consommee', while I had the restaurants signature Lobster Bisque. This was served in a bowl with a pastry crust baked right over it--interesting, and it certainly kept the bisque quite hot. It was very good, but almost lacking any identifiable lobster bits. We both had excellent salads with blue cheese crumble, then came a palate cleanser of some strawberry sorbet served in a flower-shaped crystal goblet. Very pretty!! For her entree Mrs. U ordered duck, while I made a big mistake and got '"Pan-Fried Pompano". This was my own fault, as I must have been thinking of pan SEARED Pompano, or sauteed Pompano. But this came as advertized--4 thin slices of Pompano fried in plain bread crumbs. Reminded me of what you might find on a sandwich at Po' Boys, with a heap of tartar sauce and a kaiser roll. Pompano is good fish, but there must be better ways to prepare it. But again--it said "pan fried" and that's what I got. So my fault.
For dessert we both ordered chocolate souffle's and they were pretty good, but rather small and on the "heavy" side of chocolate taste. We also got coffee.
All in all it was a pretty good meal. Service was fine but not terribly attentive and for several long periods of time our two servers were nowhere to be seen--we found ourselves virtually sitting quite alone in the restaurant.
To compare it to V&A--
1. It's cheaper ($69 vs $90) and the portions are larger than V&A(but there is one less course).
2. There are more items on the menu than V&A and you can order alacarte
3. It has a better view than V&A.
But it's missing the elegance , quality preparation, and fine service of V&A, and Mrs. U and I didn't find it to be very romantic at all. It's a bright, open place, and it almost seemed like we were on display in front of the window area. It's also lacking the charm of V&A--like the harpist they have. At Arthur's we got Sarah Brightman and Yanni played over the speaker system.
So--I have rambled on a bit too long, so I'll quit while I'm ahead. Mrs. U gives it a C+ and I give it a B- compared to the A at V&A.
Will be pleased to answer any questions, etc
Oh-valet parking is free when you dine at Arthur's
It's located on the 27th floor of the Wyndham Resort hotel--part of that "hotel plaza" area that's on Disney property, just down from the DD/Pleasure Island area. Our reservation was at 6:30 on Thursday evening and tho we arrived a bit early, we were still promptly seated. Should note that there is NO formal dress code for this restaurant. It wasn't terribly busy, and most diners had on what we wore--sport coat and slacks for me, pants suit for Mrs. U. But we saw one gentleman in just slacks and a ban-lon type shirt, and one lady in what appeared to be peddle-pushers and sandles. Oh well--
This is a circular, large, open restaurant with lots of windows. The servers are dressed in tuxedo-type outfits, very similar to the servers at Yachtsman Steakhouse and Fultons--except at Arthur's the uniforms are blue, not white. We had two servers wait on us that evening and both were vey friendly and competent. A word about our table--. I had read that you dined in "booths", but this is not the case. Instead, we had a horse-shoe shaped cushion-type seat with a table in the middle. We faced a large window area, with a fine view of DD. There may be some tables around the other side of Arthur's that have a better view of the Theme Parks, but most seemed to be oriented more towards DD.
The menu features two Prix-Fixe offerings (4 courses at $55 or 5 courses at $69), or you can order ala carte. We decided on the 5 course dinner, and that has an appetizer, soup, salad , entree, and dessert. For drinks Mrs. U had a Sterling Merlot, while I searched in vain for a good beer. Not much offered, so I had to settle for Bass Ale. Should note that there appeared to be no wine pairings available, nor did the menu offer any suggested wines to go with each type of food. WE found this a bit odd, given that many WDW restaurants now have those pairings. Mrs. U also commented (as our wine expert) that the wine glass in which her Merlot was served was not "correct" and resembled more of a water glass than a wine glass.
The meal began with a complimentary chef's appetizer of a small crab lump. Mrs. U ordered a crabcake appetizer, while I had scallops. Both were good. She ordered beef consommee', while I had the restaurants signature Lobster Bisque. This was served in a bowl with a pastry crust baked right over it--interesting, and it certainly kept the bisque quite hot. It was very good, but almost lacking any identifiable lobster bits. We both had excellent salads with blue cheese crumble, then came a palate cleanser of some strawberry sorbet served in a flower-shaped crystal goblet. Very pretty!! For her entree Mrs. U ordered duck, while I made a big mistake and got '"Pan-Fried Pompano". This was my own fault, as I must have been thinking of pan SEARED Pompano, or sauteed Pompano. But this came as advertized--4 thin slices of Pompano fried in plain bread crumbs. Reminded me of what you might find on a sandwich at Po' Boys, with a heap of tartar sauce and a kaiser roll. Pompano is good fish, but there must be better ways to prepare it. But again--it said "pan fried" and that's what I got. So my fault.
For dessert we both ordered chocolate souffle's and they were pretty good, but rather small and on the "heavy" side of chocolate taste. We also got coffee.
All in all it was a pretty good meal. Service was fine but not terribly attentive and for several long periods of time our two servers were nowhere to be seen--we found ourselves virtually sitting quite alone in the restaurant.
To compare it to V&A--
1. It's cheaper ($69 vs $90) and the portions are larger than V&A(but there is one less course).
2. There are more items on the menu than V&A and you can order alacarte
3. It has a better view than V&A.
But it's missing the elegance , quality preparation, and fine service of V&A, and Mrs. U and I didn't find it to be very romantic at all. It's a bright, open place, and it almost seemed like we were on display in front of the window area. It's also lacking the charm of V&A--like the harpist they have. At Arthur's we got Sarah Brightman and Yanni played over the speaker system.
So--I have rambled on a bit too long, so I'll quit while I'm ahead. Mrs. U gives it a C+ and I give it a B- compared to the A at V&A.
Will be pleased to answer any questions, etc
Oh-valet parking is free when you dine at Arthur's
