Our reviews of 12 sit-down restaurants + Poly Luau! (Part 1)

[jabead]

My family just returned from an 8 day trip to the World where we ate at these 12 sit-down restaurants, plus the Luau.

1. Cinderella's Royal Table (lunch)
2. O'hana (character breakfast)
3. Restaurant Akershus (buffet lunch)
4. Kona Cafe (appetizers and dessert)
5. Whispering Canyon (lunch)
6. Boma (buffet dinner)
7. Liberty Tree Tavern (lunch)
8. Beaches & Cream (dinner)
9. Prime Time Cafe (dinner)
10. San Angel Inn (lunch)
11. Biergarten (buffet dinner)
12. Rainforest Cafe (lunch)

Here are our reviews:

Polynesian Luau (Spirit of Aloha) - We attended the later (I think it was 8:15) Luau on our arrival day. We had been to this on a previous trip but since I heard that they had made some changes and we were staying at the Poly anyway for the first 3 nights of our trip, we decided it would be fun to do for our first night there. The food seemed to be about the same, only a few minor changes I think. The ribs were a big hit with my family. I thought the chicken was good as well, but DH said his was very dry. The show was again enjoyable. I think our kids enjoyed it more this time with the changes, especially the addition of the Lilo & Stitch songs. So I'm glad we went, but we will probably not do this a third time.

CRT (lunch) - We have been here numerous times for breakfast but never for lunch or dinner. I am so glad that we decided to skip the breakfast and try lunch here this time!!! When we entered the waiting area, Cinderella and Fairy Godmother were greeting guests. This was a wonderful surprise since I knew that this was not a character meal. The atmosphere of eating in the beautiful castle dining room was still there and was actually much more relaxing without the characters coming to the tables. We could all just sit back and enjoy our meal and be treated like royalty by the waitstaff. The food was also better than the pre-plated breakfast food. I had the Coachman, DH the Major Domo's Pie, DD the Royal Caesar's Salad and the soup of the day, and DS the chicken fingers from the kid's menu. All were excellent!!! Also as we were leaving, Suzy & Perla (Cinderalla's mice friends) were greeting in the waiting area. So this was one of our favorite meals and we will definitely be returning here for lunch (not breakfast) on our next trip.

O'hana (character breakfast) - Since we have done almost all of the character meals on our previous trips, I told the kids that they would have to choose just one on this trip. We were staying at the Polynesian and we had never done this one, so this was the one they chose. Unfortunately it was not a good choice. The food was pretty good (served family-style at your table) but the character interaction (w/ Mickey, Goofy, Chip & Dale) was really poor. Also it was absolutely freezing in the restaurant!!! We were cold and we were wearing jackets. So this is definitely not one of our favorite character meals. We've enjoyed dinner at this restaurant on a previous trip, so if we return here it will be for dinner, not breakfast.

Restaurant Akershus (buffet lunch) - This was one of the few restaurants at Epcot that we have never tried so we decided to give it a try on this trip and we are all very glad that we did. We ate about 2:00 and the restaurant was nearly empty. Our waitress was great. She spent a lot of time with us, telling us about her country and the food we were eating, etc. Oh and speaking of the food, it was very good. With the buffet, we got to try many different foods which was lots of fun. Also for kids, like my 7 yr. old DS, they had a kid's menu. So he got to enjoy a hot dog and gold fish crackers while the rest of us enjoyed the wonderful food from the buffet. So I would say that this was not just a great meal, but a wonderful experience. This was DH's favorite meal of the trip, so I'm sure we will be returning. (LOL!)

Kona Cafe (appetizers & dessert) - On previous trips we had eaten here for breakfast (love that Tonga Toast!!!) and for dinner (which was nothing special, except for the dessert). So this time we decided to try just appetizers & dessert. We had a late PS (I think it was for 8:30 or 9:00) for when we returned from the park. We ordered the sticky wings (which were very good) and all got desserts. My Ko Ko Puffs were as good as I had remembered them to be and the kids loved the huge cones with the cotton candy and M & Ms etc. Everything was good here except for our waiter. He got really snotty with us after we placed our order, I guess because we were not ordering dinner. This made my DH furious!!! So even though we enjoy breakfast and desserts here, DH will probably refuse to return to Kona Cafe.

This is getting long so I'll post more reviews on another thread.

 

[Luvinit]

I want to hear about Boma's and Biergarten...continue please...I am finding this quite interesting!!! Thanks
Tracy

 

[pnelson]

How old is your daughter?

 

[barbeml]

Thanks for your comprehensive reviews. Sorry you had a bad CM experience at Kona Cafe. We stayed at the Poly for a week last fall and the Kona staff was just wonderful every time (we ate there nine different times).

 

[Krissalee]

Thanks for the reviews! I have always had the idea of going to Kona for appetizers and dessert - hopefully other wait staff won't have the same attitude as you waiter did. My thought is that it is your vacation - order what you want!

 

[>>^..^<<]

Originally posted by jabead
Everything was good here except for our waiter. He got really snotty with us after we placed our order, I guess because we were not ordering dinner.

Hi there.. thanx for all the reports I am really enjoying them and getting lots of ideas...

What were the sticky wings like? Are they honey?

And what on earth did the waiter say to make DH so mad? lol

>>^..^<<

 

[TwingleMum]

Very interesting! Thanks.

 

[Princesstimes2]

Thanks for posting. I enjoyed reading your reviews.

 

[jabead]

In answer to your questions regarding Kona Cafe...

Yes, I think the sticky wings may have been honey since I seem to recall that they were sweet. It has been two weeks now since we were there so I can't remember for sure, LOL! But I do remember that we liked them alot and ate them all!!!

As far as the waiter, well it started off badly when we were placing our orders. After the kids and DH had each ordered a dessert (they had left the choosing and ordering of the appetizer up to me), the waiter turned to me for my order. I hesitated for just a second (trying to decide if I should order one or two appetizers) and the waiter said something to me like "I can come back later when you've decided what you want" in a very snotty tone. So all I can say as that when the waiter first approached our table he was friendly, but his attitude seemed to change quickly after we started ordering and did not improve. He really ticked off my DH, who is a very friendly and easy-going guy (and normally a very generous tipper), so consequently received a very small tip.