Overall, how is the quality of the food?

[snorkelfool]

We are considering a trip to WDW and are curious as to overall impressions of food quality at the restaurants. We consider ourselves foodies. Just as a reference, we find that the majority of the food on cruises is mediocre at best (and we've tried multiple cruise lines). Of course, it's just personal preference but would love to hear thoughts from other foodies.

 

[TDC Nala]

Some will have the type of food you would expect on a cruise. Others are better. I avoid the buffets although many would say the buffets are better than average. They are not bad, but I can do better at the signature restaurants and some of the non-signature a la cartes.

 

[ReneeA]

We are considering a trip to WDW and are curious as to overall impressions of food quality at the restaurants. We consider ourselves foodies. Just as a reference, we find that the majority of the food on cruises is mediocre at best (and we've tried multiple cruise lines). Of course, it's just personal preference but would love to hear thoughts from other foodies.

You won't be thrilled. I find that most of the regular table service restaurants maybe a step above Applebee's/Chili's. Buffets are, for the most part, far below average...of course, I am NOT a fan of buffets in the "real world" either. Signature dining is normally really good - with the fantastic sprinkled in with the average there as well.

We've actually found that some CS meals are above average for fast food, and it's pretty easy to avoid the "burgers-fries" at counter service places.

 

[vicki_c]

I would go with generally low expectations and don't expect to be entering foodie paradise! But the food is fine just about everywhere.

Maybe splurge for Victoria & Albert's - that would be a foodie treat.

I don't consider myself a foodie - but here's some better places that we have enjoyed - but it's all personal preference:
Flying Fish
Artist Point
The Wave
Tutto Italia

Those are the only places we've tried that I would put in a "higher" dining category.

Also - Bistro de Paris usually gets good reviews but I haven't been there.

 

[cah5525]

When we went in 2009...the food was great! The dining was about 50% of our whole experience and was what we were looking forward to the most this last trip (just returned yesterday). So disappointed! Things have changed. BUT...we were very pleased with Boatwrights at Port Orleans. We ate here our last night just because it was in our resort and were so tired of traveling for disappointing meals. We should have been dining there every night!

*Have never tried any signature restaurants ... thinking that's the way to go. Next time!

 

[shoney]

When we went in 2009...the food was great! The dining was about 50% of our whole experience and was what we were looking forward to the most this last trip (just returned yesterday). So disappointed! Things have changed. BUT...we were very pleased with Boatwrights at Port Orleans. We ate here our last night just because it was in our resort and were so tired of traveling for disappointing meals. We should have been dining there every night!

*Have never tried any signature restaurants ... thinking that's the way to go. Next time!

I completely agree about Boatwrights.
We had ADR's at Sanaa, but no one wanted to go back out after being at DHS. We went to the pool for a while then took kids to food court for dinner. I wanted a TS so DH and I went to Boatwrights. I wasn't expecting much, but it was the best overall meal of the trip!

 

[Pakey]

We also do not think cruise food is any good and enjoy eating at high end restaurants. Most of WDW food is disappointing, including many of the signatures. It was a different story 10-15 years ago.

I would recommend Victoria & Alberts first. It's one of 50 AAA 5 Diamond restaurants in the US and from our experience, is much better priced than the others we have frequented. Children under 10 are not allowed.

I'd also recommend bluezoo, Shulas, Il Mulino at the Swan/Dolphin resorts. Since they are not tied to dining plans, they still offer unique dishes. While children are allowed, they are not encouraged and the resorts offer 2 hours of complimentary Dolphin Camp time for children whose parents are dining at one of these. bluezoo is my favorite of the three but they are all very good.

We still enjoy some of Disney's signatures, particularly the appetizers (which are not included in the basic dining plan so there's still some unique dishes to be found). Those places we do enjoy are Citricos, Jiko, Flying Fish, Ca Grill (for sushi--the rest is a letdown) and Brown Derby. We used to love Bistro de Paris but I'm not confident anymore since it's on the dining plan starting in 2012. They used to have fantastic desserts but this is typically the course hit hardest by dining plan changes. Portabello Yacht Club is also another restaurant we used to enjoy that is now on the dining plan so I can't comment on how it is in 2012.

For casual dining, we enjoy Sanaa, the Wave, Turf Club the most. Turf Club is generally quiet which gives it extra points and Sanaa and the Wave offer some interesting dishes that stray a little further from middle of the road.

As PP said, most of the table service dining is like going to Applebees except there's a theme.

Counter service food is better than any other theme park food I have had. We enjoy Tangierine Cafe, Wolfgang Puck Express, Columbia Harbor House and Flame Tree Barbeque. I think it's great that something besides burgers, pizza, fried food is available for a quick meal.

 

[GeorgeG]

We've been going to WDW for over 25 years and our biggest bragging points were always the Disney dining. There used to be some really good restaurants and it was almost impossible to get a bad meal and any Disney-run restaurant, even the counter service. Unfortunately that has changed in recent years. While there are still a handful of decent restaurants, the norm is just okay and often inconsistent. The restaurants in the resorts tend to be better than those in the parks and the non-Disney-run restaurants at Downtown Disney and in the Swan and Dolphin tend to be significantly better than anything run by Disney. I would suggest spending some time on this board to study the good and bad experiences others are having and going from there.

 

[Kelblum]

We actually really enjoy the food at WDW, especially Epcot and the Epcot resort restaurants. I find it better than the Disney Cruise line food.

 

[Melodious]

I have never been on a cruise, but I do love food I agree that many signatures are very good (and the raw tuna has always been very fresh), and I would also recommend many of the Epcot restaurants (and even CS). I felt that the food at the Rose and Crown, Akershus, and Via Napoli were very close to food that I have eaten in England, Norway, and Italy. We also enjoy the food and especially the atmosphere at CHefs de France and Biergarten though the food is not terribly authentic.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

I think a lot of this depends on where you dine and what you're used to when dining out at home. i.e. if you live in NYC, Boston, Chicago, LA, etc. and are used to trendy, cutting edge, ultra gourmet cuisine- you may wind up being disappointed with a lot of the dining at Disney...even many of the signature options.

Between our experiences and foodie friends- your best bets are Citrico's, California Grill, Il Mulino, Shula's, Jiko and maybe Narcoosee's & Hollywood Brown Derby as far as signature level options go (not all on DDP). The finest (also not on DDP) would be Victoria & Albert's- so if you can swing it- that's going to be the finest dining option available. Things like Kouzzina, Sanaa, La Hacienda, and The Wave may also be good choices as they are 1 credit meals with signature feel.

Unless you're looking for certain experiences beyond the food, you'd probably want to avoid the buffets and family dining options. I mean- there are things like 'Ohana and Boma, and while they are good - they still might fall below your expectations if you expect 'Ohana to be on par with a high end Brazilian steak house or expect Boma's food to be as exotic and mind blowing as some say. Like I said- these restaurants are good, but not sure if you'd find them to be great.

Speaking of that- there is a lot of hype over Le Cellier. It is also good, but it's certainly not the best steak I've ever had. Lunch is a good deal if you're on DDP, but none of it measured up to our fave fine dining steakhouses we frequent locally.

I guess just go in with lowered expectations, embrace novelty items, look at some dining options for the experience beyond the food, and look at the menus on Allears to see what things look like they may interest you. Menus may change, but you can get a good idea of the food vibe from what's in the menu sample online.

 

[dknytech]

As for myself being a Executive Chef with over 9 years experience working in an extremely busy hotel setting with 2 restaurants, a pub and 3 banquet rooms all full of patrons dining at the same time is very challenging to prepare and serve such a wide variety of foods en masse. I can't even begin to imagine how they do it.

I have never been thrilled with Disney's food however I do understand that serving so many people comes with a huge set of very complex problems and true to Disney's form I am sure that they meet the exact balance between cost of food to us the patron and there food and labor cost but above all their profit margin.

My Wife says I am never happy with anyone else’s food but I do go to Disney with an opened mind and I when you go with free dining it definitely helps.

 

[MAH4546]

If you're used to and/or expect NYC/LA/Miami/DC, you'll be disappointed.

Otherwise, it's fine.

 

[olecow]

I find the food to be very good to excellent, no matter where you eat at WDW.

 

[DisneyFive]

The only cruise I can compare Disney to is the RCL Freedom of the Seas. The cruise food, in the dining room, was a small step up from some of the better meals at Disney. I very much enjoyed the dinners on the cruise. This was the 11th cruise for friends of ours, who have cruised multiple cruise lines, and they said that Freedom's main Dining Room had the best food of any cruise they had been on. So there is your reference point.

Avoid the buffets if you want to keep the quality high. They are better than most buffets, as TDC Nala points out, but they are a step down from a table service meal with an entree.

Overall, I love the table service meals at Disney, but you need to research your eating locations, and I've found that even at one restaurant the food quality can change significantly from dish to dish. The threads on this forum that show photo's of the entrees was a HUGE help for us on our trip last year and helped us plan what we were going to order, and avoid those dishes sounded good but didn't appear that way.

Dan

 

[RMulieri]

If you consider yourself foodies and are used to fine dining or even unique dining like in major cities, you will be disappointed.It is on par with cruise food or a step above chain restaurants

 

[Eeyore98]

The only cruise line we've been on was Carnival, but we thought their food was TERRIBLE. I'd put any Disney restaurant, even quick-service places, above the offerings in Carnival's dining room. But, I'd also put McDonald's above Carnival's dining room, too...so I suppose my opinion doesn't tell you all that much about Disney food!

 

[wdw&sonny]

I agree w/ many others; WDW food is above cruise line but not top notch. I have been on NCL, Disney and Carnival. I have been to WDW several times.

BUT, I love the WDW dining experience. It's about more than the food; it's the location, atomosphere, theme.

It's great fun to travel by boat over to the WL and take part in the fun at the Whispering Canyon, then explore the WL. Or, travel by monorail to Epcot, ride TT then while still jumping with excitement head over to Le Cellier for a pretty good meal. Maybe drive over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge, watch some giraffes, wander by the incredible pool and hot tubs, check out the savannah, then head into Boma for exotic flavors. Or enjoy a great, relaxing, fine dining experience at Brown Derby, then walk outside and realize you are in a phenominal theme park. Go watch Indian Jones Stunt show, ride Star Tours, watch American Idol, ride RnRC then grab a snack for your reserved seating at Fantasmic.

Point is, don't go just for the food...make it about the experience.

 

[snorkelfool]

Thank you for the feedback. The food is not a deal breaker for us for the trip, but just wanted to know what to expect. We will have to do our homework on restaurants. And yes, we are big city people. Lived in Chicago for 10+ years and now live just outside NYC....

Thanks again!

 

[Bellamouse]

I guess it depends on your definition of "foodie". I consider myself a "foodie" in that I LOVE food. Not just "what I'm used to and grew up with" (everyone loves that), but I love all kinds of food. The best hot dog to the best mutter paneer and everything in between. I love ethnic food in particular.

I mostly cook as restaurants tend to leave me disappointed in general, and it's too expensive to "feed my habit" (for lack of a better term) of getting something I really love at every meal if I had to go out to the best places every day. So I make most of it myself. So my expectations are high, but I'm not a snob by any means. I don't much care for foo-foo food - stuff with foam and all that nonsense, and I don't drink, so wine pairings and all that mean nothing to me. So maybe by someone else's definition, I am not a foodie at all.

Additionally, I refuse to eat at any kind of Old Country Buffet type restaurant, and don't care for most chains.

I go through all that to say, we LOVE eating at Disney!!!!

I guess the big draw for me amounts to a few key things:

1. A bazillion different choices all in the same day
2. I don't have to cook any of it
3. A bazillion different choices all in the same day

We especially love the Food and Wine Festival, where it's just a marathon of walking and eating small plates of every kind of food imagineable.

As an example, in one day we might have a super fresh chocolate croissant for breakfast, then I might have some kind of unusual fruit juice from Mexico. Then I might start some lunch items like a Beef Empanada from Argentina, or a "Taste of Scandinavia" plate from Scandinavia which has Shrimp salad, cured salmon and herring (mmm mmmm that was good!). Then I might head over to the cheese booth for some cheese fondue. Maybe a trip back to Mexico for a shrimp taco and back to Scandinavia for some Rice Cream. A lettuce wrap in South Korea might get squeezed in there and then a Lobster Roll from the America Pavilion. Then walk down to France for some Escargot and over to Ireland for a Lobster and Scallop Fisherman's Pie. There are a million other choices in between as well.

Then for dinner, I might have reservations at Via Napoli where I get a pretty darned authentic Neapolitan wood fired pizza, a blood orange agua fresca and for dessert, some LaVazza Coffee and an order of Zeppole (swoon worthy - really!).

Later before we go back to the hotel I might stop at Germany and get a piece of fluffy cheesecake (not the dense American stuff) or an apple strudel with Werther's caramel sauce on it.

I think you get the idea. For me, it's food paradise! WAY better than Taste of Chicago, if you've ever been there. That's mostly just deep dish pizza, corn on the cob and beer. Disney is way more "foodie" than that.

Is it Michelin Guide 5 star quality? Maybe not. Is it delicious? Absolutely.

We also love the Cape May buffet (NOTHING like an Old Country Buffet) - they have fresh steamed crab legs, the freshest salads I've ever had, the most amazing deep fried cod pieces (big fresh chunks, not chopped/formed stuff like frozen fish sticks), some really excellent clam chowder that had real sherry in it (so many places leave that out), etc.

Could you maybe get better in New England somewhere? I'm sure of it, but is it better than what we get in the average seafood restaurant here in Chicago for crab legs and seafood? Most definitely. Not comparing it to Nick's Fishmarket or anything though. But it's not meant to be that so I don't go in with that expectation. It's really good for what it's trying to be. And to me, good food is not limited to Nick's Fishmarket and the like.

Yes, there's some crap food in Disney. Magic Kingdom is one of the hardest places to find decent food, IMO. But as someone else suggested, do your research here and you will find the real food gems and you can go seek them out like we do

You can also check out the Disney Food Blog - http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/

tons and tons of photos and reviews there!! The guy that runs the site also has e-books with very in depth info about all the dining in Disney. You can download them to your smart phone and reference them while you're in the parks even.

I think you will really enjoy dining in Disney if you know where to go.