Pick our dinners!

[Sweet Melissa]

On our next trip, we'd like to have two sit-down dinners in the Magic Kingdom area and two in the Epcot area. Following are the restaurants in both areas that we have yet to try. Please pick two of each and, if you care to, explain your choices. We are a party of two in our late 20s/early 30s. We don't use a dining plan, so credits and participation are not an issue. We usually eschew character meals and buffets. I'm including them in our options just for variety's sake, but we really prefer signature restaurants and a la carte menus.

Magic Kingdom Area
1900 Park Fare
Chef Mickey's
Cinderella's Royal Table
Citricos
Crystal Palace
Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue
'Ohana
Trail's End
Whispering Canyon Café

Epcot Area
Akershus
Biergarten
Cape May Café
Captain's Grille
ESPN Club
Garden Grove
Il Mulino
La Hacienda de San Angel
Nine Dragons
Restaurant Marrakesh
Rose and Crown
Teppan Edo
Tokyo Dining
Via Napoli
Yakitori House

 

[nanni]

For MK I'd say 1900 PF. Of the character meals I've been to, I think this would be the most entertaining for two adults. The stepsisters are great. I liked the food when I was there, but it's certainly not going to be anywhere near signature quality. I haven't been to Citrico's, but based on your preferences I'd pick that one as well.

For Epcot I'd probably pick Restaurant Marrakesh and Rose and Crown from your list. i haven't been to either, but both are places I'd like to try and that seem to get good reviews.

 

[Sweet Melissa]

Thanks! We're definitely leaning toward Citricos, and I think that Marrakesh would be a good choice for us too. 1900 Park Fare interests me the most of all the character meals ... mostly because strawberry soup sounds like a fabulous dessert. I'm not sure about Rose & Crown for me, but I think my boyfriend would like it.

 

[Pugmalion1]

For MK I'd say 1900 PF. Of the character meals I've been to, I think this would be the most entertaining for two adults. The stepsisters are great. I liked the food when I was there, but it's certainly not going to be anywhere near signature quality. I haven't been to Citrico's, but based on your preferences I'd pick that one as well.

For Epcot I'd probably pick Restaurant Marrakesh and Rose and Crown from your list. i haven't been to either, but both are places I'd like to try and that seem to get good reviews.

Yeah, I'm putting the kibosh on 1900 Park Fare. The last thing I want when I'm trying to enjoy my meal is to be bothered by a bunch of characters who are being paid to be in-your-face and annoying.

Thanks for your other suggestions, though. They are all on my short list.

 

[MHSweb79]

If you haven't done this already, you can check out the reviews at:

http://land.allears.net/reviewpost/showcat.php?cat=32

 

[Pugmalion1]

Thanks for the link.

We've already checked out all of the reviews. We're just looking for some real-time interaction and anecdotal information.

 

[Sweet Melissa]

If you haven't done this already, you can check out the reviews at:

http://land.allears.net/reviewpost/showcat.php?cat=32

I second what Pug said. We're interested to hear opinions from this community, but we're all about Allears. Thanks for the link!

 

[JDMickey]

If you guys like Sushi (or even just Japanese), i recommend you try Tokyo Dining. It's our favorite place in WS to eat. Great sushi, great service, awesome atmosphere.

 

[Sweet Melissa]

If you guys like Sushi (or even just Japanese), i recommend you try Tokyo Dining. It's our favorite place in WS to eat. Great sushi, great service, awesome atmosphere.

We do love sushi, especially if it goes beyond the typical American favorites like California rolls. Have you tried any of the other restaurants in the Japan pavilion? What makes Tokyo Dining your favorite?

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

Magic Kingdom Area
I'd pick Citricos, CRT, or 'Ohana from your list. Eating in the Castle is really special, even if the food is not as good as the price would suggest.

Epcot Area
La Hacienda de San Angel (LOVED the food - try the tilapia and ask for a margarita flight!)
Rose and Crown (I enjoyed our meal here. It was relaxing to sit outside and drink Bass and eat on the WS lagoon)
Yakitori House (this is CS. It's good though - and an especially good value on DDP.)

This isn't on your list, but I really enjoyed Kouzzina at the Boardwalk. It is easily accessible from Epcot.

 

[DisneyFirstTimer10]

MK area: Citricos and Ohana (b/c everyone has to try it once- and we have had 2 great experiences there)

EP: Il Mulino (looks amazing) and Rose and Crown (just a nice laid back place to have good food, and good beer)

 

[Sweet Melissa]

Magic Kingdom Area
I'd pick Citricos, CRT, or 'Ohana from your list. Eating in the Castle is really special, even if the food is not as good as the price would suggest.

Epcot Area
La Hacienda de San Angel (LOVED the food - try the tilapia and ask for a margarita flight!)
Rose and Crown (I enjoyed our meal here. It was relaxing to sit outside and drink Bass and eat on the WS lagoon)
Yakitori House (this is CS. It's good though - and an especially good value on DDP.)

This isn't on your list, but I really enjoyed Kouzzina at the Boardwalk. It is easily accessible from Epcot.

We love Kouzzina and I'm hard-pressed not to return this trip, even though we really want to try things that are new to us. I think that La Hacienda is something we'd really like to try, too. Thank you for mentioning that Yakitori House is counter service. I can never remember which is which there.

MK area: Citricos and Ohana (b/c everyone has to try it once- and we have had 2 great experiences there)

EP: Il Mulino (looks amazing) and Rose and Crown (just a nice laid back place to have good food, and good beer)

Thanks! I think that Il Mulino would be a good choice for us too. We're not wowed by any of Disney's other Italian offerings, but I hear great things about that place. I'm glad to hear that you've had two great experiences at 'Ohana. Reviews for it are really mixed, but the theming sounds interesting.

 

[JDMickey]

We do love sushi, especially if it goes beyond the typical American favorites like California rolls. Have you tried any of the other restaurants in the Japan pavilion? What makes Tokyo Dining your favorite?

No we haven't tried the other Japanese pavilion restaurants, mostly because we are sushi nuts and Tokyo Dining caters the most to that.
Like i said, the sushi there is always fresh and great, it's got a really view if you request to sit near the windows (great place to people watch). Or sitting in the bar area it feels like a more modern-ish place, and it is fun to watch the people working at the sushi bar. The service is excellent, we went there twice last trip and the service was above par even for disney standards. For sushi, and compared to other restaurants in the area, price was resonable. Anyways, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here ya go...

 

[grafxgirl]

Magic Kingdom Area
1900 Park Fare
'Ohana


Epcot Area

Cape May Café
Restaurant Marrakesh

 

[jking6]

Magic Kingdom
HDDR a must for us Hilarious
Whispering Canyon Cafe Love this place just fun

Epcot
Garden Grill
ESPN Club

 

[tinkgirl1984]

MK - Citricos because it's wonderful. It's my 2nd favorite signature. You'll have a terrific meal.
'Ohana - I know the reviews are mixed, but I've never had a bad experience there. I'm not as crazy about it as I used to be since the last menu change, but the food is still above average. I think what throws people is having all that food brought out at once. It's not supposed to be served in courses.

Epcot - Il Mulino is very good. It's the only Italian on property I eat.
From your listed options, I would go with Rose and Crown. Particularly if you can get a good Illuminations time. As a side note, I know several people have recommended Tokyo Dining for sushi...but if you really do like sushi and eat it often at home, I would definitely recommend Kimonos. There's no comparison between it and Tokyo Dining.

 

[Quin]

The last thing I want when I'm trying to enjoy my meal is to be bothered by a bunch of characters who are being paid to be in-your-face and annoying.

Really? REALLY???

Kind of surprised that you even enjoy walking around the parks, then.

 

[Quin]

MK area: of your choices I'd say Citricos and Ohana, just for the overall food quality. However, if you have never been to 1900 PF for dinner I would encourage you to try it for the overall experience, which (even without kids) I find to be pleasant and enjoyable. And the strawberry soup IS interesting!

Epcot area: Il Mulino for the first choice; I have not eaten there myself but all reports would indicate it has very good quality food and is probably a bit more of an 'adult' experience. For the second choice I think it will depend somewhat on your palate - if you think you would both enjoy the food I'd vote for Marrakesh, just for the 'something different' factor. If the menu does not really appeal to you then I'd suggest you try Biergarten. If you are trying to avoid noise/crowds, make a late afternoon lunch ADR, no earlier than 2 pm, or a later dinner ADR. There are only a few more things on the buffet at dinner versus lunch but I thought the variety and the quality of the offerings was quite good for a buffet.

R&C is OK and the location can be very good for Illuminations but it can also feel very crowded and noisy. To me the food is more of the 'comfort food' type.

 

[Sweet Melissa]

Magic Kingdom Area
1900 Park Fare
'Ohana


Epcot Area

Cape May Café
Restaurant Marrakesh

Magic Kingdom
HDDR a must for us Hilarious
Whispering Canyon Cafe Love this place just fun

Epcot
Garden Grill
ESPN Club

Thanks for the suggestions! I think that when this thread runs its course, I'll compile a list and see what gets recommended the most.

 

[Sweet Melissa]

MK - Citricos because it's wonderful. It's my 2nd favorite signature. You'll have a terrific meal.
'Ohana - I know the reviews are mixed, but I've never had a bad experience there. I'm not as crazy about it as I used to be since the last menu change, but the food is still above average. I think what throws people is having all that food brought out at once. It's not supposed to be served in courses.

Epcot - Il Mulino is very good. It's the only Italian on property I eat.
From your listed options, I would go with Rose and Crown. Particularly if you can get a good Illuminations time. As a side note, I know several people have recommended Tokyo Dining for sushi...but if you really do like sushi and eat it often at home, I would definitely recommend Kimonos. There's no comparison between it and Tokyo Dining.

Thank you! We're almost completely decided on Citricos and Il Mulino at this point. It's good advice about Kimonos, too. We've only been there once but we liked it a lot when we were there. Do you happen to know what time karaoke starts? We were there earlier in the evening last time and I think it might be interesting to compare the atmosphere of the place once the festivities begin.

Really? REALLY???

Kind of surprised that you even enjoy walking around the parks, then.

Well, we're not trying to enjoy a meal together when we're walking around the parks. We aren't the type to stand in line and meet characters in the parks, but we do enjoy brief encounters with them.

MK area: of your choices I'd say Citricos and Ohana, just for the overall food quality. However, if you have never been to 1900 PF for dinner I would encourage you to try it for the overall experience, which (even without kids) I find to be pleasant and enjoyable. And the strawberry soup IS interesting!

Epcot area: Il Mulino for the first choice; I have not eaten there myself but all reports would indicate it has very good quality food and is probably a bit more of an 'adult' experience. For the second choice I think it will depend somewhat on your palate - if you think you would both enjoy the food I'd vote for Marrakesh, just for the 'something different' factor. If the menu does not really appeal to you then I'd suggest you try Biergarten. If you are trying to avoid noise/crowds, make a late afternoon lunch ADR, no earlier than 2 pm, or a later dinner ADR. There are only a few more things on the buffet at dinner versus lunch but I thought the variety and the quality of the offerings was quite good for a buffet.

R&C is OK and the location can be very good for Illuminations but it can also feel very crowded and noisy. To me the food is more of the 'comfort food' type.

Cool, thanks! I'm leaning toward Marrakesh now. At first we were thinking La Hacienda, but nobody has mentioned it yet ...