Thursday, October 15th - Breakfast at Kouzzina: It's Weird and Scary and the Sangria is the Wrong Color...
What is the deal with this specific location on the Boardwalk? First there was Spoodles, which, depending on the quality of the food received by guests on any given day, was either a reference to funky, slotted spoons or a type of hybrid dog also known as a Cockapoo. And now there is Kouzzina, which helpful people all the world over tell us is Greek for the word "kitchen."
Now that I think about about, I guess Kouzzina does sound more appealing than a big ol' sign that reads KITCHEN.
If it had been my decision to make ...
and we all know it wasn't ... and I was drawing on my Greek background ...
which we all know I don't have ... I would have named the restaurant Opa! It doesn't really mean anything but people sure love to shout it at each other, especially when they've had too much to drink.
Jay and I decided to play this reservation by ear depending on how early we managed to get of bed on Thursday morning. Since we'd had a late night we wanted to sleep until our bodies told us to get our lazy butts out of bed, but luckily I was thinking when I made the ADR and we didn't have to be there until 9:15. Even better - we were staying at the Beach Club Villas so we were only a five minute walk from the restaurant.
Sleeping in and still making our ADR?
Now that's what I call living the life!
When we arrived, shortly after nine that morning, Kouzzina was not busy - maybe one-third full, if that. We were seated immediately at a great little table that looked directly out over the Boardwalk. Our first goal was to get some caffeine so we placed an order for the Kouzzina press pot of coffee, which is supposed to be a signature blend only available at Cat's place.
The coffee wasn't bad, but not as flavorful as I expected it to be. It was served in a sleek, aerodynamic press pot with burnished stainless steel trim; I suspect these are easier to clean than the more traditional French presses being used at other resorts so Disney can finally say goodbye to all those embarrassing hard water spots.
After much hemming and hawing I decided to take our friendie Elin's advice and order a glass of Kouzzina's Sunrise Sparkling Sangria. I was concerned that it might be overly sweet but this was a truly delicious and refreshing breakfast booze: sparkling Greek white wine mixed with fruit juice and apple brandy,
if my tastebuds can be trusted, garnished with green apple slices and mint. It was excellent and I highly recommend giving it a try if you enjoy a drink with your breakfast. If the day had been cooler we might have ordered a whole pitcher of the stuff!
Good morning sunshine!
Jay ordered the Stacked Kouzzina Breakfast for his first meal of the day. It included two Poached Eggs, Kalamata Olive Toast, Artichoke Spread, and Sweet Potato Hash with a choice of Bacon or Chicken Sausage. In terms of presentation and taste Jay won this round easily - it wasn't even a close fight. He enjoyed everything about his choice and thought it was very flavorful; he gave extra kudos to the Sweet Potato Hash which was perfectly cooked and seasoned.
The clear breakfast winner ...
On a different morning I would have tried the french toast but it was so warm and humid that I thought it would be better to avoid sweet and heavy and stick with traditional and relatively healthy. So I chose the Spinach, Tomato, and Feta Scrambled Eggs - served with Breakfast Potatoes and a choice of Bacon or Chicken Sausage. It also came with a surprise english muffin, and I don't mean that it was a good surprise.
The obvious loser ...
We make spinach / feta scrambles at home all the time and they're tasty and nutritious. Apparently at Kouzzina they don't like guests who choose non-Greek breakfast items and my liquid chicken scrambles were gacky, the muffin was cold and dry, the taters were just plain bad, and the bacon was a limp affront to every delicious pig it's been my pleasure to eat over the span of my lifetime. I have a nasty suspicion that the bacon was microwavable and that's wrong on so many levels that I don't even know where to begin listing them.
I picked at the food but didn't finish much of anything ... told the waiter I wasn't crazy about the food and ended up with a second ...
free ... press pot of coffee once I made it clear that I didn't want any more food. In retrospect I wish I had ordered the fruit plate with a basket of pastries ... it's hard to screw something like that up although it can be done.
I am definitely on the fence about Kouzzina - we had good service and the white sangria was a lovely surprise, but my breakfast was just plain bad. I realize that I could have just been unlucky but I ordered one of the easiest items to prepare from the menu so I'm not inclined to be too forgiving. Jay's breakfast, on the other hand, was outstanding in every regard.
So, whatever am I to tell you?
I won't recommend Kouzzina but I won't warn anyone away, either. If you think the menu sounds tasty then make an ADR and try it on for size. I'd say you have a 50/50 chance of having a great meal or a crappy one!
Thanks for stopping by to read ... so happy to have you here! 
I agree, it was a fun thing to do once but I'm not sure I need to do it again soon.
I came away from Kouzzina with a great impression, so guess it really does matter what you order. Thieir signature coffee blend is only ok, like you said. I prefer a bolder coffee. Did you get to go there for dinner? I'm curious what that would be like.
