Places to eat?

[signtalker]

Can anybody recomend some decent places to eat of an evening, other than the disney parks/character meals/race rock/bomas/landreys/and bahamma breeze.
Seeing as we have 3 weeks this time, we thought we could go abit further afield and find other places to eat.
Ideally not just your typical burger joint, but something that will hold DS's attention(no themed nights!).
Not a great lover of fish, but is there anything that ive missed last time that is a must do?.

Jules

 

[SidB]

Try Cafe Tu Tu Tango on I-Drive. We went one Friday evening and found that they were having a "Superheroes Night". All of the staff were dressed up to suit the theme. We were shown to our table by Catwoman (nice tight outfit) and served by a Mutant Ninja Turtle (that green paint must have been a pig to get off). After dinner my daughters, aged 6 and 10, had their faces painted, and then had charactures drawn as superheros. I'm the proud father of Super Hannah and Aquagirl ! There was plenty else going on including a Tarot card reader and belly dancers arrived as we left. There are artists painting and drawing, and you are able to buy any of the painting hanging on the walls. The kids menu is the usual limited one and the adult food is served Tapas style. These dishes are small Spanish size portions so you'll need to order several.

I don't know what an average evening there is like. Why not drop by and have a look, check out the menu, and see if they've any special events planned. I don't know if it's usual, so some other readers may be able to advise. We will definetly be going back.

Don't do the "Rainforest Cafe" just outside Animal Kingdom.

If you do eat at Disney, make a booking at the "Prime Time Cafe" at MGM. It was the best meal of the holiday. It's quite a bizarre atmosphere with the waitresses making the diners watch their manners. The kids loved watching their dad being made to wear a bib, and their mum being told to leave the table for repeatedly putting her elbows on the table. One word of advise. If you use the restroom remember the colour of the soap ! You may well be asked. We finished our day at the park with the meal, followed by watching Fantasmic. The restaurant isn't too expensive. Again we will be going back.

If you like ribs, try Tony Rom'a. The kids menu has about 8 or 9 different options including more than the usual pizza, burger or nuggets.

If you like Chinese buffet try Bill Wongs. There's a good selection of really fresh food, the service is excellent and it's good value for money.

If your kid enjoys MacDonalds try the one at the junction of Sandlake Road and I-Drive. The food is far superior to the muck they serve in this country. Upstairs is a large play area with an assembly of slides, ball-pits and climbing. If your kid is a bit older there's a whole selection of video games. My wife and I spent time playing Air-Hockey.

It's difficult to go wrong with restaurants in Orlando. We only have one poor meal in the 17 days we were there. Before you eat anywhere check in the books of coupons found everywhere. The restaurants expect to get them and we never had any problems using them.

 

[signtalker]

Whay not the rainforest cafe at AK, we have a booking here to coincide when we are here.

Jules

 

[SidB]

It's too cold, and that matters. The food gets cold quickly and we had to leave because my daughter was shivering.

It's too expensive. It was over £100 for 5 of us. That was 3 adults and 2 children, and we had a starter between us, and a main course each, ie no deserts.

Poor service. Need I say more.

My advise would be to cancel and book another Disney restaurant. We adored the Prime Time Cafe and there are loads of reviews elsewhere on this site for other Disney restaurants.

It's only my personal opinion, but we'll never eat there again.

 

[Scotfan]

Golden Corral is good. Next to Bahama Breeze at Little Lake Bryan. Pebbles at the Crossroads is good too but a bit dearer. We had a good Chinese meal in LBV next to Tony Romas, food was great and cheap,service was good too but the decor and atmosphere was a bit lacking.

 

[vernon]

sid, what on earth did you order at the Rainforest? Averaging $30 per person just for main courses seems a lot more than I have ever paid there. as in most restaurants alcohol can ramp a bill up but that seems vastly different from anything I have experienced there. Again with your daughter, this can be a problem with many of the restaurants (having their aircon too high) , for anyone that feels the cold , particularly at times outside of summer, I'd suggest having a cardi or some type of extra layer to help keep warm. Little suntops are great for catching a tan, keeping cool outside or looking good but they can leave you cold when ou get into the airconditioning

 

[bengunn]

Tony Roma's is very good for ribs.

Jungle Jims at Crossroads is very good for burgers.

Golden Corral do very good buffets and are quite cheap.

The Hard Rock Cafe is my favourite at US/IOA but not cheap.

At MGM we liked Hollywood and Vine for an excellent buffet.

At Epcot La Cellier in Canada is excellent but not cheap.

 

[jana]

DON'T CANCEL THE RAINFOREST!!!!!!!!!!! It's an absolutely fabulous place to eat. Rainforest is one of my must eat at places everytime we go. We have been going there since DS was 4 (now 8). He really loves eating there too. There is a lot to keep the little ones attention.

 

[SidB]

Just goes to show how opinions differ. Check out the restaurant reviews before you decide.

When I said cold, I mean COLD. My kids were wearing sweatshirts and they were still complaining. We've also found other restaurants that had the air-con up too high, but nothing that bad.

2 of the main dishes were crab and shrimp specials and we had 2 "cocktails", 1 of which was non-alchoholic. The figure I quoted did include the tip, but it was still OTT.

I've suggested to SimonV that we set up a review board for restaurants outside of Disney. If there are enough reviews we'll all get a good idea of what to expect. Like I said it is only my opinion, and I might be the only one to take that view. Check around.

Can I also second that vote for the Golden Corrall. If you want a decent buffet try it. We tried the steak buffet dinner twice. The first time the steaks were excellent, the second not so good. My daughters are quite fussy eaters and they both found things to eat. For example my eldest had tuna salad with her pancakes, and the other had ice-cream followed by bacon ! Yeah, I know a bit weird, but heck they were on holiday.

 

[SidB]

Signtalker, you may want to check out these summaries;

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningdetail.cfm?Restaurant.ID=113

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningdetail.cfm?Restaurant.ID=167

 

[steve_rob]

Here's another article that's worth a read. It's the Orlando Sentinel's annual Foodie awards from December 2002. There are categories for all sorts of resturants (including chain and non-chain) and each gets two votes - one by the critics and one by the public, so there's a real mix of resturants in there.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment/dining/orl-foodiesstory.story

By the way, I'll back up the recommendation of Tony Roma's for ribs and shove on the Olive Garden for Italian at the same time.

 

[allie5]

Try these:

Outback Steakhouse (various locations, one on the 192). Fab steaks and salads at great prices.

Wild Jacks, I-Drive. Great steaks. DO NOT MISS their honey loaf and salad!

Bill Wongs Chinese Buffet. I-Drive. The very best of the Chinese buffets...serves seafood and prime rib in the evenings as well as all usual Chinese fare.

Lombards Landing, Universal Studios. Great Steaks/Seafood and service.

Chilis...lots of these. Really good value, great kids meals, lots of choice.

Damons- Mercado. Fantastic ribs.

To add my bit on the Rainforest Cafe......when we first ate there back in 1996, we thought it was great, but lately it has become SERIOUSLY overpriced...we too paid nearly £100 for a modest lunch (none of which my kids ate either). Its too intense for small children, hence it gets NOISY (thats without the thunderstorms and animal noise!!!!). I find it quite an uncomfortable place to eat and wont be going there this time. Yes, I found it cold too!

If you have never eaten there, then dont cancel, as it is an experience but hunt for a coupon to get a free appetiser or dessert, and stick to the burgers, which arent too horrendously priced. Be warned they will charge you about $7 for a fruit drink or smoothie so sodas are better value (free refills).

Have a great time!
Allie

 

[Scottish_Maleficent]

Our fav non-Disney eating places include Bennigans and Friendly's.
Friendly's is on the US 192, near Osceola Mall - portions are huge, great salads and kids menu, and the desserts........yum yum! The service is very good too. they have a take away ice cream counter too...........DANGER DANGER.....
Bennigans - a few dotted around, including I-Drive, great service and food great value - my DH like the beer - they sell Irish beer like Caffrey's and Kilkenny............desserts were yummy there too.

We like the food at TGI's, but last time we had dreadful service (US 192 location)

Rainforest Cafe - well I'm not a big fan either, the first time we went the food was fantastic - meatloaf......mmmm - then on our last trip I found it mediocre and expensive.........but you should try it at least once.

 

[SidB]

Like steve_rob suggested, check out the Orlando Sentinel "Foodie Awards" as it makes some interesting reading. We tried out 3 of the winners and I've recommended them all somewhere in another message, ie Kobe, Chef Mickey's and The Olive Garden. I particularly like the fact that they have a "Best Mashed Potato" category ! Quite bizarre.

The feedback about The Rainforest Cafe is pretty good. It is an experience and maybe it's one you should try. It does make a nice end to a day at Animal Kingdom. The advise about smoothies, burgers and the noise is all good and true, but please take warm clothing, escpecially for the kids.

Come on Simon, get us a non-Disney restaurant review board up and running. I think this message shows how many "foodies" there are.

 

[signtalker]

Thanks Guys, Im seriously reconsidering rainforest now, it was booked purely for the "Theme" factor as DS has an eating disorder so wouldnt have eaten anything anyway.The other problem would be the noise factor, as DH Has recently lost his hearing, the accoustics will play havoc on his hearing aids.
UMM tough call not sure now.
The other recomendations sounds great, Bennigans is a favourite of ours also!.

Jules

 

[SidB]

I'm not sure whether they allow it but why not ask if you can go in for a drink only ? Then you'll be able to check out the menu, accoustics, temperature etc, and you might be able to take in the atmosphere.

 

[bengunn]

I forgot Bennigans - we only discovered it after we moved to the Gulf Coast and were very impressed.

 

[UKDEB]

SidB - how many times have you tried Rainforest Cafe at AK? My rule is to give any place at least 2 chances. So many factors contribute to a dining experience that it's difficult to make a judgement based on just one visit. Obviously there are exceptions (Pizzafari at AK - Yeuk!), but on the whole it's a sound hypothesis. My first visit to Mythos at IoA fell way below my expectations for a variety of reasons, but subsequent visits have been wonderful. Ditto California Grill. We had a bad experience at Hollywood Brown Derby followed by a good one. Each time part of the problem was being seated in a far flung corner, so I'm very careful not to let this happen now wherever we are. At Wolfgang Pucks we've had the opposite experience - an amazing first visit followed by a couple of mediocre ones. I could go on, but you get the picture.

Despite all the bad reviews Rainforest Cafe receives, we like it and it certainly beats all the other offerings at AK hands down! It <i>is</i> expensive, although I've never quite worked out why. When you compare it with similar restaurants (HRC, Race Rock for expample) the individual menu items don't seem very different, but the bill is invariably the most expensive of the holiday for this type of meal. The portions are huge - you could easily share entrees if you are inclined to do so. Jules, I would stay with it and make you own judgement? What's the worst that could happen? I'd rather have tried something and not liked it than keep wondering.

I'm totally with SidB on the Prime Time Cafe. We have always overlooked this in the past, but decided to give it a go in October last year. It's totally different and great fun - not the sort of place you'd want to keep going back to, but great for a fun family meal.

Another first for us last trip was The Cheesecake Factory. We went to the one at the Mall at Millenia. WOW! I love this place! The menu is gargantuan and, even if you're not a dessert lover, you simply have to try one of the cheesecakes. If you're full they will bag them up for you to take away. The atmosphere is great. If you are a big party (6-8), ask to be seated in the 'disco ball' - a corner booth with mirrors all around.

Food is absolutely my favourite topic, but I've said enough for now. I might be back though ...

 

[SidB]

Debbie this was our second visit to The Rainforest Cafe. The first time my wife and daughters all went out into the shop to buy fleeces/sweatshirts (neat marketing ploy ?). This time we went well dressed but my daughter's teeth we literally chattering. I exagerrate not ! Even I was cold, and I'm well insulated, if you know what I mean.

We visited in April and again in February. Perhaps the cold would be appreciated more during July and August. Allie5's advise is probably the best I've seen. Try it, take a coupon, stick to soda and stick to burgers etc.

Has anybody tried the restaurant at Downtown Disney ? It may be better

 

[Penny12]

I've eaten twice at the RFC at Downtown Disney, and both times were fine - I'd go back - though it's a little expensive...even with the 10% AP discount for lunch! That said, for every person I've heard who likes the RFC (at either location), there is another who says they hate it...it's just one of those places! The theming is cool though, and yeah...sitting at the bar could be a good way of sussing it out...also, there is nothing to say you can't go in and compromise....just do an appetiser or dessert. They have a combo appertiser plate - quite expensive, but it's HUGE - a meal in itself, and some of the desserts are equally big That way you can check it out, but not stay as long as you would for a whole meal (you see atleast 2 or 3 'rotations' of the animatronics during a normal meal)

Ok...other places. Cape May Cafe (Y&BC) - I'm a real fan of this one - my favorite buffet. Good for fishy people, but <i>plenty</i> for those who aren't - they have a great dessert counter there too

Ummmm....another vote for Jungle Jims. Lots of burgers - and interesting ones to boot. It has nice theming too - I seem to recall a small plane or something hanging from the ceiling.

Tony Roma's....THE best place for Ribs, IMO...nuff said!

'Ohana's is very nice - but a real meat feast. They have coconut races and hula competitions for the kids (if they want) where they earn gummy-worms. If you time it right, they dim the lights and pipe the music in for the MK fireworks, or you can watch the Electrical Water Pageant. You can ask for a window seat - they are big panoramic ones.

Beaches & Cream (Y&BC)- Ye Olde American Diner style. Fabulous burgers there, and even more fabulous ice-cream sundaes! Yum, yum, yum.