'Restaurant Akershus' Question

[Mardi Grogs]

First post, hopefully someone here can help me out...

This used to be my favorite restaurant growing up (for those who don't know, it's the 'Norway' restaurant at Epcot). It used to be a quiet spot, had an abundance of seafood and unique Norwegian dishes, and my family tried to get there whenever we visited.

A few years ago, to create more traffic (I assume) Disney changed the theme of this restaurant to some kind of 'Disney Princess Storytelling' area. My brother and I are heading down in a few weeks (both mid-twenties) and I'm not sure how much this restaurant has changed since we last dined there. We'd both feel a little strange and uncomfortable if the whole place caters to young children. I guess my questions are: does the character meal go on all day? Or... is there an area 'away' from the character meal where we wouldn't be too out of place? Also - Does the menu resemble the 'classic' Akershus menu, or has it been changed drastically (more 'kid-friendly') for the new theme?

For the record, I have nothing against character meals but I always used to enjoy the relative peacefulness of this place. I just need to know if any of that original atmosphere was preserved, or if it's a totally new restaurant these days.

Thanks in advance.

 

[TDC Nala]

Personally I have not eaten at Akershus after it went princess.

All three meals are princess meals, every day.

Don't know anything about how the menus have changed (if you are looking for any Norwegian-type specialties I do not think I would recommend breakfast based on the posted menus - I understand at the other meals they still offer the "cold" smorgasbord but don't know how it may have changed.) If you are looking for a quiet break from the parks, a character meal is not a good place for that.

If you enjoy meeting characters, you might have fun with it. The princesses are face characters and can actually chat with guests.

 

[keepmoving4ward]

Went there for dinner on our last trip (oct. 09). Noisy, little girls in princess dresses, infested. Now, that was exactly what we were looking for and price wise it was better than most Character meals, but it was not quiet and not full of interesting dishes. You order an entree and use a buffet bar for appetizers. The buffet bar had different fish and salads which I thought were very good but the entrees were chicken dishes and I had a meatball dish. I have found that alot of the Epcot Showcase restaurants meals have become more "americanized" I'm afraid. Not as many interesting and unusual dishes like there used to be.

 

[TillyMarigold]

I never ate there before the change, but we were happy enough with the more unusual offerings last fall (actually we chose it because there had been a trend of people complaining that the food there at dinner was "too weird"). It wasn't particularly crowded or particularly loud, although we were the only people in our room without kids but it was a fairly small room, the same one that the buffet is in, with only a few tables. The princesses were very understanding and joked around with us (except Belle, who I think was new, and had no idea what to do with adults).

There's a review in my September dining report, but off the top of my head, dinner had:

Koldtbord: Two types of smoked salmon, pickled herring, fantastic shrimp salad, peel and eat shrimp, cold marinated asparagus, greens with champagne vinaigrette, cheeses (including what I'm fairly sure was Jarlsberg, which I love), rolls. Probably lunch meats and fruits as well but like I said, we were sticking to the more unusual stuff.

Entree: The mustard-glazed salmon with fingerling potatoes and multicolored carrots was to die for. I mean, seriously one of the top 3 dishes we had the whole trip. There was also chicken, kjottkaker, a lamb stew dish, a white fish dish, and a vegetarian stuffed pasta dish.

Dessert: Is a platter of 3 desserts brought to your table to share. We had schoolbread, rice pudding with strawberries, and chocolate mousse, but I think the desserts change frequently. All of it was good and a little less sweet (more European-style) than American pastries usually are.

Overall, I'd say Akershus is just a little bit different from what most people are used to, not completely foreign, but if you pick and choose only the most exotic bits, overall it's fairly exotic. But if you wanted to only eat the same things you'd get in every restaurant in America, you could find that too. So yeah, pretty Americanized; but if you want to eat Norwegian food there, you can.

 

[chocolateMinnie]

We love Akershus but if I didn't have a young daughter I don't think I'd go.

The starter at all three meals is a buffet. Fish/cooked meats and fruit at all three with pastries at breakfast and salad and pickles at the other two. The potatoes at breakfast are to die for the other food is pretty standard at this meal.

The entrees and desserts att he other two meals (entree your choice, desserts on a sharing plate) are IMHO nothing to write home about.

 

[smcantu]

Went there for dinner last week. It is a character meal all day long and crowded with little girls in princess dresses. I was there with my 5 year old little princes so it was perfect. I personally would not eat there if I was not with my daughter. The place was not overly loud just full of families with small kids.

 

[IluvKingLouis]

I first went there in 1996 when there was both a hot and cold buffet. I'm half Swedish, so I loved the food. Then they got rid of the hot buffet and did individual mini dishes, so you could order more then one. Those were pretty authentic too.

Then with the Princess thing it has totally lost it's ethnic character. We went a few times when our daughter was much younger and into princesses. She loved the experience, and we liked the food though it was a sad shadow of its' former self.

We were their last three years ago, and the dessert tray (which had remained good) was so grocery store ordinary. We haven't been back.

 

[lamb616]

sorry to hijack, but I also have an Akershus question, so instead of starting a new thread......

are there usually an equal amount of princesses at dinner as there are at breakfast? I vaguely remember reading before that breakfasts sometimes had more characters, but I can't remember specifically which restaurant...... I'm leaning towards dinner here but I don't want DD to miss out on anything........

 

[indimom3]

Akerhaus was my favorite meal of our last trip. I would go back again, pay the same price, and not care if we saw a princess the entire time. I thought the buffet was fantastic and my entree (sausage with white bean stew) was awesome. There was not a scrap left on our dessert platter.
The Princess stuff took 10 minutes, and I'm sure they will skip your table if you ask. It is a huge place, and you can always request one of the side rooms if you are afraid of noise.

 

[TillyMarigold]

sorry to hijack, but I also have an Akershus question, so instead of starting a new thread......

are there usually an equal amount of princesses at dinner as there are at breakfast? I vaguely remember reading before that breakfasts sometimes had more characters, but I can't remember specifically which restaurant...... I'm leaning towards dinner here but I don't want DD to miss out on anything........

CRT used to not have princesses at dinner, but now they do.

AFAIK, Akershus always has 5 (1 you take your picture with, 4 that circulate) at all meals.

 

[goodfood4ursoul]

First post, hopefully someone here can help me out...

This used to be my favorite restaurant growing up (for those who don't know, it's the 'Norway' restaurant at Epcot). It used to be a quiet spot, had an abundance of seafood and unique Norwegian dishes, and my family tried to get there whenever we visited.

A few years ago, to create more traffic (I assume) Disney changed the theme of this restaurant to some kind of 'Disney Princess Storytelling' area. My brother and I are heading down in a few weeks (both mid-twenties) and I'm not sure how much this restaurant has changed since we last dined there. We'd both feel a little strange and uncomfortable if the whole place caters to young children. I guess my questions are: does the character meal go on all day? Or... is there an area 'away' from the character meal where we wouldn't be too out of place? Also - Does the menu resemble the 'classic' Akershus menu, or has it been changed drastically (more 'kid-friendly') for the new theme?

For the record, I have nothing against character meals but I always used to enjoy the relative peacefulness of this place. I just need to know if any of that original atmosphere was preserved, or if it's a totally new restaurant these days.

Thanks in advance.

Having not visited before the princesses came, I cannot compare those experiences, but I have done Akershus with kids and without, and we enjoyed it both times.

That being said, since they added the photo with Belle it does seem busier.
You won't be able to avoid the princesses altogether, but if you are two red-blooded single guys in your mid-20's, having your picture taken with a variety of lovely ladies might be something worth suffering through

We do for the Norwegian fare and really love the gjetost cheese and other assorted goodies at the koldbord and we always get fish as entree.

For a quieter dinner, you might try to get the earliest dinner seating or the latest. But I did not think that the noise level in the restaurant was overboard.

But it would be nice if they had one room for adult castle dining at Akershus, for those who want a quieter dinner or a more romantic setting...

Still, nothing would stop me from my dinner at Akershus unless they stopped serving norwegian food!

 

[jlhill4444]

We just ate there last week with our kids and for being a character meal it was very nice and relaxing. We chose a later time (8:15) and by then it was mainly adult and older children, with the exception being our kids. The koldbar was wonderful, and I could have skipped the entree for this bar! The food was very authentic and I only noticed the kids meal having a more Americanized fare. I would highly recommend it if you are looking for an authentic meal.

 

[TwingleMum]

My DS is looking forward to trying this (he says so he can try the Norweign food but I think it may be to look at the cute princesses LOL) What are the desserts like?? What version of the school bread are they serving ?

 

[katydidbug1]

My Husband and I have eaten there several times for breakfast with my teenage step-daughter, and loved it.

In January we went alone on a Anniversary trip for dinner and LOVED IT. Yes there are kids (it is Disney after all) there, but I didn't find it overly noisy or overly crowded.

Having had food made by a friend who is Norwegian, I didn't find the food there Americanized.

 

[Planogirl]

We ate dinner there frequently before it changed and haven't been back since. I admit that I'm leery of the Princess thing preferring to dine without all of that fuss. I don't mind characters in the morning but in the evening I just find them a bit annoying. I'm also unhappy that Ringnes disappeared but I don't think that's Disney's fault.

I sometimes think we should go but I always hesitate and end up somewhere else.

 

[everythingALICE]

Like many others, I never went to Akershus before it was a character meal, but...

I went most recently when I was 22 and (granted that I've never gone during the busiest times of the year) have never found the noise level to be excessive. In comparison to other meals it was actually quite tame, despite there being many young girls. I don't think you would feel uncomfortable being there without children at all.