Restaurant Choices

[Billabongi]

Ok so my wife and I are going to Disney for a week in May 2011 and this will be our first time staying onsite for any length of time (past 3 days) so we are planning to try a bunch of new restaurants. Could you guys give me your opinions on the below choices? Are we making any mistakes? I am only including the choices we've making reservations on, the others are park nights so it's in the air.

Brown Derby at HS
California Grill
Jiko
Artist Point - Very curious about the buffalo here

Thanks in advance!

 

[engle]

I think these are EXCELLENT choices. I loved the buffalo at Artist Point as well as everything else!! Jiko has a new chef but last I was there is was awesome. I think these are pretty safe good food picks. As with anywhere at WDW, you never know what you are going to get service wise.

 

[bleeps]

Brown Derby at HS
California Grill
Jiko
Artist Point - Very curious about the buffalo here

I am happy to give you our family's experiences at these places; I can tell you that every one is on our list for our upcoming trip, and that we've been to each restaurant several times in the past.

For us, the only upside to Brown Derby is that it's a nice meal within a theme park -- and that particular park (Hollywood Studios) does not, in our opinion, offer a lot of great dining choices. We use the deluxe dining plan, so it's not a hardship for us to give up the 2 dining credits it takes to eat here. So -- yes, the food is good, but it's definitely overpriced; but the benefit of being able to have a good meal within the park and not having to burn time going elsewhere balances it in favor of eating here.

We've had a range of experiences at California Grill, but we're going back this trip because we missed it last time around (although we'd opted to give it a break). The views from here are lovely -- even if you eat early, before the fireworks, the sunset is gorgeous (and they will let you back up onto one of their outdoor viewing platforms at fireworks time if you care to do that). We've had some of the best meals we've ever had at this restaurant, and then one that wasn't so spectacular (it wasn't bad, the food was fine -- but it wasn't what we were expecting for the price, etc.). I'd recommend anyone to try this place at least once. Like the other signature restaurants, the quality of your CM makes a big difference, but even "poor" service here has been (in our experience) better than good service elsewhere.

We love Jiko. It's refreshing to find a menu that's NOT a re-hash of other places on WDW property, the room is lovely, the wine list is fabulous (as is the one at Cal. Grill), and we've never had a bad meal here.

Artist Point is another one that's almost always on our list every trip -- the times we haven't gone it's only been because we so wanted to try someplace new that we were willing to give it a break. Haven't had the buffalo, but everything we've had here we've enjoyed. Also a nice wine list, and the meal/experience is enhanced when you have a knowledgeable CM.

All that said -- your mileage may vary, but -- as I said -- we're eating at all these places very shortly and are returning customers, for what that's worth!

 

[Pakey]

Brown Derby. It used to be a great place; now it's a good place. Noise level can be very high. I've always been happy with my meal choices; I always have fish. I've never had a dessert here that I thought was any good but they do have decent bartenders. We have always had good service but I miss it from the old days when it was quiet and elegant.

Ca Grill. Stunning view. Very very good sushi and a decent wine selection. IMO, it's another place that has been hurt by the popularity of the dining plan and that everyone feels it's the place to go to watch fireworks. It's still pretty nice if you dine late, after fireworks are over and the hordes clear out. They have an excellent selection of appetizers, more choices than any of the other signatures. I've never been impressed with the meat entrees. Desserts are better than average here.

Artist Point. The only negative is the decor; I hate the look of this place. The food is very good. If you dine before dark,there are some great views if you get a window seat. Meals here are quieter, most of the time. I find the food here to be more of a comfort food, big servings. It's the only place to get buffalo as an entree. Love that berry cobbler.

Jiko. There has already been a lot of chatter about the new chef and the changes that are not very positive; I haven't dined here in 5 months now so I can't speak to these changes. In all my meals here, I have really enjoyed the appetizers, particularly the soups. The restaurant is very pretty, wine selection is outstanding. The entrees are good; I have something different every time and have only been disappointed once. The desserts here are nothing special.

 

[bedogged]

Ok so my wife and I are going to Disney for a week in May 2011 and this will be our first time staying onsite for any length of time (past 3 days) so we are planning to try a bunch of new restaurants. Could you guys give me your opinions on the below choices? Are we making any mistakes? I am only including the choices we've making reservations on, the others are park nights so it's in the air.

Brown Derby at HS
California Grill
Jiko
Artist Point - Very curious about the buffalo here

Thanks in advance!

We had dinner at Artist Point in May and my spouse had the buffalo. I had some and it was wonderful. It was better than the salmon I had, although it was good as well. The buffalo there I thought was better than the bison at the California Grill, but that was also very good. The restaurant was lovely and quiet compared to a lot of the other signature restaurants we ate at. We will be dinning there again in January.

 

[Billabongi]

Thanks so much for all the replies everyone! It looks like we'll stick with the 4 restaurants we have and hope for the best. I'm really excited at Cali, Jiko and Artist the Brown Derby is partially a good restaurant in a park type of thing as someone mentioned but I hope it will be good!

 

[disneynuts2]

Very good choices indeed. The first three we hit on every trip. I had the buffalo steak at Artist Point and it was wonderful. You will have a great time as they are all fine meals.

We love the Cobb salad at the Brown Derby and my wife likes the Filet at the other places.

Have Fun.