Restaurant report April 2-6

[kmc33]

We just returned from our first ever trip to WDW. We stayed for 4 nights at CBR before our 4 day Wonder cruise and here is a report on the places we ate at WDW:

Breakfast:

Donald’s Breakfastsaurus – I really liked the atmosphere here. The server was very entertaining and had my 3 year old DS giggling quite a bit. The breakfast food was pretty good. The cinnamon French toast was excellent. I also enjoyed the breakfast pizza. Goofy, Pluto, Donald, and Mickey all came to our table.

Old Port Royale Food Court – My son really enjoyed his Mickey waffle. Otherwise, just typical food court – a quick, less expensive alternative.

Lunch:

Crystal Palace – We thought the food was excellent, particularly for a buffet. There was a nice selection of salads, hot foods, and desserts – and a very cute kids buffet with mac and cheese, chicken nuggets and corn (my son’s favorites, how did they know!) I wish I could remember better examples of what was on the buffet, but this was our first day. I just remember that everything was flavorful and some dishes were even a little spicy. We enjoyed visits from Tigger, Pooh, Eyeore and Piglet. Also, it was someone’s birthday so all of the kids got to march in a parade around the restaurant led by Pooh and Eyeore.

Dinner:

Shutters at Old Port Royale – This was a very enjoyable meal. The marinated pork tenderloin was delicious (the waiter told us that it is marinated in rum and coke) and it was served with a basil and lime sauce. And DH ordered the oven-roasted jerk chicken which was different from jerk chicken that I have had before and quite good. We split a French toast bread pudding for dessert. I loved it, DH didn’t care for the coconut ice cream (a texture thing). And DS eyed up the kids sandcastle ice cream dessert before dinner – he couldn’t wait to get to that!

Big River Grill Works – We ate outside on the Boardwalk and it was lovely; beautiful view of the Yacht and Beach Clubs at dusk. I had a terrific hamburger here and the beer was good too if you like trying microbrews.

Biergarten – Very festive atmosphere and the entertainment was very good. They do seat you with others to fill rectangular tables for eight. I knew this going in, but was surprised that they put a party of five with the three of us, so they really intertwine the parties. Fortunately they were very pleasant, even though I think they were taken back at first, too. The food was pretty typical German fare – really not bad for a buffet, if you like German food. Beck’s dark and light were on tap.

Tangerine Café – This was a pleasant surprise for us. Thought about Marrakesh but we weren’t hungry enough for a large (read, expensive) meal. The menu in Tangerine Café looked very nice so I got the Shawarma platter with lamb (the meat was similar to that for a gyro and was seasoned very nicely). DH got a sandwich wrap that he said was very good. We hit it at a good time too since the band, Mo’Rockin, was playing on the promenade – so we had entertainment too. And Aladdin stopped by the table and said hello to DS while we were eating (DH thought he was a member of the band).

Thanks to everyone who has posted their experiences previously. I learned a lot from reading this board before going and it helped me to select some places to eat during our short visit.

 

[crs7568]

Thanks for the reviews. I have always wanted to try Biergarten but hesitate because of my kids. I am thinking that the buffet must have something that they would enjoy. Crystal Palace is a big favorite with my family, too. Sounds like you had a fun trip!

 

[BCV23]

Thanks for posting your reviews.

That's so cute that your husband thought Aladdin belonged to the band.

 

[kmc33]

I was concerned that my DS might not eat too well at the Biergarten. I cut up some knockwurst and told him it was a hot dog and they had a breaded chicken schnitzel that he enjoyed too. And he ate some carrots. He enjoyed a pretzel roll too. He is a picky eater (he won't eat anything green -- although I don't think German buffets have much green now that I think about it). The spaetzel noodles might be something that some kids would eat.

 

[dansyr]

We loved BRG too. It is one of those spots that not many people talk about and we kind of ended up there by accident...and we are glad we did. The microbrews looked great but we ate early and thought it was too early to start drinking.

 

[SamSam]

Shutters at Old Port Royale sounds delicious. We've never eaten there, but after reading your reviews, I think we need to try it.
Thanks for posting!

 

[Uncleromulus]

Glad to read your reviews. Shutters sounds especially interesting, and it is one of the few spots we've not tried.
Any favorites among the micros at BRG??

 

[Spoisal]

Did you have a PS for Shutters or BRG? I'm am trying to do a trip without making too many PS's & both of these places sound tempting ..........especially since we will be staying at CBR. Do you think I owuld have much trouble without a PS?

 

[kmc33]

Shutters was a spontaneous choice for us. It was the night we arrived at CBR and we had not made a PS for anywhere since our flight was due in close to 5:00 pm and basically we figured we better play it by ear. Well anyway, we decided to stay on the property since we wanted to get an early start the next day and went over to Old Port Royale and only then decided on Shutters instead of the food court. It was a Wednesday night around 7:00 pm and we didn't have to wait for a table. I don't know if it being Wednesday made a difference. They do take PSs, but I don't know if if typically necessary.

As for BRG, they do not take PSs if I remember correctly. We checked with the host and told him we would take first available (inside or outside). He gave us a buzzer that he said would work anywhere along the BW. I think he told us 20 minutes and we were buzzed in 15 minutes.

I checked my notes to see if I wrote down the names of the beers. All I had written was that the hamburger was delicious. And I don't typically order hamburgers. But I had a taste for one that night and it was nice and juicy. Anyway, as for the beers, my DH got the sampler which gave him six small glasses of each beer except the cask conditioned one. I really liked the Pale Ale -- he's not a fan. But, he did think the Light Pale Ale had a nice flavor since it wasn't as hoppy. There was a dark brown ale that I really liked too. He also liked the wheat beer. I ordered a glass of the Irish Lager which I thought was bland and wished I had gotten the sampler. Anyway, I would go again, especially if we were looking for a salad or a sandwich and a cold beer.