Restaurant Reviews

[raidermatt]

We were in the World 5/15 through 5/27 and here's some brief reviews of the places we ate. Would be glad to answer anymore detailed questions.

Beaches and Cream: Not that impressed with the burgers. They were ok, and better than the fast food jobs you get at the counter service places in the parks, but not great. Part of the problem, I think, is that they cook them well-done unless you specifiy otherwise, which is just too dry for me. We ate here twice, and the second time I asked for it medium rare, but there was no difference. I'm assuming that it was cooked well-done anyway by mistake.

ESPN Zone: Better burger than B&C, but still suffered from the well-done problem. Next time I'll definitely be asking for medium-rare.

Biergarten: Liked the show, and we had a nice conversation with another couple seated at our table. Food was ok, but nothing to write home about.

Ristorante Alfredo: Good Italian food. Service was superb, maybe the best we had at any restaurant.

Cantina de San Angel: A good place for lunch or a counter service dinner. Food pretty good, and nice outdoor atmosphere.

Yakitori House: Good place for a quick lunch or dinner.

Liberty Tree Tavern: Still serving large quantities of good food with a nice atmosphere and excellent character interaction.

Crystal Palace: Good buffet, very good service, and good interaction with Pooh and friends.

Hollywood and Vine: Another solid buffet and we've had excellent service both times we've been there.

Pizza Planet: Decent pizza. Liked sitting outside listening to Muppet tunes.

Flame Tree BBQ: Not exactly award winning BBQ, but the pork sandwich is pretty good, and sitting down by the water is very relaxing.

Shula's: Still awesome choice for a steak lover, and a great choice for prime rib as well. Service polite and attentive, but not "Disney friendly".

California Grill: Quality food with a great view and great service. My 4 year old son was chosen to "start the fireworks", which was a Magical Moment if ever there was one.

Pecos Bill and Cosmic Ray's remain solid quick bite choices, with Ray's winning out on variety and Sunny Eclipse, while Pecos provides a 'slightly' quieter experience with excellent themeing.

Sunshine Food Fair is a good fast-food choice if you want something other than the burgers and pizzas over at the Electric Umbrella.

The collection of counter service restaurants on Sunset Blvd in MGM also offers a decent variety. BBQ chicken pizza was a nice alternative (think that was from Catalina Eddie's).


Once again, we were very pleased with our experience.

 

[daannzzz]

Thanks for the reviews. I have done Beaches and cream 3 times now because there were so many great reviews of the burgers. They were decent but nothing inspiring! Hot Dog was pretty good.
I guess I will have to try Shula's on the next trip.

 

[Mrs. Snowgod]

Thanks for the reviews, raidermatt. Too bad B&C wasn't better for you.

I just want to say, I LOVE your signature photo! Where is that? The clouds are beautiful!

 

[Krissalee]

Thanks for the reviews! I really want to try LTT!

BTW, how did they have your son start the fireworks? I have never heard about this before! It must have been an incredible moment for him!

 

[manning]

They may cook them well done for health reasons.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Good to see you on the restaurant board!! Thanks for the reviews. My B&C experience was similar--good burger, but in my case, the roll dissolved in my hands and I had to finish w/ knife and fork!!
That's pretty much my take on Shula's.
And CG is always a favorite.

 

[Kaycee]

Thanks for the great reviews.

We were less than impressed with B&C also. I was beginning to think we were the only ones on the planet who felt this way, lol.

In our case, my husband ordered a regular burger; it was OK, but nothing great. I ordered a burger off the kids menu (to save room for ice cream) as did our 2 sons. They were absolutely the worst burgers I've ever tasted. We each took one bite and that was it. Nasty! They didn't taste spoiled; I'm not sure what was wrong. They were just plain bad!

 

[Fantasia Sam]

Cool reviews - I really like Beaches and Cream...lots and lots... but I do think that there are burgers out there. I have the same problem with the bun. However I enjoy the onion ruings and the malts and the sundaes and the environment so I sort of get sold on those things before the burgers

I still have to try Shulas - you know I don't think I've ever seen or heard one bad review of this place

Thanks again for sharing your reviews.

 

[Epcotgal8]

Great reviews. We discovered Yakitori House on our last trip. I never even knew it was there before but I'm glad we found it. It's also good to hear that someone other than me likes the Cantina in Mexico. It wouldn't be a WDW trip for me if I didn't eat a taco salad and sip on a frozen margarita while sitting by the lake. We have always had great burgers at B&C. I'm sure there are good days and bad days though. Also glad that you had great service at Alfredo's. We had good service there once and one other time we encountered the most horrendous service we've ever found on Disney property. We've got to try Shula's. It sounds like a meat and potatoes person's (which we are) dream. Thanks again for the reviews.

 

[BCV23]

Enjoyed your reviews.

Agree with you about Beaches and Cream...just don't get the fuss over the burgers?

"Starting the fireworks" will be such a special memory for your family. That is magical! We love CG.

 

[LAWalz23]

Thanks for the reviews. B&C serves the burgers the way I like them well done so that is not a problem but their onion rings were awesome and I think those and icecream would do me fine. Starting the fireworks sounds really cool.

 

[raidermatt]

Sorry for the delay in responding...

On Beaches & Cream, I do want to say that overall, it is still a nice place to go for a quick bite. I really think that if I could get it cooked no more than medium, the burger would be ok to good (but still far from great).

Manning, I'm sure you are right about cooking them well done for health reasons. ESPN does the same thing. I don't blame them for doing so, and they do disclose it on the menu. I am disappointed they said they would cook mine medium rare, then did not, but I understand mistakes do happen.

We did have a Milky Way Sundae, and that really was very good.

Mrs. Snowgod, the photo in my signature was taken when exiting Goofy's Barnstormer in ToonTown, and is a view over the Judge's Tent. I didn't do as good a job taking it as I would have liked, but it still turned out to be an interesting pic...Thanks.

Krissalee and others, yes, "starting the fireworks" at the CG really was special for my son. About 20 minutes before the fireworks were supposed to start, one of the CMs came over to our table and asked if our son would like to do this. Of course we said yes! About 5 minutes before they were to start, she took him over to the front podium that is by the elevators. She told him to watch the castle and when it went dark, to tell her. When it did, she had him press the button and turn the knobs that dimmed the lights in the restaurant, and piped in the music. She told him this was how they send the message to Tinkerbell to start the fireworks.

He was thrilled, and they gave us a photo of the fireworks over the castle that several of the CMs signed, and also a "Magical Moment" certificate.


Several commented on Shula's, and yes, based on food alone, its easily my favorite restaurant on property (that I've been to). It will cost you a few bucks, but if you are a steak lover, it is worth it.


On Alfredo, I was somewhat surprised to have such a positive experience, based on many of the opinions I had read. But it turned out great for us!

 

[Minniespal]

Thanks for sharing - wonderful reviews. It won't be long till the 120 day mark until I can book Shula's for our Halloween trip, I can't wait!!!!

 

[raidermatt]

Oops, forgot Boma.... we ate there one night as well. Very good service, and some interesting flavors. They had a mustard sauce that was good on both the roast beef and pork. Also had a tasty, almost cajun-like chicken. The desserts were varied and also tasty. The lobby of the lodge is worth the trip over there...