Restaurants that aren't what they used to be

[BabsBunny]

The thread about restaurants you regret dining at has me thinking about restaurants that I used to love but where dumbed down.

1. Portobello Yacht Club. We ate there on our honeymoon in 1990 and revisted it for our next few trips. Being from Central New York, we are blessed with lots of great Italian restaurants, but PYC was different as it served Northern Italian. They had a huge menu with all sorts of interesting options. Then came the dining plan and turned it into an Olive Garden.

2. Rose and Crown. Our last visit to the restaurant was disappointing. They charged a fortune for a piece of fried fish. I had a stew that was like thickened high-sodium beef broth. Disappointing.

I'm grateful for the signature restaurants--although you certainly pay for it.

 

[Sgt Tibbs]

Bistro de Paris, my DW and I had a wonderful romatntic meal there, great food and outstanding service, on our honeymoon. 15 years later on our 2nd honeymoon, our DS was staying with MIL, both the service and the meal were horrible. DW and I were greatly disappointed.

 

[Sheepdog23]

None of the restaurants are any good anymore. What irritates me most is that the kids meals are no longer nutritious. If i wanted my kid to eat mcdonalds nuggets, I would go to McDs and pay half price. What happened to those really good chicken strips? The only meal that is still ok is the breakfast buffet, but I think dinners have gotten really greasy and fast food type. I have never eaten at PYC but I think it definitely could be the Olive Garden based upon what I have experienced other places.

 

[keith-atl]

The thread about restaurants you regret dining at has me thinking about restaurants that I used to love but where dumbed down.

1. Portobello Yacht Club. We ate there on our honeymoon in 1990 and revisted it for our next few trips. Being from Central New York, we are blessed with lots of great Italian restaurants, but PYC was different as it served Northern Italian. They had a huge menu with all sorts of interesting options. Then came the dining plan and turned it into an Olive Garden.

2. Rose and Crown. Our last visit to the restaurant was disappointing. They charged a fortune for a piece of fried fish. I had a stew that was like thickened high-sodium beef broth. Disappointing.

I'm grateful for the signature restaurants--although you certainly pay for it.

I am not sure anything at Disney is worth the price, the food is average at best and you can find a much better meal off property. One place that we still go to cause the food is great is Shula's not a Disney Restaurant but worth the money if you ask me and easy to get to at the Dolphin Hotel.

We actually pack our own lunches now cause the food is pretty bad in the parks as well. Only decent place for counter service to me is Morocco and The Land in Epcot.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

Coral Reef, Bistro De Paris, Les Chefs (only for lunch, dinner is horendous). The quality and the menu choices have changed drastically over the years. For Disney now, it's just about the bottom line, feeding the masses the cheapest way possible. Gone are the lobster tails, gone are the better cuts of meat at the buffets (in fact other than Boma the buffets are a joke)! This trip I even noticed my School Bread has shrunk!

If I'm shelling out all this cash to eat at a top notch Disney restaurant, I do it out of the parks, like at the Dolphin, Todd English' s Blue Zoo or I go entirely off property!

 

[Uno Mas]

Akershus in the Norway Pavillion. Several years ago the menu was more of a tapas style menu - smaller plates, but you could try any that you wanted - if they had ten menu items, you could try all of them. Even the kids menu was like that. And the meals were all interesting Norweigan fare. They totally ruined that restaurant by turning it into a Princess character meal instead and changing the menu.

 

[Micca]

I'll agree that the decline in quality at all of the WDW eateries is evident. Lower your expectations, and make alternate arrangements if food is an important part of your vacation. It's not that it all sucks, it's just not what it could be, and the price is plenty high.

 

[ElizabethB]

Not what they used to be, in my opinion:

Cinderella's Royal Table
Coral Reef
Tony's Town Square
Chefs de France
Bistro de Paris
Grand Floridian Cafe
Maya Grill
California Grill
Narcoosee's
Portabello Yacht Club
Wolfgang Puck Cafe
Sleepy Hollow (snacks)
Sci-Fi Dine-in
ABC Commissary

 

[MissionMouse]

The bottom line is a shift from the 1990's where Disney focused on quality table service dining. Their now exploiting the reputation and quality of past by mainstreaming dining plans coupled with other discounts and marketing schemes. New diners defuse the true impact to TS dining at Disney World.

 

[Colleen27]

We really enjoy most of our Disney dining experiences, especially the signature restaurants, but I think CRT & Akershus specifically and character dining in general isn't what it used to be. You never went for the food, of course. It was all about the character interaction. But now that isn't any good either - rushed and impersonal, with less actual interaction and less time spent with the characters than in park meet & greet spots. So you get lousy food and lousy interaction for a premium price. Not worth it at all.