Restaurants to avoid

[Amy&Dan]

When did they remove the Cuban Sandwich from the menu? We were there in January(09) and it was still on the menu.That sandwich is the main reason why we will never step foot in the ABC Commissary again; It tasted like it came from Cuba, 5 years ago that is.

Just another example of how one person can love something and another has a completely different opinion.

I am not sure. They had it in October but we were there last week and it was gone. For sure experiences are different! I bet I have gagged down some stuff you probably enjoyed a lot. It just depends on the day, the cook and the tastebuds.

 

[dstevens]

I am currently listening to the book "Creating Magic" by Lee Cockerell (former Executive VP of Operations for WDW) on cd. I just got to a point were Lee said that WDW had hired some world class Chefs that brought WDW restaurants to world renown status. What? The book was published in 2008. What happened to these Chefs? Le Cellier was the only place i would put in this category. Hey a new thread.

 

[redrosesix]

bump

 

[Pirate Me]

The only restaurant I've been to and have not liked was Coral Reef. We most likely won't be returning there again.

 

[MarkinNM]

I am currently listening to the book "Creating Magic" by Lee Cockerell (former Executive VP of Operations for WDW) on cd. I just got to a point were Lee said that WDW had hired some world class Chefs that brought WDW restaurants to world renown status. What? The book was published in 2008. What happened to these Chefs? Le Cellier was the only place i would put in this category. Hey a new thread.

As I understand it, Chefs De France, Citricos & V& A to name a few......

 

[ppony]

THere have been several I've been less than impressed with but I've only had one so bad I've never look at it again. Rose & Crown. Nothing like spending $130 on dinner (2 adults one child) and leaving hungry to find some fast food somewhere else. Not that we didn't get enough food, but what we got, none of us found remotely edible.

 

[Joolish1313]

A big *ick* to Tutto Italia. We ate there twice with disastrous meals both times....I have no clue what everyone is finding so great about that one.

Also Tony's in the MK and sadly the current version of Spoodles. We're hoping for a better menu at the new place when it opens....Kat something-or-other. LOL

Everyone's entitled to their own oppinion and experience. My DH and I had very different experiences at Tutto Italia and Tony's. We ate at Tony's twice on our last trip it was so good and Tutto Italia was amazing. I realize menus change frequently based on feedback and experience. Here's hoping they keep the good stuff

 

[mermaid&cinderella]

There are several restaurants we have never tried b/c just looking at the menus we would be "very" disappointed but the ones we have tried and will never try again are:

Marrakesh - food was sooooo bland, it tasted like nothing and there wasn't much in the plates. Also had an appetizer that tasted like dog food It was also soooo loud in there and the belly dancers were nothing to look at

H&V - the worst buffet in WDW, terrible food and terrible service, she even messed up my DDP credits

WCC - seriously the rudest waitress ever. The antics there were not funny at all. The food was also disgusting, not into that type of comfort food.

We will never try these again!

 

[ppony]

I'm confused. Chef Mickey's is a buffet. You wouldn't order and have food brought to you, I don't think? Are you maybe confusing this with a different restaurant in the Monorail resorts?

Maybe they are talking about waaaaaay back when it used to not be a buffet and was located in DTD. That was the first time I ever ate there on our very first trip to WDW.

 

[Amy&Dan]

I am currently listening to the book "Creating Magic" by Lee Cockerell (former Executive VP of Operations for WDW) on cd. I just got to a point were Lee said that WDW had hired some world class Chefs that brought WDW restaurants to world renown status. What? The book was published in 2008. What happened to these Chefs? Le Cellier was the only place i would put in this category. Hey a new thread.

Jiko, California Grill, V&A, Chefs de France/Bistro and now they have the new Cat Cora place in the Boardwalk. Those are the ones I can think of offhand. So yeah, Disney has some first rate chefs. Have you eaten at any of these places? Give them a try if you haven't. The really top chefs are in the top resorts and two table service places for the most part.

In Califorina, they have Orange Country's only five star restaurant the Napa Rose in the Grand Californian. So they have some top notch chefs at their other destinations as well.

Bottom line, Disney is a family destination/theme park. To me its a great bonus that fine dining exists there at all. I know many of you think the food overall at Disney sucks big time. I don't agree. That is not to say I haven't had some meals that weren't sort of crummy. And I do think that the menus have been cut down as far as selection for sure. But every restaurant I have eaten at lately is that way. I notice portions smaller, prices higher right here at home. Its to be expected. They are hurting in the economy and they are cutting back. Disney very much included. But overall I have been pleased at WDW. I know where to go for a really top notch meal and I know where to go for a good meal in a fun atmopshere. I think if you want a vacation that is truly about non stop, five star food, go to someplace like NYC or Europe and have a truly foodie vacation. I do know that Disney food is expensive. But so are most vacation type places. I still think that overall, dining at Disney is about on par money wise with what' you'd spend at any other tourist venue. I know that in other theme parks, Colonial Willisamsburg, Washington D.C. and other tourist places I have been in the last few years, I have paid as much or more and its been no better and in some cases not nearly as good as Disney.

 

[LoveTheEars]

One of my co-workers just got back from WDW on Monday. He had a reservation for Narcoossee's
Since it is a signature restaurant, it took 2 meals.
Waited 15 minutes before asking a manager if anyone was going to help them...
After they finally got service, everything was great. food was good and they got a couple of straws for their dissatisfaction..

He said he would never go back..

 

[Silver Queen]

I'm pretty much in agreement with Amy&Dan. We really haven't had a bad meal at Disney but are staying away from places like WCC & Chef Mickey's. We'd go back to Le Cellier again but don't consider it to be an outstanding restaurant that would warrant a notable chef. It's more like a chain type steakhouse.
Next month we'll be returning to the Cali Grill and Bistro de Paris. We'll also be trying Narcoosee's, Flying Fish, and Yatchman's.
I guess that for us the bottom line is that considering the fact that Disney is primarily an entertainment experience the food variety and quality is not bad.

 

[cassie714]

The only one I would never return to would be hollywood and vine. Service was horrible, food was terrible and the waitress was rude. We always go to chef mickeys and coral reef and I have always enjoyed them. I guess to each their own. I think I get so caught up in the atmosphere I dont notice the food. For our coming up trip I had asked my brother if he wanted to book rose and crown again, we have gone there in the past to eat and watch illuminations. He said No the food was horrible the last couple times. When I said I didnt remember it being bad, he said that might be because I started with the beer sampler

 

[dstevens]

Jiko, California Grill, V&A, Chefs de France/Bistro and now they have the new Cat Cora place in the Boardwalk. Those are the ones I can think of offhand. So yeah, Disney has some first rate chefs. Have you eaten at any of these places? Give them a try if you haven't. The really top chefs are in the top resorts and two table service places for the most part.

In Califorina, they have Orange Country's only five star restaurant the Napa Rose in the Grand Californian. So they have some top notch chefs at their other destinations as well.

Bottom line, Disney is a family destination/theme park. To me its a great bonus that fine dining exists there at all. I know many of you think the food overall at Disney sucks big time. I don't agree. That is not to say I haven't had some meals that weren't sort of crummy. And I do think that the menus have been cut down as far as selection for sure. But every restaurant I have eaten at lately is that way. I notice portions smaller, prices higher right here at home. Its to be expected. They are hurting in the economy and they are cutting back. Disney very much included. But overall I have been pleased at WDW. I know where to go for a really top notch meal and I know where to go for a good meal in a fun atmopshere. I think if you want a vacation that is truly about non stop, five star food, go to someplace like NYC or Europe and have a truly foodie vacation. I do know that Disney food is expensive. But so are most vacation type places. I still think that overall, dining at Disney is about on par money wise with what' you'd spend at any other tourist venue. I know that in other theme parks, Colonial Willisamsburg, Washington D.C. and other tourist places I have been in the last few years, I have paid as much or more and its been no better and in some cases not nearly as good as Disney.

Good post. I totally forgot about California Grill. Out of my class but the one time i ate there it was excellent. Thanks for reminding me.

 

[mermaid&cinderella]

The only one I would never return to would be hollywood and vine. Service was horrible, food was terrible and the waitress was rude. We always go to chef mickeys and coral reef and I have always enjoyed them. I guess to each their own. I think I get so caught up in the atmosphere I dont notice the food. For our coming up trip I had asked my brother if he wanted to book rose and crown again, we have gone there in the past to eat and watch illuminations. He said No the food was horrible the last couple times. When I said I didnt remember it being bad, he said that might be because I started with the beer sampler

Nope, we will NEVER go back to H&V, we also had terrible service and horrible food and the waitress was rude and incompetant, she screwed up my DDP credits

 

[dstevens]

I'm pretty much in agreement with Amy&Dan. We really haven't had a bad meal at Disney but are staying away from places like WCC & Chef Mickey's. We'd go back to Le Cellier again but don't consider it to be an outstanding restaurant that would warrant a notable chef. It's more like a chain type steakhouse.
Next month we'll be returning to the Cali Grill and Bistro de Paris. We'll also be trying Narcoosee's, Flying Fish, and Yatchman's.
I guess that for us the bottom line is that considering the fact that Disney is primarily an entertainment experience the food variety and quality is not bad.

Darn, i also forgot how good Yatchman's was. My wife and i celebrated my birthday there.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Good post. I totally forgot about California Grill. Out of my class but the one time i ate there it was excellent. Thanks for reminding me.

If you do the DDP, its worth the two credits to try something like that. Each trip I do that now. For one thing my little girl is a paying adult but can't eat all the food so she shares a lot of cs credits with me. Which leaves us a ton of cs credits left! By doing one or two ts places we then have days that are flexible and can use up those leftover cs'. And the good news is that I have been able to try some exceptional places in WDW like CG, Yachtsmen etc that reinforce to me, that Disney Dining can be exceptional. The rest, I go for the atmosphere as much as the food and after what I ate in Sea World and Universal, believe me, I returned to Disney salivating reading for Disney Dining again!

 

[bcrook]

I don't think any reasonable person is going to avoid a restaurant just because several people did not like it. If you read through the entire thread you will find there are some restaurants (ABC Commissary, Coral Reef and Sci-Fi for example) that have virtually no positive comments. Earlier in the thread somebody kept track of the positive, so so and negative comments per restaurant. As previously mentioned, be wary, but try any restaurant you desire. Just remember you were warned to stay away from the worst offenders.

Our family keeps a check list of all the restaurants at WDW. We have eaten at exactly half of them, and we will visit quite a few more next week. Our least favorite table service was at Raglan Road, and our favorite was Coral Reef. The lobster bisque, the desserts, the steaks all good. We also loved GF Cafe and Le Cellier. We haven't tried any signatures - but if I could go to one it would Artist Point.

 

[Brygida]

My worst meal at WDW was the Princess meal at Norway. (Akershus) The dinner did not live up to it's expectations. The Princess interaction was good and the server was good. The food quality was below average. For the price I paid for my dinner I expected better food quality.

One of the best meals at WDW (and I have probably tried them all!) has been consistently Akershus. I have several recipes from there.... unfortunately, not being cooking-inclined.... I have never been able to duplicate. My only complaint, is that I would rather the restaurant go back to it's hot buffet too, not the pre-plated hot dishes.

I love the cucumber salad, stuffed eggs w/shrimp, and other salads are made perfectly to my bland (never spicy!) sense of taste. It probably doesn't hurt that I am from Poland (across the sea from Norway) and we have many of the same dishes there.

Akershus is probably the place where I am most likely to overeat...... except for maybe Boma.... which is always a yearly must-see.

Oh... I didn't answer the original question.... I will never eat again at:

1. Liberty Tree Tavern
2. Garden Grill
3. Hollywood Brown Derby
4. Chef Mickey's
5. Whatever the Luau is called these days....

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I think the service at Cape May Cafe is horrible, and the food isn't anything special. I will not be going there for breakfast again, at least not anytime soon.