Reviews on Restaurants

[Carterfam]

We are trying to plan a trip for the end of September / beginning of October. I would love to hear your thoughts, opinions or reviews on some restaurants I have narrowed down as options.

The travelers: DH (26), myself (26) and will be in my third trimester of pregnancy, our twin boys (16 months), and my mom (53) and DH sister (30).

List:

Coral Reef
'Ohana
50's Prime Time Cafe
Rose and Crown
Chef Mickey
Olivia's
Yak & Yeti
Hollywood & Vine
Tutto Italia
1900 Park Fare

Thank you in Advance.

 

[Grumpy92]

Coral Reef - Food is not that great and overpriced. The only good thing is the view.

Ohana - families seem to love it. I want to try it again, but my first visit was not that great of an experience.

50s PT - this is a fun restaurant and I loved taking my Dad there. The whole time he kept commenting on the decor and how he recognized it from his mother's kitchen. Food is pretty good

Rose & Crown - Seen some bad reviews, but I was there last Nov and felt it was very good.

Chef Mickey's - The top "I have to restaurant" second to the Castle. This is a decent buffet with character time. Very noisy.

Olivia's - If you have a reservation cancel it. This place is not worth the effort to visit.

Yak & Yeti, Hollywood & Vine and Tutto Italia - these are ok restaurants. The buffet is fine at H&V. The tables too close together and food average at Tutto.

1900 Park - This is a good choice. The buffet and character interaction always seem good.

Suggestions - For a buffet-Trails End, Family Style- WC, EC-Chefs de France or Teppan Edo, Resorts-Konas or Boatwrights. Yachtsmans St. is another good one. If you havent already take a look at the menus on this site it is very helpful. Have fun.

 

[catne]

Short version after each restaurant, also tells where I have review & pictures of that restaurant if you want more details (click on review dates in my signature below)


Coral Reef- liked it for lunch, Jan 2009
Ohana Haven't been
50's Prime Time Cafe haven't been
Rose and Crown liked it for dinner, see review May 2009
Chef Mickey liked it for breakfast, review Jan 2009
Olivia's Liked it for dinner, September 2009
Yak & Yeti Liked it for dinner, May 2009
Hollywood & Vine Liked it for dinner - went May 2008 (don't think I have it reviewed anywhere)
Tutto Italia Liked it for dinner , Jan 2010
1900 Park Fare, Liked it for dinner May 2009

 

[jdisnut]

Coral Reef: Absolutely my favorite restaurant in Epcot. I love seafood, so I always stick to the fish dishes, but the steak and chicken constantly receive rave reviews. The highlight is the setting, which is unique and lovely. It's worth trying once just to see the inside. The good food is a wonderful added bonus.

'Ohana: I don't care about all the criticism lately. 'Ohana is still one of my three favorite restaurants on property for dinner. There is tons of food. Almost all of it is delicious. And the place is just plain fun! I will keep eating at 'Ohana until given a reason to stop. I hope that day never comes.

50's Prime Time Cafe: It's an attraction at least as much as it's a dining establishment, and that's the fun of it! Much like Coral Reef, 50's Prime Time is one of those places every Disney traveler should try at least once just for the experience. If you have a good server, and you're willing to play, you will have a great time. The fried chicken isn't too bad, either.

Rose & Crown: Never been.

Chef Mickey's: Tried it for dinner several years ago and have no desire to return. I understand people want the opportunity to dine with Mickey and his pals, and this is the premiere location to quench that thirst, so I understand why this place is so popular. But I thought the food quality ranged from terrible to mediocre. I do not care much about character meals, so Chef Mickey's doesn't appeal to my tastes.

Olivia's: Unless you're staying at Old Key West, don't bother eating here. It's not worth the trip. It's a fine restaurant for what it is, but it doesn't aspire for anything beyond a basic hotel restaurant.

Yak & Yeti: Yum! I love Yak & Yeti. Everything I tasted was delicious, and I enjoyed the views from the upstairs section of the restaurant. I will definitely return.

Tutto Italia: Never been.

Hollywood & Vine: Tried it for dinner once with the Fantasmic! Dinner Package and will not return. There's no reason to. It's a bland, boring buffet with neither characters or character. It does not distinguish itself in any way. I cannot tell you a single item I ate. That says something.

1900 Park Fare: Another one I tried for dinner. I prefer it to most of the other popular character buffets, including Chef Mickey's and Crystal Palace.

Hope this helps!

 

[OKW Lover]

You may want to read the dining reviews here when trying to decide.

 

[tinkgurl]

Coral Reef: Such a fun place to eat. I recommend requesting a table by the glass.
'Ohana: Good choice. The food is good here for both breakfast and dinner.
50's Prime Time Cafe: This restaurant never appealed to me. But to each their own!
Rose and Crown: I haven't been there, but I've heard a lot of good things about it.
Chef Mickey's: We love eating here. This is always our first meal of every trip.
Olivia's: We love Olivia's! OKW is our Resort, so it holds a special place in our hearts.
Yak & Yeti: We love Yak & Yeti! The house salad is SO good.
Hollywood & Vine: Honestly, you could trade this one for somewhere else. We had a horrible experience here. The food was horrible, the place was disgusting, and the service was non-exsistent.
Tutto Italia: Another good choice.
1900 Park Fare: Another favorite for us. We love eating there for dinner-the Step-Sisters are a riot!

 

[missminniemouse]

Coral Reef - We used to love it here. The food is still OK, but not what it once was. Lobster Bisque.....yum! The view of the aquarium is wonderful. Our kids have really enjoyed that over the years.

Ohana - Again, OK, but not a "must do" for our family.

50's Prime Time - Great place for "comfort food." My kids love the milk shakes and the onion rings.

Rose & Crown - Been there twice in the past and wasn't impressed either time. Food is bland and the service wasn't great either time we went. You'd be much better off going to Chefs de France than here.

Chef Mickey's - Great character interaction. Food is OK. It can be very, very noisy in this restaurant, with a lot of kids running around. However, it's one of those places that you have to go at least once.

Olivia's - We love Olivia's. We've DVC members and OKW is our home resort, so we've dined here many times in the past.

Yak & Yeti - We enjoy the food and atmosphere here. The service on our last trip was not very good however.

Hollywood & Vine - This is one of the few places on our "Do not return" list. We went last year and found it to be loud, loud, and louder. The food was just OK, not anything wonderful there at all. Our waiter was not good at all. We asked for beverages several times and they finally arrived as we were about to leave. Very overpriced for what you get.

Tutto Italia - Great place to dine in EPCOT. The food is great and the service was also very good. The menu isn't as extensive as it was at one time before the restaurant changed names, but there is still a very nice selection.

1900 Park Fare - We dined here last December and thought it was wonderful. The character interaction was the best of any restaurant of that type that we have experienced. The stepsisters were hilarious. There was a wide variety of food available and all of it was very tasty. I highly recommend this one.

Other places we enjoy a lot are: Chefs de France, Crystal Palace, Boma, Tusker House, and Citricos.

 

[CMwannabe]

The only place I can comment about is Rose & Crown. I had the cheese plate for an app. and am still trying to find some of the cheeses 2 years later. It was that good!!! The standard fish and chips I found to be far too greasy and the chips undercooked, but I feel like it was authentic to the British's style of the dish. For dessert, I had the Bailey's truffle, which was terrific!!! Hope this helps

 

[Twitterpated!]

Coral Reef - Have not been, but from what I gather, people either love it or hate it! My personal opinion is that there are too many interesting places to eat in the World Showcase to bother with a mediocre seafood restaurant. Plus I find the idea of eating fish while all of the fish are swimming around me kind of creepy.

'Ohana - Again, have not been, but I heard it is a lot of fun and the food is good. It's also a treat to get to visit the Poly!

50's Prime Time Cafe - We booked this for the atmosphere, which I felt totally lived up to the expectations, plus we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of food! My dad is a very tough critic, and he LOVED the pot roast. I loved the fried chicken! It was one of our favorite dinners last time and we are going back. Definitely the best table service at DHS!

Rose and Crown - Another pleasant surprise! We loved the atmosphere. Really relaxing and friendly! A great place to unwind after a long day at the park. We all the food was great, and we timed our reservation so that we could watch Illuminations on the patio after. They have seating outside for all of the inside diners.

Chef Mickey - Personally I was disappointed with the quality of food here, and I found it way too crowded and loud. We are not going back there next time, and instead opted to do Donald's Breakfast Safari at Tusker House.

Olivia's - Haven't been, but I tend to agree with PP that I would only go there if I were staying at Old Key West, especially if you don't have a car. If seems like one of the harder places to get to by Disney transportation.

Yak & Yeti - Haven't been but would like to try.

Hollywood & Vine - If 50's Prime Time is the best TS at DHS, Hollywood & Vine is by far the worst! This is the worst buffet on property. The food is poor, the service is bad and the restaurant is a mess. Please don't go there!

Tutto Italia - Haven't been, but people seem to either love it think it is way overrated. I have heard it is expensive if paying OOP.

1900 Park Fare - We did dinner here, and it is a great character meal if you are a Cinderella fan. The food is not the best, but not the worst either, by far. I've heard that the breakfast buffet with Mary Poppins and Alice has better food. Either way, I think it is worth it, just so you can go visit the gorgeous Grand Floridian!

Have fun planning and have a great trip!!!

 

[SydneyFalco]

Coral Reef -- Good, but slightly overrated. Had a nice chicken dish there, but the wife didn't care for her dish.
'Ohana -- Skip it. We've been twice. The first time two years ago was okay, but this last outing all the meats were overdone and chewy. The sides are all great, though. And steer clear if you hate to see food wasted.
50's Prime Time Cafe -- I found it a little claustrophobic and hectic, not condusive to eating The food was okay, hearty but uninspired.
Rose and Crown -- never been, want to go.
Chef Mickey -- I preferred Crystal Palaca by a mile. It's far less crazy and the food seemed a little more fresh and freshly delivered.
Olivia's -- never been.
Yak & Yeti -- underrated. We had a really great lunch here.
Hollywood & Vine -- never been, but don't want to go.
Tutto Italia -- my sister-in-law really didn't care for this, and she's not generally picky.
1900 Park Fare -- never been, want to go.

 

[Kaleigh]

'Ohana- good sides, appetizers and desserts. neat experience, especially if you catch the fireworks. meats okay, usually dry
50's Prime Time Cafe- mediocre cracker barrel with smaller portions. fun interaction
Chef Mickey- normal buffet, usually crowded with speedy character interactions
Yak & Yeti- enjoyed the food, not huge portions, beautiful restaurant
Tutto Italia- expensive, large portions, some great food, some so-so, excellent service

 

[ROEDISNEY]

Coral Reef - Love it. Good food & great atmosphere
'Ohana - we didn't like it . We don't like smoked food. Service was great.
50's Prime Time Cafe -A must do every trip
Rose and Crown -trying in Aug
Chef Mickey - LOVE IT A must do every trip
Olivia's - Never Been
Yak & Yeti - Good
Hollywood & Vine -going in Aug
Tutto Italia - LOVE IT A must do
1900 Park Fare -Good food & fun

 

[GrimGrinningVal]

Coral Reef - Not great; last time I was there I ordered the blackened catfish and it was squishy.. I prefer fried catfish.

Ohana - it's been years, but I just remember the shrimp had their heads still attached and there was no way I was going to pull them off - lol!

50's Prime Time - I ate there Nov 2009 and loved it. Very fun atmosphere; I ordered the fish sandwich which was great.

Rose & Crown- I believe the lunch menu is better than the dinner menu. I ate there May 2009 and had the vegetarian shephard's pie. Fantastic!

Chef Mickeys - first time eating there next month.. will let you know!

Olivias - Order the onion rings for an appetizer, and the key lime pie for dessert, you won't be disappointed!

Yak & Yeti - Honey sesame chicken! It's listed in the appietizers.

Hollywood & Vine - I haven't eaten there since they changed it to the character dining, but the origional buffet was good.

Tutto Italia - I ate there Nov 2009 and wasn't overly impressed. My tomato [/COLOR]and mozzeralla panini was good.

1900 Park Fare - I went to Cinderella's Gala Buffet October 2007 and absolutely LOVED the food! The seafood piella was my fav, and the desserts were wonderful! The characters did a super job interacting with everyone!

 

[ncc1701]

Can only comment on 2
we did lunch at Rose & Crown each of our trips. We enjoyed our food and had no problem with our servers on any visit. I am a fan of the Fish & Chips and my DH enjoys either the Sheperds Pie or the Chicken Pie.
Had TI for dinner last time.Felt too rushed. The food was good and since we had free DDP we weren't concerned about the price.However the lasanga I get at our local Carrabba's is just as good.We prefer the 2 Maggianos near our home. If paying OOP save your money and go to the Maggianos on I-drive.
We did Chefs for lunch and agreed if paying OOP we would eat there again.