Reviews & Pics (starring Via Napoli & Signatures)! 8/18 UPDATE: Counter Service / RPC

[DonaldDoleWhip]

The Hollywood Brown Derby has been my favorite restaurant in DHS for years (the gimmicks at Prime Time and Sci-Fi don't make up for the food, IMO). I think the DDP has actually hurt Brown Derby's reputation, because people don't want to use 2 credits on a meal there (which I don't disagree with). Still, it has the best food in the park by a large margin, and the Cobb Salad is a very satisfying lunch.

I've been there twice for lunch this trip, and both times the place was practically empty. From the windows I could see huge crowds walking down Sunset Boulevard, but the restaurant itself was very quiet and I love the background music. During my second meal there, some of the Studios characters (Otto Von Bon Bon, etc.) were interacting with guests, which was entertaining.

Even though I just ordered an appetizer, I still received some rolls with the meal. Both times the bread was very warm, and it was served with butter with pink Hawaiian sea salt. The gourmet salt isn't a unique thing among Disney's signature restaurants, but because the bread was so warm, it allowed the salt to melt, which I really liked.

The Cobb Salad (shown here without the avocado, blue cheese, and with dressing on the side) was fabulous both times. It's a very filling lunch, with a lot of protein (turkey, bacon, and egg). I definitely recommend getting the dressing on the side, because this salad doesn't need too much; I want to be able to taste all of the components! If you want, the waiter will mix your salad at the table.

Here it is, both before and after being mixed:

The mixed one doesn't look so appetizing, but it's delicious. Overall Brown Derby is still a great option at the Studios, and even though I'm trying to be price conscious since I'm dining OOP, this lunch is very worth it to me (and the atmosphere during lunch is a great escape from the crowds).

 

[MisplacedTraveler]

Great reviews so far. I love all the photos!

 

[franandaj]

Thanks for the review and pics! Where in Italy is the restaurant located? Do you have any pictures of the exteroir?

I'd definitely want to try the second pizza you ate, and I Arancini! I don't have any place close where I can get them. I would still order them at $2.50 a bite!

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Thanks for the review and pics! Where in Italy is the restaurant located? Do you have any pictures of the exteroir?

I'd definitely want to try the second pizza you ate, and I Arancini! I don't have any place close where I can get them. I would still order them at $2.50 a bite!

The restaurant's in the very back of Italy. This pic was taken near the center of Italy - Tutto Italia is on the very left, and Via is in the back:

Reviews coming soon: Jiko, Narcoossee's, Citricos, and a quick meal at California Grill

 

[franandaj]

The restaurant's in the very back of Italy. This pic was taken near the center of Italy - Tutto Italia is on the very left, and Via is in the back:

Reviews coming soon: Jiko, Narcoossee's, Citricos, and a quick meal at California Grill

Thanks! I was wondering if it was across from Tutto or what, this gives me a good perspective. I can't wait to try it, over a year from now. Ugh

BTW, I'm glad this has become a full on DR! I can't wait to see the rest, you have some great food porn!

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

BTW, I'm glad this has become a full on DR! I can't wait to see the rest, you have some great food porn!

Thanks so much - I'm glad people like looking at the pics!

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Our first dinner was at Jiko. My entire family (on my mom's side) is from South Africa, so we like going to Jiko to meet the South African CM's and see how the food is. However, because we've spent so much time in South Africa visiting family, we're often harsh critics when experiencing Disney's take on African cuisine (we still wonder why Disney hasn't added a very authentic South African restaurant, such as Moyo throughout South Africa or Braai in Manhattan). That doesn't stop us from coming to Jiko.

To start, I ordered the tomato salad. I can't even remember what was in it (besides cheese and micro basil), but the green sauce was rather overpowering and had an unusual taste. I don't mind interesting flavors, but I couldn't taste the tomato very much.

Here's the Jiko seasonal salad, with peaches, walnut brittle (I think), Humoldt Fog cheese and peach vinaigrette. I tried the peach, walnut, lettuce and a little bit of dressing all together, and once again there was a rather odd taste that overwhelmed everything. This time it was sweet, and I couldn't tell whether it was the peach or the dressing. Eventually I tried the dressing on its own; it reminded me of shampoo or nail polish remover. Yes, that's harsh, and perhaps the blue cheese would have countered it nicely, but I couldn't have more of the dressing.

Before the entrees arrived, we received a pineapple sorbet as an intermezzo. This tasted like a dole whip to me (but with a more icy texture) and I really enjoyed it. No idea why we received it, and the picture isn't so great:

As an entree, I chose the Chermoula Tanglewood Chicken, with vegetables of the moment replacing the goat cheese potatoes. This was a very nice choice. There was plenty of spice from the harissa but I could scrape some off so it wasn't too much, and the combination of chicken, olive, and lemon is delicious. Vegetables were a light side that I preferred to potatoes:

Here's the Durban shrimp curry (also with vegetables replacing the basmati rice). The shrimp was well cooked, but the sauce was incredibly spicy and sweet (to me, it tasted like tamarind), which overwhelmed the shrimp and the vegetables. We love spicy food, but it would still be nice to taste the actual protein in the dish (and in this case, it was the sweetness that was more off-putting).

After an inconsistent meal, we weren't sure if we wanted dessert, but as soon as the menu came I noticed there was Malva Pudding, which is a South African dessert that I absolutely love. It tasted just as it should, with a yummy vanilla custard sauce, some mango, and apricot sorbet. Definitely the highlight of the meal for me, and I wish more Jiko dishes could be like this (authentic flavors and recipes, in an upscale presentation):

So Top Chef-style, the winning dish for me was clearly the Malva Pudding, and the chicken was a close second. If I had to pick a losing dish, it would be the Seasonal Salad. To both of us, the dressing was horrible (but, luckily, it was on the side, and most of it went unused).

 

[cymbaldiva]

Thanks for your review! The pizza looks very good, but $33 is a lot of money to spend on that meal. Disney prices are ridiculous!

Shelli

Agreed!

 

[franandaj]

We had the chicken as part of the Wanyama Safari Dinner, and enjoyed it, but it's nice to see what a serving of it looks like when ordered off the menu. I'm going to have to go back to Jiko as a customer, my last two times were part of the safari and I'd love to experience the menu again because I remember when it first opened we really enjoyed it.

 

[Linda67]

Great reviews and pictures

You have a very descriptive review style - thanks for sharing your thoughts

 

[butiflfeet]

I agree you are very descriptive with your reviews and I really appreciate it! Thanks so much for sharing. I can't wait for December to try Via Napoli!

 

[bluejasmine]

So I booked Via Napoli for our first day, most of the reviews I read sound great.

Think one of us will get individual pepperoni pizza and the other a pasta dish and share both and then share two desserts..

Had originally booked Kona but only b/c we wanted to relax early at the resort but we honestly didnt care much for Kona last yr and we have a Ohana ADR later in the week.

So I feel I did the right thing, booked Via Napoli for lunch and will go back to resort around 230 to swim and unpack. Figured if we get hungry we can use a CS from Capt Cooks and/or food from the Club Lounge.

 

[JerseyJanice]

Thanks for posting your reviews. And thanks too for posting the link to Braai. It looks so interesting. Next time someone asks me to recommend a different place in Manhattan I'll be sure to mention it.

 

[pigletforever]

Great reviews. We are trying Via Napoli in January. Jiko was voted down by my family for this trip.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Our next dinner was at Narcoossee's. We were lucky enough to get a window table, although we left way before the fireworks. Sorry that the pic isn't great:

After having Jiko's relatively weak tomato salad, I noticed that there was an heirloom tomato salad on Narcoossee's appetizer list as well (in fact, I recall seeing some form of heirloom tomato salad on almost every signature menu). This one was a salad of tomato, stone fruit, ricotta, balsamic, olive oil, and sea salt. It was absolutely delicious. Combining each ingredient created a nice balance of flavors, and the grains of salt on the plate contrasted with the sweetness of the cheese and fruit. I could easily order it again:

Here are the mussels, which had a parsley broth. They were very tender, and the broth added a good flavor. The bread on the side was perfect for soaking up more broth. I couldn't have eaten all of this though; 2 mussels were enough for me!

I wasn't too hungry, so I ordered the tilapia ceviche appetizer for my main course. This dish had plantain chips, avocado, and chipotle aioli. It wasn't a big hit. The ceviche itself had an interesting citrus flavor, but the other ingredients on the plate were overwhelming. The avocado and aioli added a lot of creaminess, the aioli itself had a strong smoky flavor, and the plantain chips brought a textural contrast, but overall it was too much for a dish that is supposed to be light and refreshing. I didn't finish most of the plantain chips and chipotle aioli:

This entree is the bouillabaisse. It had lobster tail, king crab leg, mussels, shrimp, fish, maybe scallop, a saffron tomato broth, some veggies (like celery), and garlic bread. All of the seafood had a soft texture, and a lot of the broth flavor infused into the fish. The broth was very light but there was a good amount of it; it could have been a soup on its own. The bread was perhaps a bit too greasy so we didn't have a lot of it, but overall the dish was a great seafood sample.

When the dessert menus came, I noticed the strawberry shortcake. I remembered seeing pics of it here and it looked amazing, so I got it. Unfortunately, I was slightly disappointed. Despite the ornate presentation of the dish, it tasted like any ordinary strawberry shortcake. I love strawberry shortcake, but I was expecting more from it.

The bittersweet chocolate mousse, with berries, cream, and little chocolate crunch dots, was delicious. I'm not a huge chocolate person, but this was a great dish. The mousse wasn't too sweet, the crunch added to the texture, and the berries and cream provided a break from the chocolate.

Overall we were very satisfied with Narcoossee's. It's one of our favorite signature restaurants (and we never order the lobster or surf and turf!), and most courses were great. The losing dish of the night was the ceviche. I enjoyed the ceviche itself, but not really the extra components. The winning dish for me was the tomato & stone fruit salad, which was relatively light and had an interesting contrast of flavors. The bouillabaisse was a close runner-up, with great flavor and seafood but probably too heavy for a humid summer night.

Still a few more reviews coming up, including Citricos, California Grill, Yak & Yeti lunch, and Artist Point!

 

[Sassagoula Billy]

Descriptive, vivid, and a Top Chef reference? Thanks for a very informative and entertaining report. An added plus is that I am a fan of/or have wanted to visit the restaurants you have already reviewed (and the ones to come).

I agree with your assessment of the flat Via Napoli facade. Something about it screams "mall", or suburban Macaroni Grill design to me. Oh, and I had no idea Via Napoli had a sister restaurant here in the city, so maybe I won't have to wait to sample the Arancini and Carciofi after all. Naples 45, here I come. Thanks for the info!

 

[tinacaplan]

Great reviews. I like hearing more than just, "I ate this and it was good." Or bad. I always find myself wanting to know why someone thought it was good or bad! So I appreciate your descriptiveness.

I have to say my husband and I ate at Jiko last February and it was not one of our favorite meals. Didn't think a lot of the flavors meshed very well together, frankly, and we are both adventerous eaters, so it was not an aversion to out of the ordinary food.

 

[Linda67]

Great review of Narcoossees

Really looking forward to hearing what you thought of Citricos

 

[TheNewMrsB]

Lovely Narcoossee's review! Really enjoying your descriptions. Looking forward to more!

 

[Danislee]

Thanks for the review of Narcoossee's. I have a reservation for our trip in September. I was waffling, but that bouillabaisse looks great! (As does the chocolate dessert.)