Rose and Crown or Coral Reef?

[Alice-in-wonder]

Which one would you recommend for a dinner reservation at Epcot? I read that the Rose and Crown is a good place to see Illuminations. Which one would you pick? TIA!

 

[Puccaw]

We have eaten at both but Rose and Crown is one of our faves...we have never been disappointed with Rose and Crown and we didn't overly enjoy Coral Reef. The food was ok but I thought that the service at Coral Reef was awful. The ambiance in the Coral Reef is neat but I much prefer sitting on the balcony overlooking the water at Rose and Crown...the steak and fish there is very good!

 

[Alice-in-wonder]

Thank you! I think I may stay with the Rose and Crown. We have not tried either restaurant yet.

 

[ThreeKMom]

We usually do both!!

We love sitting near the tank at coral reef. We always order the NY strip and think this is one of the better steaks at Disney. The horseradish mashed potatoes were awesome.

It can be difficult to get a table on the patio at Rose & Crown especially near the time of Illuminations. We have eaten inside and finished about 45 minutes before the start of Illuminations - they have always let us come back when the show started to watch from the patio. The fish and chips is yummy and so is the steak. I love the yorkshire pudding! And you can't go wrong with the Imperial Sampler!

I say do both!!!

 

[KYMickey]

While the food is good at both restaurants we enjoyed the atmosphere of the Rose and Crown much much better. The Coral Reef just seems very stiff and dark for us and people really don't seem to be having fun like they are at the Rose and Crown!

 

[PrincessAurora]

Rose & Crown is my vote. Better food and atmosphere. Getting a seat for Illuminations is hard. You can make your ressie for 8pm early but if people camp out starting at 7 and won't leave their table, you are out of luck. I would just go for the food and if you happen to not be able to get Illuminations seating, don't sweat it. There are TONS of places to see it around the lake.

 

[cinder_ellie]

I don't know if its just because I'm boring and like to stick with my usual British dishes, but the Rose and Crown is my favourite place to eat in WDW. The food is beautiful and the service is great!
And yes, being on the lake, the view is fantastic!!

 

[iloman]

Coral Reef is a great experience. That being said we haven't been back there in about 8 years. Rose and Crown is great. We've been lucky and gotten seats to watch Illuminations twice, and the other trip we didn't get lucky we still enjoyed watching from their patio space that's just for people eating dinner there.

 

[PoohsFan1]

We like both restaurants due to the atmospheres that they both have and the food. And the funny thing is, we had to pick between the two of these places for our last day lunch before heading back to BCV to catch the DME. We chose R&C because we hadn't eaten there in a while plus we are hoping to sit out by the lagoon and just enjoy looking at the WS one last time before heading home.

 

[Pakey]

Coral Reef has steadily declined in recent years; its not the place it was 10 years ago. We prefer Rose & Crown these days.