Okay...we went to Avalon Cove today for lunch. There were 5 of us, so we decided to all try something different. Lunch is a little different than dinner. Dinner is a flat fee of $20 per adult ($12.95 for kids under 10) and it includes appetizer, main course, dessert and drink. Lunch is $12.95 for adults ($8.95 for kids under 10) and it includes soup or salad and main course. Drinks and dessert are extra at lunch. I was told by everyone that Premium AP'ers got a 10% discount at this restaurant...everyone EXCEPT our server who insisted that we did not. This was the old Wolfgang Puck restaurant and it seems a little weird since Disney has taken it over. It looked a little like the local hamburger stand that used to be a Taco Bell ...you can still tell it was a Taco Bell because the new owner reused a lot of the place. This place seems fancier in some respects and kind of "cheap" in some others. The walls, carpets, fixtures, tables and bathrooms are all from the old Puck restaurant and are very nice. The reception desk up on the first floor is not staffed anymore, and it seems a little empty up there. Also, the costumes that the servers were wearing weren't real snazzy. They were pretty much right out of the food stands. ANYWAY, here's my food report:
Soup and Salad:
The salad was basically wilted tossed bittergreens and dressing. Not bad, not real good. I give it a C.
The soup LOOKED really good from the menu description "Cheese onion soup" but ended up being French Onion soup
with string mozarella cheese chopped up in it with a thin piece of french bread stuck in the soup. The whole thing had sort of a "Wyler's" feel to it and it was served a little too cold for my taste. The cheese wasn't melted. Disappointing. D-
We had four of the six offered main courses:
Fish and Chips: This was a big hit! The fish is very good and you're given tarter sauce and catsup. You get three pieces of fish and a whole bunch of steak fries. Only complaint on this one is that you should get one more piece of fish. (They're smallish pieces) A-
Salmon BLT: WOW! Really Good! BIG piece of salmon on a poppy seed roll. Also includes bacon, lettuce and tomato. Comes with a whole mess of steak fries. I would suggest getting this and sharing it with someone. It's so much salmon that it almost gets to be a little much if you eat the whole thing! It's the best thing on the lunch menu! A
Cheeseburger and Steak Fries: A good burger. It's grilled and seasoned nicely and served with lettuce, onions and tomato, 2 slices of cheddar on a poppy seed roll. Also comes with a lot of steak fries. Not a bad burger, but $12.95?...try something else a little more exotic!! B-
Vegetarian Penne Pasta: Not bad. My wife really enjoyed it. Since none of us are vegetarians, we would have probably liked to have seen some chicken or sausage in there...but not bad for "meatless" B
Our DD had the cheese sandwich and fries which was fine and we talked to a couple next to us that had a son who got the Mac and Cheese and said it was a winner. They have a very extensive kids menu which you would expect for a character restaurant.
Desserts were on the small side, but they are only $2.99. Don't get one expecting to share it with someone! My wife and I shared a piece of chocolate cake and we each got two bites! Oh well, next time we'll each get our own.
As for the character interaction, it is VERY GOOD. Almost TOO good! Our table was visited by a character about every five minutes. Made it a little hard to eat, but I guess too many characters at a character lunch isn't a fair criticism, so...I'll just say that there are a lot of characters to interact with. We had Goofy, Chip and Dale, Ariel, Minnie, Pluto and a couple others. My DD just loved it! Big thumbs up on the characters!
Service was good and bad. Our server seemed a little "foggy" like maybe she just got off a shift operating California Screamin'. She didn't really know the menu and didn't really give us much in the way of suggestions. On the other hand, the busboy was MORE than helpful. Our drinks were always topped off and our plates were always cleared when we were done with something. Maybe our waitress was new...the others seemed a lot more "with it".
Overall, I would give the experience a solid B, and we will probably go again someday. Here's my wrap up:
Ambiance: a little confusing between chic and food court - B-
Food: Very good. Try the salmon BLT! - A-
Character interaction: there are characters everywhere! - A+
Overall: Solid B
You can call and make reservations at area code 714-781-DINE. There was a line waiting for a walk-up so I would probably suggest making a reservation just to be safe. With reservations, we walked right in. Go give Avalon Cove a try...it's worth the money!
Roy
Soup and Salad:
The salad was basically wilted tossed bittergreens and dressing. Not bad, not real good. I give it a C.
The soup LOOKED really good from the menu description "Cheese onion soup" but ended up being French Onion soup
with string mozarella cheese chopped up in it with a thin piece of french bread stuck in the soup. The whole thing had sort of a "Wyler's" feel to it and it was served a little too cold for my taste. The cheese wasn't melted. Disappointing. D-
We had four of the six offered main courses:
Fish and Chips: This was a big hit! The fish is very good and you're given tarter sauce and catsup. You get three pieces of fish and a whole bunch of steak fries. Only complaint on this one is that you should get one more piece of fish. (They're smallish pieces) A-
Salmon BLT: WOW! Really Good! BIG piece of salmon on a poppy seed roll. Also includes bacon, lettuce and tomato. Comes with a whole mess of steak fries. I would suggest getting this and sharing it with someone. It's so much salmon that it almost gets to be a little much if you eat the whole thing! It's the best thing on the lunch menu! A
Cheeseburger and Steak Fries: A good burger. It's grilled and seasoned nicely and served with lettuce, onions and tomato, 2 slices of cheddar on a poppy seed roll. Also comes with a lot of steak fries. Not a bad burger, but $12.95?...try something else a little more exotic!! B-
Vegetarian Penne Pasta: Not bad. My wife really enjoyed it. Since none of us are vegetarians, we would have probably liked to have seen some chicken or sausage in there...but not bad for "meatless" B
Our DD had the cheese sandwich and fries which was fine and we talked to a couple next to us that had a son who got the Mac and Cheese and said it was a winner. They have a very extensive kids menu which you would expect for a character restaurant.
Desserts were on the small side, but they are only $2.99. Don't get one expecting to share it with someone! My wife and I shared a piece of chocolate cake and we each got two bites! Oh well, next time we'll each get our own.
As for the character interaction, it is VERY GOOD. Almost TOO good! Our table was visited by a character about every five minutes. Made it a little hard to eat, but I guess too many characters at a character lunch isn't a fair criticism, so...I'll just say that there are a lot of characters to interact with. We had Goofy, Chip and Dale, Ariel, Minnie, Pluto and a couple others. My DD just loved it! Big thumbs up on the characters!
Service was good and bad. Our server seemed a little "foggy" like maybe she just got off a shift operating California Screamin'. She didn't really know the menu and didn't really give us much in the way of suggestions. On the other hand, the busboy was MORE than helpful. Our drinks were always topped off and our plates were always cleared when we were done with something. Maybe our waitress was new...the others seemed a lot more "with it".
Overall, I would give the experience a solid B, and we will probably go again someday. Here's my wrap up:
Ambiance: a little confusing between chic and food court - B-
Food: Very good. Try the salmon BLT! - A-
Character interaction: there are characters everywhere! - A+
Overall: Solid B
You can call and make reservations at area code 714-781-DINE. There was a line waiting for a walk-up so I would probably suggest making a reservation just to be safe. With reservations, we walked right in. Go give Avalon Cove a try...it's worth the money!
Roy
