Skipper Canteen or Tony's Townsquare

[Malfie Cent]

We've never had a bad meal at Tony's and the best service I have ever had at a WDW restaurant was there. It was years ago so I don't know how things have changed since though.
This next trip I have an ADR for Skipper Canteen because the menu really appeals to us.

 

[Moliphino]

Are there any other sides on the Skipper's menu he would like? I've asked to substitute the side with the steak there (it was mostly tomatoes at the time and I hate tomatoes) and it was not a problem.

 

[JZCubed]

I am looking for one table service at Magic Kingdom, for lunch, and have these two in mind. Kiddo will be 12 but is very picky (ie he likes things plain). While he loves steak, and would probably want that, when I look at the menus the adult choice is way too fancy for him (he very much likes his meat barely seasoned and with plain sides, nothing fancy).

Normally we do buffets but since they are all family style now, and with more limited options, I don't think it's the best deal for us. We will probably be doing counter service for 90% of our meals, with this plus a lunch in Hollywood Studios at the 50's Diner or Sci Fi place.

Skipper Canteen is exotic food by most folks standards. I'm a food snob; my family enjoys eating here. Request the butterfly room - it's stunning.

But if your kids really won't enjoy exotic, Tony's is fine.

 

[gharter]

As much as I prefer Skippers to Tonys, with a "picky eater", they will do much better at Tonys.

 

[DisneyDiana]

My son is very picky eater. We usually go to Tonys and he gets the adult cheese pizza which he loves. There is nothing he will at Skipper Canteen.

 

[soniam]

Just get the steak plain at Skipper Canteen. We have done that a few times for our picky son. You could probably sub the sides for fries or something. We get it with no sides, because our teen doesn't even like fries.

 

[Moochie13]

Of the two, I'd pick Skipper canteen. We went for the first time last week. We liked it, but it wasn't our favorite.

 

[melissalovesfigment]

The kids steak at Skippers is really good. I think my daughter got it with green beans and potatoes. Tony's is very hit or miss. Some days, we have good food and service. Other days, it seems like you wait and wait and wait for average and expensive food.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

Skipper’s Canteen is one of my favorites in the MK

 

[Sargeant Tibbs]

We ate at Skippers once and none of us were impressed with the food. We are adventurous eaters, and after sampling every dish at the table, we agreed it was all extremely flavorless. A picky kid would probably do fine there. We like the theming, but we have no plans to return.

None of us have been to Tony's in decades. It has a reputation, but we're determined to try it again on our upcoming trip. I'd rather eat Olive Garden Italian than Skippers.

 

[gharter]

We ate at Skippers once and none of us were impressed with the food. We are adventurous eaters, and after sampling every dish at the table, we agreed it was all extremely flavorless. A picky kid would probably do fine there. We like the theming, but we have no plans to return.

None of us have been to Tony's in decades. It has a reputation, but we're determined to try it again on our upcoming trip. I'd rather eat Olive Garden Italian than Skippers.

Sounds like you were there on a bad day.
We have dined there multiple times. Never would I say the food was flavorless. Is it the best food at WDW? No, but its still one of the best options at MK.

 

[MomOTwins]

We have eaten at both multiple times which should tell you they are both solid choices. Most negative reviews of Tony’s compare it to Olive Garden. I agree it is like that, but we happen to like Olive Garden. I do prefer it to Skippers because Tony’s is consistent and Skippers has on days and off days—we’ve had some great dinners and some barely edible (and one memorable time it gave my husband food poisoning). To illustrate, we have had three or four meals at Skippers and around a dozen at Tony’s in the last five years.

 

[disneydreamer781]

We've eaten at both and if I had to choose then definitely Jungle Skipper Canteen. I absolutely love the Hardy Har Char Siu Pork and the Punch Line Punch! So good!

 

[Robbie Cottam]

We ate at Skippers once and none of us were impressed with the food. We are adventurous eaters, and after sampling every dish at the table, we agreed it was all extremely flavorless. A picky kid would probably do fine there. We like the theming, but we have no plans to return.

None of us have been to Tony's in decades. It has a reputation, but we're determined to try it again on our upcoming trip. I'd rather eat Olive Garden Italian than Skippers.

Interesting, you can’t pay me enough to eat at olive garden

 

[Sargeant Tibbs]

Sounds like you were there on a bad day.
We have dined there multiple times. Never would I say the food was flavorless. Is it the best food at WDW? No, but its still one of the best options at MK.

I hope that is the case. I'm trying to recall when we ate there. I'm pretty sure it was within the first year it opened. I'd be willing to try it again if I knew it was just an off experience.

Interesting, you can’t pay me enough to eat at olive garden

We all have our guilty pleasures.

 

[MomOTwins]

Interesting, you can’t pay me enough to eat at olive garden

We all have our guilty pleasures.

Yeah, Tony's gets brought up soooo many times on these boards and 9 times out of 10 Olive Garden comes up with exactly this kind of debate. I honestly think we need a sticky at the top of the disboards restaurant board that says these three things:
(1) If you like (or at least don't vehemently dislike) Olive Garden, you have a perfectly nice meal at Tony's
(2) If you hate Olive Garden with a passion so intense that you want to hold nightly bonfires for its menus, Tony's is not for you.
(3) If you are going to say "hey, I like Olive Garden but I thought Tony's was abysmal when I went there 5+ years ago"--Tony's got a new chef a few years ago and is now basically the same as Olive Garden and maybe even a bit nicer, depending on what you order. You should revisit it.

Edited to add: One should probably also add the following point #4 to sticky:
(4) If you are only going to eat Italian food once your disney trip and what the best combination of good food and reasonable prices, there is only one acceptable answer: Via Napoli.

 

[Califgirl]

The steak salad was my favorite item on the menu at Skippers, but it's not listed anymore. Neither is the seafood stew (with the muscles). So for my upcoming trip, I'll be at Tony's.
We ate at Tony's in May and both my husband and I liked it. (I had the muscles). We also ate at Trattoria Al Forno on the Boardwalk and while the meals were different, we liked them both.
I really, really miss the steak salad though. Has anyone had any success ordering it at Skippers lately?

 

[ScubaCat]

I'm not an adventurous eater, but I'd try just about anything (quite literally) in lieu of Tony's. It's the 2nd (*maybe* 3rd now) worst restaurant meal I've had in my adult life. But apparently I'm wrong based on other reviews here!

If I were in your shoes, I'd do counter service if Skipper Canteen isn't your style and nothing else was available. But I'm just one data point.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

I went to the Canteen in jan 21. They said the menu was covid restricted....
What was on the menu was still amazing, although slightly limited as others have pointed out.
However, The one and only time I have been to Tony's I left the sauce was an insult to Italian food. I swore I would never go back. That was in 2006, I have not gone back. There are too many other AMAZING place to eat in WDW, and at least 4 incredible Italian places.. If your looking for great Italian food at WDW try Terralina, or Maria and Enzo's both in the Springs.... If you want a great meal, and to get a break from the park for an hour GOTO the CANTEEN...

 

[vinny113]

Skipper's without a doubt. If we weren't following a "no-repeats" rule on our next trip, it'd be on our list of places to go.