So how is Coral Reef?

[Mamapapa]

We went when my oldest son was 4. I love seafood, but am not overly impressed with the food here. Food was ok, not bad, just ok. We were on 3rd tier which was awful, way too far away to keep DS4 interested in the tanks and we wouldn't let him get up to check them out as I would hate it if another parent let their kid ruin my meal as they tried to see the tank closer. Service was slow, I had to take DS4 and leave after waiting over 30min just to get the check. DH stayed behind and waited another 10min before the check finally came. That said, when we go back with all three kids, we will go here again because I just think it's a place everyone should try at least once so I'd like my twins to check it out. Hoping for an inside table on tier 1 next time though.

 

[Masonmj84]

We had a lunch here a few weeks ago.

We had an 11:30 ADR and were seated right away (the whole meal took about an hour and we were on the DxDP, so we each had appetizers, entrees, and desserts). Overall, I can't complain about the service.

Maybe it was because we were on the DxDP (and had dinners at signature restaurants every night) but the food here didn't wow me. The best part of the meal was the bread (which, FWIW was pretty good). The second best part of the meal (from a food perspective) was the fried shrimp appetizer, which was decent but nothing to write home about. For an entree, I had the Mahi Mahi. It was mediocre (think below-average Red Lobster quality). I had the key lime mousse for dessert. It was disappointing (suffice it to say the meal continually went downhill).

Just to give some perspective, on the same day we had lunch at Coral Reef, we had dinner at Flying Fish. The difference in these two restaurants cannot be overstated (yes, I realize Flying Fish is signature and Coral Reef is not). I can't even begin to describe how much better the snapper at Flying Fish was than the Mahi Mahi at Coral Reef. If I was only going to eat at one seafood restaurant in the Epcot area, Flying Fish would win every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Take it from me, the extra $$$ (or use of extra dining credits) is totally worth it.

Put another way, if I had paid OOP for my meal at Coral Reef, I would have been VERY disappointed (we were on a DxDP upgrade from a free DDP, which made it far less painful). And I really wanted to like this restaurant.

In defense of Coral Reef, I will say that the tank is pretty cool (especially seeing the sharks, sea turtle, and divers). But for me, the mediocre food more than offset this. Given all of the other choices in Epcot, I will not return (in fact, I'm just the opposite of the OP - want to try LeCellier for lunch on my next visit).

 

[NSmuppetmom]

We ate there last Feb... it was, in all honesty, the worst meal we have had at any of the parks.
We are pretty easy to please (don't mind Hollywood & Vine, we've eaten without complaint at Electric Umbrella several times) but some of the food was almost inedible. DD ordered the pasta (with tomato sauce) which was so bad I had to doctor it up with sugar, salt and pepper at the table to make it anything close to edible.
I can't remember what my other kids had, nor what DH and I ate, but none of it was better than okay.... which given the $$ (we pay OOP) was quite a disappointment.
When we return to EPCOT (in just over a week) we will eat anywhere in the park but there.
Maybe we just had an off-day in terms of kitchen staff?!?! (Not willing to go back to find out.)

 

[aceys_h0ney]

We went there one trip. We enjoyed the restuarant and the tank was awesome. Service was very slow and our waiter wasn't that pleasant. Food was pretty good, not our favorite but we enjoyed it. We probably won't go back again but we really enjoyed experiencing it once.

 

[bluvw]

If you can't get a tank-view seat (that means right up against the tank), just leave. The further seats you can't see a thing. And the service and the food are not good enough to make it worth it without the close-up view of the tanks.

 

[Paging Tom Morrow]

I'd much rather shove toothpicks into my eye than to ever eat at Coral Reef again. No exaggeration. Worst. Meal. Ever.

 

[heartpumper]

This was my first ADR on my first adult trip 3 years ago. It was horrible. We had to wait 45 minutes after our scheduled time to sit down and then waited another 20 minutes just to see our waiter. Not a good situation for tired 4 and 6 year old boys. And then the food was worse than Red Lobster. I won't be going back.

 

[MolonLabe]

We had a 11:05 reservation and there were perhaps 3 tables seated prior to our arrival.

It was a bit bizarre as they tried to seat us in the back. I asked about sitting closer to the aquarium and the hostess said those were reserved... Really, all of them? There had to 100 tables between us and the front, lol.

I spoke to a manager and we got a table down on the floor which was nice. About 30 minutes later the place was about 3/4 full and it was extremely loud. By the end of our meal they place was packed and it was almost unbearable.

The food was good. I would say the apps and desert were very good. The entrees were O.K.

I doubt we will be back. I've had better fish at other Disney restaurants, including at CRT. Anyway, much better choices for Epcot. If we were spending several days in Epcot we might go back but as it stands, places like Le Chefs de France and Marrakesh would win out on most days.

 

[chipndales]

Love it! Definitely go and enjoy.

 

[kristin08]

Ate there for the first time last year and we loved it! I had the steak with the horseradish mashed potatoes. So good! Nice name btw, way to spell Kristin correctly

 

[Fantasmiss]

LOVE Coral Reef, eat there every time we go to WDW. Great themeing, great food.

Garden Grill I would stay far away from though. It's the worst dining experience we've had at WDW. But I really wanted to like it, so gave it a second chance on a later trip, it was still bad. Characters were good, food wasn't and the cast members were shockingly unbelievably unhelpful and actually sarcastic. We're honestly always nice and polite. This was one of only 2 times ever that Disney cast members have been rude to us, they're normally amazing!!

 

[ilovejsparrow]

I'm glad that even after reading several negative reviews on the Dis my family and I gave Coral Reef a try. I really enjoyed my meal, the desserts and the atmosphere. A must try at least once, in my opinion.

 

[Albytaps]

I loved the Coral Reef. I believe I had the seasonal catch or the Mahi mahi, I can't remember but it was good. I didn't like the baily's dessert as much as I thought since everyone reviewed it well here. I like alcohol to get a buzz, I certainly don't want to taste it in my food. I wish I had the chocolate lava dessert. Anyway, it was a lovely dinner nontheless.

I'd really love to hear what the people that hated this place had to eat. And someone said worse than Red Lobster? I love Red Lobster!

 

[KCMiller]

I don't remember what we ate, but I do remember being weirded out that we had to share a table with another family. Am I remembering this correctly? We were on the second or third tier, and the booths we were sat at were really large - my DD and I were seated at one side of the table, sort of in a booth, and then they sat another family at the other side of our table. Or that's how I remember it - am I mistaken? Maybe it was one 'booth' of seating with two tables in it, so technically we weren't at the 'same' table, but I recall it being very awkward, mainly because they had two small children with no manners, and the father was wearing a baseball cap and a sleeveless t-shirt.

Yeah, the food didn't make as much of an impression as that, for sure.

KC

 

[forever11709]

It is also on my never again list, we went in July and my daughter was 15 months old at the time, first rule small kids=move FAST, the steak was horrid, cold, and tougher than nails, our drinks took at least 15 min, check took another 30 .. I have been a server and rarely tip under20% but I believe I tipped her 5 dollars on a 79 dollar meal and that's only cuz I didn't want to write 0 .. I will never ever eer step foot back inside

 

[jedi jen]

Been twice. Once great. Other time not so good. Thought I would not go back because of so many options. However, we plan to give it another try next trip because of the aquarium. We all love watching aquariums, so hopefully the food will be good.

 

[jagafen]

For what it's worth, we love it as well....it's one of our traditional must do meals when we're at Disney. At the very least, I'd encourage you to give it a try and form your own opinion about the place. Give it a fair shot!

Our "most disgusting" restaurant?: Chef Mickey's for Dinner....grossest food EVER

 

[Albytaps]

Here's a tip. When you go to a seafood restaurant, order seafood.

 

[burberryplaid]

We were hesitant to try Coral Reef but since Le Cellier was not offered for dinner as part of the Candlelight Processional package last December we decided to give it a shot and we were so glad we did! We got to sit right near the tank which was lovely. Our food was excellent too! I had the catch of the day and DH had the steak...both great! For dessert DH had the Chocolate Wave & I had the Jack Daniels and Bailey's dessert....SO GOOD!!

I know you'll read a lot of bad reviews but we enjoyed it and will go back...

It's a bit pricey but we liked it!

 

[leyeball]

We love Coral Reef! The grilled mahi mahi is excellent!