Some quick reviews from 10/17 - 10/24

[goodeats]

I know I don't have the time to commit to a full trip report, but wanted to give my thoughts as it's so helpful to other's planning. We were 2 adults not on dining plan and with a TIW card.


Arrival Day
Crews Cup Lounge - This is a hidden gem! The Pimm's Punch cocktail was delicious as was the margaritas. We tried the crab cake and clam chowder one night later in the week and they were pretty good.

Yachtsman's Steakhouse - Good service here, but atmosphere was rowdier than I expected. More casual than other signature's I felt like. We tried the charcuterie board and lobster bisque. Charcuterie board was decent, but I wouldn't order again - just not my thing. The bisque was very creamy with more chunks of lobster than expected. We split the rib eye, which was not a problem at all and they even plated it for us, and shared a yummy side of squash. Everything was very rich and filling The sundae dessert was not good, but I guess we just don't like cherries. I realized after I got home that she didn't charge us for the wine we had with the steak. No wonder I thought it was a good value! I would go back I think, but only if I were staying in the Boardwalk area.

Day 2
Be Our Guest Breakfast - This was only worth it to get into MK early. We preordered, but were sent with everyone else. We had an issue with payment, which took awhile to get cleared up. It seemed to take a while for our food to come relative to other people who were in line around us. The worst part was my food was pretty cold. I wanted to get out of there so I didn't complain, but maybe I should have. My eggs were rubbery and the brie/bread were just sad. I did like arugala, tomatoes, and bacon. My sister had the charcuterie plate and she liked it well enough. We barely touched the pastries, but liked what we tried. With only two people they were a huge waste on us. We did get to ride 7DMT twice before 9:00 and that was awesome. I could see if your family got there late and you ate slow you'd totally miss it, which would doubly suck.

Columbia Harbor House - This line was out the door, but it moved fast. This was our favorite QS of the trip! Maybe we were just hungry, but everything hit the spot. I had the fried shrimp with broccoli. I couldn't believe how fresh and crisp the broccoli was. I was worried it would be a sad cafeteria affair, but it was very good. The shrimp were really tasty. DSis got the lobster roll and really liked it too.

Food & Wine Booths - We had a late dinner reservations so tried some wines and the beef bourgenion (sp?) from France. This was slightly disappointing. It felt like it had been sitting out under a lamp for a bit and the beef was overcooked. I also had a grapefruit beer that was delicious, but I think I could only a little bit at one time.

Via Napoli - I was a little disappointed here. We split the fried vegetable app and got a family salad. They were both really good. We also split an individual spicy sausage pizza. Afterwards I realized I should have ordered "well done". The crust was doughy and soft. I prefer it a little crunchy on the outside. It was tasty, but a weird texture. We also split the zeppoli dessert and it was just OK. The balls were a little cold. I think hot they would have been better. Service was good. I would go again despite my disappointment.

More to come....

 

[vettegirl]

Thanks for sharing your reviews with us.

 

[goodeats]

Day 3
Les Halles - We walked over around 9:00 am and had a wonderful quick breakfast here. I had a great cappuccino and the bacon roule. The cappuccino was great, but the bacon roule was a little greasy/heavy. I probably shouldn't have finished it, but it was great! My sister had a mimosa and the brie/apple sandwich. She thought there was too much bread, so left off half. We stopped there for pastries later in the week and had a great experience again. We just loved it!

San Angel Inn - This was also a great experience! It was very hot and crowded in WS at this time so going inside the pyramid just felt wonderful. We had a bit of a wait for our table (maybe 15 minutes), and had a four top close to other tables. There was an empty table at the rail, but I didn't ask. The seat was fine. I was a little nervous that I would find the avacado margarita too sweet, but our server assured me that I could switch it out if I didn't like it. I really liked it. It wasn't too sweet at all, and it didn't taste like avacado at all , but still delicious! Dsis had the blood orange margarita and also liked it. I had the caesar salad and the appetizer with the corn cakes topped in pork. These were pretty good and a nice size for me. The corn cakes were a little dried out, but not enough that I felt like complaining. I think my sister had the steak taco plate and she liked it. Add in chips and salsa and this is a great lunch spot, but more so when it's hot outside. I would definitely do again.

F&W Snacks - We were very full after our late lunch. After walking around a bit we realized that we weren't going to be hungry for much. At one point we split the Corn Cheesecake from the Mexico kiosk - we really liked this. We eventually gave up and ended up going back to the resort for the soup and crab cake from Crews Cup later that evening.

Day 4
Cape May Cafe - Our one and only character meal. This was good, not great. I liked the spinach apple salad and the mickey waffles. It's a typical Disney breakfast buffet with the usual suspects (biscuits, gravy, bacon, sausage, etc). I wish there were more sea food options to go with the theme, but I guess the price would be higher. They had a crepe bar that seemed popular, but I didn't try. It felt expensive for breakfast, but I guess that's the gist of Disney character dining. Don't get me wrong it was fun, and I think everyone should do one, but you are certainly paying for the experience.

Trails End - I had some doubts about this ADR, but it was soooo good! I loved it. Everything was so fresh and flavorful. That fried chicken may have been the greatest thing we ate all week. It was not greasy at all. The only thing I didn't love was the pulled pork, but I'm particular about BBQ sauce. Service was very attentive. We got there at opening (4:30) so we could get to the Halloween Party, so that may have helped things. Plus the price was sooo reasonable. I think it may have been less than our breakfast buffet at Cape May? It can be a pain to get to, but we had good luck with the buses/boats and got there in just under an hour. I would definitely go back.

 

[goodeats]

Day 5
Boardwalk Bakery - We stopped here on our way to DHS. We weren't that hungry so we split an egg bagel sandwich and a chocolate chip Mickey muffin. The muffin looked really moist, but it wasn't. The bagel sandwich was fine and half was about what I wanted that morning. I was curious about the lunch offerings but never made it back. I was kind of meh on it - I'm sure the pastries at Les Halles were better.

Writer's Stop - I had to try the carrot cake cookie! It was fabulous! And big enough that we nibbled on it over a few days. It got a little dry in the fridge, but still tasty. They also had it in the sweet shop at the end of Sunset Blvd, but not the Starbucks. The Writer's Stop looked like a good place to sit, but there were no seats available.

Brown Derby - Service here was very sloooow. We had a 1:20 reservation and when we were sat there were quite a few empty tables with dirty dishes waiting to be cleared. The waiter took a while with everything. Not sure if there server had too many tables or what. We each got two appetizers. I had the cobb salad and the crab cakes, while Dsis got the lobster bisque and the seared tuna. I had a glass of champagne while she had some sort of cocktail. The menu was a bit different than what All Ears shows so if you were hoping for corn chowder or the seared scallops - they are not on it! The cobb salad was what I was expecting and tasty. I don't love bleu cheese so I probably should have asked for it to be "easy" on the bleu, but I still ate the whole thing. I thought the appetizer portion was generous. The crab cakes were not good - especially compared to the one from Crew's Cup. They were greasy and reminded me of something you'd get a middling chain restaurant. Actually I got sick to my stomach this afternoon and I think these were the culprit. The lobster bisque was creamy, but no chunks of seafood. She didn't love it, but liked the seared ahi. I remember liking the bread here a lot. I usually don't eat a lot of bread, but I indulged in one of these rolls with the yummy butter. We liked the dessert sampler idea - I think we had the blueberry crumble, creme brule, and the grapefruit cake. It was nice to get to taste a few. Overall though this was a disappointment, and we probably should have gone to the lounge but the lounge appeared to be all outside and it was nice to be in an enclosed restaurant in AC. I'll try a different restaurnat at HS next time for sure.

Epcot F&W - After resting and recovering from my upset stomach we headed to Epcot and tried some food from the kiosks. It was midweek so the lines and crowds were doable. I tried the escargot from France, fisherman's pie from Ireland, and the filet from Canada. These were all very nice, but rich. I couldn't eat anymore after that (well with some beer and wine). Dsis tried the cheese sampler from Ireland and the duck bun from China. The duck was tasty, but the bun was gummy. She also got some mixed drinks. The smoking hibiscus from the chew lab was just bad. F&W is fun, but expensive. There were more I wanted to try during the week, but I just could not bring myself to spend the money when I was so full all the time.

Day 6
BC Marketplace - We ended up hopping to the MK EMH the night before and were up until 1am! We planned to go to AK this day and were glad we had our FP+ all locked in. That was one thing I liked about FP - if you wanted to not make rope drop you didn't have to because we knew we'd still get to ride the 3 rides we wanted to. Of course this was because I made our FP at exactly 60 days out! The marketplace has an odd smell, I think due to the flatbreads they make there. It never seemed appealing to us, but since we slept in a bit and didn't have time for a proper sit down breakfast we split a breakfast platter and fruit bowl to share. It was better than the BW Bakery, and fit what we wanted this morning. Despite staying in the BC this was the only time we ate here, and when compared to the QS at the WL or the Poly I think the Marketplace should be overhauled. It's kind of sad for such a large resort (BC, BCV, and YC).

AK Starbucks (Creature Comforts) - It was hot this morning and I picked up a Frappicino. It was great, and I love that I can use my Starbucks app within the Disney parks. The park was crowded and the line moved slow, but it was worth it.

Harambe Market - This was a mistake, but ended up OK. Our touring was all over the place and we ended up here. We looked at the Yak N Yeti QS and the lines were really long, and we headed to Africa hoping the Dawa Bar served food - it doesn't. We ended up here and it kind of has a food truck vibe - there are 3 separate queues for chicken, ribs, or sausages. The lines moved very slowly and it was very hot - they needed more shade. I got the spice rubbed ribs - It was HUGE! Seriously probably 2 pounds of meat. The salads served with it were meh, but the rib was tender. It was pricey though - $13 plus $8 for a beer. Dsis got the beef sausage served like a corn dog. It had a corn curry "crust" and was decent enough. Finding a seat was difficult and we had to walk to this little courtyyard near Tamu Refreshments. We originally had a Tusker House ADR this day, but decided to cancel to save money, but we probably would have preferred that! I want to try Flametree next time.

Flying Fish - My review is mostly negative, but it is probably colored by the fact I was exhausted after two late nights and walking over 70K steps over the past 3 days. Anyway we were seated in a side area that was near the service station. The restaurant was not full so I'm not sure why they were seating people there, but the area was generally not the most pleasant. Also, the decor seemed very dated to me - like that stylized art deco that was popular in the late 80's /early 90's, I can see why they are re-imaging it next winter. We ordered some cocktails - a margarita and the rasberry fizz. The margarita was fine, but rasberry fizz was very strong and I only drank half of it. At one point I asked the server to take it away and she didn't even ask why it was only half empty. We split the tuna tartare appetizer and the beet salad. Both were good, not great. The beet salad had something in it that was very tart - grapefruit segments maybe and I didn't think it worked, but the spiced pecans were interesting. The tuna tartare was fresh, but kind of boring. Through out the night we noticed a lot of servers running back and forth to the private dining room for the signature wine dinner. I'm not sure if that impacted our service, but it was definitely noticable. For entrees I had the scallops over pumpkin risotto and Dsis had the pork tenderloin. The scallops were good (only 4 for $40 though!), but the risotto was too rich for me. I could only have a few bites. The pork was very dry and had too much of a smoky flavor over the whole dish. It was not good. We split the apple creme brule, which was pretty tasty. Our server was competent, but overall disappeared a lot and was kind of annoying. I was glad to get out of there, and I don't think I'd go back unless it was terribly convenient.

 

[goodeats]

Day 7
We were so stuffed over the past couple days and had a noon lunch that we skipped breakfast. I went for a run and had part of a Kind Bar so I could make it until lunch.

French Family Luncheon - This was a F&W festival offering that was well worth the money. It was $95pp and included gratuity. It was located in Monsieur Paul, and now I really want to try the restaurant for dinner in the future. We were seated with two married couples and had a lovely time. Service was leisurely, but it was nice to space out the courses. We started with a Kir that was wonderful and a cheese pastry that tided us over. It reminded me of a cheese straw. Our second course had a white Bordeaux that was reminiscent of a Sauvignon Blanc - very light. It was paired with a salad over a cheese bread topped with carmelized onions and tomatoes/olives. This was tasty. Next we had a lamb stew paired with a nice bold red. The food was not fancy as it was supposed to be like a traditional family meal, but it was very good and fun to see the wines paired with them. They were VERY generous with the pours and even refilled during the courses. It felt like a great value. Dessert was a sparkling wine and some sort of rum baum (bomb?) served with a seriously lovely gelato. The whole meal was great and we left merrily for our fast pass at Soarin after 3 hours of eating and drinking! Much laughter was had on our way - I'm sure people saw us and thought bad things about F&W, but I swear we did not puke in the bushes or got in a fist fight over a table! After a few hours I crashed hard and went back to the room for a long nap! I ended up not waking up until 8pm and couldn't bring myself to go back to Epcot. We ended up just getting a sundae from Beaches and Cream for dinner.

Beaches & Cream To Go - I was not impressed with this sundae, and would try to go to Ghiradelli's over B&C. Something about the hot fudge - like it wasn't hot enough or there wasn't enough of it. The fries inside looked amazing! Some day I'll eat here!

Day 8
Kona Cafe - Last sit down meal! Service here was crazy brisk and rushed. The server seriously spilled coffee on the table everytime, she also had that annoying quality where she would finish your sentence because she thought she knew what you were going to ask, but actually was in fact wrong! I had the Macadamia Nut Pancakes with bacon. These were yummy, but a huge serving. I only ate half. Dsis got the Tonga Toast, which I've had before, and she liked it but thought the banana should have been sliced inside. Overall a good meal, but you could tell they were trying to turn the tables over as fast as possible. There was a line to check in when we left around 9:40ish.

 

[hitzgrl123]

Thanks for sharing this! I will be going with my sister in a few months, so it's nice to read reviews from another sister duo trip.

 

[Mich123]

Thanks for posting your review! I'm definitely putting Les Halles and CHH on my next itinerary. I'd forgotten about how yummy Les Halles is and I've never tried CHH, because I usually travel with landlubbers.

 

[sleepydog25]

Thanks for the reviews. I agree with your assessments of both Trail's End and Columbia Harbor House. The former is one of the (if the) best values in the World. It can be difficult to get there (we usually stat at VWL so we just walk), but the food is generally tasty and the price hard to beat. Similarly, Columbia House usually has fresh takes on sandwiches and other meals, and we enjoy going upstairs to relax, watch the crowds below, and eat some tasty food.

On the other hand, I would caution you about MP for a dinner reservation. While the wine-pairing event you attended sounds good, our experience with MP for dinner was anything but. That same leisurely service (which we enjoy, actually) became forgetful; the food was served lukewarm to cool all night, and in the case of my duck, was improperly cooked--nothing worse than flaccid, rubbery skin on a duck entree; and the ambience was sub-par for a Signature eatery. Caveat emptor.