Swan & Dolphin Restaurants

[dtripli]

I was looking for a list of the Swan & Dolphin restaurants, as well as what type of food they serve etc. Also any opinions are which are the good one vs. so so....Which is the character buffet??? Any info is appreciated.....

 

[Robert P]

You should try the link to the Swan & Dolphin website on the resorts board. I think it is www.swandolphin.com, and from there, click on the dining tab for descriptions.

The character buffet is at Garden Grove. We've only tried it during the w/e breakfast, but found the character interaction to be the best now available at WDW (probably due to the low crowd levels), and the food is quite good as well, comparable to Fresh at the Dolphin. Great Starbuck's coffee served at breakfast as well.

We have eaten at Garden Grove, Fresh, the Cabana, Il Mulino, BlueZoo, Shula's, and The Fountain. Would go back to any of them, and Il Mulino is now an every trip meal for us.

 

[dtripli]

You should try the link to the Swan & Dolphin website on the resorts board. I think it is www.swandolphin.com, and from there, click on the dining tab for descriptions.

The character buffet is at Garden Grove. We've only tried it during the w/e breakfast, but found the character interaction to be the best now available at WDW (probably due to the low crowd levels), and the food is quite good as well, comparable to Fresh at the Dolphin. Great Starbuck's coffee served at breakfast as well.

We have eaten at Garden Grove, Fresh, the Cabana, Il Mulino, BlueZoo, Shula's, and The Fountain. Would go back to any of them, and Il Mulino is now an every trip meal for us.

Thanks Robert. Is Il Mulino Italian food? It looks like you've tried'em all!

 

[carps09]

The Fountain (at the Dolphin) is nice after an evening walk over to the Boardwalk. It's located right at the entrance to the bridge to the Boardwalk, so you walk right by it when you come back. Good chocolate malts!

 

[webray]

Yes, IL Mulino is Italian food. Very good, and the manager and staff are fabulous. Great bartenders also.

We eat at Garden Grove quite often for breakfast. You can get buffet or off the menu. Characters are a plus, and the food is always very good.

Shula's for us was a huge disappointment. Great service, horrible food, nice wine list.

Blue Zoo has always been great for us whether we go in for a full meal, or apps and cocktails at the bar. Also a wonderful wine list. Great atmosphere, beautiful restaurant.

Pool bar at Dolphin, great apps/cocktails.

Picabo, great burgers. Nice evening entrees for dinner. Basic breakfast, but still better than any fast food place inside the parks.

Fountain at Dolphin, ok sandwiches and burgers, we like the burgers better a picabo. Great service though.

 

[redzinner]

I was looking for a list of the Swan & Dolphin restaurants, as well as what type of food they serve etc. Also any opinions are which are the good one vs. so so....Which is the character buffet??? Any info is appreciated.....

Here is the list of Swan & Dolphin restaurants with descriptions.

Il Mulino is our absolute favorite! We have been going to this restaurant even when it was Palio's. The manager was born in Naples ... he knows his Italian wines.

Garden Grove is not a huge 'character' buffet although one or two characters show up. To be fair, it's been years since we have dined there so I'm not sure if that is the case anymore.

Fresh Mediterranean Market has a decent breakfast .. omelets made to order.

 

[redzinner]

Yes, IL Mulino is Italian food. Very good, and the manager and staff are fabulous. Great bartenders also.

Ditto - too funny we both answered at the same time

 

[Robert P]

Thanks Robert. Is Il Mulino Italian food? It looks like you've tried'em all!

I would even say it is THE Italian food at WDW. Amazingly good.

With the exception of Shula's, I have to agree with everything that Webray wrote. Our visits to Shula's have had great food, but sometimes iffy service.

As for Garden Grove buffet: we did the character breakfast Nov. 08, and the w/e characters were Pluto, Goofy, Chip & Dale, though all 4 were never out at the same time that I can recall (the online info only mentioned 2 charcters at breakfast). The buffet is good, but not as large as say Crystal Palace. The place was 1/2 full, and we got multiple visits from Pluto and Goofy, almost like they had nothing else to do b/c of the empty tables.

We will be dining at at least 3 of these location on our next trip. That's how much we enjoy eating at those restaurants.