Table service restaurants that don't get discussed much

[>Ash<]

Is it because the food isn't worth going out of the way for or are any of these hidden gems?

Hi O.P here are my thoughts on those that i have tried.

EP:
Nine Dragons
very traditional style chinese food, i love the fact that the Gung-Po (Kung-Po to most of us in the west) is the traditional hot and sour style dish rather than the sweet westerised version we are all so used to.

i found the dinner their to be superb been their 2 over the years now. its always high on my list, their is just so many restraunts to try in disney

AK:
Yak and Yeti
always singing its praises over on the other boards, this is a must do everytrip for me and my wife, the pot-stickers or dumplings are always nice to share before the meal, love that they do some nice stirfrys and its very different from the usual stuff you normally find in the parks. we stop every trip.

POR:
Boatright's

jambalaya and corn bread nom nom nom .... nuff said

 

[sephorachick]

My opinion on your questions:

MK:
The Plaza - Great banana split!! OMG

EP:
Nine Dragons- n/a
La Cantina de San Angel-my friends LOVE this place but I've never been

AK:
Yak and Yeti-n/a

YC:
Captian's Grille n/a

BW:
ESPN Club- It is okay nothing exciting
Big River Grille-n/a

POR:
Boatright's-n/a

SSR:
Turf Club-n/a

OKW:
Oliva's-n/a

CBR:
Shutters

CSR:
Maya Grill-Not too exciting IME

DTD:
Wolfgang Puck Dining Room-n/a
Bongos- I didnt care for it when I went
Cap n Jacks-n/a
House of Blues- Last time I went my pasta was SOOOO bland
Paradiso 37- I really enjoyed this place!!

 

[River Country]

Is it because the food isn't worth going out of the way for or are any of these hidden gems?

MK:
The Plaza Good TS in MK relaxed atmosphere good sandwiches. Not a must do but a nice alternative

EP:
Nine DragonsNEGATIVE
La Cantina de San AngelGood, i havent been there in a while but when i was it was good.

AK:
Yak and YetiNever been

YC:
Captian's GrilleNever been

BW:
ESPN ClubI am a guy this place rocked
Big River Grillenothing spectacular

POR:
Boatright'sOn my to do list

SSR:
Turf ClubSurf and Turf burger LOBSTER and cheese and meat NUFFSAID LOVE IT

OKW:
Oliva'sDisney's best kept secret. Turning into one of my favorite restaurants

CBR:
Shuttersonly been once wont go out of my way to go back

CSR:
Maya Grillonly been once and yet again not going out of my to go back there although the food was better than i expected

DTD:
Wolfgang Puck Dining Roomnever been
Bongosi liked it if you like Spanish inspired cuisine you will too. Good Cuban Sandwich
Cap n Jacksnever been
House of Bluescan get anywhere and the times i have been it is very good
Paradiso 37

almost tried this place but its very loud and my 6yo wont stand for that

 

[rcraw45425]

Hi O.P here are my thoughts on those that i have tried.

EP:
Nine Dragons
very traditional style chinese food, i love the fact that the Gung-Po (Kung-Po to most of us in the west) is the traditional hot and sour style dish rather than the sweet westerised version we are all so used to.

i found the dinner their to be superb been their 2 over the years now. its always high on my list, their is just so many restraunts to try in disney

AK:
Yak and Yeti
always singing its praises over on the other boards, this is a must do everytrip for me and my wife, the pot-stickers or dumplings are always nice to share before the meal, love that they do some nice stirfrys and its very different from the usual stuff you normally find in the parks. we stop every trip.

POR:
Boatright's

jambalaya and corn bread nom nom nom .... nuff said

Agree with this about Nine Dragons, the Kung Pao chicken is delicious, the rest has gotten marginal. We live in an era with Chinese restaurants on every corner but none are that great, basically due to the dumbing down required here. The spicing of the Kung Pao makes it a winner, but I'm always surprised that the server goes out of his way to tell me that it's spicy. That's what makes it good. The pricing, like all WDW restaurants, though , has gotten out of hand though. Hard to accept ~$100 for Chinese food

 

[ilovebassets]

We really enjoy Yak and Yeti--have eaten there twice. Food is pretty good (your standard pan Asian affair with some good fish dishes). We enjoy the green bean appetizer. The theming is really nice inside. It has an exotic, breezy feel to it, especially sitting upstairs near a window. I think if AK were open later, more people would eat there for dinner.

 

[lizzi6692]

We liked Yak and Yeti and would consider it a hidden gem. Captain's Grille, not so much. We went there and it was not busy at all. We got there 15 minutes before our ADR time and it was still nearly 30 minutes after our ADR time when we were seated, surrounded by empty tables that had obviously been empty for awhile. Then we waited another 20+ minutes for someone to take our drink orders and when our food came out it had obviously been sitting under a heat lamp for awhile. The food is nothing you can't find at a mediocre chain steak place at home and I would not call it a hidden gem.

 

[sabcook]

I love the Plaza for getting out of the crowds and chaos of the MK. No complaints about the food - love the club sandwich and the milkshakes. I personally only have about a half days worth of patience for MK anyway, so if we aren't heading back to the resort I cry uncle and we head to the Plaza.

We are looking forward to trying Yak and Yeti on our next trip.

 

[rcraw45425]

We liked Yak and Yeti and would consider it a hidden gem. Captain's Grille, not so much. We went there and it was not busy at all. We got there 15 minutes before our ADR time and it was still nearly 30 minutes after our ADR time when we were seated, surrounded by empty tables that had obviously been empty for awhile. Then we waited another 20+ minutes for someone to take our drink orders and when our food came out it had obviously been sitting under a heat lamp for awhile. The food is nothing you can't find at a mediocre chain steak place at home and I would not call it a hidden gem.

Ha, years ago we were CL at the YC. Tired and didn't feel like going into EPCOT for our ADR, tried to get into CG without an ADR. The entire restaurant was empty yet they told us they were booked up for the entire night! Glad we missed out!

 

[BlueStarryHat]

Nine Dragons was just a run of the mill Chinese restaurant for us, and very expensive, at that.

I like the Plaza, even though it's nothing really special. Good sandwiches, and I really enjoyed my chicken and strawberry salad the last time I ate there.

The other places I can't speak to.

 

[jwfla422]

MK:
The Plaza--We enjoy this restaurant very much. Feel free to check out my review here:
Our Dining Experience at The Plaza with photos

EP:
Nine Dragons--I'm not a big Chinese food person but my db and family were just there and gave me a review and they did enjoy it. Feel free to check it out here:
Nine Dragons Dinner Review with photos

YC:
Captian's Grille I--we always enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner here. We dine here for one or a few meals when we stay in the Epcot Resort area. Feel free to check out my breakfast review:
Our Captain's Grille Breakfast Experience with photos

OKW:
Olivia's--we were just there a week and a half ago for breakfast and it was pretty good. Currently working on a review for that.

DTD
Paradiso 37--LOVE THIS PLACE!!! Just there on Cinco De Mayo and had another great meal! Just posted my review too! Feel free to check it out:
Our Paradiso 37 Dinner Experience with photos

 

[roselark]

Here are the ones I have been to:

La Cantina de San Angel: as others have said, this is counter service, but I LOVE it. The tacos de carne are awesome. If you actually meant La Hacienda de San Angel, well, I LOVED that too! I would call that a hidden gem and hope it stays hidden so I can continue to get ADRs there!

Yak and Yeti: Ate here last year only because I had a Landry's gift card. I was VERY pleasantly surprised. Going back on my next trip in 2 weeks.

Olivia's: I had heard such great things about this place that I decided to give it a try for breakfast when I stayed at OKW in January. I was horribly disappointed.

Big River Grill: My sister-in-law and I ate here a few years ago and got horrid service. I won't be going back.

 

[MFMont]

Big River Grille has improved over the last 12 months. Did not like it much last year. We got stuck there this year just because of timing and it was much improved. We liked it so much we had a second lunch there and will go again.

 

[AndreaDM]

I'll answer for the ones we've eaten at.

MK:
The Plaza - Liked it, great place esp. if paying out of pocket.

EP:
Nine Dragons - Ate here once in 2010, it was good, nothing special except that we had a good view of Illuminations from our table.
La Cantina de San Angel

AK:
Yak and Yeti - Liked it, really liked the won ton dessert. I know everyone raves about Tusker House, but when we are hot and tired we prefer a nice, cool place to sit instead of a buffet.

YC:
Captian's Grille

BW:
ESPN Club
Big River Grille

POR:
Boatright's

SSR:
Turf Club

OKW:
Oliva's

CBR:
Shutters

CSR:
Maya Grill

DTD:
Wolfgang Puck Dining Room
Bongos
Cap n Jacks
House of Blues
Paradiso 37

 

[VillianDiva]

Is it because the food isn't worth going out of the way for or are any of these hidden gems?

EP:
La Cantina de San Angel - my son loves the nachos and I like the cheese empandas with a margarita

AK:
Yak and Yeti - this is good but not a favorite

YC:
Captian's Grille - love love love the breakfast!

Paradiso 37

I've never tried the others mentioned though.

 

[cluvsdisney]

As mentioned, a lot of these places are out of the way or have a general theme that is overshadowed by nearby restaurants. The menus aren't super special or have anything that guests generally can't get at home.

Is it because the food isn't worth going out of the way for or are any of these hidden gems?

MK:
The Plaza

EP:
Nine Dragons
La Cantina de San Angel

AK:
Yak and Yeti

YC:
Captian's Grille - had the worst steak dinner ever here.

BW:
ESPN Club - good bar food (wings, burgers, sandwiches)
Big River Grille - average but super loud inside. I would only sit outside if we return

POR:
Boatright's - they used to be really good, then eh, and now they are good again. DH & I usually go out of our way to eat here. We go on a Bob Jackson night for some evening entertainment afterwards.

SSR:
Turf Club

OKW:
Oliva's

CBR:
Shutters

CSR:
Maya Grill

DTD:
Wolfgang Puck Dining Room
Bongos
Cap n Jacks - completely unmemorable. we only remember not wanting to go back.
House of Blues - great ribs. slightly better than average chain food menu
Paradiso 37

 

[brerrabbit]

We tried the Plaza for the first time last trip. Walk up waited 20 minutes and were seated. We really enjoyed it because the wife wanted a banana split the whole vacation and finally got one there. I had the Rueben and it was great. We usually pay OOP so no issue with credits.

La Cantina, the food is okay and on busy days before 2:00 you can actually sit inside in air conditioning in what is the back of Hacienda San Angel. We found out by accident and the ac made that meal very pleasant.

Nine Dragons, have not been there in 10 years.

Yak and Yeti. Don't spoil this one for everyone. We enjoy it and eat there almost every trip. No ADR and very little wait. The food is good not great but we like the atmosphere and the ac. It is actually a Landry Resturaunt which is the group that owns Rainforest Cafe and T Rex. THey are based out of Houston so we are very familiar with them and eat at their resturaunts enough to have their discount card which we can use there.

The rest we have not tried and probably won't.

The one other place we have found and really enjoyed is not really a secret but was the Food Court at the Art of Animation Resort. We went there just to see if we would want to stay there on future trips and walked through it and wound up having lunch. The make your own salad and make your own pasta areas were good and we had fruit smoothies for desert as we toured the resort.

 

[bennifer]

Nine Dragons - We ate there 10 yrs ago with my VERY picky son and he loved it. He actually still talks about that meal. But...we haven't been there for at least 5 years because it just kept getting progressively worse.

Maya Grille - Pleasantly surprised! We stay alot at the CSR, but only tried this on our last visit, and what a shame to have waited so long! We will be going back!

The rest - still on my list to try.

 

[shannyk]

Raglan Road. Good food and fun for both young and old.

 

[Itinkso]

Turf Club: Mint Lamb Chops served w/honey polenta is very good! DD enjoys their Root Beer Pork Chop! Turf Club has become our arrival day destination.

 

[flamark]

Is it because the food isn't worth going out of the way for or are any of these hidden gems?

MK:
The Plaza Good if you're paying OOP, not so much of a value if you're using DDP

EP:
Nine Dragons Some say it's Panda Express at $20 per plate. Others rave about it
La Cantina de San Angel Not a TS but the nachos are amazing.

BW:
ESPN Club Similar to the Plaza in that it's not the best TS value using DDP
Big River Grille Was fairly impressed the one time we ate there.

POR:
Boatright's I liked it but DW was not impressed with the food.

OKW:
Oliva's Character meal here way back in the day. Service not good at all.

DTD:
House of Blues Really enjoyed this. Atmosphere was really neat. Food pretty good as well.