Table Service Reviews - June 20th-25th

[poohs_hunny]

My mother and I just returned from our 6th trip to WDW. This was our third time on the dining plan (the first time paying for it), and as usual, we were stuffed! I will be reviewing the following restaurants: '50s Prime Time Cafe, Crystal Palace, Coral Reef, Rose & Crown, Chef Mickey's, and Le Cellier. I didn't write down any details, so I'm going to have to rely on my memory!

6/20 - '50s Prime Time Cafe
We had a 7:05 reservation, and we had a bit of a wait to be seated. For appetizers, I had the onion rings and my mom had the chicken noodle soup. Both were very good. I had the fried chicken for my entree, with green beans substituted for the southern greens. I received three big pieces of chicken and although I was hungry, I couldn't finish them. I did eat all of my veggies to avoid embarrassment. (I prefer to watch the mayhem instead of being involved in it.) Mom had grilled chicken with ham and cheese. She seemed happy with it. There were plenty of hijinks going on: not finishing veggies, tattling, etc. The servers were very much into role playing! We took dessert to go. I had the peanut butter and jelly shake - excellent although I couldn't taste any jelly. Mom had Dad's brownie sundae, which she enjoyed but couldn't finish.
Overall Rating: B+

Up next: Crystal Palace breakfast

 

[undertheseas]

You're off to a great start! I'm anxious to read the rest, you're reviewing a few places we have ADRs to. Thanks!

 

[poohs_hunny]

6/21 - Crystal Palace

Today was my birthday, and I chose to go to the Crystal Palace for breakfast with my favorite characters. I had made a notation about my birthday when making a reservation. I had heard about having confetti, etc. on the table, and I was a bit disappointed when we were seated and didn't find anything special on our table. Our reservation was at 10:15, and we had a wait before we were seated. Piglet came around right away, before we could even get any food. I don't remember what my mom ate, but I sampled the puffed french toast, Pooh waffles, pancakes, bacon, sausage, potatoes, fruit, and raspberry coffee cake. The pancakes weren't so great, but everything else was delicious. Toward the end of our breakfast, they started to move the breakfast items to one side of the buffet to make room for the lunch items. Pooh, Tigger, and Eeyore made their way around in a timely manner. Our server was not the friendliest, but he redeemed himself at the very end when he brought out a cupcake and card signed by the characters and sang Happy Birthday. The cupcake was still partially frozen , but since I wasn't getting a cake for my birthday, we ate a bit of it.
Overall Rating: B+

Up next: Coral Reef

 

[shellbelle]

Enjoying your report! Thanks for posting.

Happy Belated Birthday!

 

[poohs_hunny]

6/22 - Coral Reef

Today I booked two table service meals, so we prepared ourselves to be stuffed silly! First up was lunch at Coral Reef at 12:00. We were seated almost immediately and got a table right next to the tank. What a beautiful restaurant! This was our first time here, and I could kick myself for not trying it earlier. Our server was great - very attentive. We started off with virgin strawberry daquiris - delicious! I had the mixed greens as an appetizer, while my mom had the lobster bisque. The salad was, well, a salad, but Mom enjoyed her soup. I had the NY strip steak with au gratin potatoes and Mom had tilapia. We both loved our meals - the steak was good-sized, tender, and had a delicious marinade. The potatoes were to die for! My mom loved her dish as well. We both had the Chocolate Wave for dessert. I know that some people here have said it has changed recently, and not for the better. I don't know what it tasted like before, but it was heavenly now! Our bill came to just over $100 for the two of us - you've got to love the dining plan! IMO, this was the best meal of the trip!
Overall rating: A

Up next: Rose & Crown Dining Room

 

[poohs_hunny]

Thanks to anyone that's reading! My eyes are starting to get fuzzy, so I guess I need to take a break. I'll continue my reviews tomorrow.

 

[Schucraig]

Great so far! I look forward to reading more!

 

[Minniespal]

Really enjoying reading your reviews.

 

[poohs_hunny]

6/22 - Rose & Crown Dining Room

This was part 2 of our two table service day. After our great (and filling) meal at Coral Reef, we were still not very hungry when our 7:20 reservation at Rose & Crown rolled around. We were seated indoors after a short wait. I was hoping to sit outside because we wanted to stay for Illuminations, but we took the table indoors. This was our third time eating here. We were initially disappointed to see that our favorite appetizer, the lamb barley soup, was no longer on the menu. Instead, we ordered the potato leek soup (at least I did - I can't remember if Mom ordered this or another soup). Well, the potato soup was just as good as the lamb barley was! It was especially delicious when the rolls were dipped in. The boy at the table next to us loved the soup so much, he ordered a second bowl with his entree! For the main course, I had the fish & chips as usual. By this time, I was full from the soup and rolls and ended up just picking at my fish. It was good, but if I ate it all, I would have been sick. I did note that they no longer serve peas with the fish. My mom had the lamb shank, which she enjoyed. We were both too full for dessert, so we asked for it to go. We took them back to the resort and ate them the following day. I had the chocolate torte and Mom had the sticky toffee pudding. Both were excellent. By the time we had finished our entrees, it was about 8:30 or so, so we stuck around until Illuminations began. Shortly before 9:00, we took our packaged desserts onto the patio, where a server directed us to sit at a empty table to watch the show. Well, that lasted for about a minute, until another server said we could not sit there and had to go down to the "indoor diners viewing spot". This was fine, as we got a decent view and didn't have to fight for a spot.
Overall rating: B (May have been higher if I had been hungrier.)

Next up: Chef Mickey's

 

[poohs_hunny]

6/24 - Chef Mickey's

This was our second time at Chef Mickey's. Our reservation was at 6:00. I had no trouble the whole week with my ADRs being found, until today. They said they had no reservation under my name. I gave them my confirmation number (I almost didn't bring the sheet with the numbers today since I had had no previous problems!) and they found it. The problem? The person taking the reservation (the same person that took all of the others) put a number 2 before our last name. So the name no longer read "Smith" but "2Smith". After that was resolved, we had our picture taken in front of the big plate. We barely had time to sit in the waiting area when our pager went off. Goofy came right away. Pluto came when Mom was getting food, but he came back when she had returned. I thought this was nice, especially since we had no kids in our party. Minnie, Donald, and Mickey came around without much of a wait. Minnie actually came around twice. The food was very good. I sampled the prime rib (which was a bit dry because I forgot to take gravy), chicken strips, chciken pot pie (excellent!), mashed potatoes (also excellent), green beans, carrots, and Mickey ravioli. That's all I remember, anyway. I don't know what my mom ate. For dessert, I had a sundae and a brownie, both delicious. If we werent on the dining plan, I don't know if it would be worth the price for the amount we ate, but it's a fun place!
Overall rating: B

Next (and last) up: Le Cellier

 

[candykisses]

I'm really enjoying your reviews!

We'll be dining at most of the restaurants that you're reviewing.

 

[poohs_hunny]

6/25 - Le Cellier

After the rave reviews here on the Dis, I was very excited to finally try LeCellier. We had a 1:30 lunch reservation, and waited no more than 5 minutes to be seated. Our server was great - friendly and attentive. We started off with chocolate raspberry shakes - OMG - so good! I had the cheese soup for an appetizer because I heard so much about it here. I was somewhat disappointed with it. It was very salty and had a smoky flavor which I didn't love. It was too rich to finish. My mom had beef soup, which she said was OK. The pretzel bread was heavenly, but the sourdough wasn't very good. We didn't try the multi-grain bread. I ordered the filet mignon, which was very small. If I had been really hungry, I would have been really disappointed, but today it was the perfect size. It was good - nice and tender, but the sauce it was in was just OK. I much prefered the marinade used on the steak at Coral Reef. My mom had beef tips with noodles, which she loved. That was a huge portion. For dessert, I had the famed chocolate moose, which was to die for (and so CUTE!).

This was the only food picture I took during the trip. I was so full that I couldn't finish it, but I still think about how good it was! I loved how the mousse was rolled in bits of chocolate - YUM!! My mom had the chocolate cake, which she said was good (she's not a huge fan of chocolate cake - so why did she order it??), but I tried it and it was also fantastic. So overall, I was not overly impressed with my entree or appetizer, but the shake, bread, and desserts were excellent! My mom enjoyed the experience more than I did. I would return here, but I'd order the NY strip steak instead.
Overall rating: B+

Well, that's it for my table service meals. I will be reviewing my counter service meals also, so stay tuned! Thanks for reading!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Le Cellier...I love the beef tips with udon noodles too! Last time I ordered it there was a ton of beef in the dish..

 

[turning40withMickey]

The shakes at LeCellier and the virgin strawberry daiquiri, were those included as your drinks on the meal plan?

 

[rlduvall]

Excellent, excellent reviews. Thank you so much for taking the time to post. I am really beginning to think I should try Coral Reef. If anything - for the view.

 

[poohs_hunny]

The shakes at LeCellier and the virgin strawberry daiquiri, were those included as your drinks on the meal plan?

You betcha! We didn't even have to ask - the servers told us, so we couldn't refuse!

 

[poohs_hunny]

I am really beginning to think I should try Coral Reef. If anything - for the view.

I definitely would try it. I was hesitant to book it, but I needed another Epcot restaurant. I wanted to see the view, too. I went in without the highest expectations, but it turned out to be the best meal of the trip for me!

 

[wilma-bride]

Excellent reviews - we are eating at a lot of the places you did. I may have to add Coral Reef to the list though - it sounds great

 

[steelfish535]

Great reviews! I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed all your meals.
We've got the Coral Reef scheduled for our anniversary dinner in Sept, so I'm glad you enjoyed it. Some people are sketchy on Coral Reef.

 

[DISNEY4XMAS]

I am glad to hear all these great reviews for we are also dining at most of your choices. I also have children dinning with us, so to hear that the characters came around frequently is a good thing. Did you think that having two ts meals is to much in a day? I have two days that I have planned to do a Lunch and Dinner, one day at epcot for Coral reef and then Dinner at the 1900 park fare and the the day that we are going to MGM, 50's and then Hollywood and Vine for dinner( fantasmic dinner package). Glad to hear that your Trip was good.