Tchoup choup reservations!

[Connears]

Just made reservations for June 26 at Tchoup choup and can't wait! We made it for 8pm so we have time at the parks and even time to swim at HRH after. It looks beautiful and hope the food is as good as some have described.
Connears

 

[Tink10]

I just made ressies at Tchoup Chop for June 20th for my birthday dinner. I saw the Food Network show a week ago and realized that I HAD to eat there.

The reservationist made a note that it was my birthday, does anyone know if/what they do for special occasions?

 

[LilMsFoodie]

It is a miserable restaurant. I am sure it is undergoing dramatic changes. Even the restaurant critic at the Orlando Sentinel (a paper that bows at the feet of all things Disney and Universal) gave it the worst review I've ever seen in that paper.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ente...r16,0,1116545.story?coll=orl-living-headlines

Note: I'm pretty tough on restaurants. If I'm spending a lot of money I want properly prepared food (it doesn't have to be elaborate), well presented (but it doesn't have to be some composed work of art) with appropriate beverages available (great wines that are chosen to highlight the food, or beers if they are a better match) service staff that knows their job but is not obsequious or fawning. Orlando has more restaurants than almost anywhere else. Hype machines keep restaurants in Orlando going when almost anywhere else they would close.

 

[vernon]

Lilms, how did you think Tchoup chop compared to Emeril's at Citywalk. I'd be interested to know you're views on other places before I put too much store into your panning of this restaurant.

 

[LilMsFoodie]

Much as I'd like to have your favorable opinion of my reviews, I guess I'll just pass. I am not a professional reviewer but post many places under this nom de net. I won't bother to post again here. Keep vigilant Virgil. Consider this my second and last post. LMF

 

[flyert]

I'll take a crack at this, as a fellow foodie.
Went to Tchoup Chop about 2 weeks ago. Had a 6:30pm reservation, kept waiting at the bar for a while so I had some time to look around.
Atmosphere: The decor of the room is quite nice, with mosaic on the walls and a lilypad fountain in the center. The room is not partitioned, but not overly loud. There is also bar style seating along a window looking into the kitchen which can be interesting if you are into watching food preparation. Mostly adults, but a few kids with families noted, but definitely a more sedate crowd.

Appetizers: Shrimp Crackers are served with a peanut dipping sauce instead of bread. If you had these when you were a kid as I did, you think they are fine. If you didn't, well... let's just say it's an acquired taste. The actual appetitizers are competently done. My wife had a lobster appetizer that was the special that day, which was quite good. The crab cake I had with a papaya salsa was also nicely done, though a little over garnished.

Entrees: My wife had the Hawaiian Style chicken which she pronounced flavorful and moist, but I could tell wasn't blowing her away. The sides that were served with it though were beautiful and done perfectly. I had the claypot of the day, which was a concotion of rice, and various types of shellfish and fish, in a coconut milk base. Think of it as a non-spicy curry I guess. I got it because I thought it would be interesting. I guess I would say that I was slightly disappointed with the texture of it, as I would deem it on the soupy side (much more so than a comparable gumbo in my opinion). Still, the seafood was quite fresh within it and it was very good, though not quite excellent yet.

Dessert: We shared a pineapple upside down cake which was excellent as well as some sorbet which was also excellent.

Service: Service is performed by a 3 person team. They were very attentive with refills, etc. and checking in, although you could see that they were breaking one of the people in I believe, who was getting instructions.

Total bill: $92 for food and tip (no alcohol that night) for 2

Overall: I'd say that the restaurant has the potential to be excellent but isn't quite there yet, and a notch below Emeril's in Citywalk where I had an excellent lunch on a different trip, and a larger notch below the Emeril's that I went to in New Orleans in the Warehouse district. The room makes for a nice experience, but the food is still a little hit or miss. That being said, it was still a worthy attempt and I'm not sorry I went. At $45/person for 3 courses, I thought it was reasonable but still felt that I was paying for the Emeril name (in other words, over-priced for the quality and composition). To be honest, I enjoyed my meal foodwise at the Brown Derby in MGM more approximately the same price, which really surprised me (maybe because I have lower expectations for food inside theme parks?) as well as at the California Cafe which is in the Florida Mall (don't be put off by the mall setting, the food is actually very good!)

Note: I also tend to be harsh on restaurants, as my favorites tend to be in the high end range ($60+/person for food) so your mileage may vary. Also Pacific Rim Fusion and New Californian are my two favorite restaurant types, so I have even higher expectations when it comes to those. For a comparison in this realm, I'd say that Roy's does a better job of this in the chain department than Tchoup Chop did, in general (haven't tried the one in Orlando so I can't say specifically in Orlando whether this is true).

I hope this helps you. I'd say, go ahead and go, it's a very good meal at a high but not ridiculous price. However, if you really want to get a sense of Emeril's cooking, you are better off at Citywalk, as that is much truer to his New Orleans roots.

 

[vernon]

thanks flyert, that's a much more helpful review than the previous one, which I couldn't work out if it was a personal experience, or just parroting a review from a newspaper. I find newspaper reviews to be very unreliable as often a bad review can be given for slights perceived (like not being fawned over enough) by the writer as opposed to inadiquate food, service or decor. I think I'll take a wander past both Emeril's and tchoup chop before deciding which one I want to try.

 

[Disney Debbie]

I appreciate the specifics of your review as well - including your background and how high your standards are.

I wish in addition to regular "food critic" reviews, papers would put "regular person" reviews! Someone like myself - who has to drive 20 miles to eat at Red Lobster for a "fine" dining experience! - is not nearly as .... discerning I guess is the word - as someone who is used to eating at the finer restaurants in the world! Except for a trip to NYC and one to Las Vegas where I ate at some really great places, WDW is about as fancy and exotic as I get!

So I think it's very helpful to know the reviewer's expertise or lack there of when deciding for one's self.

 

[flyert]

No problem. I'm glad to help. If you like Darden restaurants (Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Bahama Breeze) and don't mind a smaller meal, you definitely should get out to Seasons 52 which is a new concept restaurant for Darden. The idea is to use fresh ingredients that are new to market is a "healthful" way (appetitizer and desserts are <250 cal and entrees <500)

The space is really very nice, set on a lake with a patio and the inside is all done in wood. The menu changes frequently so it's hard to say what dishes will stay on and what won't as they experiment with the dishes, but the food was very good and the prices were reasonable (~$12-$20 for entrees) and in that price range I thought the food was well worth going for.

It's on Sand Lake road in a shopping center close to a Barnes and Noble next to Vineland (?) [The road that you head north on past Downtown Disney from the freeway]

You definitely want to call ahead for a reservation though. It was packed on a Thurs. night at 6pm!

 

[Disney Debbie]

Thanks for the tip! We have to drive 2 1/2 hours for a Bahama Breeze!!

 

[webray]

We found Tchoup Chop to be wonderful. We have eaten there twice, once for lunch...once for dinner. We had excellent food and service both times. The manager came to our table the second time to welcome us back and thank us for returning, asking if there was anything he could do for us. I thought this was a very nice touch.

Very relaxing place to eat.


We have been to Emeril's many times. The food is less expensive at Tchoup Chop...but just as good. Service just as good, if not better.

Enjoy!

 

[Aunt Cawa]

Thinking about trying Tchoup choup in November. How far in advance can you (or should you) make reservations?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Disney Debbie]

I believe it's 6 months in advance. As far as when you SHOULD - when I made my ressies it was probably 3 months out and I had no problem. But they'd also just opened. You might as well go ahead and make them when you can - you can always cancel or try and make different ones if your plans change.

 

[Aunt Cawa]

Thank you Disney Debbie! I appreciate your advice

 

[Connears]

I called last week for June 26 and I had any time I wanted for dinner from 5:30 until 8:30. Wide open.
Connears

 

[Aunt Cawa]

Thank you Connears. Dh and I are really looking forward to eating there. Can't wait for your report!

 

[TraderAsh]

I have ressies here for our first night at 7:30... We will take a bus from the Sheraton to City walk.... where is the dock to the royal paciffic? I know we need to take the water taxi but im not sure where its located... also would it be nice to walk around the royal paciffic for a while? and once we get to RP how do we get to the restraunt....thanks allot!