tell me about Akershus....

[hsmamato2]

is the food good? I mean, even if princesses don't matter to the fam- or is it 'character quality' kind of gross,but people go anyway for the characters?
is it all you can eat buffet? TIA!

 

[drgreene1096]

I don't particularly enjoy Akerhuas food. I, do, however, enjoy the princess dining with my dd (who will be 8 on our next trip). The princess interaction is great and I love the pretty picture with Belle before dinner.

They have a "cold" food buffet that I believe is unlimited. I have only ever made one trip to it, but I think you can go as many times as you like. It has some very odd selections on it, that include pickled herring. Yuck!

The menu is preset and has not changed in the last 3 years that I have been there. I have tried 3 different items each time, but still haven't found anything that I am over impressed with.

If you aren't going for the characters, I would choose somewhere else. (Saying that as I sit here with an ADR for Oct . .love the characters).

 

[LisaNJ25]

We were actually just there on Sunday.. it was ok. My kids ordered the hot dogs lol.. i had the open face chick sandwich and hubby had some open face sausage sandwich I believe that he didnt care for. This was our second time there and we had the same table both times.. the first one as the princesses come out the door. The dessert was very good.

 

[nyz2004]

I have a question, the princesses at Akershus, are they the same princesses in epcot character and meet locations?

 

[TxRabbit]

My family really enjoyed our lunch at Akershus in June 2009. I reviewed our experience in detail, the link is in my signature.

This was my DS's pick as he was really curious about Norweigian food, especially since his momma is one half Norweigian. Not that I have ever been to Norway...

Like others have said, there is an appetizer buffet with a variety of food, including seafood, salads, breads, cheeses, other meats, veggies, fruit. Yes, there was pickled herring; there would have to be as herring is a very common Norweigian food. But the number of herring dishes was drastically reduced from the last time Dh and I ate there on our honeymoon in 1996 when the entire buffet seemed to consist of nothing BUT different herring dishes.

My husband got one of the most classic Norweigian dishes, some sort of meat ball thing. It was okay. I got an open faced salmon sandwich and lobster bisque soup. It was EXCELLENT and I loved every bite of it. While I would consider the cost to be outlandish to eat soup and sandwich, even with the buffet appetizer, for a TS credit, I would definitely eat here again.

 

[jennyleettu]

We really liked the breakfast...even DH who is really picky ate!! It was served family style and the egg casserole was really yummy.

 

[sewingmolly]

It's on my sister's must do list. The buffet is a nod to Norway, but there are still plenty of unforeign cheese and cold cuts on it. The charater interaction was very good too.

 

[hildyp]

We really enjoyed our dinner here in May. Our party consisted of myself, my mother and my 14 year old daughter.

Like others have said, they have a cold buffet with different items including salad. I had the mahi mahi and really enjoyed it. My mother got the pork chop and my daughter had the chicken breast. They enjoyed their meals as well. We were not thrilled with the desserts.

I would book this meal again

 

[goodfood4ursoul]

My family really enjoyed our lunch at Akershus in June 2009. I reviewed our experience in detail, the link is in my signature.

This was my DS's pick as he was really curious about Norweigian food, especially since his momma is one half Norweigian. Not that I have ever been to Norway...

Like others have said, there is an appetizer buffet with a variety of food, including seafood, salads, breads, cheeses, other meats, veggies, fruit. Yes, there was pickled herring; there would have to be as herring is a very common Norweigian food. But the number of herring dishes was drastically reduced from the last time Dh and I ate there on our honeymoon in 1996 when the entire buffet seemed to consist of nothing BUT different herring dishes.

My husband got one of the most classic Norweigian dishes, some sort of meat ball thing. It was okay. I got an open faced salmon sandwich and lobster bisque soup. It was EXCELLENT and I loved every bite of it. While I would consider the cost to be outlandish to eat soup and sandwich, even with the buffet appetizer, for a TS credit, I would definitely eat here again.

Well said!
As far as the food possibly being "gross"
Akershus food is high quality food, but food from a different culture.
(I've heard folks say some CRT food is low quality.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/reviews/Cinderellas-Royal-Table.htm )

I haven't been to Norway either (though both my kids & parents have- NO FAIR! )
Akershus gets mixed reviews because you just can't please all the people all the time.
I really enjoy getting to taste all my favorite Norwegian specialties on the koltbord.
Pickled herring, gjetost, lefse, it's like Christmas!

That being said, DH was quick to learn to love lefse (ok, that didn't take too long! it's so yummy!) but he doesn't care for pickled herring.

There is something for everyone at the cold buffet: meats, cheeses, shrimp salad, lots of different kinds of salads, breads, etc.

Entrees do include a few Norwegian dishes, but are mostly American foods(pasta) or dishes like the Salmon that both Norwegians and Americans are used to.
I know lots of parents worry about their picky eaters finding something to enjoy...

On another note, professionally, I work with kids and families, teaching hands-on nutrition, cooking & shopping skills.

It's never to early (as long as kids are eating table foods) to expose children to different food cultures and tastes.
If you approach these opportunities as adventures, then it can be a lot of fun!

"Tasting bites" encourage kids to use their senses to explore a new food.
"What color/shape is it?" "What does it smell like?"
(encourage descriptive words like sweet, salty, tangy instead of yummy, icky or yuck.)
Smell it, lick it, take a tiny bite, then a bigger bite if they like it.
Praise kids for trying, even if they did not like a food.
If parents are good role models and try new foods, then children are more likely to as well.

Taste buds are like teeth, they don't all come in at once, but over time.
Of course we can see when kids' teeth fall out or grow in,
but we can't see taste buds change.
That's why we have to keep tasting.
One of these days your kids may taste broccoli and like it and they'll know their broccoli buds came in

We have found Akershus to be a good fit for our family because there are so many varied choices.
The princesses are sort of icing on the cake, so to speak

 

[PoohsFan1]

It is a tradition of ours to go for breakfast before the park opens on our first full day. My whole family loves this restaurant. The princess interaction is top notch and the food is very good, especially the cheesy potatoes which we always ask for seconds . We also love how the picture is included in the package.

 

[MrsJD]

We were there in Feb. The cold appetizer buffet was very good. If you like shrimp, then you'll love it! DH was in shrimp heaven! Also a great chicken salad that I greatly enjoyed. I had the pasta dish and it tasted very "wild"...like ina foresty kind of way. I was not overly impressed, but like PP's said, it's Norwegian food and from another culture. DH has the (I Believe venison) sauage and FIL had the meatballs. Both were very happy.

The character interaction was great and we got a good assortment of Princesses. Also, my DD's b-day was in Dec but they still gave her the birthday card signed by all the princesses because we had indicated that we were there to celebrate.

If you do choose this, I suggest trying to get the princess to stand by a wall for the photos. We had lots of butts and people in the background that kind of ruined what could have been epic photos. I thought seeing all the little girls dressed as princesses was fun too. DD didn't dress up and I felt kind of bad about it.

 

[budbeerlady]

We have always done this one for breakfast. It is a great breakfast option!

We are trying it for dinner, I figure there is always something on the cold buffet if I dont enjoy my entree. We are going for the girls to see the princesses and food is 2nd to that.

 

[CrabbyPatty]

We did breakfast last year, and will be there in a few days for our Princess Breakfast this year! The cold buffet was good .... and they don't FORCE you to eat the pickled herring! Yogurt, fruit, rolls, cereal, meats, cheese, etc. - it was a nice spread.

For breakfast, the hot foods were really good - the potato casserole is EXCELLENT, and we liked the eggs, bacon, sausages, and you can get another plate of food if you'd like (the hot foods are served family style at your table). Service was really good, we liked seeing the princesses, and all in all, it was a very enjoyable breakfast and nice way to start the day at Epcot.