Tell me about Garden Grill

[7thton]

I have never been to Garden Grill and am considering it for our September trip. I know it is character dining, but we won't have any kids with us, so that isn't the big draw.

I'm wondering about the food and atmosphere. Can anyone offer any insight?

 

[gerows]

We went last August for the first time, and really liked it. We have 2 kids (DS 8 and DD 5), but DW and I both thought the food was good. The service was really good. Food is served family style similarly to LTT. I beleive that a lot of the food they serve is grown or raised there in Epcot and being tied to The Land, there is a lot of organic & sustainable foods. They even offer an organic beer (Wolavers which is brewed in VT). The whole place rotates, but is very slow. If it wasn't for the scenery changing, you probably wouldn't even notice. The desert is awesome.

 

[mccathy]

We really enjoyed the food too! And the scenery was beautiful.

We went with kids, but my husband and his friend both had a blast goofing around with the characters!

 

[mattyg]

What Are the dessert offerings are only one have picky eaters?

 

[CathieArms]

If you're not taking kids, I'd skip it entirely. We liked it and I'd do it again, but only because (1) it was a character meal on our first night, and (2) we had kids with us.

While the food was good (not memorable, but absolutely palatable), I really just didn't care for the over "feel" of the restaurant. Mickey and friends were fun, but you can get them at so many other places outside of this restaurant.

If it were our first night at WDW and we planned to spend it at Epcot, I'd definitely consider it a second time. But, honestly, only if I were taking kids because the only real draw for Garden Grill - in my opinion - is the characters.

There are sooooooo many better places to consider at Epcot. If you'd like your first meal to include characters, then I *strongly* recommend Akershus. They have the princesses and the food is good enough to stand on it's own. We also LOVED Biergarten and Tutto Italia.

 

[916chipndale]

we went there in 2008 and the character interaction was amazing they made it around 2 or 3 times each. the food was excelnt i was really surprised on how good the food was. the catfish was very tasty and the scenery was nice we got a lower deck table and would recomend that for better enjoyment and views. we are going back in july

 

[nytimez]

Aside from the character interactions, which are great for kids, I think the food is fantastic, and the veggies are grown there in the Land so they're especially fresh. I also like the atmosphere -- rotating around the land as you eat as great (ask for a table on the outside ring, not the inner ring, if you can).

Also, they have some good beer -- an organic beer, if I remember correctly.

I would have no problems eating here without kids.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I was able to get a NYE ADR at the Garden Grill for 7 people, but they said we would be at different tables. We've never been there, and we are 3 children and 4 adults. Has anyone had the 2 tables next to each other?

 

[amberg@eastlink.ca]

we ate there in october and loved it so much we went again in april. it is on our list for feb. next year as well. i found the interaction great with my kidlets, whihc i was very happy with. the food i loved to pieces. there were a few changes over the seasons: last october it was blueberry cobbler for dessert, spring was strawberry rhubarb- blech in my opinion, i ate the kids dessert! lol the salads were different as well, last year was a regualar green salad, springs had different items, specifically eggs on top, like a cobb salad. overall a great choice!

 

[pixarmom]

We love Garden Grill, and it's been our arrival night tradition since our oldest was 18 months old (now he's a pre-teen with two younger brothers!) So I almost always recommend Garden Grill.

But I just planned ADRs for my parents - they're going for Food and Wine in October - no kids. I didn't put Garden Grill on their list, for the reasons that CathyArms mentioned. We really go for the atmosphere and characters, and while we think the food is very good, the food is not the biggest draw for us.

So if you're going without kids and want a character meal, it's a great one! But if we were going without kids (like my parents are for this trip) we would try Bistro de Paris, Yachtsman at YC, Bluezoo or Le Cellier.

 

[mmtska]

I really enjoyed Garden Grill! It was just DH and me-we don't have kids, and we still really liked it. The food is pretty good, and I even asked for mac and cheese from the kids menu. The restaurant rotates, so that part was fun. You get to see different parts from Living with the Land so that's cool. The character interaction is really fun too though. I'd definitely go here again for a fun and yummy meal.

 

[kevgraub]

I was able to get a NYE ADR at the Garden Grill for 7 people, but they said we would be at different tables. We've never been there, and we are 3 children and 4 adults. Has anyone had the 2 tables next to each other?

Did the reservations say you would be seated at different tables, or just that you might be seated at different tables? When we went last year, we had a group of 7 as well, and many of our ADR's came with the warning that we might be at separate tables. When we checked-in, we always asked if we could be seated together at one table and it was never a problem (including Garden Grill). A couple of times they said the wait might be an extra 10 or 15 minutes, but we preferred that to being split up.

 

[whitney37354]

For us, atmosphere & characters were good, food was not. We are not adventurous eaters, but DD wouldn't even eat her mac n cheese and she normally loves that. The only think I like was DD's grilled chicken leg. DH ate the bread that came out at the beginning of the meal and not much more. I liked that we were in our own little booth, watching the scenery change, and couldn't see any of the other diners.

 

[Marshypooh]

Garden Grill is a favorite for my family. We love the scenery, atmosphere, excellent service, and great character interaction. I have two daughters, one is a college grad and the other a student, and they always look forward to dining here. All of us really enjoy the food. It is delicious and plentiful. DH especially cannot get enough of the catfish, and he is very picky about fish.

 

[Meriweather]

We have eaten there ......no kids and it was very good.
I would do it again and might on the next trip with BFF.

We go to Epcot more than one day, so can still hit our favoite Le Cellier and then always try other places for the other visit.