The Coral Reef

[Stacerita]

We really enjoyed Coral Reef. The food was yummy, the atmosphere was wonderful, and we had great service. The last time I took my mother there, she claimed it to be her favorite for the trip.

 

[shyjade]

This restaurant is 2nd on our "family favorite" list (1st would be LeCellier). It's a must-do each trip!

 

[d23cndrela]

*bump*

 

[cndnchicky]

I absolutely looove this place!!! I went last November with my kids who at the time were 2,3 and 4. They just sat there looking around at everything. The food was amazing and the service was also. They ran out of kids cups that night and so they brought out smaller versions of the adult cups. My 2 year old daughter ended up accidentally knocking over her class and was covered with her chocolate milk... I appoligized for the mess she had made, and instead the waiter said "no no dont be sorry, I'm so sorry we didnt have kids cups, I've ruined your daughters shirt and I want to get her another one". Minutes later the manager came over gave us a voucher for $20, to get her another shirt!!!! I was so impressed with everything about this restaurant and will be going again in May!!!

 

[GoofyTraci]

the food,service and the lovely room is great. I loved this place and was worried on our last trip if i would like it or not because of what others listed here, but decided to try it for myself and we loved it. good luck.

 

[donnaluv2cruise]

We enjoyed it the previous trip for lunch and just last week for dinner. Everyone enjoyed their meals very much, friendly server and great atmosphere. My Alaskan King Crab legs were plentiful!

Allyson

When I pull up the Coral Reef menu I don't see crab legs listed?

 

[lindakmonty]

When I pull up the Coral Reef menu I don't see crab legs listed?

http://www.allears.net/menu/menu_cr.htm
its there

they are WONDERFUL! this last trip Coral Reef was our absolute favorite meal! we were there 12 night and ate tons of places. Plus we've been to many already and we were SO pleasantly surprised w/Coral Reef! I choose it for our CP package on Christmas Eve. Wow...what a great choice! We were right by the glass, incredible food, view, service...you name it! It was IT for us! We can't wait to go back!

 

[TruBlu]

LOVE IT

 

[centurythree]

I just jumped over and read the review; my opinion is the person writing the review was a little self important........come on, going into a restaurant during lunch and wanting to order off the dinner menu???? Give me a break!! Another problem with his review is the fact he is comparing Coral Reef then (when it was first opened is was a signature restaurant with bigger menu) to Coral Reef now (no longer a signature restaurant and smaller menu). I have been to Coral Reef during both incarnations and think he is a bit presumptuous to think his recent trip would be on the same level as his initial visit. To compare Coral Reef then and now would be like comparing Le Cellier to Yachtsman's Steakhouse.......they are two different classes of experience and the pricing reflects that. Remember he is basing a review on only two visits, and he created a situation of potential disaster by requesting to order from a menu the kitchen was not prepped to serve him. When you go into the Coral Reef, order from the menu being offered for your meal time and you should get a meal that will make you happy. Sometimes when a review is written, the writer thinks more of themselves and write it from a point of pretentious expectation rather than objective experience. Just an opinion from a chef who knows food and food service!







P.S. I am not trying to say the some points of the review were not accurate, but I would expect some of the results which they received if I ordered off menu.

I agree. The review came across as a bit too Anton Ego-ish

and I found it difficult to take seriously.

I'm glad to see so many people enjoyed it though. I've booked ADRs here for our first night in the parks.

 

[JenH1969]

We are going for lunch when we are there- we also have an evening ADR that day so we plan to just have a light lunch- more for the experience - any suggestions on what would be good for a light lunch? TIA,Jen

ETA- what is the shrimp and beef skewer like? lobster soup?

 

[AuntRoeRoe]

I voted "no" because my meal was just so so; not bad, but not great for the money I spent. I will add that the atmosphere of the restaurant is nice.

 

[apostolic4life]

I agree. The review came across as a bit too Anton Ego-ish

My thought exactly!!

 

[Minnie]

The Coral Reef is one of my favorite WDW restaurants

I absolutely hate fish of any kind so it took several trips before we finally gave this one a try. Actually the only reason I even considered it was that the chocolate wave sounded so awesome and by the way stands up to its rep

My fave meal is the new york strip steak. The glaze is so awesome that I could lick the plate (drewl) and my DS is quiet as a mouse as the aquarium keeps him occupied.

Only about 2 1/2 weeks until lunch at the Coral Reef - yummmm

 

[WaltD4Me]

I just jumped over and read the review; my opinion is the person writing the review was a little self important........come on, going into a restaurant during lunch and wanting to order off the dinner menu???? Give me a break!! Another problem with his review is the fact he is comparing Coral Reef then (when it was first opened is was a signature restaurant with bigger menu) to Coral Reef now (no longer a signature restaurant and smaller menu). I have been to Coral Reef during both incarnations and think he is a bit presumptuous to think his recent trip would be on the same level as his initial visit. To compare Coral Reef then and now would be like comparing Le Cellier to Yachtsman's Steakhouse.......they are two different classes of experience and the pricing reflects that. Remember he is basing a review on only two visits, and he created a situation of potential disaster by requesting to order from a menu the kitchen was not prepped to serve him. When you go into the Coral Reef, order from the menu being offered for your meal time and you should get a meal that will make you happy. Sometimes when a review is written, the writer thinks more of themselves and write it from a point of pretentious expectation rather than objective experience. Just an opinion from a chef who knows food and food service!

Seriously? Self important? I don't think there is anything wrong with asking if there is a dinner menu and can you order from it outside of the dinner hours. I've done this many times, not at Disney but at other restaurants. And I've asked for the lunch menu during dinner also. Sometimes they don't allow me to order off the other menu (which is fine) but most times it's no problem and I can't remember ever having a truly bad meal because of it. If Coral Reef wasn't prepped to serve from the dinner menu then they should have just said so.

 

[apostolic4life]

Seriously? Self important? I don't think there is anything wrong with asking if there is a dinner menu and can you order from it outside of the dinner hours. I've done this many times, not at Disney but at other restaurants. And I've asked for the lunch menu during dinner also. Sometimes they don't allow me to order off the other menu (which is fine) but most times it's no problem and I can't remember ever having a truly bad meal because of it. If Coral Reef wasn't prepped to serve from the dinner menu then they should have just said so.

Yes, seriously! I don't know the reviewer, so I can not say whether or not this person writing the review insisted on being served from the menu, intimidated the server or if the server was just stuck on stupid and offered something they should not have. By reading the review, it seemed the reviewer did have a level of expectation which seemed a little arrogant. Again, I do not know them so maybe I am reading it without knowledge of this person's overall attitude or demeanor. He did not go into this review with an open mind though; from the moment he was made to wait for his table I got a "bad feeling" about how his review was going. He was put off because (gasp) children were in the restaurant...........give me a break, it is a restaurant in WDW that markets to families with the "under the sea" atmosphere and decor. He compared the current Coral Reef (1 TS credit non-signature restaurant) to a white table cloth experience Coral Reef (2 TS signature restaurant) of years past......for an objective review, he should have based his opinion on his most recent visit instead of holding them to the standard of a signature restaurant. Yes, I too enjoyed Coral Reef more when it was a signature restaurant, but when we go now, we do not expect to have the same quality of food or level of service you get at signature restaurants. Does he expect special treatment because he does dining reviews??? I hope not. Should they suddenly present to him a signature dining experience in a non-signature restaurant just because he demands it, absolutely not. Should the server have told him it would be "no problem" to order from the dinner menu, certainly positively not! Could the Coral Reef have handled the entire situation better, positively! Did the reviewer (in his review) seem to be a little overbearing, yes.

The restaurant seems to have done enough wrong to generate some fair criticism, but his bad experience was not entirely the fault of the restaurant. His criticism seems based more on what Coral Reef used to be rather than what it is today......today it is a nice WDW restaurant that gives diners a very good menu with decent service that matches the pricing; if you want more than that go to one of the signature restaurants and I am sure they will provide exactly what he wanted from Coral Reef.

Again, he has a right to his opinion, as do I..............when I give opinion about another opinion, just remember, opinions morph and change just like the wind of the seasons; next time I go to Coral Reef I could have a bad experience which may give me cause to agree with him a little more. I hope not, but it could happen.