The Deluxe Dining that defeated us ...a German perspective! (FINISHED!)

[butiflfeet]

I'm loving your reviews so far! Thanks for sharing, it helps tide me over until our next trip

 

[TigerKat]

We haven't been to SAI in over five years and have been toying with the idea of going back. The menu does seem a bit more appealing than it used to. I've heard good reviews on the duck dish. I don't think we'll be making it back there this trip. Enjoying your reviews! I remember horrible check-in service there as well.

 

[kelly munro]

I'll be over working for a record company called End Of The Trail Records. Looks good. Bring it!

Kelly Munro

 

[aggielawyer]

I'm really enjoying your reviews--can't wait to read the rest!

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Thanks for the reviews, we also thought the tables at SAI were too close together and overall did not enjoy our meal (the service was very poor) and we will not be returning.

 

[rodeo65]

I've now read all ten pages in an evening and really have enjoyed your reviews!!

SAI was one I really debated as I LOVE Mexican food but I remember eating there when I was a kid and ordering the Chicken Mole and hated it! My 12 year old logic said I love chocolate and here I can have it on my dinner - chocolate, not just for dessert. It was not at all what I was expecting so I decided the restaurant was just bad.

We did not book an ADR there for this trip and in everything I ever hear about it, it just does not seem to be very popular.

Can't wait for more!

 

[MickeyNicki]

You should still give it a try. Has your DH never eaten somewhere he didn't really want to go just because you did? Hmmm? (Gotta stick up for other Disney DH's - besides, our own experience with SAI was more positive.)

I think we are going to still try it...but honey if you have read my dining reviews you know that my DH ALWAYS gets his way at WDW...I could care less where we eat as long as it is Disney Food!

 

[annichan]

You should still give it a try. Has your DH never eaten somewhere he didn't really want to go just because you did? Hmmm? (Gotta stick up for other Disney DH's - besides, our own experience with SAI was more positive.)

You're right - and as all these dining reviews are so subjective, you never know whether you will feel the same about a place as the reviewer did (as I saw from all the bad Sci-Fi reviews, and the raving Boma reviews )

I'm loving your reviews so far! Thanks for sharing, it helps tide me over until our next trip

Thank you - I hope your next trip is not too far away!

We haven't been to SAI in over five years and have been toying with the idea of going back. The menu does seem a bit more appealing than it used to. I've heard good reviews on the duck dish. I don't think we'll be making it back there this trip. Enjoying your reviews! I remember horrible check-in service there as well.

Aren't they also going to close it down for refurbishment sometime soon? Or did that already happen?

I'm really enjoying your reviews--can't wait to read the rest!

Thank you - Flying Fish Cafe coming right up!

Thanks for the reviews, we also thought the tables at SAI were too close together and overall did not enjoy our meal (the service was very poor) and we will not be returning.

Yes, those tables were made for very skinny people

I've now read all ten pages in an evening and really have enjoyed your reviews!!

SAI was one I really debated as I LOVE Mexican food but I remember eating there when I was a kid and ordering the Chicken Mole and hated it! My 12 year old logic said I love chocolate and here I can have it on my dinner - chocolate, not just for dessert. It was not at all what I was expecting so I decided the restaurant was just bad.

We did not book an ADR there for this trip and in everything I ever hear about it, it just does not seem to be very popular.

Can't wait for more!

Yes, now that you mention it ... This is actually the only ADR I made despite overwhelmingly bad reviews - and then really found it below standard myself.

I think we are going to still try it...but honey if you have read my dining reviews you know that my DH ALWAYS gets his way at WDW...I could care less where we eat as long as it is Disney Food!

I see that you feel a bit like my DH feels

 

[annichan]

This day, dinner was our first Dining Plan meal as we had spent the whole day at SeaWorld (loved it there! ).
We got our beeper from the lady at the check-in podium, then timidly started exploring the shops on BoardWalk until we got scared that we were getting out of the beeper's range – so we went back to the podium to inquire, and were assured that we could walk all around the lake to the Yacht Club and the beeper would STILL work .

That gave us the chance to explore a bit further – when we had had breakfast at Spoodles, we hadn't really looked around the BoardWalk much. However, eventually we were quite done with looking (and also feeling increasingly hungry), and the "still working" beeper had still not gone off . Felt like the previous night all over again . This time we were not the only ones, however – there were lots of people sitting on the benches holding beepers in their hands and looking increasingly annoyed.

After half an hour, I went and politely inquired if it would be much longer. The lady said she would see what she could do, disappeared inside for a couple of minutes and upon coming back, said we could come with her right away. (Really nice of her – but on the other hand, why is it that as long as one waits patiently, nothing happens – but as soon as one starts to complain, everything suddenly happens?).

Oh, and I forgot to mention that after reading some reports on allears I had asked for a quiet room in the back of the restaurant as it was said to be very noisy otherwise. Thus we were now led to the "cabana" – a nice and cozy cabana tent-like structure in the back. Strangely enough, there were lots of empty tables both in and out of the cabana – the restaurant was maybe two thirds full. They must have had some problems either with too few waiters or with their computer system to have so many people waiting outside for all these empty tables.

We got a very nice table by the wall (I love having a wall at my back, I just don't feel as relaxed otherwise – silly, I know) and were presently greeted by our server, Clifford, who was extremely nice and friendly (even a little over-enthusiastic – no really, but at the same time very nice).

I felt like having a nice drink, so I decided on a Sparkling Bellini Cocktail – mmh! Poor DH knew he would have to drive after dinner, so he only had a light beer and could not try any of the cocktails . As a beverage on the Dining Plan, we shared a large bottle of sparkling water (which I have found they do not let you do at all the restaurants – at some, they just say that sparkling water cannot be ordered on the Dining Plan as it only comes in large bottles).

Oh, by the way – the menus we were given had red balloons and "Happy Honeymoon" on them, that was so cute! We then took our time to decide among all the yummy-sounding things on the menu, and Clifford helped us by recommending dishes that really turned out to be great. I had a hard time deciding between the Chardonnay-steamed mussels and the yellowfin tuna tartare, so Clifford decided for me .

And here it is – my wonderful, marvellous, mouth-wateringly yummy appetizer:

The Yellowfin Tuna Tartare with Far Eastern Accentuations (Hijiki seaweed, Yuzu Tobikko, sweet-spicy miso sauce, wasabi-cilantro oil, sesame crisps). This was SO GOOD! I loved everything about it, the tuna, the spices, the sauce, the delicious sesame crisps! I would go back to eat at Flying Fish Café even if there was nothing on the menu except for this one appetizer (well, as long as I would be allowed to order two of those, in that case ).

DH had an easier time deciding, he was on to the Crispy Sesame and Togarashi-scented Calamari (spiced green papaya, Wakame and Vegetables with Asian dipping sauce) straight away.

I tried one of the calamari and liked it, however I was so eager to get back to my glorious tuna that I did not really spend much time on sampling the calamari (I am sure it would not have been wasted, but that's what I say now – then, I was lost in tuna heaven ).

For my entrée – I went for one of the Flying Fish’s signature dishes: the Potato-Wrapped Red Snapper (with Creamy Leek Fondue, veal glace, and Red Wine and Cassis Butter Sauce). This was our SeaWorld day, so I wanted to eat strictly seafood .

This was nice – it didn’t blow me away the way the appetizer did as I found it a tiny bit bland, they could have used more spices on that one. It was still very good, though!

DH decided for the other signature dish of the house, the Char Crusted New York Strip Steak (with wilted Rhapini, Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, rainbow carrots and Classic Sauce Foyot).

Now this was to die for! Loved it! I had never heard of rhapini before, though, and I must admit I am still not really sure whether that was some spice they used or part of the vegetable .

Once again, after having thoroughly enjoyed our entrées and cleaned our plates, we did not feel like having dessert . This time, however, we would be smarter than before and do something that seems to be really common in the USA; but here in Germany you don't do that at many restaurants: take our dessert home in a bag! :

We decided on the Gingersnap-crusted Deep-dish Apple Tart (with Almond cream, morello cherry coulis, cinnamon anglaise, maple tuile and rum raisin ice cream) and had Clifford pack it for us to take away. What a great decision – that way, we got to keep one of the pretty Boardwalk carry bags which we wouldn't have had otherwise because we didn't even know they existed!

When we took it home and unpacked it, we found the final surprise: They had put a message for us on the dessert!

Alas, it was the wrong one as this was our honeymoon and not our anniversary – but who cares, we were still happy and found it really sweet!

I am sorry these pictures are so incredibly bright, by the way – like I said, we are still not done exporing all the snazzy functions of our new camera .

On the other hand, the Wilderness Lodge bedspread on which the dessert box is sitting came out quite well; so if you have never been to WL, you can now officially see the Hidden Mickey they put on the beds .

To sum it all up: I would definitely eat here again, most of all because of my fabulous appetizer. DH is not so sure, he was quite annoyed with the long wait for a table while there were so many empty ones, and he also found the restaurant very loud (which it was – even in the cabana, even with the empty tables. I cannot imagine how loud it would have been otherwise . I am positive I will be able to nag him into coming back here, though .

Coming up next: Little Annichan conquers the big bad breakfast … at Kona Café!

 

[LLLBelle]

Seems like it wasn't bad, over all. My DFi and I are still on the fence about eatting at the Flying Fish.

I love your reviews! They are very informative.

 

[ragtopday]

Great review! I have been wanting to try Flying Fish for awhile, and your review only makes me want it more!

Can you describe the Boardwalk carry bag they put your dessert in?

 

[TigerKat]

Lovely review of one of my favorite places! The charred steak is the best steak on property, IMHO. I've never tried the tuna appetizer, may get it in October now that you raved about it!!

 

[Flossbolna]

great reviews again! We had dinner at the Flying Fish in January and absolutely loved it. We did not find it extremely noisy, but I guess it depends a bit on the day you are there. Also we were seated in the very front. And we were not even given a beeper, but shown to our table immediately.

 

[annichan]

Hi everybody - I am sorry that I haven't put up a new review for five days, I've been soo busy! But I will be better, there will be something coming up later today, I promise.

Seems like it wasn't bad, over all. My DFi and I are still on the fence about eating at the Flying Fish.

No, definitely not bad! The food more than made up for the wait and the noise level!

Great review! I have been wanting to try Flying Fish for awhile, and your review only makes me want it more!

Can you describe the Boardwalk carry bag they put your dessert in?

Sure! It is only a plastic carry bag, but it's cute - this is a picture I took when we left the restaurant:

Lovely review of one of my favorite places! The charred steak is the best steak on property, IMHO. I've never tried the tuna appetizer, may get it in October now that you raved about it!!

Yes, definitely do try it - so yummy!

great reviews again! We had dinner at the Flying Fish in January and absolutely loved it. We did not find it extremely noisy, but I guess it depends a bit on the day you are there. Also we were seated in the very front. And we were not even given a beeper, but shown to our table immediately.

Yeah, well, I really think they just had some kind of computer problem, or staff shortage, on the day we were there - I don't expect they're like that every day.

 

[annichan]

The next morning saw us at Kona Café for our 8:30 ADR.

We were going to Fort de Soto Park near Tampa today, to take a swim in the Gulf of Mexico – so we knew we had a long day ahead of us with no real lunch planned, and we better get ourselves something nice and nourishing to eat for breakfast to keep us going .

This was the first time we were at the Polynesian resort, so we took a moment to check out the beautiful lobby and the pool area – then we checked in at Kona Café and were immediately led to our table, past the Lilo & Stitch statue made of … Well, who can tell me? I can’t say what it is, DH said chocolate, but I think that would have meldet, so I’m saying it’s wood. Or is it?

The restaurant was still half-empty and therefore really nice and relaxed and quiet – great for us since we are so grumpy in the early morning!

Outside the window, we had a great view if lush green foliage that almost made us believe we really were somewhere in the rainforest.

Our server quickly arrived and poured us some lilikoi juice (nice, but a tad too sweet for me) and, after inquiring which Dining Plan we were on and then commenting “Great! So I can get you some real coffee!” laughing, she brought us one of the glorious 100% Kona Coffee French Press Pots. Like I said before, we didn’t really mind the usual Disney coffee as we are used to instant coffee from home – but this truly was something else! Wonderful coffee!

To go with that, both of us bravely ordered Kona Café’s finest, the Big Kahuna breakfast: French toast, Macadamia-Pineapple pancakes, eggs, home fried potatoes, ham, bacon, and sausage.

Now this was spot on! Very tasty eggs, the ham was very good (first place I had had ham in Disney, this was), deliciously sweet french toast, and truly yummy pancakes with the fresh pineapple and cream.
I don’t know what ever happened to me, as I had always been fighting with the American breakfasts and have craved my muesli-and-black-bread-German stuff … Somehow, all that changed – and I joyously CLEARED MY ENTIRE PLATE, without help from hubby!

Yes, I do admit I felt rather full afterwards, but not bad at all. Just nicely full and happy. Did this mean I had finally graduated from Deluxe Dining Plan academy?

Holding hands happily, we left Kona and went on our way to see the Gulf of Mexico. And even though we ended up having some french fries at the beach, that was all we needed until dinner, as the Big Kahuna so nicely kept us going.

Coming up next: Dinner at Artist Point!

 

[disneygirlinnj]

Ohh...that breakfast looks delicious! I've always been scared to order the Big Kahuna..it's HUGE! The Kona coffee though is AMAZING! I sometimes have to stop at the Poly JUST to get the coffee!

 

[Disneylover87]

just caught up great reviews so far! were going in sept on ddxdp and excited to eat at some of the same resturants!

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

I've enjoyed reading your reviews so much. You and your DH are such cuties! I'm so glad you didn't feel bad for long and were able to enjoy your vacation and food. Looking forward to hearing more...

 

[TXMomof3boys]

Just caught up on your review - I am truly enjoying them. Thanks for all the detailed information - fabulous job.

Question - we have Raglan Road ressies but are thinking we should pick something else. Would you recommend Olivia's for dinner?

Thanks for your help.

 

[annichan]

Ohh...that breakfast looks delicious! I've always been scared to order the Big Kahuna..it's HUGE!

I know, I know - it really hit the spot that day, though!

just caught up great reviews so far! were going in sept on ddxdp and excited to eat at some of the same resturants!

Great, lucky you! I wish I could go back this year ... but I'll have to wait another 16 months

I've enjoyed reading your reviews so much. You and your DH are such cuties! I'm so glad you didn't feel bad for long and were able to enjoy your vacation and food. Looking forward to hearing more...

A cutie? Me? You've never seen me in the morning

Oh well, you HAVE, come to think of it ... On several character breakfast pix ... So ignore my last remark

Question - we have Raglan Road ressies but are thinking we should pick something else. Would you recommend Olivia's for dinner?
Thanks for your help.

That's a bit hard for me to say, as we were only there for lunch and haven't tried their dinner menu. Also, we sat outside and loved it, but you probably wouldn't want to do that at night when it's dark. As for the whole "dinner experience", Olivia's won't be near as grand as the Raglan Road dining room, but rather casual.

So, if you like casual and laid back, and if the stuff on the dinner menu appeals to you, I think it should be fine.