Thoughts on Coral Reef?

[ilovecountry]

We just purchased a package that includes the DDP & this is our first time. My friends are letting me pick everything since they said they're willing to try anything restaurant wise (mwhahah) Well, We've had so many people tell us that Coral Reef was a must to try and looking at their menu I'm not sure- it doesn't seem like theres much seafood as people made it out to be (or maybe the menu changed since then) There just doesn't seem like much a selection but some of the restaurants we ate at last time I thought I was going to be disappointed & ended up loving so I'm trying to keep an open mind. Can anyone give me an idea of what you enjoyed or didn't? Or even better was this yummy?---> Lobster Salad - Served on a toasted baguette with a cup of lobster soup and mixed greens. lol *We love seafood but since we have the basic DDP, I know not everything is included and stuff. We're still college students so we're pigs too so keep that in mind

 

[stopher1]

We went 2 yrs ago and had a good meal (sorry, don't remember what we each ate). The viewing of the tank is awesome. While we were there, a little girl at the next table over was celebrating her b-day, and there were divers in the tank that came over to their window with Happy Birthday signs. That was cool. The only thing that we DIDN'T like was how long it took! The service was really slow. Typically a ts meal takes 45-60 min - that particular meal was more like 110 min. Maybe it was just the server, I don't know - but we weren't pleased with that one part.

 

[abeyst]

I love CR!! I eat there every trip. I took my extended family of 7 with me last December and they all loved it, too. Most had the steak (funny, I know) and they all thought it was great. I always order the blackened catfish with pepper-jack grits (sounds yucky, but eaten together with the sauce on it it's AWESOME!)

The only thing not liked at dinner was the creme brulee. It was some type of citrus or fruity kind - none of us cared for it. I'm a huge key lime pie fan, and theirs was the best I've had at WDW.

Enjoy your trip and your dinner!

 

[septbaby]

We loved our meal at Coral Reef. We had lunch at the end of August:

BBQ Salmon sandwich was great, and I'm not a BBQ sauce fan, loved this.
Mom had talapia? and loved it
Little guy had the kids pizza, he did not share and it was all gone
He and I both got kids make your own sundaes for dessert, fun and tasty
Bread and butter at Coral Reef was delicious and kept disappearing from our table...lol

Basic Dining plan does not include appetizers at the Table service meals. However, when you book buffets this is a moot point. As college student "pigs" be sure to book some of those.

Bottom line: Coral Reef is a for our family.

 

[bluejasmine]

We went on our last trip, the menu is limited but very good, I had the steak with scallop potatoes and it was wonderful, son had grilled samon and substitued the couscous with mash potatos with no problem, the wave dessert was out of this world! Now it was extremly busy and loud but we really enjoyed it!

 

[tlriv5]

My dh and I both got the steak and it was very good. My dd got a shrimp pasta and I remember it being good. This is a nice restaurant, it's dark inside and it looked like you could view the aquarium from pretty much any seat. That was really neat, well especially for our girls getting to see all the fish swimming by. It's a pretty place, I recommend it.

 

[suzimar57]

we love Coral Reef - DH always gets the steak, for me it's the lobster bisque, pasta with shrimp (and plenty of shrimp, at that!) - dessert is the chocolate wave and that 3 layered chocolate parfait thingie

that selection you described: baguette with lobster salad, lobster bisque and mixed greens - i remember someone posting how they got this and were very very disappointed with the tiny sized portion of soup they got with this lunch selection (the photo even showed it - wasn't much larger than a small espresso cup) - if you get it, just be sure to ask how much or how large the cup it comes in is (you want more than a few meager spoonfuls!)

 

[rsimon]

When we last ate there in January with the DDP, I had the steak and DW had the king crab legs. They were really good and we shared so we had a surf-n-turf. They even split the king crab legs for you so they are easy to eat.

We are going again in July/August and have ADRs there for at least a couple of dinners..

 

[libinatorsmom]

Hey if you are on the DP and like Seafood - what about the Cape May Buffet Calm bake... plus its buffet so great for hungry college students!!! JUST A THOUGHT FOR YA!!!!

Though We are doing CR and cant wait to try it out....

 

[tinaluis]

We LOVED, LOVED, LOVED CR when we tried it for the first time in 2006. We were a little hesitant to book because it had been getting poor reviews but we decided to give it a try anyway. DH had the catfish (which he traded with me because it was a little too spicy for him), I had grilled tuna (which got traded to DH), our oldest DD had a shrimp/pasta entree and the younger two DDs had kids meals. We all thought it was very good. And we had a diver in the tank with a Happy Birthday sign which made our DDs feel like celebrities. It was one of the highlights of our trip!

 

[kxmeeh]

when I told my girls we were going back to wdw, and we started making the dining reservations, I told them i wanted to try all new places. this will be our second visit to wdw and I wanted to experience new things. They asked if we could please eat at coral reef again. It was their favorite place, and there really is not a bad seat anywhere. My dh said the lobster bisque was the best he has ever had (although it is not on the ddp anymore, it woud be worth it to purchase it oop) I had the pork chops and they were better than my mothers, with this great mushroom-type sauce on it. It is more than just eating a dinner, it is an experience...I know I will never be able to eat in another place where I am shorter than the fish tank

 

[Keggy]

Coral Reef is a favorite for DH and I. We eat there several times a year. We just ate there on Saturday for lunch. I had chicken and substituted for the au gratin potatoes with a mixed green salad for an appetizer with the key lime vinagrette. It was very good.

DH had the chilled shrimp for app and the tilapia with au gratin potatoes for his entree.

It was very good.

Splurge and get the margarita's! They are very YUMMY there!!!

 

[ilovecountry]

Thanks so much for the info, I'll check it all out