Tiffins - Snooty Staff? Having second thought.....

Alice777

DIS Veteran
Joined
Feb 13, 2016
Messages
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I have ADR for lunch in 3 weeks. I've read couple of posts about "snooty" staff at Tiffins. Now I'm having a second thought about my ADR. My son and I are very casual kind of people and will be going to Tiffins in T-shirts and shorts. I'm afraid I'll be too conscious of the "snooty" staff and won't enjoy my meal.

Those who went, how was your experience? Should I go or cancel?
 
I have been twice and have not encountered snooty staff. Both times I was in t-shirt and shorts as that was what we wore to the parks. The staff we have dealt with were amazing, fun to talk with, and the manager stopped by both times to ensure we were having a good meal. I am not sure what snooty staff they may have come across. Even though it is a signature it is in a theme park so they don't enforce a dress code or anything like that.
 
The member of staff we had felt too formal and forced. I was expecting the same fine dining experience offered by the California Grill but Tiffins just didn't feel as nice. Out waiter felt too impersonal and not relaxed enough.

Also the food was not very special. I had the lamb and while the meat was good it didn't seem to have any special flavour.

I wish we had gone to Jiko. Or Sanaa and saved the second DDP credit for Skippers Canteen.
 

We loved everything about Tiffin's. We were there on an insanely hot day after several hours in the AK and were fine! Everyone will be in your shoes. Heck, even if you are going to the AK just for dinner, it is a long walk from the bus!

Best solution is to cool down over a drink in the extremely relaxing lounge before dinner. :)
 
I would never make a disney dining restaurant choice based on a couple people's review of a particular cast member. I don't think any of the disney restaurants have bad ownership or management to the point where the wait staff is purposely bad or snooty or unaccommodating (like you might get with a privately owned restaurant). I think their staffing needs are so huge, sometimes you get people who are not as good or not as well trained or maybe not the warmest, bubbliest person in the world... but I don't think Tiffin makes it a point to direct their staff to be "snooty." V&A is just about the fanciest place on property and their wait staff is extremely warm while still managing exemplary service. if you run into a snooty server it is the exception and not the rule. plus even the best server can have a bad day or something going on in their lives that might make them less than bubbly that day.
 
I had no issues with staff at all. The people at check in were very nice and gave us an extra few minutes to finish up our drinks at the Nomad. Our waitress was friendly and helpful. I would definitely go back (the Waygu beef was wonderful).
 
You will find people in Tshirts and shorts in all the restaurants in the parks so don't worry about it. You are going to get good and bad staff anywhere so I wouldn't change my ADRs based on that.
 
For me as well it wasn't so much that the waiter was "snooty" just that the service felt forced. He didn't seem relaxed, enthusiastic or like he really was reccomending anything. Whereas two nights earlier at the California Grill the waiter felt a lot more personal and honest, but still in a formal fine dining setting.
 
We had a great experience at Tiffins. Everyone loved their meals (short rib combo, whole fish, halibut). I will definitely return.
 
For me as well it wasn't so much that the waiter was "snooty" just that the service felt forced. He didn't seem relaxed, enthusiastic or like he really was reccomending anything. Whereas two nights earlier at the California Grill the waiter felt a lot more personal and honest, but still in a formal fine dining setting.
people have had that experience (the bad one) at CA Grill as well though. Seriously I think it is a lot more server dependent than venue dependent and with SO many people serving all over the world, you're going to have some great ones, some mediocre ones, and some bad ones. It's a crap shoot.
 
I had to laugh when I saw the title of this thread because my immediate thought was....these are restaurants workers at a freakin' theme park.....what in the hell do they have to be snooty about???
lol, I think it's more just about how warm and friendly they are. If they are not it could come across as snooty. Though I have had seriously snooty waiters in NYC restaurants before. It is not unheard of for people who deal all day with a certain class of people to look down on others who are not part of that class even though they themselves are not part of that class either! but at Disney? you're right... I can't imagine how that would even be a thought.
 
Our Ratings of Tiffins: (*rev 9/14/2016*)
. . . food price value: C
. . . food quality: B
. . . food quantity per serving: C
. . . food prep speed: C
. . . food selection: B
. . . seating quantity: C
. . . seating comfort: B
. . . eatery atmosphere: B
. . . eatery convenience: B
. . . staff friendliness: A
. . . staff attentiveness: C
. . . character interaction: n/a

Our Recommendations:
. . . appys:... Flash-fried Icy Blue Mussels
. . . entrée:.. Berbere-spiced Lamb Chop
. . . dessert:. Lime Cheesecake
.
NOTE1: Tiffins is located within the Animal Kingdom park, and is "allegedly" a Signature Dining experience (at least in cost). The atmosphere is fresh and light, and (surprisingly) the noise level is acceptable. Although new, we found the service a little slow and uneven for attentiveness. The place is almost "Snooty" or "Uppity" when thinking about SERVERS and service, and I have no idea why, as it is not very crowded, and SERVERS are actually transferring to other eateries since the crowds and tips are so low (thus, a low income versus other eateries).The prices were higher than we would guess, but it is a SIG within a park, so WDW figured they can charge anything they wish, regardless of quality in food or service. Even if you are a chocoholic, pass the South American Chocolate Ganache dessert.
.
NOTE2: As opposed to other better WDW eateries, one cannot order "restaurant" food at the Nomad Lounge bar. Only the "bar menu" is available.
.
NOTE3: I know the new manager of the eatery, and unfortunately never saw him move among the diners. This is something I would expect at a Signature restaurant. What a pity. He should have seen what was happening and talked to the other guests who had complaints.
 
We found the check-in staff to be quite snooty, but our waiter was outstanding - appropriately friendly and very helpful. And the manager stopped by our table twice during our dinner to see how we were doing.
 
Our waitress was absolutely perfect. Probably one of the best I've had at a signature. She was very personable, knew a ton about the restaurant, and made some great recommendations. She also gave my girlfriend a free glass of champagne. The manager did stop by to see how everything was.
 
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Our Ratings of Tiffins: (*rev 9/14/2016*)
. . . food price value: C
. . . food quality: B
. . . food quantity per serving: C
. . . food prep speed: C
. . . food selection: B
. . . seating quantity: C
. . . seating comfort: B
. . . eatery atmosphere: B
. . . eatery convenience: B
. . . staff friendliness: A
. . . staff attentiveness: C
. . . character interaction: n/a

Our Recommendations:
. . . appys:... Flash-fried Icy Blue Mussels
. . . entrée:.. Berbere-spiced Lamb Chop
. . . dessert:. Lime Cheesecake
.
NOTE1: Tiffins is located within the Animal Kingdom park, and is "allegedly" a Signature Dining experience (at least in cost). The atmosphere is fresh and light, and (surprisingly) the noise level is acceptable. Although new, we found the service a little slow and uneven for attentiveness. The place is almost "Snooty" or "Uppity" when thinking about SERVERS and service, and I have no idea why, as it is not very crowded, and SERVERS are actually transferring to other eateries since the crowds and tips are so low (thus, a low income versus other eateries).The prices were higher than we would guess, but it is a SIG within a park, so WDW figured they can charge anything they wish, regardless of quality in food or service. Even if you are a chocoholic, pass the South American Chocolate Ganache dessert.
.
NOTE2: As opposed to other better WDW eateries, one cannot order "restaurant" food at the Nomad Lounge bar. Only the "bar menu" is available.
.
NOTE3: I know the new manager of the eatery, and unfortunately never saw him move among the diners. This is something I would expect at a Signature restaurant. What a pity. He should have seen what was happening and talked to the other guests who had complaints.
You must have had the same server as PP had. We've gone several times and found the servers chatty and very friendly. Quite ready to talk about all the menu options and recommend their favorites. About as far from snooty as you can be. And we've always gone in park attire because well, we are in a park and attired for a park, not a formal meal.
 
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We went to Nomad Lounge on 10/1 and Tiffins for a late lunch on 10/5 and loved them both. We found the staff to be very friendly and not at all snooty. When we ate at Tiffins not only were we dressed in park attire but I also had a sparkly blue Mickey ears headband. Our server even made a point to tell me how much she liked my ears. I would definitely give it a try...we are absolutely planning to go back!
 
Tiffins was excellent and we will most definitely return. You must have had a bad server! We had very good service and in no way snooty. the view is excellent and it is away from the crowds. We loved it and will most definitely go back
 
We just went and had lunch in the lounge. It was good and staff was friendly and outgoing. Service was outstanding and the food was yummy. We were in park attire as was everyone else in the lounge and restaurant.
 














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