To do or not do Akershus ...

[Topo Bella]

We've never been to Akershus before. My DD loves the princesses - and we've done CRT - but we needed a meal for our day in Epcot and I thought this might be a good choice for something different. I'm mostly concerned that the food might be a little unusual for my parents who are traveling with us. (As you might imagine, they are not really that concerned about meeting the princesses.)

Could anyone give me their opinion on the meat and cheese buffet before the meal? Is there any disadvantage to doing lunch instead of dinner?

Your thoughts on this are appreciated.

 

[hgoff79]

The cold buffet is nice; salads, fruit, cheese, shrimp (IIRC--I don't eat shellfish)and some meats. However, lunch has a couple of relatively innocent dishes. The chicken dishes are relatively Americanized.

I prefer the lunch to the dinner, and both of those to the breakfast. The only bummer of lunch? No school bread on the dessert plate (unless that's recently changed)!

 

[jennib5426]

We went last year with 3 kids and 4 adults for dinner.
The cold buffet was ok but the dinner dishes were awful and we got just about one of everything on the menu.
I would only go again if we were on the DDP and the 5 & 8 year old girls were dying to go again to see the princess.

The photo we got with Belle was nice

 

[lauralong81]

Oh DO IT by all means!!! If DD is even remotely interested in princesses, this is like the princess Jackpot!!! My DD3 last year, was just really barely getting into the princesses and just about died when she met them all. The entire time she was just in awe, I still remember the look in her eyes and on her face to this day. If I had to pick one single moment I enjoyed most from our trip last year - lunch at Akershus with the princesses would be IT! Even my son enjoyed all the attention the princesses gave him, they kept calling him a "prince charming" and he just ate it up and he is normally ALL boy and anti-princess.

That said, I wouldn't worry about the food. My DH is very much a meat and potatoes kinda guy, likes it simple and american. He thought the food was just fine. Not amazing, but definetly edible. The cold buffet has lunch meats and cheeses (just like at our grocery store deli) with some fruits and such. Perfect for picky eaters. I'm sure your parents will find something they like on both the cold bar and the menu. We did lunch as oppossed to dinner, so I can't speak to that.

 

[dresden_smith]

My husband and I ate there last summer for dinner. It was so much fun to see all the princesses but the food truly was horrible. It was our least favorite meal of our whole trip. It's fun to see characters, but i'd try to pic a different character meal.

 

[everythingALICE]

I love this place! I've only been for lunch, so I can't comment on how dinner compares. I like the cold buffet, and loved the hot entrees. I got a grilled veggie stuffed pasta and my mom got some sort of sauteed chicken breast, and we both enjoyed our meals very much. The princess interaction is awesome and the free photo is just an added perk to a great meal!

 

[PearlySwan]

We ate at Arkeshus last summer and intend to return during our next trip. Our experience with the meal was great. We had dinner at this restaurant and it was perhaps the best character meal (in terms of food quality) that we experienced (and we did a lot of character meals last year). The appetizer buffet had something for everyone. We thought it was quite good. DH had the Traditional Norwegian Kjottkake (a sort of meat loaf dish) which he absolutely loved. I had the salmon which was by far one of the most outstanding salmon dishes I had tried up until that point. DD had the pizza and DS had the turkey cheese sandwich. We all savored every last bite on the Royal Chef’s sampler dessert plate. The princess interaction was outstanding and you get a photo package too which is included in the price of your meal. You really can't go wrong with Arkeshus.

 

[Swimalie]

We went on March 24, 2010 for dinner and loved it. The picture with Belle is really nice and she was gorgeous in her yellow dress. The appetizer buffet is almost a meal in itself (I happen to love shrimp and my son loves bread and cheese). My husband and mom had the kjattkakes and really liked them. My dad and I had the salmon and it was delicious. Our son had the mickey shaped pasta. The desserts were good but we were almost too stuffed to eat them. I highly recommend the restaurant. My parents weren't interested in seeing the princesses either but enjoyed seeing their grandson enjoy seeing them. Snow White gave him a huge kiss and now he's in love

 

[Jaxbelle]

We did Akershush Royal Banquet Hall for lunch last year. It was worth it! To see Belle standing there to great you when you enter, and for my two daughters to get to meet her and take pictures before sitting down to eat. Honestly, I don't remember the food as much as I do the princesses that seem to never end, coming up to the table to great you. But what I do remember of the food it was good and something for everyone in our family (noone disappointed). An amazing experience and some amazing pictures!

Just wanted to add that we had my grandparents, my sister and my cousin with us, and my 3 year old son. Everyone enjoyed their time at Akershush.

 

[JHM]

We have eaten there twice - lunch both times. THe food is OK but by no means a favorite. HOwever, where else can you have 5 princesses stop by your table. Both times we were there i was very impressed by how they moved the princesses around so that everyone got to see all 5. Both of my DD'd loved it - over the 2 times we went they ranged from 3 1/3 to 8 and it was well worth "settling" on the food for the experience.

 

[goodfood4ursoul]

... I had the salmon which was by far one of the most outstanding salmon dishes I had tried up until that point. DD had the pizza and DS had the turkey cheese sandwich. We all savored every last bite on the Royal Chef’s sampler dessert plate. The princess interaction was outstanding and you get a photo package too which is included in the price of your meal. You really can't go wrong with Arkeshus.

Akershus is a perennial favorite for our family.
Each time we go we enjoy not just the princesses, but the really good Norwegian food.
We really love the norwegian cheese like Gjetost, that we cannot find anywhere else in the US.
Norwegians do seafood very well- the salmon is my favorite too.
Some people may find some of the things on the buffet like pickled herring salad sort of off-putting if they have never tried them before.

I think that is why we see mixed reviews for this fantastic restaurant.

If you are not an adventurous eater or of northern european heritage you may not like ALL of the offerings on the appetizer buffet.
But there are a lot of Americanized offerings there as well and there is something for everyone if they look.
Cold cuts, shrimp, breads, other cheeses, vegetables, etc.
Folks should come to Akershus with an open mind.
This is a chance to try a new cuisine, to explore unusual flavor pairings, to get a taste of Norway without having to pay the $$$$$ to go there .

What I really love about Akershus is that you can choose real Norwegian food that is still norwegian or you can choose more american foods.
You CAN get a real, authentic, Norwegian food experience here.

The food has not all been americanized beyond recognition like it has at 9 Dragons.
One would think that Chinese food, prepared by real Chinese chefs brought in for the express purpose of providing a real Chinese food experience would be the best real, authentic, Chinese food experience you could get in the US... sadly NOT

 

[AmongMadPeople]

He thought the food was just fine. Not amazing, but definetly edible.

Well, I know my husband would argue with the "edible" part!

The good thing - it wasn't too exotic for my basic tastes. Your parents should be fine.

The bad thing - the chicken dish I had was very similar to Coral Reef in presentation and composition, except my Akershus meal had almost no flavor.

I would never ever recommend someone eat here unless they were on the dining plan. I think we had an 80 dollar bill for probably the most disappointing/worst meal we've had on property. And we're only two people. If you go, go for the princesses and consider food a bonus.

 

[Topo Bella]

Thanks for all the posts - this definitely sounds like it's worth doing. My DD just melts when she sees all the princesses, especially since she counts herself among them.

 

[CrabbyPatty]

We went for breakfast and LOVED it. If you're worried about Norwegian food, it's pretty much eggs, sausage, this marvelous potato casserole, and the cold food buffet which was deli meats, cheese, yogurt, fruit, rolls, etc. Probably the most exotic thing on the menu is pickled or creamed herring.

I have to sort of chuckle that people think Akershus has "exotic" food - growing up in a small town in Minnesota (think Lake Wobegon) and eating food like lefse, romegrot, fruit soup, meatballs, torsk (HATE the stuff) - I didn't see much on the menu that seemed weird or exotic. But having said that, this "school bread" stuff - never heard of it before reading the DIS boards.

 

[sconnell]

We've always done the last breakfast time they had available. Love it! I usually ends up being great if we stayed up late the night before (like MNSSHP) and need to sleep a little later. Love that place!

 

[tallen429]

We've never been to Akershus before. My DD loves the princesses - and we've done CRT - but we needed a meal for our day in Epcot and I thought this might be a good choice for something different. I'm mostly concerned that the food might be a little unusual for my parents who are traveling with us. (As you might imagine, they are not really that concerned about meeting the princesses.)

Could anyone give me their opinion on the meat and cheese buffet before the meal? Is there any disadvantage to doing lunch instead of dinner?

Your thoughts on this are appreciated.

We're trying it for the fist time in June. Last time we did the Castle but I think this will suffice for "Princess interaction".
Luckily for me, my DD was born in Germany and she literally cut her teeth on the types of foods they serve at this meal (like cold meat breakfast) so I wasn't worried about it. I'm sure there will be plenty everyone likes. Have fun!!

 

[ohiodisneydad2]

We've done it twice and now have to do it everytime we go. Our last trip my girls got to see Ariel and it was the highlight of their meal. There's no where else in the parks to see Ariel in her gown. And plus the girl playing Ariel had the character down!

We've only done breakfast and the food is the usual buffet fair.

 

[PrincessBelle39]

I was nervous going into Akershus for dinner also. The only meat I eat is fish so I had the salmon. I find I get a bit sick of salmon as it seems to be the fish option in most places we go to. In sayin that. It was the best salmon I have ever had. And that is without exageration. I loved it. DH had the beef tips which were new on the menu that day. He really enjoyed them. Based on that experience, I wouldn't hesitate to go back.

 

[Reese]

This is one of our family favorites. We do this every trip. My DH and DS always order the traditional kottejjenker (sp). I've tried almost everything else on the menu and really enjoyed the salmon.

 

[jdisnut]

If your daughter wants to meet the princesses, Akershus is worth trying. Since it became an overflow destination for Cinderella's Royal Table, the food has tamed dramatically. I remember eating dinner there before it was a character meal and leaving pleasantly surprised with the food. It's a lot more standard now and tailored to the standard American palate. I suspect you parents will have no issue finding something to eat.