Top choice signature dining...?

[YawningDodo]

I'm planning a 2020 trip and trying to talk my housemate into coming with me. I wouldn't normally go for signature dining on my own--I enjoy high-end restaurants well enough, but it's not really my "thing." My housemate, though, is a total foodie and I think one of the ways I can nudge her to agree to the trip is to present one or two options for a really spectacular meal.

Limitations:

• Our schedule won't allow for any weekend meals, so Sunday brunches, etc., are out.
• If you suggest Victoria and Albert's, please feel free to try to sell me on that...but please also include a second option closer to the $100/person range.

And, well...if you have recommendations for good (Edit: actually, let's go with unique and/or adventurous) food in WDW that's not necessarily marked as signature dining, let me know that, too. Both of us would be happy to eat burgers and Mickey waffles and that kind of thing for a good portion of the trip, but I do want to pick out a couple more special options here and there.

 

[USCAnna]

I’ve eaten at most Signature Dining experiences. I’d vote Tiffins, because it is in the park and won’t take any travel time to the resorts. If your housemate is a foodie, it offers some pretty unique options.

Resort dining...I’d have to go with a reservation at California Grill during Happily Ever After.

 

[YawningDodo]

I’ve eaten at most Signature Dining experiences. I’d vote Tiffins, because it is in the park and won’t take any travel time to the resorts. If your housemate is a foodie, it offers some pretty unique options.

Resort dining...I’d have to go with a reservation at California Grill during Happily Ever After.

Somehow I forgot about Tiffins. California Grill was one of the ones I was reading out loud to her, but then I realized the brunch menu I'd been reading off to her was Sundays-only. I've never done any signature dining at WDW, so this is all pretty new to me.

Going to edit the top level post because it occurs to me that "good" isn't really the descriptor I'm looking for..."unique" is probably closer.

 

[Busymom1015]

Morimoto Asia is our only must do every trip last time we went twice because everyone wanted to go back. It’s amazing and the good is above and beyond

 

[Wayland10]

Tiffins or Jiko! I and my husband are also total foodies, and these seem the most unique to me.

 

[#1MMFan]

I agree with Tiffins. It was lovely and quiet during the time I went and I really feel we got personal attention from our server, Jared. It's definitely quite different food. I do love Hollywood Brown Derby but because it can be loud/busy with families with kids it might not be the best for your friend, perhaps. I had fantastic meals at Flying Fish, Yachtsman Steakhouse, Le Cellier, Yak & Yeti amongst others in May, and although I love California Grill, my last meal there wasn't quite as good as the times before.

 

[GeorgeG]

Unless you're on a dining plan, the best restaurants are in the Swan and Dolphin resorts. They do take Tables in Wonderland, but not dining plans. Dollar for dollar, they are just a few dollars more than Disney "Signature" restaurants and the food is so much better than anything Disney-run restaurants have to offer. It's my opinion that most, of not all, of the "Signature" restaurants were far better before Disney marketing can up with the Signature designation. Both hotels are very convenient to Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

 

[OneinThree]

Unless you're on a dining plan, the best restaurants are in the Swan and Dolphin resorts. They do take Tables in Wonderland, but not dining plans. Dollar for dollar, they are just a few dollars more than Disney "Signature" restaurants and the food is so much better than anything Disney-run restaurants have to offer. It's my opinion that most, of not all, of the "Signature" restaurants were far better before Disney marketing can up with the Signature designation. Both hotels are very convenient to Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

Agreed. Bluezoo is easily the best seafood restaurant on property, Il Mulino the best Italian, and Shula's is by far the best steakhouse on property, IMO. I've been going to Disney's best restaurants since the early 80's, and noticed a sharp decline in quality with the advent of the dining plan, tbh.

 

[epcotobsessed]

Yachtsman. The food and service are consistently exceptional and I say that as someone who seeks out and frequents top-rated dining experiences. I have tried all of the Disney Signatures as well as the ones in Swan/Dolphin and Yachtsman is my favorite. My second choice (also outstanding) would be Jiko.

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Signature: My favorite is Artist Point, although its future is currently in limbo. Hoping it remains a signature at dinner.
Adventurous/unique: Satuli Canteen, Skipper Canteen, Tusker House, Boma

 

[Dean Marino]

I'm planning a 2020 trip and trying to talk my housemate into coming with me. I wouldn't normally go for signature dining on my own--I enjoy high-end restaurants well enough, but it's not really my "thing." My housemate, though, is a total foodie and I think one of the ways I can nudge her to agree to the trip is to present one or two options for a really spectacular meal.

Limitations:

• Our schedule won't allow for any weekend meals, so Sunday brunches, etc., are out.
• If you suggest Victoria and Albert's, please feel free to try to sell me on that...but please also include a second option closer to the $100/person range.

And, well...if you have recommendations for good (Edit: actually, let's go with unique and/or adventurous) food in WDW that's not necessarily marked as signature dining, let me know that, too. Both of us would be happy to eat burgers and Mickey waffles and that kind of thing for a good portion of the trip, but I do want to pick out a couple more special options here and there.

A little help? Will you be using DDP? TIW? Out of Pocket (OOP)? Searching for best Quality, or bang for buck?
A lot of this makes a difference .

So - precursor, and it's just US: Wife and I, 13 years running at WDW, twice per year, eight days per trip. DVC/AP/TIW.
Our one habit is to go to a SIG every evening. Our ranked favorites...

1) V&A . OK, we can only do this once per year . It's a killer, both in QUALITY, and the bill . But it is ranked as the number 2 Restaurant in the entire United States .

2) Shula's Steak House - Dolphin (we often go twice: one night STEAK, one night LOBSTER).
3) CA Grill - Contemporary (OFTEN twice, once per year for brunch).
4) Il Mulino - Swan
5) Citrico's - GF.
6) Narcoossee's GF.
7) Artist Point, WL (note: available data indicates that this will vanish after Oct 28, 2018).

Our personal experience, and dinner choices, choice 2-7 generally leave us with offerings in the $90-$110 per plate region, with appropriate wine and tip .
V&A, done right, has usually been about $750, party of two, with tip.

Now - wife and I always skip lunches. We opt for a good BREAKFAST & a coke around noon. We ALWAYS go to Whispering Canyon Cafe at the WL for these .

All personal opinion - I'm not necessarily right, no one else is necessarily wrong.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

Agreed. Bluezoo is easily the best seafood restaurant on property, Il Mulino the best Italian, and Shula's is by far the best steakhouse on property, IMO. I've been going to Disney's best restaurants since the early 80's, and noticed a sharp decline in quality with the advent of the dining plan, tbh.

Too bad these aren't on the dining plan.

 

[OneinThree]

We've always gone the OoP route for dining. When I actually looked into the DXDP for our summer trip this year, it was clear that including our 10% AP discount, the only savings *might* be on more expensive TS. On sigs, it looks like you're lucky to break even.

 

[Corwin]

Our favorite signature restaurants are:

1. California Grill
2. Artist Point (but as stated previously, its future is in limbo at this point)
3. Tiffins
4. Yachtsman Steakhouse
   
5. Jiko

We also like Be Our Guest, which is apparently going to turn into a signature restaurant with a prix fixe dinner menu in the near future.

Tiffins and Jiko are somewhat more "unique and/or adventurous" than the others listed above.

 

[YawningDodo]

Thank you for all the responses; keep them coming! I'm seeing Jiko pop up a lot...or maybe I'm just paying particular attention to it when it does because it's one that interests me. I'm tempted to ask how it compares to Sanaa and whether it's worth the higher price, but I'm aware that Sanaa leans more toward Indian food and Jiko toward African. I ate at Boma on my last solo stop in WDW and loved the food; it'll be an option on the table but I don't know if we'll get to it, do a different restaurant at AKL, or skip AKL entirely. We both love Indian food but have the opportunity to eat it once or twice per year in our regular lives when we travel to a slightly more metropolitan city; African food is not available to us in normal life.

Semi-related, in reviewing the menus...I think I'm more likely to find things I'd enjoy at Jiko than at Tiffins. I like to think that I'm fairly adventurous...except I don't really enjoy most fish outside of shellfish and sushi. Not a big steak eater, either. Most places I should be able to find something I'll like, though; I checked Bluezoo and found two entrees that appeal to me. Figure that's likely to be the case at most steak and seafood restaurants on property.

I've kind of leaned toward California Grill because the views of the Magic Kingdom seem like they'd make the experience special (especially if we were up there during HEA), but we did Napa Rose on our Disneyland trip and I wonder if California Grill might not feel as new and exciting after that as it might have before we'd had that experience. But we did enjoy the California cuisine, so I think we'd like it just fine. It's just a thought. I'm kind of thinking an alternative might be to go to The Wave for breakfast one morning, get some avocado toast, get a meal in at the Contemporary at a much lower price point.

A little help? Will you be using DDP? TIW? Out of Pocket (OOP)? Searching for best Quality, or bang for buck?
A lot of this makes a difference .

Entirely out of pocket--I've priced out DDP a lot of different ways and it never comes up saving us money (especially not if we want any signature meals). TIW is not an option for us because we don't have a way to make AP cost effective with our current lifestyle. I have the Disney Visa, which gets a minor discount at a few restaurants, but tbh I haven't bothered to factor that in when setting out options. I'm looking primarily for quality and interest...as far as money goes, I brought up the $100 range because I think if we each spend $300+ at V&A that'll mean pouring most of our food budget into one meal and making it difficult to fit other table service meals into our itinerary. It's less about worrying about whether the meal is worth the money and more thinking about whether it prevents us from having other experiences we might enjoy more when taken as a whole. IIRC the lowest-end V&A experience is $185 and then $65 for wine (we wouldn't go and not get wine pairings!), so that's $250 pp before tax and tip...bit rough on our overall budget. I'm sure we'd enjoy it, but I don't know that we'd enjoy it more than the two signature meals + one mid-level table service meal we could afford in its stead. We're going to have to have at least some days when we eat only counter service and keep costs lower, and doing one very expensive meal increases the number of days spent doing that.

We also like Be Our Guest, which is apparently going to turn into a signature restaurant with a prix fixe dinner menu in the near future.

I read about that recently and I'm trying to decide how I feel about it. I've only ever been to BOG at lunchtime, and my mother and I enjoyed it so much that we went back a second time on the same trip. It's pretty solid for being technically quick service, and I feel like a lot of the point of BOG is the atmosphere. I just continue to be on the fence about whether dinner at BOG should be a priority or if it's fine to just keep doing it for lunch and save the money.

 

[USCAnna]

Jiko’s is definitely a great option too. It’s adventurous, but not so much so that it will turn off most diners. I will also say that the service there has consistently been top notch...more than just in the friendly, helpful way...just a great understanding of the pacing of a meal and the right amount of server interactions at the appropriate times.

 

[drwadadli]

We are foodies too and absolutely enjoy eating at Signature restaurants and being more unique / adventurous. Here are our suggestions:

1) NOT California Grill ----- When we go for Signature restaurants, we expect something quiet, romantic with outstanding food and service. CG has NONE of that. It is very noisy and therefore as romantic as a pet rock. The food is good but there is better food on property. The service is better than the food but not outstanding. It is wasn't for the fireworks, the restaurant wouldn't be as popular as it is. It you want to see the fireworks then either pick another restaurant or have pre-dinner drinks, save your receipt, eat elsewhere and then return for after-dinner fireworks.

2) Artist Point ----- This might change as they are planning on doing something to the restaurant but the details have not been released. It is a great restaurant to try bison or venison.

3) Monsieur Paul ----- It is French so therefore most things on the menu are adventurous like oxtail, duck, Guinea fowl, grilled octopus, or suckling pig

4) Victoria & Albert's ----- Yes, I put it on there and you said as long as I included other restaurants too. My wife and I did the Chef's Table and the service, food, and experience was OUTSTANDING!!!! You can't get anymore adventurous then talking to and learning from the chefs that are all around. You can't get more unique than eating right there in the kitchen. As being foodies, this was some of the BEST food we have ever tried (outside of The Inn at Little Washington). We got one wine pairing and shared the glass. The chefs in the kitchen mentioned that that was the way to do it. They said too many get the wine pairing per person and then end up drunk and don't enjoy the experience. Also, the chefs mention that they are there to ask questions and learn from and they see a lot of people talk among themselves or just sit back and watch. In their own words, then "have dinner in the main room and then watch it on TV". Talk to the chefs and ask questions....we did and it turned out to be a great experience!!!!! It left us speechless at first because it was too amazing to describe. Yes, would meal was close to $800 with tip but absolutely worth and would do it again!!!!!!!

5) Narcoossee's ----- This restaurant was better food and service that CG and also is a place to see the fireworks.

6) Sanaa and Jiko ----- We hear these are great unique restaurants and they are on our list to try next time.

 

[loves to dive]

I agree with previous poster that California Grill is not romantic and is very loud, but I'm thinking you are not going for romantic so I'm going to suggest it. My son and I had one of our best meals on property this last March, and we have eaten at most of the in park signatures, V&A's and some of the resort signatures. The service and food were both very good.

We also love Tiffins, it is one of the few restaurants on property we actually repeat. We love the atmosphere, we love the food and we have never had bad service there. Add in a stop at Nomad Lounge before and it's great.

Yes, V&A's is a wonderful experience and well worth the cost but it is mega expensive and, at least for my son and I, a once in 3 or 4 years experience.

We used to love eating inside at Hollywood Brown Derby but after they opened the outside lounge that is where we tend to spend our time but just because I'm addicted to their Cobb Salad.

If you want slightly exotic, try Marrakesh at Morocco. It gets mixed reviews but we love it, be prepared to eat a lot of food though.

 

[YawningDodo]

We are foodies too and absolutely enjoy eating at Signature restaurants and being more unique / adventurous. Here are our suggestions:

1) NOT California Grill ----- When we go for Signature restaurants, we expect something quiet, romantic with outstanding food and service. CG has NONE of that. It is very noisy and therefore as romantic as a pet rock. The food is good but there is better food on property. The service is better than the food but not outstanding. It is wasn't for the fireworks, the restaurant wouldn't be as popular as it is. It you want to see the fireworks then either pick another restaurant or have pre-dinner drinks, save your receipt, eat elsewhere and then return for after-dinner fireworks.

2) Artist Point ----- This might change as they are planning on doing something to the restaurant but the details have not been released. It is a great restaurant to try bison or venison.

3) Monsieur Paul ----- It is French so therefore most things on the menu are adventurous like oxtail, duck, Guinea fowl, grilled octopus, or suckling pig

4) Victoria & Albert's ----- Yes, I put it on there and you said as long as I included other restaurants too. My wife and I did the Chef's Table and the service, food, and experience was OUTSTANDING!!!! You can't get anymore adventurous then talking to and learning from the chefs that are all around. You can't get more unique than eating right there in the kitchen. As being foodies, this was some of the BEST food we have ever tried (outside of The Inn at Little Washington). We got one wine pairing and shared the glass. The chefs in the kitchen mentioned that that was the way to do it. They said too many get the wine pairing per person and then end up drunk and don't enjoy the experience. Also, the chefs mention that they are there to ask questions and learn from and they see a lot of people talk among themselves or just sit back and watch. In their own words, then "have dinner in the main room and then watch it on TV". Talk to the chefs and ask questions....we did and it turned out to be a great experience!!!!! It left us speechless at first because it was too amazing to describe. Yes, would meal was close to $800 with tip but absolutely worth and would do it again!!!!!!!

5) Narcoossee's ----- This restaurant was better food and service that CG and also is a place to see the fireworks.

6) Sanaa and Jiko ----- We hear these are great unique restaurants and they are on our list to try next time.

I hear you on V&A, and while I'm a.) shy and b.) lacking in the requisite knowledge to ask many questions, I think my housemate would enjoy the heck out of interacting with the chefs at the Chef's Table. I just can't imagine fitting $800 into our budget for one meal; while I do want this to be a trip where we experience some of the better food Disney has to offer, I'm going to have to do a bit of a balancing act on our budget to make it all possible. Part of me thinks...heck with it, eat at V&A one night, go all out, make it one incredible experience, but then it might end up being our only table service meal, and both of us are excited at the prospect of eating at one or more of the AKL restaurants, among other things.

Side note, I've been thinking about the fireworks lately. My housemate surprised me by being really keen to hear about the HEA dessert party I did on my last (solo) trip. I gave her an honest review (the desserts were pretty good, but not outstanding, and the main benefit is having breathing room during the fireworks) and she's still really into the idea of doing a dessert party. So if we did that for HEA we probably wouldn't particularly need to see HEA a second time from California Grill (though of course we could do the Star Wars dessert party at DHS instead).

Artist Point might not be too adventurous for us; we live in Montana. Bison and venison aren't exactly staples even here, but they're definitely available. Of course, they're usually available as burgers, so I'm not going to scratch it off the list. Narcoossee's is also an option.

I agree with previous poster that California Grill is not romantic and is very loud, but I'm thinking you are not going for romantic so I'm going to suggest it. My son and I had one of our best meals on property this last March, and we have eaten at most of the in park signatures, V&A's and some of the resort signatures. The service and food were both very good.

We also love Tiffins, it is one of the few restaurants on property we actually repeat. We love the atmosphere, we love the food and we have never had bad service there. Add in a stop at Nomad Lounge before and it's great.

Yes, V&A's is a wonderful experience and well worth the cost but it is mega expensive and, at least for my son and I, a once in 3 or 4 years experience.

We used to love eating inside at Hollywood Brown Derby but after they opened the outside lounge that is where we tend to spend our time but just because I'm addicted to their Cobb Salad.

If you want slightly exotic, try Marrakesh at Morocco. It gets mixed reviews but we love it, be prepared to eat a lot of food though.

Yeah, not romantic. We'd want to be able to hear each other and hold a conversation (when we go out for dinner in our home city we actively avoid restaurants with live music because it's always too loud), so I suppose it depends on how loud "very loud" is. If we got a reservation during the fireworks I think it'd be fine to pause the conversation while the music's piped in and the show goes on, but usually meals together are a time to talk.

I just checked Marrakesh and that does look fun. The only experience I've had with the Morocco pavilion's food is Tangierine Cafe, and while it's good for counter service it's not as good as shawarma I've had elsewhere. Never had a chance to try Marrakesh or Spice Road; that could be one of our stops in Epcot. Honestly, the problem with Epcot is that there are too many choices--and then of course too few at DHS next door. Never tried Brown Derby, either, though.

 

[gharter]

We have so many favorites.
California Grill is near the top. It can be loud, we go later to watch the fireworks. Never had a bad meal and great service.
Jiko may be our favorite and its not common food.
Tiffins best in park restaurant, again not the common food. Monsieur Paul is a close second.
Il Mulino best Italian.
Bluezoo read great things about it, doing it this fall.
Flying Fish a really fun Seafood restaurant.
Victoria and Alberts been there 3 times. Incredible every time. Its not cheap, but doe snot disappoint. Plan to spend 3 hours there and savor the expereince.