latexscooter
Be nice even if it takes some effort.
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2006
- Messages
- 1,080
We were in WDW 5/18-5/26. Included in our little group were DH, myself, and DD4. On the first night we were meeting two other families for dinner so our group for that dinner was 8 with the ages varying from 4 to retirement.
You’ll see our dinner choices are heavy on the buffet and family style meals. We do this because it works well for our family dynamic. Getting a 4 year old, even a well behaved 4 year old like ours, to linger 90+ minutes for a meal is tough. It’s her vacation too so we went heavy on the buffets and family style which was fine.
I had originally planned on doing a full-blown dining review with pictures of the food, etc. But when it came down to it, busting out with the camera broke the flow and relaxation for us so I didn’t take any pictures. I’m sorry for that.
I’ll include our experience by day referencing both counter and table service. I’m not a food critic nor a very good cook so I won’t be able to tell you the names of the spices or how things are cooked. I will tell you if we liked it and hopefully that will do.
Here's the restaurants I'll cover:
Boma (this post, #1)
Pizzafari (this post, #1)
Cape May (this post, #1)
Crystal Palace (Post #17)
Pecos Bill's (Post #17)
Mara (Post #17)
Cantina San Angel (Post #26)
LeCellier(Post #26)
Earl of Sandwich (Post #27)
Sci-Fi Diner (Post #27)
Columbia Harbour House
Liberty Tree Tavern
'Ohana
Coral Reef
Cinderella's Table
Friday 5/18
6:40 ADR Boma: This was our arrival night and we ended up being together and ready to eat sooner than our ADR so we checked in early at 6:10. They told us it may not be possible to seat us for our ADR earlier but they would try. Thinking it was going to take awhile we wandered out towards the pool and no sooner did we reach the pool than the buzzer went off.
The restaurant has a neat feel to it but it was loud and bustling. If you want quiet and relaxation this is not the place to go. Try Jiko next door, it looked quiet and relaxing.
I think this is the largest and most diverse buffet I have ever seen in my life. I tried just about everything on the menu just to give it a shot. I thought the flavoring on much of the non-American fare to have a sweet and spicy (but not hot) flavor to it that I enjoyed thoroughly.
The soups were out of this world. I made one trip just for the soups – they had something like five that night. The squash and crab were my favorites. The Durban spiced chicken was awesome and I had three servings. The only thing I didn’t enjoy the entire evening was the watermelon rind salad that I’ve always heard raves about. Yuck! Not a single person in our group liked it. But that’s okay because it leaves more for the folks that do enjoy it.
For dessert the favorite for all ages were the Zebra Domes. The rest of the selections left a bit to be desired. The banana canolli had delicious fresh filling but stale crust, the cakes and cookies were dry and the puddings not sweet enough. We were surprised that a buffet that had hit a homerun with the entrées and side dishes could so thoroughly miss the boat on desserts. But like I said, the Zebra Domes were loved by all so we really didn’t need any other desserts.
The service was very good and we will do this again. Maybe not next trip but we will do it some time again. We’d give it 3½ out of 5.
Saturday 5/19
Lunch Pizzafari: Normally I eat at Tusker House when I’m in AK and that was what I had planned but we just finished FOLK and were famished. It was only a couple minutes after 11:00 so there wasn’t much of a line. Unfortunately, once you pay the service is like molasses. They even got the order wrong and we had to get it corrected. But it was okay. Once we got our food we ate in the empty dining room with the four seasons. It was really relaxing. By the time we left there were another half dozen tables full.
I had a cheese pizza, DH pepperoni and we both got frozen lemonade for dessert. The pizza was piping hot and just out of the oven (maybe that’s what took so long) and tasted pretty good. They actually had a decent amount of cheese which is sometimes a rarity when you get those personal pizzas. And there wasn’t too much sauce. I had heard the DDP would include a salad with this meal but it did not. That was fine because we ended up full instead of over-stuffed.
DD got the kids’ meal with PB&J, applesauce, and chocolate pudding and was a member of the clean plate club. I know a lot of people don’t like the new kids selections but my DD is going through a stage where she only wants to eat certain things so the meals offered worked fine for us.
We give it 3½ out of 5.
Dinner Cape May 5:40: We checked in at 5:30 and were told they would call us when ready. No sooner had we sat down than we were called. On our way to the table we were walked through the buffet. The atmosphere is charming and the food was excellent.
Of course I gorged myself on steamed clams and mussels. DH does not like seafood but there was more than enough on this buffet for him. At the end of the week this was one of his top three meals for the week. So if you have a non-seafood lover, don’t have any fear.
They also have a kid section with chicken fingers, pizza, and mac and cheese for kids.
I do find it unusual they call it a clam bake and yet there are only steamed clams on the menu. But maybe it’s me and my experience at clam bakes has been different than the definition of a New England clam bake. It doesn’t matter because the food was excellent and I was pleased.
In addition to the clams I also enjoyed a pretty wide variety of fresh fruit, pasta, and chicken. I thought the ribs were very good and the meat just fell off the bone. The sauce was sweet but not too much and I had seconds of those as well. Their pasta dish of the day (I forgot what it was called) was fantastic – it was a penne pasta in cheese sauce with seafood in it. Yum.
For dessert we tried a little bit of everything with the key lime tart being my favorite, DH like the brownie, and DD loved the chocolate chip cookie. We literally rolled out of there and DH complained all night long how he was uncomfortable from eating too much. That’ll show him to exercise some restraint.
I’d give it 4 out of 5 while DH thinks it was 4 ½ out of 5. Needless to say we'll be doing it next trip.
More to come.
You’ll see our dinner choices are heavy on the buffet and family style meals. We do this because it works well for our family dynamic. Getting a 4 year old, even a well behaved 4 year old like ours, to linger 90+ minutes for a meal is tough. It’s her vacation too so we went heavy on the buffets and family style which was fine.
I had originally planned on doing a full-blown dining review with pictures of the food, etc. But when it came down to it, busting out with the camera broke the flow and relaxation for us so I didn’t take any pictures. I’m sorry for that.
I’ll include our experience by day referencing both counter and table service. I’m not a food critic nor a very good cook so I won’t be able to tell you the names of the spices or how things are cooked. I will tell you if we liked it and hopefully that will do.
Here's the restaurants I'll cover:
Boma (this post, #1)
Pizzafari (this post, #1)
Cape May (this post, #1)
Crystal Palace (Post #17)
Pecos Bill's (Post #17)
Mara (Post #17)
Cantina San Angel (Post #26)
LeCellier(Post #26)
Earl of Sandwich (Post #27)
Sci-Fi Diner (Post #27)
Columbia Harbour House
Liberty Tree Tavern
'Ohana
Coral Reef
Cinderella's Table
Friday 5/18
6:40 ADR Boma: This was our arrival night and we ended up being together and ready to eat sooner than our ADR so we checked in early at 6:10. They told us it may not be possible to seat us for our ADR earlier but they would try. Thinking it was going to take awhile we wandered out towards the pool and no sooner did we reach the pool than the buzzer went off.
The restaurant has a neat feel to it but it was loud and bustling. If you want quiet and relaxation this is not the place to go. Try Jiko next door, it looked quiet and relaxing.
I think this is the largest and most diverse buffet I have ever seen in my life. I tried just about everything on the menu just to give it a shot. I thought the flavoring on much of the non-American fare to have a sweet and spicy (but not hot) flavor to it that I enjoyed thoroughly.
The soups were out of this world. I made one trip just for the soups – they had something like five that night. The squash and crab were my favorites. The Durban spiced chicken was awesome and I had three servings. The only thing I didn’t enjoy the entire evening was the watermelon rind salad that I’ve always heard raves about. Yuck! Not a single person in our group liked it. But that’s okay because it leaves more for the folks that do enjoy it.
For dessert the favorite for all ages were the Zebra Domes. The rest of the selections left a bit to be desired. The banana canolli had delicious fresh filling but stale crust, the cakes and cookies were dry and the puddings not sweet enough. We were surprised that a buffet that had hit a homerun with the entrées and side dishes could so thoroughly miss the boat on desserts. But like I said, the Zebra Domes were loved by all so we really didn’t need any other desserts.
The service was very good and we will do this again. Maybe not next trip but we will do it some time again. We’d give it 3½ out of 5.
Saturday 5/19
Lunch Pizzafari: Normally I eat at Tusker House when I’m in AK and that was what I had planned but we just finished FOLK and were famished. It was only a couple minutes after 11:00 so there wasn’t much of a line. Unfortunately, once you pay the service is like molasses. They even got the order wrong and we had to get it corrected. But it was okay. Once we got our food we ate in the empty dining room with the four seasons. It was really relaxing. By the time we left there were another half dozen tables full.
I had a cheese pizza, DH pepperoni and we both got frozen lemonade for dessert. The pizza was piping hot and just out of the oven (maybe that’s what took so long) and tasted pretty good. They actually had a decent amount of cheese which is sometimes a rarity when you get those personal pizzas. And there wasn’t too much sauce. I had heard the DDP would include a salad with this meal but it did not. That was fine because we ended up full instead of over-stuffed.
DD got the kids’ meal with PB&J, applesauce, and chocolate pudding and was a member of the clean plate club. I know a lot of people don’t like the new kids selections but my DD is going through a stage where she only wants to eat certain things so the meals offered worked fine for us.
We give it 3½ out of 5.
Dinner Cape May 5:40: We checked in at 5:30 and were told they would call us when ready. No sooner had we sat down than we were called. On our way to the table we were walked through the buffet. The atmosphere is charming and the food was excellent.
Of course I gorged myself on steamed clams and mussels. DH does not like seafood but there was more than enough on this buffet for him. At the end of the week this was one of his top three meals for the week. So if you have a non-seafood lover, don’t have any fear.
They also have a kid section with chicken fingers, pizza, and mac and cheese for kids.
I do find it unusual they call it a clam bake and yet there are only steamed clams on the menu. But maybe it’s me and my experience at clam bakes has been different than the definition of a New England clam bake. It doesn’t matter because the food was excellent and I was pleased.
In addition to the clams I also enjoyed a pretty wide variety of fresh fruit, pasta, and chicken. I thought the ribs were very good and the meat just fell off the bone. The sauce was sweet but not too much and I had seconds of those as well. Their pasta dish of the day (I forgot what it was called) was fantastic – it was a penne pasta in cheese sauce with seafood in it. Yum.
For dessert we tried a little bit of everything with the key lime tart being my favorite, DH like the brownie, and DD loved the chocolate chip cookie. We literally rolled out of there and DH complained all night long how he was uncomfortable from eating too much. That’ll show him to exercise some restraint.
I’d give it 4 out of 5 while DH thinks it was 4 ½ out of 5. Needless to say we'll be doing it next trip.
More to come.
Glad to hear that the ribs were good and that the other stuff was good too. 
