What Are the Quietest Restaurants?

[tarheelmjfan]

We just got back last night, & I'm planning again. Unfortunately, the noise level in most restaurants was deafening. I know it's Disney... blah, blah..., but that doesn't make the noise more tolerable. We were seated in the Bamboo Room at HBD, which was nice after the non-stop, roaring dinosaur, in the area next to ours, left. Sci-fi was also a pleasant surprise. We were there for lunch, & it was the quietest meal we had. After my DH told them we'd be willing to wait for a quieter location, the host at Flying Fish set us in a small room in the back. The people seated in our section were considerate of others & kept the conversation confined to their table, but the noise from the main room bled into the area we sat in. So, which restaurants can you actually hear the person next to you w/o needing to yell? We don't care where it's located, as long as it's on WDW property, & we don't use DDP. We just want a nice meal that's a little quieter.

BTW, kudos to the parents that quiet their children when they get too loud, & remind them that they need to sit in their seats at dinner. We experienced this twice. I wish there was more parents like you.

ETA: Before anyone suggests it, V&A is a no brainer. I'm looking for other places to dine. Thanks again

 

[KatMark]

We just got back last night, & I'm planning again. Unfortunately, the noise level in most restaurants was deafening. I know it's Disney... blah, blah..., but that doesn't make the noise more tolerable. We were seated in the Bamboo Room at HBD, which was nice after the non-stop, roaring dinosaur left. Sci-fi was also a pleasant surprise. We were there for lunch, & it was the quietest meal we had. After my DH told them we'd be willing to wait for a quieter location, the host at Flying Fish set us in a small room in the back. The people seated in our section were considerate of others & kept the conversation confined to their table, but the noise from the main room bled into the area we sat in. So, which restaurants can you actually hear the person next to you w/o needing to yell? We don't care where it's located, as long as it's on WDW property, & we don't use DDP. We just want a nice meal that's a little quieter.

BTW, kudos to the parents that correct their children when they get too loud, & remind them that they need to sit in their seats at dinner. We experienced this twice. I wish there was more parents like you.

I don't know that you will find many "quiet" restaurants except perhaps the Signature Restaurants and I can't offer any suggestions on those because we don't go.

Also, I don't think you should "limit" your comments to "kids" who are too loud. We have often sat by many adults who thought they were the only ones in the room and talked louder than crying babies.

 

[SnowWtch]

We don't do Signature restaurants so I can't comment on those but every place we do go usually gets loud. The only one that didn't was WCC for a late lunch since there weren't many people there and at CP during the 3 o'clock parade.

 

[Texian@WDW]

If memory serves, Mama Melrose, Brown Derby, LTT, Beaches and Cream, Afternoon Tea at GF, Boatwright's, Garden Grill (booth) and Nine Dragons seemed pretty tame. I'm thinking The GF Cafe will be calm and maybe Yek and Yati, I'll find out next month!

 

[KatMark]

If memory serves, Mama Melrose, Brown Derby, LTT, Beaches and Cream, Afternoon Tea at GF, Boatwright's, Garden Grill (booth) and Nine Dragons seemed pretty tame. I'm thinking The GF Cafe will be calm and maybe Yek and Yati, I'll find out next month!

I would eliminate Boatwright's from your list. We ate there last year for dinner (which was also one of the worse meals we have ever had at Disney) and we couldn't even hear ourselves think, let talk to each other across the table...and it was just DH and me. Between the loud people in the restaurant, being so close to the food court and the piano player, it was a nightmare.

 

[Kathy C]

We've found Jiko at Animal Kingdom Lodge to be one of the most quiet. We had a 6 o'clock ressie and there were very few kids. Artist Point has also been pretty quiet when we've been there. Honestly though, I don't Disney is the place to look for quiet meals.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Also, I don't think you should "limit" your comments to "kids" who are too loud.

Sorry, I didn't realize I was doing that. Larger groups of adults can be very loud. I was simply giving a shout out to the parents we ate by at FF & LCdF. Adults should know how to behave in public, so I didn't think it was necessary to say "thank you" to the adults who kept the noise level down. As a side note, regardless of how old they are or where they're dining at, noone should be allowed to roar non-stop.

If memory serves, Mama Melrose, Brown Derby, LTT, Beaches and Cream, Afternoon Tea at GF, Boatwright's, Garden Grill (booth) and Nine Dragons seemed pretty tame. I'm thinking The GF Cafe will be calm and maybe Yek and Yati, I'll find out next month!

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I'll definitely book the afternoon tea. We're also returning to HBD. It was by far our best meal.

We've found Jiko at Animal Kingdom Lodge to be one of the most quiet. We had a 6 o'clock ressie and there were very few kids. Artist Point has also been pretty quiet when we've been there. Honestly though, I don't Disney is the place to look for quiet meals.

Thanks for the input. We do love AP, but chose FF this time, because it was close to the hotel. Our earlier meals at FF have been very good. The last one wasn't. We will choose AP over FF in the future. I've heard great things about Jiko, but avoided it due to it being out of the way. I'll have to get it more thought.

 

[disnut8]

Everyone's idea of "quiet" is going to be different, unfortunately. It's like with resort rooms. It all depends on your neighbors. If you are seated next to a party of four and one is celebrating a birthday and all of the group are toasting every five minutes, you aren't going to have a quiet dinner. But if you are seated next to a party of four who are having a quick dinner and want to get back out to the attractions, you'll have a quieter dinner.

 

[Babsicles]

My husband and I went to Narcoosees (sp?) last June and we had a great time. Food was wonderful, atmosphere was great. We were able to have normal dinner conversation, and this was right at the last week of June, so it was a busy time of year. HTH

 

[ClareH37]

I've always found the GF Cafe to be a wonderfully relaxing dining experience


Also, Yacht Club Galley (now the Captains Grill) and Artist Point.

 

[jbdreamer]

I like Artist Point. Very peaceful.

 

[psindone]

The Yaghtsmen Steak house at the Beach and Yaght Club is a nice place.
There are some children but not a full house. Most times when there has been a family the parents keep them pretty much in check. I guess they want a nice dinner also and for the price they are going to pay they want to enjoy it.

 

[Princess_Dot]

Ask to sit in the whine room at Jiko. This was the quietest meal I have ever had on Disney property. It was excellent food and quite relaxing.

 

[Pakey]

We are also 2 adults constantly looking for those places that are a bit quieter. Those on our list are:

Bistro de Paris, bluezoo at the Dolphin, Artist Point, Jiko and Citricos. We book LATE dinners. Bistro is the only one that has always been quiet but the others tend to be better than FF, CG, Narcoosees or any of the 1 TS places.

If you are looking for quieter places for lunch, you need to move away from the parks. Olivias at OKW and Portabello Yacht Club at DTD has been decent for us for lunch. We mostly do CS lunches as we've given up on relaxing mid day meal breaks.

 

[ElizabethB]

Wow. I can sympathize with the OP!

We have dined at all of the Signature Restaurants many times. They are all excessively noisy in our experience. Disney doesn't help either because most of the Signature Restaurants are designed around open kitchens which just exacerbates the noise. Among the quieter restaurants, in our experience, are Artist Point and Yachtsman Steakhouse. Grand Floridian Cafe can also be somewhat quieter if you go late.

Ultimately, of course, it all depends on who you are seated by. But, as a guideline, restaurants to avoid at all costs if you don't like noise: California Grill (an absolute zoo), Flying Fish (open kitchen, too many famililes), Jiko (too many families with tired kids since dining options are few and far between at Animal Kingdom Lodge), Citricos (shockingly noisy the night we were there), Brown Derby (packed with kids and people who couldn't get one of the cheaper options for the Fantasmique dining package).

We find the best thing to do is go to dinner late -- 9 p.m. or later. By then, many families with children have eaten and gone. Or, at California Grill, we only go after the fireworks are over -- usually aroudn 10 pm.

Also, sometimes the restaurants over at the Swan Dolphin can be quieter, but that wholly depends on the convention crowds.

I agree adults can be noisy sometimes. The worst offenders in our experience are children and conventioneers. You can't get away from kids at the Signature Restaurants and it's very hard to avoid the conventioneers over a the Swan/Dolphin restaurants.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

You guys have convinced me that we should have returned to AP this trip instead of FF. It's definitely on the list for our next trip.

The Yaghtsmen Steak house at the Beach and Yaght Club is a nice place.
There are some children but not a full house. Most times when there has been a family the parents keep them pretty much in check. I guess they want a nice dinner also and for the price they are going to pay they want to enjoy it.

We've eaten at YSH several years ago, & didn't have a good experience. The atmosphere was very nice though. It sounds like the chef has changed since then, & it's gotten better. We'll have to consider giving it another try.

It's not kids we have a problem with. (We have one ourselves.) It's anyone who gets out of control & becomes too loud or obnoxious. As you noted, for a meal that expensive, everyone should be able to enjoy their tablemates & not have to yell at them. If anyone can't sit still & not speak in outside voices, they need to reserve the experience for a time when everyone in the party will be able to. When we eat at a character meal, we expect the walls to vibrate. When we pay $200 for a meal, we should be able to expect a pleasant experience, regardless of where the restaurant is located. It's called common courtesy & thinking of others, not only yourself.

Ask to sit in the whine room at Jiko. This was the quietest meal I have ever had on Disney property. It was excellent food and quite relaxing.

Thanks for the specific info on seating. We'll definitely request that, when we eat at Jiko.