What WDW restaurant surprised you the most on your last trip?

[Mheato]

negative was the same for us, really wanted to like Morimoto but it wasnt a good experience. Indifferent server, sat next to the wait station at a small table listenede to the taff argue. Food reminded me of PF changs, I like pf changs but expected more here.

Positive was the yachtsmen, I heard it was good but the steak was awesome!

 

[Tigger's ally]

My surprise would have been The Plaza. While it is not gourmet food by any means, we enjoyed it. We have had problems finding anything in the MK that we could rely on to be a good wholesome lunch as we usually eat an early lunch and signature dinner (we usually don't do breakfast). My wife had the meatloaf and I had the Beef Brisket Burger and we shared. Service was good and they actually had real good Iced Tea which is something I haven't found a lot of down there. Ate early lunch there and had late dinner at Yachtsman and it was a perfect day for us.

 

[Chaoticsweetness]

Best one on our trip, hands down, was Chef Art Smith's Homecoming. The food was amazing & the service was on point.

We had an amazing brunch at Narcoossee's & had an amazing cast member named Jeffrey, he went over & beyond to accommodate my sister & I.

Morimoto Asia was delicious, I loved their lo mein.

I didn't have any negative experiences in any restaurant on our last trip.

 

[Best_Vacation_EVER!]

For our trip in May:

Good - The Boathouse - Our first meal there was so good we tweaked our ADRs and went back twice more and each time was equally wonderful.

Bad - House of Blues (yeah I know... HOB isn't exactly great cuisine but we've be coming yearly since 1998 and every meal has been either good or something in the meal was good.) Our May 2016 trip (there were 3 of us on DxDDP) and everything (Appetizers, mains, desserts for all 3 of us) was either cold, flavourless, or dry. Server seemed pretty disinterested. We weren't expecting greatness but we were expecting edibility --- and they totally failed on this. Doubt we'll ever go back.

 

[CabesLove]

Positive- La Hacienda de San Angel. It was never really on our radar and I'd heard mixed reviews...but it was one of the few restaurants in WS available for a last minute reservation, so my husband and I decided to give it a shot for date night. It ended up being one of the best meals we've had at Disney. Food was great and our server was awesome.

Negative- Garden Grill used to be a favorite, but I think we're done after our last trip. Price has gone up, food wasn't as great as it used to be, and with the exception of one sweet gesture from a character...the interaction wasn't great. Just not worth it anymore for us.

 

[olliesmom]

Positive: La Hacienda de San Angel. It was a hit with the entire family, food was delicious, very fresh, and a beautiful restaurant! It will be on our "must-do" list from now on every trip. If you go, try one of the paradilla platters for two!

Negative: Narcoossee's. We've tried it twice and had only average experiences both times. Not worth the price for us.

 

[ncc1701]

A positive GFC for lunch . Our last visit 2 years ago was so-so. The food was ok, took forever to come out in a restaurant not even half full and service was bad. Decided to give it another go this year and were very glad we did. Food was very good as was our server and the food came out in a resonably period of time.
Another positive carried over from last year was Capt. Grille. We have done lunch and have enjoyed our meals but the servers & delivery times were slow. This year & last we have noticed an improvement in time to get the food and the server's performance.
Only negative was a smaller portion of fish in the fish&chips at Cooke's . Still a decent size for the price but not much leftover for DH to eat

 

[MrsZ]

DH and I were surprised by the Boathouse and Jock Lindsey's. We were concerned that they wouldn't live up to the hype. We had dinner at the boathouse and I was licking the plate clean. Jock Linsey's was for lunch and some drinks. The drinks were great, and the apps were more than enough to share. The outdoor patio made for a great view while we are too!

 

[Corbinator]

Positive: I had heard the foods at Hoop de Doo were just ok...but we left so full, so satisfied, so delighted at the quality it really suprised us how much more we enjoyed it. Not sure if this was an exception or a permanent change at Hoop but we had corn with a spoon, not corn cobs. Salad was delicious. Ribs were tender not overdone. Chicken was amazing. Potatoes are real. Cornbread seemed fresh. Dessert was huge and tasty. And the drinks were flowing. We had Allyn as a server, and he was incredible. Took care of our every need. We were expecting disappointing foods with a big bill but even my picky husband agreed we got a great experience for the money.

Negative: right around the corner from Pioneer Hall at the takeout window it was 10 minutes before they would give me a Sprite. I was the only person at the window. The lady tending bar was helping people seated at the bar, people at the bar wanting takeaway, and people at the outdoor window. Get some extra help before the Hoop shows!! I was through the lines with trays of food at places like Casey's at 2:30 before a parade faster than that!!

 

[luvmarypoppins]

We just got back on Oct. 22 and I would say...

Positive - Skippers Canteen. It was our first time here and we all really liked it. Some of the portions are not that huge. But the food was pretty good. e desserts were on the small side.

Negative - Garden Grove Character Breakfast. We always eat here but not really for the characters, more for the food. This was the first time I was a little disappointed with our dining experience. The danish was stale, they ran out of blueberries but restocked them, the raspberries were on the mushy side. Our server kept forgetting the butter I requested and I ended up stacking the plates on our table since she didnt come all that often to clean them up. And then character wise they had Goofy and Pluto. Goofy did take 1 picture with us. It didnt come out well and when he came by again we asked him to stop but he just kept on going. I guess at 11 am, its union quitting time. Pluto never even came to our table. If we had kids I would have been really disappointed in the experience, but I must say since we have been there several times already, this really was not the normal good interaction we have witnessed before.

 

[L&Lfan]

Cape May Cafe: absolutely lousy food and the crab legs were a joke.

We were surprised at how much we enjoyed Captain's Grille for breakfast. The lobster omelet, cheesy grits and Bloody Marys were fabulous!

 

[Mousetopia]

Boatwrights! I have seen such mixed reviews and complaints about service and it was fantastic! On the down side way tooo loud for nice
dining. Later I learned it is huge and there are quieter looking areas I would request. Service seating us and waitstaff was spot on. I had
the shrimp and cheesy grits...this dish made my eyes roll back on my head wow wow yummmmmm wow! lol We went for our first night and it was a great start!


On the unhappy surprise side was Prime Time. We were stuffed in a corner on a bench seat with other diners and had a waiter that was all business and no show. The pot roast was mediocre at best..ends were burnt, small serving. Not the place of my memories.

 

[PrincessTess]

Booked a last minute ressie for Whispering Canyon Cafe.... we all agreed it was a new "must do" spot for us. Definitely a pleasant surprise we weren't expecting more than a "meh" for.

 

[samsteele]

Positive: Mama Melrose at HS. I had read some good reviews on the Boards recently but had never gone thinking I can get good Italian in my home city. However, it wasn't just good, it was excellent. Tasty calamari appetizer. Very good steak. Wonderful cannoli. Even the bread & olive oil plate was great. Best wait service of my vacation. I also really loved the quirky decor & atmosphere. The Fantasmic Pkg was a great deal with the included appetizer.

My server told me that while the restaurant is physically expected to survive the park's transformation, the latest skinny is that it will have a radical theme & menu change. As in no longer Mama Melrose. So sad if true because I had just discovered MM & it may well be gone & under construction for my next trip. I suggested that the entire restaurant including menu & staff be plunked down into the shell that is Tony's at MK. She laughed. I prayed.

 

[Oneanne]

Brown Derby... hadn't eaten there in 6+ years due to a couple experiences with poor service both at check-in and table-side. Was tired, hot and getting hangry, so started aiming for the front of the park to head over to EPCOT and thought I'd just pop in and see what was available. They said 30, maybe 20 minutes, but by then I was seduced by the air conditioning and decided to sit and wait. It was less than 10: I had the crab cakes and the green salad with apples and both were divine and the perfect thing to have for a hot afternoon lunch. It turned out to be the eating high light of my trip.

 

[thelittlemermaid2]

Kona Cafe! We are huge Ohana fans and I was very sad that the family decided to try Kona instead of Ohana this year (No free dining means cost becomes a factor again, how annoying), but I was extremely satisfied with it! The food was amazing

 

[Kirstie Harris]

Positive: whispering canyon cafe was a first for us and we are now hooked! Loved the atmosphere and loved the skillet! We are going back during our December trip!

Positive: 1900 Park Fare Breakfast, we absolutely loved the food and enjoyed the characters!

Negative: Ohana, we still enjoyed it but we did not love it near as much as we did when we had gone in the past. It seemed like the meat was not as good and the service was only so so and we had to wait a long while past our ADR time. Needless to say we are skipping it on our upcoming trip!

 

[Clarissa McDaniel]

We tried Coral Reef for the first time. We were not impressed at all. We won't go back. Menu was limited. Food was mediocre. Atmosphere didn't live up to its expectations. It wasn't horrible; just nothing special. I was thinking it would be a wonderful experience so I guess that's what made it more disappointing.

 

[speeb]

Just got back last night.

Buffets: H&V was really pretty good at dinner time. I was so nervous, but it was a good meal and the kids loved the characters in their Halloween gear.

Tusker House was disappointing. Maybe it was because my wife and I had eaten at Sanaa the night before or because I was in a really off mood (lost my mom and made the decision to go to dinner without her). I couldn't even eat the curried cous cous salad... Curry isn't meant to be eaten cold. Everything else was just ok. Except the fliurless chocolate cake. That was amazing. I was bummed because I was pretty hyped for that meal. Oh, the mashed pap was delicious.

Non-Buffet: Be Our Guest breakfast. I didn't expect much based on the very mixed reviews, but we loved it. Except the kids crêpes. Those were gross, like there was no sweetness to the crêpe.

 

[wnwardii]

I was at WDW 2 weeks ago.

I had heard a lot of great things about the breakfast at Kona Cafe. Even in this thread I am seeing positive things. For me, that was probably my least favorite breakfast my entire trip. It's not that the food was bad, there was nothing really special about it. To be honest, I did not get the Tonga Toast. So maybe if I had gotten that, I would have had a different experience.

But on the flip side, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked the non-buffet at The Wave at the Contemporary. Ate there 2 different mornings, one with an ADR and one without. Loved both of the things I ate. The buffet looked really good, but I was wanting to limit a little on what I was eating and wanted to try some other options.