Which Signature Dining would you choose?

[HeyMardie]

I'm taking a Disney trip in November with my foodie boyfriend who's never been to the World before! (I have been many times, though never without kids and never with this budget.) Here's the thing: We have time for 6 dinners, but 8 choices to narrow down! So out of these choices, which two would you leave out? (We're already planning to go to Victoria & Alberts, California Grill, & Jiko - those are definites.) It's just the two of us - no kids. And we'll tailor our days' activities around the evening meals, so location isn't a concern.

The choices: Il Mulino, Flying Fish, Artist Point, Citricos, Narcoosee's, Shula's, the Dining Room at Wolfgang Puck, and Bluezoo. How do you leave two of these out?? Yes, we're going all out on this trip - I'm beyond excited. Thanks for your advice!

 

[JLS]

OK, I am a bit confused. You said you have time for 6 dinners and you are going to Ca Grille, Jiko and V&A for sure... so doesn't that leave you with only 3 dinners left to choose from?

Anyway, assuming you may have meant that you had 6 dinners in addition to the 3 "for sures," you are looking to leave out two of these: Il Mulino, Flying Fish, Artist Point, Citricos, Narcoosee's, Shula's, the Dining Room at Wolfgang Puck, and Bluezoo.

Tough choice but I would definitely keep Flying Fish and Bluezoo above the others. I really enjoyed Artist Pointe the one time I dined there so I would probably keep that. The other choices come down to food preference: would you rather have a fancy Italian meal (Il Mulino) or go to a steakhouse (Shulas). How many seafood places do you want to go to? etc.

For my taste I would eliminate Wolfgang Puck and Shulas. WP because I am just not that enamored with anything he does. I have found it good but not great. And Shula's because I am not that into eating at steakhouses, I prefer other kinds of food and I almost always order seafood when I go out.

Are you doing the Deluxe Dining Plan? If you haven't considered it, it sounds like it might be a really good value for you since you are eating at all of these signature places. Obviously you could not use credits for V&A or Bluezoo or Shulas or Il Mulino, but then you could eliminate a couple of those. You can also get Restaurant.com certificates for Shulas and Il Mulino.

 

[JohnNYC]

Definitely skip Shula's since you are from New York and can get a high quality steak in any number of places (and the atmosphere is nothing special). I feel the same way about Il Mulino - in NY, you have your pick of fine Italian dining, including the original (I think) Il Mulino!

 

[HeyMardie]

Thank you! And oops - sorry for the confusion. We'll actually be there for ten nights - three are taken up with V&A, CG, and Jiko, one we'll probably just do at a theme park, and the other six would be from that pool I listed. We are most definitely doing the dining plan! It won't help us everywhere but will definitely make a dent, especially for lunches.

John, excellent point about Shula's & Il Mulino - we do have pretty much the same thing in New York. Frankly, that would probably apply to most restaurants, though New York places don't come with Disney magic.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

I would leave out Artist Point and Narcoosee's.

 

[Sweet Melissa]

Wow, you've got some great choices there. I think the easiest for me to skip would be Narcoossee's. It's very good, but still it's the weakest of Disney's signature restaurants, in my opinion.

We've never been to Wolfgang Puck because we can't seem to work up much excitement for it. We're trying Citricos and Il Mulino for the first time on our next visit, so I can't comment on those either. All of the others are fantastic. I don't envy your predicament. Okay, maybe I do a little. "Oh, woe is me! There are too many outstanding meals from which to choose!"

 

[JimmyV]

I agree with John for the exact same reasons. Not only do you have restaurants "like" Il Mulino and Shula's in NYC. You have those exact same restaurants in NYC. The Il Mulino in NYC is a bit different, but the Shula's is pretty much the same. If you are looking for Disney magic (and who isn't), these two have the least of all the places on your list.

From a culinary standpoint, if I were to eliminate two, I would lean toward Artist Point and Shula's. The former because I have only been moderatley impressed by my meals there and the latter because I am not a "steakhouse" guy, which is admittedly a purely subjective reason. When I dine out, I tend to favor places that use interesting ingredients and inventive techniques. Steakhouses just don't do it for me. But if you really love a good steak, I have no complaints whatsoever with the food that Shula's puts out.

 

[Pakey]

Although I am not a steak eater, for same reasons as JimmyV, I would still pick Shulas over Narcoosees and Artist Point. Narcoosees will be very disappointing after Flying Fish and especially after bluezoo. Artist Point has just never done it for me. So those are the two I would skip.

 

[OhThePain]

Definitely skip Shula's since you are from New York and can get a high quality steak in any number of places (and the atmosphere is nothing special). I feel the same way about Il Mulino - in NY, you have your pick of fine Italian dining, including the original (I think) Il Mulino!

I agree with John for the exact same reasons. Not only do you have restaurants "like" Il Mulino and Shula's in NYC. You have those exact same restaurants in NYC. The Il Mulino in NYC is a bit different, but the Shula's is pretty much the same. If you are looking for Disney magic (and who isn't), these two have the least of all the places on your list.

I agree with both John and Jimmy. Not only do you have the same restaurants where you are, but neither the Swan or Dolphin are Disney Resorts. Yes, food wise they are better than most your other choices, but you don't need to travel to Florida to enjoy them.

On a side note, and I know you didn't ask, but Flying Fish now offers a Chef's Wine Tasting Dinner if your budget allows it. It's a 5-course meal with wine pairings and you sit at the counter and watch the chef's prepair and talk about each meal (as I understand it). From what i have seen and heard, it looks amazing. My girlfriend and I love FF and we just booked the tasting dinner for October (after tax and gratuity it came out to $157 per person). Since Shula's and Il Mulino are a bit more expensive than the other signatures, skipping them might help work the tasting dinner into your budget. Just some food for thought.

If you are up to going out after your FF meal (wine tasting or otherwise) make sure to head over to Jellyroll's (a dueling piano bar) for a few drinks and a whole lot of singing.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

From another NYer, agreed. I would skip Shulas. Dh and I went there in December, the bill was $$, nothing special except for being seated across from Hank Aaron.

Il Mulino - smells really good but you can get great Italian food at home in NY

Narcoossees- went here last year for our anniv. Horrible experience, not so good food, not on our list for sure this time.

We are going in a few weeks and we are trying Citricos and Flying Fish this time.

 

[JimmyV]

I should have also added that based purely on food, Narcoossee's is the other one I would skip. I mentioned Shula's because of the steakhouse issue which is purely personal. But foodwise, I have never been happy with the Quality/Price Ratio (QPR) of Narcoossee's.