WHO DAT Dining Review w/Pics, ESPN,Jiko,Yachtsman,CRT,PSB,FF, Cajun Brkfst, Complete!

[donaldtutter]

Great review of Jiko!!

 

[shovan]

Yachtsman Steakhouse

We had eaten at Yachtsman on our last trip and absolutely loved it. So we were really looking forward to dining there again.

Unfortunately while still a good meal, it didn't hold up to our expectations.

Sorry, I forgot to take pictures here...

The restaurant seemed much louder than on our last visit. Since we had a 4yo with us, that was not necessarily a bad thing. Our server arrived at our table very quickly. We knew we'd be eating steak, so we ordered a bottle of wine, a beer for BIL and a glass of milk for our little princess.. The wine wasn't anything fancy, a Penfold Shiraz.

We order our appetizers & the meal for the 4yo. We wanted to keep her happy. She was given a placemat with colors and was keeping herself entertained with that.

I ordered the Ahi Tuna Tartare, notice a pattern here? DH chooses the Lobster Bisque. My SIL had the Caesar Salad and BIL wants to save room for his steak.

My niece's meal comes out quickly. It is Mickey Shaped Pasta & she is so excited with that! We had tried to prep her for a longer dining experience by telling her this was a "fancy" restaurant & that she needed to behave like a young lady. When her Mickey Pasta arrives, she tells my DH "Uncle Bob, did we come to this fancy restaurant, so that I could have this Mickey Pasta?!" Of course, he tells her we did pick that restaurant just so she could have the Mickey Pasta!
It turns out that the restaurant is so loud that she had no trouble behaving at all. In fact, she was much quieter than many of the adults around us.

Our appetizers arrive. My Tuna Tartare is good. However it was not plated as nicely as the last time I had it. On my last visit it was served on large plate with a lots of pita crisp breads surrounding it & watercress on top. It was very pretty. This time is comes all alone in a bowl. Not very impressive looking, it taste good but I'm missing the chips.
DH has the Lobster Bisque which was good, but not as hot as it should have been. SIL Caesar Salad is just a small plain Caesar Salad. Not bad but nothing special.

DH & I decide to share the NY Strip with Brandy Pepper Sauce. I had it last time & it was huge and delicious. We ask for the Horseradish Potato that came with the Rib Eye instead of the Potatoes Au Gratin. BIL & SIL ask to share the Rib Eye with Red Wine Butter.

Our steaks arrive already split on separate plates. We have the Horseradish Potatoes we requested but they are cold. Our server doesn't return in time to send back the potatoes. BIL & SIL are less than impressed with their steak. They found it a bit too fatty. BIL doesn't like the red wine butter sauce, but that's just him. Maybe that we chose to share the steaks, made a difference in the quality. They looked as if they were split and then cooked. It just didn't seem as good as the last time.

We really just aren't having a very pleasant evening. The noise is distracting and the service is just okay. So, only our princess chooses dessert. Which I think was a brownie with ice cream. We finish our drinks while she eats her dessert. She really enjoyed it. I think she's the only one who thoroughly enjoyed her meal. She said at the end of the meal "I really like this fancy restaurant with the Mickey Pasta!" That made it quite worthwhile!! So, while not the best dining experience for all, her enjoyment made everyone happy!

On this trip I can only rate Yachtsman Steakhouse with a 3 Who Dats for food, 3 for service and a 3 for atmosphere. Although, I would give it a 4 or maybe a 5 rating for "Signature" dining with kids. If you are in the mood for something a little nicer, a good steak & you have kids along, I'd say Yachtsman is a still a good choice. Even without kids, I'm not ready to rule out Yachtsman yet. Since we are DVC members and this is our "home" resort, we will probably visit again. Our first visit was so good and this time wasn't awful. I think we'll have to give them one more shot.

 

[TigerKat]

Your love for your princess shines so brightly throughout everything you write!

 

[D&R love Disney]

Great report so far. That filet at Jiko is so yummy. I'm not a big fan of red wine but the reduction combined with the mac & cheese and steak is to die for.

 

[lucas]

Thanks for posting. I'm really enjoying your report!

 

[shovan]

Your love for your princess shines so brightly throughout everything you write!

I know... I hope I don't make anyone nauseous, I'm so over the top with her! And I haven't even done the Princess Dining Meals yet!!!

Great report so far. That filet at Jiko is so yummy. I'm not a big fan of red wine but the reduction combined with the mac & cheese and steak is to die for.

As you've read, I do like red wine! But "to die for" are my thoughts exactly on that dish. Just thinking about it, is making me hungry!

Thanks for posting. I'm really enjoying your report!

I'm glad you're enjoying it!!

I'm going to go work on my CRT lunch review now. That will be next.

 

[oybolshoi]

Sorry to hear about Yachtsman not living up to expectations - seems like that's the consensus around here lately, which really bums me out because my hubby and I have yet to make it over there to give it a try. We were thinking of hitting it in October when we head back for F&W... now I just don't know....

Anyway, I've enjoyed your reviews and pictures and am looking forward to more!

 

[shovan]

Sorry to hear about Yachtsman not living up to expectations - seems like that's the consensus around here lately, which really bums me out because my hubby and I have yet to make it over there to give it a try. We were thinking of hitting it in October when we head back for F&W... now I just don't know....
Anyway, I've enjoyed your reviews and pictures and am looking forward to more!

Thanks! As I mentioned, I'm not ready to right them off yet! We'll may give them another chance. We'll be back in Oct. for F&W too! Can't wait for that!

 

[shovan]

Cinderella's Royal Table Lunch

We have a 1:05 p.m. ADR for our lunch. We arrive about a half hour early, so we can change the little one into her princess dress. She insisted on wearing her Ariel Bride Dress, because "It's the prettiest & fanciest dress I have. And I need to be dressed fancy to see Cinderella!"

There is a huge crowd surrounding the desk. I sort of have to fight my way to the check-in desk. I give them our name & they tell us to wait outside. Apparently from talking with everyone else waiting, we are all going to be brought in at once. We wait about 10 minutes and they open the doors for the large group waiting to enter. We are all brought into the Castle "waiting & picture" area. The room is nice and very "Castle-like".

A male Cast Member comes in and starts to explain the way this is going to work. This man is so unbelievably rude. First of all, he is literally yelling. Then he starts with "You people are going to have to pay attention! Even if you do pay attention, you will probably only get about 10% of what I'm trying to tell you." !!!! Yes, he actually said this! He continues to loudly explain that we are to wait in line for Cinderella to come in and take our pictures. Then we will be given a ticket & must wait to be called up to go upstairs to eat. He says "You must have this ticket to be seated! If you do not have the ticket it is 40 steps upstairs and 40 steps back down & 40 steps back up again! You can not be seated with out this ticket!" Okay, okay we get it!

We are not liking the way is going. However, our little Princess is thrilled just to be in the Castle!

We wait about 10 minutes for Cinderella to come in to start the picture taking. Two different CM's are handling the picture taking & the rude guy is back out at the desk. Thank Goodness! The picture taking takes about 20 minutes and goes well. My niece is so excited to meet Cinderella! Cinderella takes just a minute to chat with the children, but they move this along pretty quickly.

Our Princess with Cinderella

 

[doodle]

Thanks so much for the great reviews.

I hate to hear that the first CM at CRT was so rude. I can imagine he has lots of challenges dealing with the crush of everyone there to see the Princesses but really he has to get a grip!!

So glad the next 2 CMs were kinder! Looking forward to reading how the meal goes.

Thanks again.

 

[TigerKat]

She just gets more beautiful with every picture you post!!

 

[shovan]

CRT Lunch continued:

We are given our dining ticket and are now supposed to wait to be "announced" to head upstairs. The CM announcing the families has an accent, combined with using a speaker, she can barely be understood. After waiting about 20 minutes to be called, we check with her to see if we just didn't hear our name. No, she says you haven't been called yet. We wait about another 10 minutes, I go check again. She tells me that since we have a wheelchair in our party, it's going to take longer for a table to open up. Okay, I understand that. I did have them make a note of this when making the ADR, I called to double check that it was noted. I also informed them at the check-in desk.

We wait more. Our Princess is now eating snacks we had with us, she's hungry. She also getting pretty fidgety & all of us are just annoyed. I check again and am told the same line. I wait another 5 minutes and pass the CM who is handling this inside to go back out to the check in desk. I explain how long we have been waiting. They try to tell me the same line about the wheelchair. They also tell me they have no control over this. That they have to wait until it is keyed in from the dining room.. I have to insist that they call up to the dining room to find out the problem. They begrudgingly do so. No explanation or apology offered , but we are called within 5 minutes. Finally, we are headed up in the elevator!

 

[shovan]

more CRT:

Magically, when we step out of the elevator upstairs, everything changes! Our princess is handed a Princess Wand. However, she sees the Swords they have for boys. She asks if she can have a sword instead! We are flabbergasted by her request! This child is so into "all things Princess"! She tells us she wants to be a Pirate Princess today! After the long wait, she's still behaving, we aren't going to tempt fate with a discussion of wands or swords!!!

We are seated immediately. Our server is at the table right away. He addresses the adults as either "Me, Lord or Me, Lady" and my niece as "Princess". Very neat. He takes our drink orders and says he will bring out the Chef's Tasting Platter right away. He brings out the drinks and the Tasting Platter very quickly.

The Tasting Platter he brings out has an Italian style salad with olives, cheese & prosciutto, and a chicken breast with pesto sauce. The salad looks slightly wilted but actually taste pretty good. Remember, we are all pretty hungry by this time. The cheese and prosciutto is very good. The chicken breast is very moist and tender. The pesto sauce with it, is good but nothing special. Our only real gripe with this dish, was that it wasn't quite large enough for 4 adults to share.

The Tasting Platter

 

[shovan]

CRT Lunch continued:

Our server is just great! He stayed "in character" during the whole meal, using "Old English" and a British accent. It really added to the experience of dining in the Castle.

Our meals are brought out. Our Princess had her usual pasta, which came in the Mickey Plate. That continues to make her happy! It came with salad and fruit.

SIL and myself ordered the Herb-Crusted Pork Tenderloin. This came with cheese grits, crispy onions on top and a cabernet sauce. This was a surprisingly excellent dish! I have to say, I had read not great reviews on the food at CRT, so my expectations weren't very high. But, this was really good. The pork was herb-crusted and you could really taste all of the herbs. It was very moist and tender. I don't know what they did to those grits but they were yummy!! The cabernet sauce went great with the pork & the grits. It was also a lot of food, especially for lunch! The picture does not look all that appetizing but I promise, it was really good.

Herb-Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Cheese Grits

 

[Enchanted Tiki Bird]

I'm really enjoying your review. Too bad about the rude CM at CRT.

 

[lucas]

I don't know what they did to those grits but they were yummy!!

I had the cheese grits with the blackened catfish at the Coral Reef and the grits were fantastic there, too! Really, really good!

 

[dbmarie]

Our only real gripe with this dish, was that it wasn't quite large enough for 4 adults to share.

I agree my poor DH didn't get any of the appetizer when we went in December. I'm sorry to hear about the check-in at CRT we also found that the experience in the lobby was lacking.

 

[shovan]

I agree my poor DH didn't get any of the appetizer when we went in December. I'm sorry to hear about the check-in at CRT we also found that the experience in the lobby was lacking.

Your poor DH!

You know after writing about the experience at CRT, I am going to write a letter to WDW guest relations. It really was bad, so un-Disney!!!

Thanks to all for reading! I'm working on the rest of it, but my computer ate everything I typed yesterday afternoon. Although I'm sure it was actually a short between the computer & the computer operator!

 

[DisneyJo]

Great reviews so far.

Can't believe the CM was so rude everyone pays alot of money to dine there and you don't expect that (there again it shouldn't happen at the cheapest place either ) We are dining there in August but I have a 12.05pm ADR so hopefully there should be no wait!

Can't wait for Akershus, booked that too.

 

[shovan]

CRT Lunch continued:

My DH chose the Salmon for his meal. The salmon was seared and placed on top of a bed of risotto and asparagus. It had a lemon beurre blanc sauce surrounding it. I'm not a fan of salmon, often find it too fishy, especially if it's not really fresh. My hubby was raving about it, so of course I had to taste it! The fish tasted very fresh, moist not dried out, very flavorful. The risotto was listed as a Saffron-Crab Risotto, it was good but we couldn't taste the crab in it. The sauce was really delicious. It made the dish! He really enjoyed it. This was also a generous sized serving for lunch. We were all pretty full, even before dessert!

Pan-Seared Salmon with Risotto