Why Don't People Like Brown Derby? Should I Dump it for another Signature?

[larryz]

It's our favorite TS in DHS. We're sched to hit it for FDP this December, and we'll pay OoP (saving our double TS credit for Yachtsman).

The seared ahi was great; the kids like the noodles with coconut fried tofu, and we all like the grapefruit cake!

 

[cdtommie]

Up until a couple of years ago we used to go to the Derby for lunch every trip, but then in typical Disney fashion they jacked up all the entrees (except for the cobb salad)
through the roof. I used to order the tuna cobb (it was around $17)...next time we came in it was $20, then the next time $24...now the have the same menu for lunch and dinner. So we haven't been there in a couple of years. It's really a shame because it was one of the few places with a decent beer selection and you could have a nice lunch without paying dinner prices. Now we just drink our lunch at Tune-In since BD is the only restaurant we can recommend at DHS.

I don't think we'll ever return unless it is the will of Landru...

 

[sleepydog25]

The grapefruit cake used to be delicious. It made BD a must-do restaurant for us. They would even provide the recipe on a derby-shaped card, if asked.

A few years ago, they quit making it on site and out-sourced it to some third party frozen food bakery. The cake is now frozen rather than fresh and has some kind of nominally edible covering around the outside edge, which no doubt helps to keep it fresh but does not taste good at all.

Since then, the grapefruit cake hasn't been worth the bother. The other things on the menu are not interesting enough to lure us back.

I can't comment on the outsourcing of the grapefruit cake, but I totally agree about the current version of it. Ate at BD on my last trip and, overall, the food was solid if not spectacular. I was very much looking forward to the grapefruit cake which I hadn't eaten in over a year. To say it was a lackluster effort is too positive of a spin. It was bland and virtually unrecognizable to what I used to eat. This poster is correct in that the icing is now only "nominally edible," frankly as is the rest of the cake. I'm sure I'll eat there again at some point, but it's on the "perhaps at some time in the future" list now.

 

[jentre1963]

Had lunch there last December Not memorable No one in our party loved the food

 

[Iceman13]

No complaints here.

We have eaten at the Brown Derby twice and the last time was in 2009. The service and the food were great.

We are planning at trip in late 2010 and the Brown Derby was one of the first ADR that we made.

 

[Twende]

DD and I ate there a number of years ago and it was a incredible experience. There was great food that was well served. We loved the entire thing!

The following year we took the entire family and our meal at the Brown Derby was a complete disaster! We had PS (Priority Seating), what they used to call ADR's, yet we waited almost an hour to be seated.

Our waiter was anything but attentive. We asked for water right away so my parents could take some medications and although we asked repeatedly we never got the water! Alcoholic beverages were very slow but did finally appear. When our main meals showed up my mom's chicken dinner was literally raw and running with red fluids! It was disgusting.

It ruined the entire evening and we are very hesitant to try a meal there again. I could blame it all on the served but the raw chicken was not his fault although he should have noticed it when he served it!

 

[TinkerbellinLouisian]

I booked HBD F! Dining package OOP for 4:05p dinner on May 13th 2010...

I REALLY REALLY Wanted to LOVE HBD! But I didn't. I WILL give it one more try.....maybe it is 'hit and miss'.

Other DHS TS places I've eated at: H&V lunch & Dinner (4x) and 50's Prime Time. Haven't tried MM...that will be next visit.

I have pics... and will try to post.

I ordered the Crab Cake, Filet, and Grapefruit Cake.
DS18 ordered the Tuna Appy, Chicken and some sort of banana toffee cake.

DS said he liked my Crab Cake appy ( I didn't - too bready). DS didn't like his tuna appy (I ate it ..thought it was good but very interesting in it's presentation - the blue under the glass is edible and tastes like cotton candy). The Filet was meh... (Steaks I LOVE? CRT, Le Cellier, etc). DS's chicken looked dry. I'm NOT a sweets eater...but I LOVE LOVE Grapefruit...so thought I would LOVE the grapefruit cake...it was tasteless. DS seemed to LOVE his dessert....

Let me try to find pics...

((HUGS))
Mary

 

[TinkerbellinLouisian]

 

[TinkerbellinLouisian]

 

[OllieDannyandMe]

Thank you so much for posting this picture. I had been thinking that I might give the Brown Derby a try again, just to order the tuna appetizer. After seeing a picture of it, I will pass. It doesn't look appetizing, and I would have felt foolish spending two credits on the dining plan for that.

I am really disappointed that Brown Derby did away with the ahi tuna entree. That was one of the most outstanding meals I have ever had. And the servers on those two trips (2002 and 2003) were outstanding, too. The one in December 2008 was probably a nice person, but she was not strong in customer service skills. It is a shame that they combined the lunch and dinner menu into one. Unless the menu changes substantially, I will not be back. I will fondly remember the Brown Derby in its glory days, though.

 

[newdeal]

After reading this post IRS pretty clear to me that the reson people don't like this restaurant is because it should be a single credit restaurant and even though it's generally good it's not as good as the other signature restaurants

 

[TDC Nala]

In retrospect it appears Disney's decision to put a signature restaurant (and I don't mean signature in the sense that CRT is signature - that's for the location and atmosphere) inside a theme park was not the wisest - other than CRT and Bistro de Paris (which refuses to accept the dining plan), BD is the only signature restaurant inside a theme park. If BD became a 1-credit restaurant it wouldn't be as good as it is, but it would draw in the dining plan crowd more than it does. Not everyone at WDW is on the dining plan (in fact not everyone who posts to this forum uses the dining plan) and the restaurant appears to get good enough traffic to keep Disney from closing it and reinventing it as a 1-credit buffet or something. I really hope they don't change it over just because of the dining plan.

Besides CRT, BD is the only signature restaurant that serves lunch. Parkgoers usually don't want to take the time for a signature lunch. They want to eat and run back to the rides or whatever it is they have planned. Personally I like the place, but I don't usually have time to eat there.

I don't think we'll ever return unless it is the will of Landru...

Landru commands it...

 

[Debbie Jean]

Thank you so much for posting this picture. I had been thinking that I might give the Brown Derby a try again, just to order the tuna appetizer. After seeing a picture of it, I will pass. It doesn't look appetizing, and I would have felt foolish spending two credits on the dining plan for that.

I am really disappointed that Brown Derby did away with the ahi tuna entree. That was one of the most outstanding meals I have ever had. And the servers on those two trips (2002 and 2003) were outstanding, too. The one in December 2008 was probably a nice person, but she was not strong in customer service skills. It is a shame that they combined the lunch and dinner menu into one. Unless the menu changes substantially, I will not be back. I will fondly remember the Brown Derby in its glory days, though.

Yet, DD (23) proclaimed this appi the absolute best she had ever eaten... so I guess it really is a matter of taste

 

[OllieDannyandMe]

Yet, DD (23) proclaimed this appi the absolute best she had ever eaten... so I guess it really is a matter of taste

That's good to know, and if I somehow end up at BD, I will order that appetizer (and pay out of pocket). I have memories of the ahi tuna entree from years ago, and it was so wonderful that the little tuna appetizer doesn't look like enough of a bang to spend my two credits. It's good to know that it is delicious, though. That gives me hope for the Brown Derby!

 

[Pakey]

After reading this post IRS pretty clear to me that the reson people don't like this restaurant is because it should be a single credit restaurant and even though it's generally good it's not as good as the other signature restaurants

I think the food at HBBD is better than the food at Artist Point, Yachtsman and especially Narcoosees. And if it wasn't for the sushi at Ca Grill, it would rank higher than that one too. So, for me anyway, that puts it in the middle of the pack of the signatures, not at the bottom.

And that tuna appetizer is pretty good. It's not best tuna tartar I've ever had but it is decent.

 

[gnome1b]

I would have to echo your comments as well.
I went a number of time back in the early 2000's and had some really excellent meals.
I went back last September and the food wasn't very good. It wasn't bad just didn't taste great. Also the service was not so good (considering the restaurant was mostly empty). I had the grapefruit cake as well, and dry and not so good. I've now dropped it from my list.
There are too many other excellent restaurants to waste my time going there.
I hope you do have a good meal if you decide to go though!!

I am thinking about giving the Brown Derby a try again, so I am interested to see what people say. During my 2002 and 2003 trips, I had two of the best meals ever at the Brown Derby. I do not see the exact dish that we ordered on the menu now, but it was ahi tuna. Currently, there is an appetizer that looks very similar.

Then, I went in December 2008 and the food was lousy. My sister ordered the noodle bowl and I ordered the filet of beef. The noodle bowl tasted like a packaged mix (blech!) and the filet was tough and over-cooked. I sent the filet back and the second one was not any better. I am sure the server noticed that we did not eat our entrees, but she did not comment. I think she was trying to avoid the problem.

We were on the deluxe dining plan, so we just let it go. If I had been paying out of pocket, though, I would have been really disappointed. Even the dessert (grapefruit cake) was dry and lackluster. It was the week before Christmas and they were busy, so maybe it was just an off night?

We were so disappointed, though, that we didn't try it again in 2009.

 

[dixiegirl]

I will throw in my two cents on this as I have had dinner there every trip. I honestly have not had a single bad experience at this restaurant in all of our trips. Here are my observations.

The dining plan has changed things as it has at almost every restaurant in the parks (unfortunately). Knowing someone who's a chef at WDW, it has been difficult for them - the volume has increased immensely and therefore, quality and service will always suffer. It is unfortunate.

That being said, I still have enjoyed my meals there and we have always had stellar service. I am sorry for those that have had negative experiences with servers. Many of the servers at the BD have been there for a number of years. We see familiar faces each time we have gone.

Not to downplay anyone's bad experiences, but just thought I would share a little good as well. I'd say to the OP to give it a shot and create your own opinion of BD. I hope you have as wonderful an experience as I have had in the past.

 

[gillep]

DH and I ate here in January because we were on the Deluxe Dining plan and needed to use up credits. We thought that HBD would be a great place to do that as they serve lunch and we already had all our nights booked with other signature dinners.

We had some really hight points to our meal and some really low points

Apps: DH had the squash soup and I had the mushroom tortelloni both of these were fantastic and perfect portions also they ended up being the high points of the meal!

Entrees: DH had the Ahi tuna which he said was really good and perfectly seared, I don't like tuna so I can't comment but he eats it all the time at different places so I would trust him.

I had the roasted chicken over rice and this was the worst chicken I have EVER consumed, I took about 3 bites and put my fork down it was bordering on inedible. The chicken was cooked way too long and completely dry and it also must have been left out for a long period of time as it was room temperature at best. It also was supposed to be lemon flavored and OMG there was lemon alright, I am not sure about any other seasoning but there was certainly enough lemon (and I love lemon especially with chicken but this was overzealous at best) Also the rice on the bottom was clearly undercooked.

Dessert: DH had some chocolate/banana creation that he loved. I had the berry cobbler and although it tasted fine (a little bland if anything) It should NEVER have been served, as it was way too hot. I love warm cobbler with ice cream but this was like directly out of the oven still boiling and I am glad that I noticed it before I took my first bite.

We had wonderful service and both loved the nice break in the middle of our DHS day. We did not complain about the few off points of our meal because we were on the plan and we didn't need any more food, I did tell our waiter about the cobbler though so he could at least warn other diners.

Even though we had some really bad moments there are absolutly things at this restaurant we would order again, especially our apps and DH's tuna ,but for us it didn't compare at all to the 5 other signature restaurants we dined at, and still talk about 7 months later. If I were to go back to this restaurant I would not consider using 2 credits on it especially if I was only on the regular plan but instead just pay OOP for a few things.

 

[TinkerbellinLouisian]

Thank you so much for posting this picture. I had been thinking that I might give the Brown Derby a try again, just to order the tuna appetizer. After seeing a picture of it, I will pass. It doesn't look appetizing, and I would have felt foolish spending two credits on the dining plan for that.

.

You are most welcome. As I said.... I REALLY wanted to like HBD. I usually find more positives in my experiences than negatives. I'm that gal that has said positive things about H&V !!! But based on my experience at HBD in May...
I have enjoyed the TASTE of my food better at H&V...

I WILL try MM's and Sci Fi next time. BUT I will be back to HBD at some point and will order completely different food...just to give it another try.

Hugs,
Mary

 

[aduncan]

We went in July, and it was not good. The service was Horrible with a capital H. The food was ok, but the staff seemed snooty. Also took forever to get our check, and the server was practically nonexistent. Would not do it again!