WP, Tonys, and Big River Grille and Brewing Works ?

[Carrie Ellis]

Hello ya'll!!

I have three questions if you do not mind!

1) I did a search and found some threads on Tonys. Most seem pretty up and up but are there any recommendations for this restaurant? I did read that they do not take request anymore. We will be a family of 8 (4 kids). I read something about getting Tony pawprints in an autograph book??? Also, where is the "funnest" place to get seated? The glass room?

2) My mom thought my dad and husband might like the Big River Grille and Brewing Works. I did some research on it and has not got good reviews as far as food. Plus it said that it is small quarters. I thought walking the Boardwalk might be fun plus it will be Christmas time. I read that you can get a tour of the brewery. Do you think that you have to have a reservation for a tour? Any thoughts on this place?

3) I have read good reviews on Wolfgang Puck Cafe. Do you think this place is kid friendly?

 

[crazelion]

I do know the Big River Grille and Brewing Works is known for the beer. Try the Viener logger and Summer Wheat is most popular.

 

[vascubaguy]

1. Tony's gets very mixed reviews here. I'm one that doesn't care for it and swore I'd never go back. Just was not a good experience for us and we didn't enjoy the food. (Others love it though). You can get books signed with paw prints, just ask your server and they'll "take them out back to get pawed". Oh, and the best place to sit would probably be at the windows. You can people watch and it's great if the parade is going on. (The won't guarantee a window view though. We actually asked to wait for a window, waited 1.5 hours after our ADR and still got seated in the back of the place).

2. Not sure about Big River Grille, but like you I have mostly seen bad reviews and we decided not to try it. If you want to be over on the Boardwalk, check out Spoodles and Flying Fish. ESPN club is also over there if they like the sport stuff. If you aren't stuck on going to the Boardwalk, how about Raglan Road over at Pleasure Island, I hear it is fun and gets good reviews.

3. We ate at WGP last year and enjoyed it. We had one kid with us and 7 adults. They have a huge menu and a pretty good selection for kids. However, I wouldn't call it "kid friendly". It's pretty loud in there and rather cramped. Overall though, we did enjoy the meal, but there are better options that kids might find more entertaining.

 

[Luv2Roam]

We stayed away from BRG due to bad reviews. Now we have eaten there twice for lunch and it was good both times.
Their beer cheese soup is VERY good.
The last time, just a few weeks ago, I ate the pulled pork sandwich. It was the most tender pork I recall eating!
I would give BRG a try. One side of the room is where some beer stills ( or whatever they are called) are behind glass. I never asked about a tour. We just ate!
We have not needed ADRs at either lunch time we went.

 

[vascubaguy]

We stayed away from BRG due to bad reviews. Now we have eaten there twice for lunch and it was good both times.
Their beer cheese soup is VERY good.
The last time, just a few weeks ago, I ate the pulled pork sandwich. It was the most tender pork I recall eating!
I would give BRG a try. One side of the room is where some beer stills ( or whatever they are called) are behind glass. I never asked about a tour. We just ate!
We have not needed ADRs at either lunch time we went.

Oh yeah, I have heard that lunch isn't that bad... mostly just bad reviews of dinner...

 

[CarolA]

I had dinner at BRG in March. No complaints.

 

[jimmytammy]

We have been to Tonys once. It was OK but not great, IMO. If you are looking for good Italian, we like Mama Melroses at MGM. If you are going to be at MK specifically and need a sit down meal, LTT is good. CP is also good with lots of choices. Again, it depends on what you are looking for.

We have never been to WGPC, but have been to the express. It was good, but nothing to write home about.

Big River is a drinking hole that happens to serve food. ESPN, on the other hand has very good food. This surprised me as I wasnt expecting much. Expected it to be like BRG, honestly. But each of us had something different and each meal was very good. I know cause I tried them all

 

[webray]

Hubby and I love the Big River on the Boardwalk. It is a great place to people watch if you grab a table outside...at Christmas time especially, should be great weather. The food has always been good for us..and we are very hard on food reviews taste/quality etc, especially at disney. We usually stop in there every few months for beers and a meal. Our favorite is the Rocket Red Ale..it is very good. You can get a sampler to start until you figure out which one you like best.

As far as Tony's, we ate there once, were not impressed, never went back.

Wolfgang Pucks Cafe in DTD, it has been a while, the chicken was good, other than that, nothing impressive. Not sure what is going on with those cafes, all the ones around us have shut down.

 

[Carrie Ellis]

Thank you for your time! I might think of something other than WGP. I want to make the best picks for my parents.

Is Boardwalk enjoyable to walk around in the evening esp. at Christmas. Is it "something to see". I have reservations for Ohana so we will see the Poly at Christmas and I thought we could shoot over to the Grand Floridian that same day.

I guess I need to do some more thinking!

 

[Deb & Bill]

We did the Big River Grille twice. The first time was okay. The second time was a fiasco. Bad service - rude, actually. Still frozen AND burnt food at the same time if you can imagine that. And that was the meatloaf. Dirty table that was never cleaned for us - they actually seated us at a table that had not been cleared. And it took them forever to clear it.

We signed in at the stand and were given a pager. We stood about 10 feet away and noticed all sorts of people being seated who came in long after us. When my husband questioned the hostess, she said she had paged us long ago. He showed her the pager and it didn't have any red lights on it. She said we must have gone too far away from the restaurant. But we were only about 10 feet away. Then she had a major attitude about it.

Terrible. This one goes up there with Rainforest Cafe. Never again.

 

[Carrie Ellis]

Thanks Deb and Bill! I am wondering if this would not be a good place to just stop and try the ale and not spend a meal on it.

Do you think it is worth seeing the Boardwalk?

 

[Deb & Bill]

Yes, it will be fun to see the Boardwalk. Especially check out the hotels with their decorations.

Lots of places to eat on the Boardwalk. Have you looked at the Swan & Dolphin restaurants? My husband loves the Flying Fish.

 

[Ohio State Buckeyes]

Went to Big River Grille once. The red rocket ale is very good. I ordered the ribs, and the server warned me that the sauce is very good and the quality of meat is very bad. She was right on the money in her description, far and away the worst ribs(quality of meat) I have ever seen, heard of, touched, eaten, and now posted about.

 

[Desnik]

We have stayed at the BW alot and we gave BRG 2 trys and it failed both times! The food wasn't good, but they have good salads. I would say it is good just to go and have a beer. There are so many other good places, like Spoodles, or if you want something more laid back then ESPN is better than BRG.

The BW itself is great at night with musicians, magicians and other strolling entertainment. BW type games,face painting, hair wraps, shops, ice cream, surrey bikes, clubs. A real fun atmosphere. We like to walk around the lake and check out the decor of the other hotels and their Xmas decorations.

We love Tony's and go every trip! For lunch we like the pizza bianca, chicken parm hero, breadsticks. The kids usually get the spaghetti, or raviolis. For dinner we like the spaghettis or chicken florentine. The bread and dipping sauce they give you when you sit down is to die for! We always get seconds!! We have always had good food and service and seated right away. We do try to have an ADR, but sometimes we get lucky and get seated right away if we get there right at lunch time.