Being from NYC--would I be underwhelmed by food at Disney?

[giovanni2231]

I am also from the NYC area and must tell you that it seems like your on the right path with some of the restaurants you have booked at Disney. I say it all the time to people when we talk about Disney's food; are places like the Yachtsman or Narcoossee's like eating in a NYC steakhouse, no, but they are solid meals which we look forward to going to every time we go and Disney continues to grow in the food quality department, especially in their signature restaurants. Not sure if BOG and the Castle will live up to your standards when it comes to the food no matter where you come from, but i get going to both for the overall experience at least once. Next trip, leave them out.

I did the chef's table at V&A and it's one of the best meals I've ever had, including NYC's top restaurants. So, you will not be disappointed there for sure. Besides V&A which doesn't take any dining plan, I hope you are thinking about the deluxe dining plan as it makes swallowing the pricing in these signature restaurants a lot easier. I could talk for hours about how worth the deluxe dining plan is when you plan to eat in signature restaurants plus sprinkle in a few character breakfasts at $60 per person, but that's another topic all together (if you want more info on my opinion on that, IM me). I just spent 18 days in Disney this past June on the Deluxe Dining and basically ate in a Signature restaurant every night. A few places that should be on your radar; Morimoto Asia - trendy and solid food. Try the Duck for 2. Awesome. Le Cellier in Canada - Arguably the most popular restaurant in all of Disney, although this spot has been hit or miss for me over the years and we like Yachtmans and Narcoossee's 100x better, they recently added a Chateaubriand for 2 to the menu. The tenderloin they use comes from a real high end meat farm called, Snake River Farms (check it out online. their meat is real high quality and awesome. I've ordered from them before.). Anyway, that cut of meat on Le Cellier's menu will rival any NYC steakhouse (in fact, many NYC steakhouses are offering Snake River Farms meat on their menus). Besides that dish on their menu, I'm okay skipping Le Cellier most trips. I could go on talking about each of Disney's signature restaurants, but i wont, so lastly, check out Flying Fish. They did a total overhaul to the place and menu. In fact the chef there was just voted best chef in all of Disney. Great atmosphere along with a solid meal and some interesting desserts that are different and tasty (IE Strawberry sorbet with Basil, delicious).

Being Italian and living in NYC, i agree with everyone, stay away from the Pizza and Italian food in Disney. Although, try Il Mulino (a NYC offspring restaurant) in the Swan Hotel, solid Italian food, but they don't take the dining plan. Also, Disney Springs has a few decent Italian spots, but again, nothing to write home about.

So to wrap it up, Disney is raising the bar on their menu's and part of what we look forward to when visiting is the restaurants. Overall you wont be disappointed. Good Luck!

 

[DisneyKoyote]

I am also from the NYC area and must tell you that it seems like your on the right path with some of the restaurants you have booked at Disney. I say it all the time to people when we talk about Disney's food; are places like the Yachtsman or Narcoossee's like eating in a NYC steakhouse, no, but they are solid meals which we look forward to going to every time we go and Disney continues to grow in the food quality department, especially in their signature restaurants. Not sure if BOG and the Castle will live up to your standards when it comes to the food no matter where you come from, but i get going to both for the overall experience at least once. Next trip, leave them out.

Wow thank you for the super detailed write up, I will definitely check out those places. Although I kept hearing mixed reviews for Le Cellier which is why I didnt book anything there... Super happy to know that V&A is a solid restaurant and lives up to its reputation tho

 

[DisneyKoyote]

I finished my Disney trip and had a blast!
Wanted to come back and basically conclude my previous thoughts.
I personally though the majority of quick service foods were over priced, especially for the quality of the food. There were a few dishes that were good but mostly a miss- like they had the food sitting out for days and just heated it up or something.
BOG and CRT had very average food, I would prob not revisit again at the current price point (not including perks of seeing the castle and stuff)
Jikos was amazing- my favorite restaurant the entire trip! Would def go again if it was located in nyc
Tiffins- our charred octopus was too burnt, but the entrees were amazing so I assume the octopus was just a mistake. I’d revisit again and consider it as good as jikos
V&A- def worthy of being a Michelin restaurant if it were rated. Personally the dishes were too rich for me but they were amazing. We also chose to get the wagyu add on which was a great experience considering it’s rarity but also super rich haha
Morimoto Asia- had the sushi tower for 2 and it was average. But considering the price ($100) it was a great value as it included oysters, sashimi, nigiri, and a chilled lobster tail.
Epcot’s food and wine tour had some pretty authentic food (from the carts) during their food and wine festival. Very impressed!

Overall definitely agree w most ppl in this thread. As someone who eats pretty well in nyc, some Disney restaurants are great while others are so-so. And of course Disney does have terrible dishes too. Just ends up depending on where you go.

 

[DeeCee735]

I am here now. I must say so far, after coming here over 20 years, I find the quality of the food much diminished and the prices, of course, just keep going up.

Last night we ate at Food & Wine. The prices are higher, the portions smaller. Most of what we ate was pretty good though. My fav....cheddar bacon soup and filet mignon from Canada!

Today we had the Bon Voyage Breakfast at Trattoria Al Forno. (Sitting here as I write) We love the characters and understand that’s mostly what we pay for, but $44 for a small stack of bread like(not batter like and if I recall used to be marzipan ) pancakes and coffee with a small side of bacon and a small platter of cold store bought pastries for the table is extremely underwhelming.
I remember this breakfast being so delicious and one of the better character meals on property a few years ago. I won’t do this one anymore.

This and quick service at Docking Bay for my Neice’s chicken dish with potatoes ...chicken was pretty gross. $11 I think. I don’t mind paying the prices if the food is something to talk about but this so far is very disappointing. Let’s see how we fare rest of trip. I’ll post more.

I’m coming back in March with an all adult party and I know we want good food without having to go too wildly expensive. We used to be able to find that. Not so much these last couple of trips. Just MHO so far.

P.S. I’m a New Yorker too.

 

[sebovol]

I'm super excited to go to all the restaurants in Disney (first timer!) as I hear how much people love them, do disney food tours, or would go out of their way just to stop by a restaurant. But I realized recently that being from NYC, am I bound to be underwhelmed by the food?
My friends are coming with me on this Disney trip (also from NYC), and I'm so hyped up about everything related to the trip. I talk about all the cool things there are (since I researched/planned everything), but I'm worried I may be overselling them on the food and they'd end up being disappointed.
FYI I've booked ADRs at Jikos, Victorias and Albert, and BOG.

Edit: forgot to add I have an ADR at Cinderella's Royal Castle too, but that is more for atmosphere than food

Edit 2: I think maybe I worded my concerns incorrectly. While I definitely got my answers (thanks to all the responses!), I also just wanted to clear up what my actual question was: There are plenty of terrible food in NYC (wouldn't be surprised if some of them were even rat infested haha) so I'm not saying NYC only has amazing food. I've seen lots of people being super excited for Disney food, going out of their way or paying extra to go back, telling everyone else they have to try it, etc- but is the quality of most of the "favorites" really that good, especially when compared to big city standards? Or just good for a theme park (but would be considered average outside of Disney)?

Restaurants at Disney are very good. There's always some misses but mainly hits. We love the buffet at WL Whispering Canyon. Lots of it but still very good.

 

[Disnsyncey]

I mean, I agree with some of the previous folks, there is plenty of bad food in NYC.....and I can't even find any Italian food in NYC that passes my tests by any means, so I must be more strict than you guys! I don't eat Italian food in Disney (but I don't eat it many places), and I am with Josh from easwdw, that even the F&W kiosk in Italy is lame. Disney is not a "foodie" destination, but many of the Disney restaurants have theming out the wazoo, something that NYC restaurants don't do.....so go for that. Don't go for something to compare, like I won't go to Italy for great Chinese food. I love many of the restaurants in WDW, but I have different expectations for them compared to if I am going to spend $200 at Lilia in NYC. The restaurants are part of the experience of the whole, not something separate.

 

[DeeCee735]

I just got back from WDW. As in the past, I still feel resort restaurants, (excluding character meals) are much better than restaurants in the parks. CRT has seriously diminished the food used to be really good. Now it’s below average. BOG is okay, pretty good. The atmosphere is beautiful too. Yak and Yeti in AKP has been a favorite, but I didn’t do it this trip so I can’t update any review. I do look forward to trying it again next trip though. Other than that, park restaurants just aren’t that good anymore. This is MHO and I’m speaking specifically about moderate priced to alittle expensive. Not $$$$$. Grand Floridian cafe is still a favorite. Food good, prices not too bad, service excellent and atmosphere lovely.
Oh, and I agree with the Whispering Canyon comment. It’s fun and it’s good food and in a gorgeous resort !
Enjoy planning.

 

[cobright]

Overall definitely agree w most ppl in this thread. As someone who eats pretty well in nyc, some Disney restaurants are great while others are so-so.

I lived in NYC for 2 years and comparing the dining there to WDW is a ... well it's an odd exercise.

I've never eaten better for less money than in some of my favorite NYC haunts and I can't think of a fair comparison with WDW at that level.

Mid-range dining, in terms of quality and price are about equal between the two.

Fine dining is just really different. If you hit 4 or 5 WDW signature dinners in one trip you get a sense of sameness between them. Like there is a fair number of 'components' overlapping from one menu to the other. It makes sense as the larger organization can bring in a lot of a small number of food elements at a better price.

And some things, like sushi, no matter where in WDW you go, just won't have the same level of freshness you will get in NYC. But for most everything else, the freshness and quality of the produce and meat throughout WDW is second to none.

So, I missed this post when it was made in July and I'm glad for the update. And for future foodies curious on this I can only say that you haven't ruined yourself for good eating at WDW.

 

[DisneyKoyote]

I lived in NYC for 2 years and comparing the dining there to WDW is a ... well it's an odd exercise.

Yah I mostly made this thread to see where other people are on the "food experience" spectrum vs their rating of Disney food. NYC was just a logical pick since I live here and people would maybe have a similar range of experiences as me/my friends? As an example, I've been to all kinds of restaurants (chains, fast food, NYC boutiques, handful of 1 star Michelins) and I thought V&A was amazing and could be a 3 star. But when discussing w a friend who eats very well and had been to a ton of 3 star Michelin (both in the US and abroad), she told me V&A was just okay- not something she do again. Clearly our different food experiences led to different ratings. Similarly if a fast food regular told me that Ohana was the best restaurant ever and I must try it, I'd also take that with a grain of salt.

 

[cobright]

As an example, I've been to all kinds of restaurants (chains, fast food, NYC boutiques, handful of 1 star Michelins) and I thought V&A was amazing and could be a 3 star. But when discussing w a friend who eats very well and had been to a ton of 3 star Michelin (both in the US and abroad), she told me V&A was just okay- not something she do again

I like to Michelin brag too, when I'm around my family anyway and that's just because they are insufferable braggarts (probably where I get it). But honestly I don't know if it's the best standard anymore. Lately it seems the only way to rate a star is to be some sort of Asian fusion, or be a very white chef preparing ethnic cuisine. It's stopped being a review of food and the ratings don't always lead to the best meal.

So far, in my 46 years on this planet I have eaten two 3-star restaurants in NYC, Per Se and Eleven. I found the food at VnA better than Per Se and nearly as good as at Eleven; and I found the service at VnA better than both. I've been to VnA twice now and it's become one of our must-do meals. To the extent that I'll sign off on shortening the trip a day or two to make the budget work out. There isn't a michelin rated one-word named sushi-paella fusion joint in NY that can count on me coming back on every one of my visits.

 

[DisneyKoyote]

Lately it seems the only way to rate a star is to be some sort of Asian fusion, or be a very white chef preparing ethnic cuisine. It's stopped being a review of food and the ratings don't always lead to the best meal.

Omg I agree...I was looking up the list of the michelin restaurants in NYC and a whoppng majority of them are Asian. To be honest I love omakase (have been to Nakazawa multiple times before they made it onto the 1 star list) so I don't really complain much hahah. Have not been to a single 3 star Michelin so I can't really compare V&A to them... my friend is a huge Eleven fan though, she will go about once a year

 

[cobright]

Omg I agree...I was looking up the list of the michelin restaurants in NYC and a whoppng majority of them are Asian. To be honest I love omakase (have been to Nakazawa multiple times before they made it onto the 1 star list) so I don't really complain much hahah. Have not been to a single 3 star Michelin so I can't really compare V&A to them... my friend is a huge Eleven fan though, she will go about once a year

When my work moved me to NYC back in 1998, I had to figure out where to live. We ended up taking a crap apartment in a really sketchy neighborhood south of Cypress Hills in Brooklyn. I was able to negotiate my housing allowance to be paid as a temporary salary increase and rent was half the cost in my flavela as the HR coordinator estimated. I figured there was no point in living in NYC if I couldn't afford to take in the night life. We ended up eating out 3 or 4 nights a week, and I ended up gaining probably 20 pounds.