Wanted to quickly roll through places I dined at last weekend - I've benefited from everyone else's posts! Hopefully this will help anyone with an upcoming trip.
Stayed at the Dolphin and ended up at a ton of sit-down meals. It was just myself and my wife, and we've finally learned to split our entrée at almost every meal - it's usually too much food when we order individually, the trip schedule doesn't really allow for us to knock out leftovers, and saved us a ton of $ - one $68 steak is half the cost of two $68 steaks. One consistent: great service wherever we went. In order:
4/6
Shula's: Really excellent, might have to eat here once on every trip. Ate at the bar (Bash was a perfect server/bartended). Split the larger filet, side of broccoli w/cheese sauce, a few glasses of wine. You must get the French onion soup. I don't typically like French onion soup, but this was the best thing we had on the trip. Go out of your way to try Shula's, even just get the soup, the bread, and a drink or two.
4/7
Via Napoli: Early lunch, split the arancini and an individual pizza, each had a wine flight. Pizza fantastic as always, getting the 10" was the right move with the appetizer. Just enough food, highly recommend for an easy sit-down. We went on Remy's then Guardians. Give it some time after eating (or drinking!) before hitting Guardians, they're flexible with your return time.
La Cava: While waiting in line for a take-away marg., they asked if anyone wanted a table. Took the server up on that offer, glad we did. Knocked out a tequila flight and had some great conversations about mezcal with our waiter, who was really friendly. Ordered chips and salsa just to take the edge off. I feel like there's more value in the flight than a pre-mixed margarita, but that might just be my preference - my wife loved the blood orange one she ordered.
Le Cellier: Best service of the trip - Ben was fantastic. Split the ribeye, had some wine, Ben was kind enough to include a glow cube to my maple old fashioned (which inspired a number of tables in our vicinity to add glow cubes to their drinks). I know you sit on top of people here, but it helps see what others order and plan accordingly, and our dinner was excellent. There's so much debate between here, Shula's, Toledo, Yachtsman, etc. but I'm not sure there's a "best", each just has a different vibe. Line up your expectation level accordingly. For this dinner my expectation was "split a medium-rare ribeye and see if I can get a glow cube in my drink", and we hit that mark.
4/8
Hollywood Brown Derby: Another early lunch (11:15a). I went with the filet, which they cooked to a perfect medium-rare. I was surprised I liked the sides as much as I did. Wife had the salmon, which was great, but you'd better like dill. Great atmosphere, great bread, great drinks. What's not to like? This is a must-do for us each time.
Trattoria Al Forno: Probably the only good-not-great on here. Got upsold on a bottle of wine that was just alright - they were out of my first selection - and my chicken parmesan (my wife also got chicken parm, no splitting that) was also just alright (although average chicken parm is still good). Would I eat here again? Definitely. But next trip I'll swap in Il Mulino or Tutto Italia for our chicken parm fix.
4/9
Raglan Road: Early Easter brunch (9:30a), and this was fantastic. The "Kiss Before Shrimp" is my favorite thing on the menu - the sauce with the bread is epic. We both got their version of an Eggs Benedict - me with beef, my wife with ham - and I'd get it again. The food here is so good, every time I think about replacing it on an upcoming trip but every time I'm glad I leave it on the list.
Geyser Point: Late lunch before heading to the airport, split the bison burger and looked out over the lake. Can't miss this on any trip. It's a perfect respite from MK - hop a boat and you're a world away.
Even on a busy weekend we did really well with meals. Remember to have fun, split entrees where you can, cut your server some slack when needed, and always bring an insulated, locking mug so you can take a to-go cocktail around the parks.
Stayed at the Dolphin and ended up at a ton of sit-down meals. It was just myself and my wife, and we've finally learned to split our entrée at almost every meal - it's usually too much food when we order individually, the trip schedule doesn't really allow for us to knock out leftovers, and saved us a ton of $ - one $68 steak is half the cost of two $68 steaks. One consistent: great service wherever we went. In order:
4/6
Shula's: Really excellent, might have to eat here once on every trip. Ate at the bar (Bash was a perfect server/bartended). Split the larger filet, side of broccoli w/cheese sauce, a few glasses of wine. You must get the French onion soup. I don't typically like French onion soup, but this was the best thing we had on the trip. Go out of your way to try Shula's, even just get the soup, the bread, and a drink or two.
4/7
Via Napoli: Early lunch, split the arancini and an individual pizza, each had a wine flight. Pizza fantastic as always, getting the 10" was the right move with the appetizer. Just enough food, highly recommend for an easy sit-down. We went on Remy's then Guardians. Give it some time after eating (or drinking!) before hitting Guardians, they're flexible with your return time.
La Cava: While waiting in line for a take-away marg., they asked if anyone wanted a table. Took the server up on that offer, glad we did. Knocked out a tequila flight and had some great conversations about mezcal with our waiter, who was really friendly. Ordered chips and salsa just to take the edge off. I feel like there's more value in the flight than a pre-mixed margarita, but that might just be my preference - my wife loved the blood orange one she ordered.
Le Cellier: Best service of the trip - Ben was fantastic. Split the ribeye, had some wine, Ben was kind enough to include a glow cube to my maple old fashioned (which inspired a number of tables in our vicinity to add glow cubes to their drinks). I know you sit on top of people here, but it helps see what others order and plan accordingly, and our dinner was excellent. There's so much debate between here, Shula's, Toledo, Yachtsman, etc. but I'm not sure there's a "best", each just has a different vibe. Line up your expectation level accordingly. For this dinner my expectation was "split a medium-rare ribeye and see if I can get a glow cube in my drink", and we hit that mark.
4/8
Hollywood Brown Derby: Another early lunch (11:15a). I went with the filet, which they cooked to a perfect medium-rare. I was surprised I liked the sides as much as I did. Wife had the salmon, which was great, but you'd better like dill. Great atmosphere, great bread, great drinks. What's not to like? This is a must-do for us each time.
Trattoria Al Forno: Probably the only good-not-great on here. Got upsold on a bottle of wine that was just alright - they were out of my first selection - and my chicken parmesan (my wife also got chicken parm, no splitting that) was also just alright (although average chicken parm is still good). Would I eat here again? Definitely. But next trip I'll swap in Il Mulino or Tutto Italia for our chicken parm fix.
4/9
Raglan Road: Early Easter brunch (9:30a), and this was fantastic. The "Kiss Before Shrimp" is my favorite thing on the menu - the sauce with the bread is epic. We both got their version of an Eggs Benedict - me with beef, my wife with ham - and I'd get it again. The food here is so good, every time I think about replacing it on an upcoming trip but every time I'm glad I leave it on the list.
Geyser Point: Late lunch before heading to the airport, split the bison burger and looked out over the lake. Can't miss this on any trip. It's a perfect respite from MK - hop a boat and you're a world away.
Even on a busy weekend we did really well with meals. Remember to have fun, split entrees where you can, cut your server some slack when needed, and always bring an insulated, locking mug so you can take a to-go cocktail around the parks.
