Dining Reviews Nov 4-9

[Miramar]

Here are our dining reviews from our early November trip.
Background: there were 3 of us, all adults and we were not on the dining plan. We have been going to Disney since 1982, though we don't go every year; this was our 7th trip.

Restaurant Marrakesh
We had not eaten at this restaurant since 1984--not because we didn't like it, but because there were other places that we preferred more. This trip we decided to try it again for our first night meal. We arrived at 7:35pm for our 7:30pm ADR (running a little late due to flight delays etc), and the restaurant was only about 85% full, so we were seated immediately. We loved the interior of the restaurant with it's archways, tiled walls and large hanging lamps.
We decided to order the Combination appetizer which consists of Jasmina Salad, Beef Brewat rolls and Chicken Bastilla. For us, this appetizer easliy fed the 3 of us. I especially enjoyed the Jasmina Salad which consisted of diced cucumbers, greens, feta cheese and a balsamic dressing. My least favorite item was the Chicken Bastilla, as it tasted gamey/chickeny to me. The Beef Brewat rolls were good though, but I would have liked more flavor/spice to the beef.
The bread that is provided prior to you meal was delicious as well. It was a sort of whole grain type of bread-- and I am not one who usually likes whole grains.
For main courses, 2 of our party had the Lamb Meshoui, which they enjoyed. I ordered the Shish Kebab-- 2 skewers of beef with pepper, onion, served over a small amount of sauce and a rice dish on the side. I also enjoyed this dish and found the beef to be quite tender.
None of the desserts interested us, so we decided to skip dessert and instead get baklava from the quick serve booth outside.
Overall, we were hapy with our choice to eat here again, as we found all the food we tried to be quite tasty. Grade: B

Kona Cafe
This was our first time eating dinner at Kona. We had eaten lunch here in the past which we found to be okay, but nothing to rave about. However, since we were not staying at the Polynesian this time like we usually do, we wanted an excuse to go over there. Plus, with all the positive comments we had read on the boards, we decided to give it a try. Well, we really loved it.
We arrived about 45 min early for our 6:25 ADR and decided to see if they could take us early. We were given a pager since nothing was available when we checked in. But, as luck would have it, we only had to wait about 5 min before a table opened up. The hostess led us into the restaurant and stopped in front of the dessert counter to go over all the dessert offerings with us. They were debuting a new tiramisu dessert starting that night in addition to all the other offerings.
Once seated we perused the menu and ordered beverages: raspberry smoothie, Kona Longboard Lager and an Island Sunset. The waiter brought out the bread, which is a foccacia served with flavored dipping oil.
For our main courses we all ordered the Teriyaki Steak, which is served with crushed pineapple over the top, mashed potatoes and garlic broccoli. We all found it to be delicious. Our steaks were all cooked the way we like them--2 prefer medium and I prefer medium well/well done.
For dessert, once again we all ordered the same thing---the chocolate macadamia nut tart. It is served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. This tart is somewhat like pecan pie, except made with macadamia nuts instead and it was delicious.
This turned out to be one of our favorite meals this trip. We will plan to return. Grade: A

 

[Miramar]

Le Cellier
This was a restaurant we had not eaten at since 1984, when it was a cafeteria style restaurant and not very good.
We checked in on time for our 6:30pm ADR and waited 15-20 min to be seated. Once taken inside, we were seated in the Saskatchewan section of the restaurant. Though some of the tables for 2 looked like they were somewhat close together, we didn't think the table spacing looked that close overall.
For drinks, 2 of us had got the cappunccino freeze, which is similar in consistency to a milkshake (or frappe for you other New Englanders).
There are 3 types of bread that they bring to the table--pretzel bread (my favorite), sourdough and multigrain.
For appetizers I got the Cheddar Cheese Soup--I had read so much about it on the boards and could not wait to try it. It was worth the wait! very rich and thick with a taste of bacon. The portion size was perfect--if it had been any larger it would have been to large for me for an appetizer. Another of our party ordered the Caesar salad, which was also good.
Now, on to the main courses-- I ordered the Mushroom Filet Mignon, which is served over a bed of mushroom risotto and has fried parsnips on top. The beef was cooked medium well-- just the way I like it and was very tender. It was not too dry either, which can sometimes be a problem when ordering a more well done piece of meat. I can't say enough good things about this main course-- it was so good. It is also quite rich.
My father ordered the Seared King Salmon which is served with spoon bread in a small skillet like dish. He really enjoyed it, but they give you a lot of the spoon bread.
My mother ordered the Pork Tenderloin with a sweet potato puree and she really liked that as well.
Only 2 of us ordered dessert and we both got the Chocolate Cake, which was very moist and delicious. It was served with a tarragon creme anglaise on the side. Neither of us cares for licorice/tarragon flavor, bt we both agreed that the sauce did not have any tarragon flavor to it.
The only "complaint" we had with this restaurant is that our appetizers came out at the same time as our main courses. They did not appear to be rushing us, as we waited fairly lengthy periods of time to place our order, receive our drinks, get dessert and receive the check. It was more like the waiter screwed up and forgot our appetizers until it was time for the main course. I think he had quite a few tables to look after. This was only mildly annoying to us though and the taste of the food made up for this faux pas.
This was the best meal of the trip and we will definitely plan to return here! Grade: A

 

[Miramar]

San Angel Inn
This has always been one of our favorite restaurants for both food and atmosphere. We love the way the interior is designed to look like you are dining outdoors. It is quite dark inside, so if you have trouble reading in low light, it may help to bring a small pen light to assist you with reading the menu.
Once again we arrived 45 min early for our 6:30pm ADR and decided to see if they could take us early. We were given a pager and withing 15 we got called. We were seated at a table in the center of the restaurant with nice views in all directions.
Salsa and chips were brought out and we gave our drink order--2 strawberry margaritas and one traditional margarita on the rocks.
For main courses we had: Filete Motuleno- beef tenderloin, melted cheese, ranchero sauce, peppers and black beans. This was good and the beef was cooked as directed-- Medium
We also had Putas de Filete-- beef tips, onion, pepper, chile sauce served with black refried beans and rice. I liked this dish and thought the sauce was good.
My father had Combinacion Cozumel- a beef tenderloin, shrimp and ranchero sauce.
For dessert we had a flan and some sort of bread pudding. The 2 who had dessert enjoyed them. Sine none of the offerings interested me, I opted for a Mexican Coffee which I also enjoyed.
Since we all enjoyed our meals here, as usual we will return again.
Grade: B+

Les Chefs de France
This was our most disappointing meal of the trip. We had saved it for last because it has always been our favorite restaurant in Disney. Unfortunately, we feel the menu offerings have slipped.
We checked in on time for our 6:30pm ADR and waited about 15 min before being seated.
My father ordered the French Menu, which is a prix fix menu consisting of onion soup, rotisserie chicken and creme brulee. He enjoyed his meal and thought the chicken was good.
I had the onion soup for appetizer and that seemed as good as I remembered.
For main courses, this is where my mother and I think the menu has degraded.
We both ordered the Bavette a l'echalotte, which is a flank steak, in an onion sauce, served with french fries. Being as it is a flank steak, it was very tough. However, the sauce was good. In the past when they have served a steak frites type of meal it has been served with a more tender cut of beef, which I tend to prefer. Granted, we had known about the menu changes before our arrival, but it is still disheartening to see less inspired choices on the menu and several old favorites no longer available.
For dessert I got the chocolate tart and my mother got the apple tart tatin. Both were good, but nothing to really rave about.
While our meal here was okay, I think we may skip it the next trip and explore other places which may be more interesting. Grade: B-

Overall, our dining experiences this trip were quite good. We had read a lot about people feeling rushed through meals and we did not experience that. At each place we were given ample time between courses and nobody rushed us to finish or tried to hurry us to order dessert before we were ready.
Also, we thought the portion sizes were more than sufficient. It may be that portion sizes have been reduced, but we are not big eaters and we left each restaurant feeling quite full each night. If the sizes had been any bigger, it would have been too much food for us.

 

[TigerKat]

Enjoyed your reviews - San Angel is a must do for us every trip. We're trying KONA and LeCellier for the first time, can't wait!!

 

[Minniespal]

Excellent reviews ~ Thanx for sharing.