I like most WDW restaurants but have to say, I really do not care for ESPN, at all. I find the food (other than the wings) to be very lacking and the atmosphere to be very noisy and hectic.
DS, on the other hand loves the place, so we usually end up eating here at least once every other trip. He is a HUGE sports fan, so ESPN is heaven to him. I honestly think it is the games being shown that appeals to him more than the food, but he still wants to go.
We have eaten at all the boardwalk restaurants many times and enjoy them all with the exception of ESPN (except for DS). Our favorite boardwalk restaurant is by far Flying Fish, we absolutely love this restaurant. Spoodles we still like but find the food is not nearly as good as it was a couple of years ago. The pizza from Spoodles take out window we find to be disgusting at best--but we are from an area that is known for good authentic pizza, so Spoodles take out pizza is really not to our liking. Big River we enjoy very much for a quick meal. Their meatloaf is wonderful!!