food snobs needed

[jann1033]

I realize after reading a lot on these boards I am evidently a food snob so here goes...

where can we get a good meal without the Cal Grill prices...like during the day in the parks or at the resorts. I mean good food not "ok doesn't make you want to throw up" food. have had an occasional good dish in different places at WDW but feel most is "amusement park" quality. I would however like to limit my choices to the better food places but also have to limit my spending and so can not afford $100 meals every sit down( not that that always equals good food anyway). I can deal with a less than "great" place as long as I know that is what it is.

and where should we avoid like the plague?

also what about Boma and Ohana...should I go expecting less than good food and just have fun or choose someplace else to spend my $80.00.

so I will put on my fireproof vest and wait for any other food snobs to recommend.

 

[jel0511]

Well, I'll start by donning my flame retardant suit as well....

IMO, the only REASONABLY priced sitdown restaurant WITH GREAT food is Kona Cafe. The prices are GREAT and the food is just as wonderful as any of the "nicer" restaurants of WDW. 50's Primetime Cafe is reasonable as well, but the food can go from mediocre to o.k. IMO. I personally don't think the food quality at any of the "all-you-can eat" places are all that great, definately not up to par with California Grill, Flying Fish, etc. I usually try to avoid them now, since there are 2 adults and 2 children in our party and that will run us around $90 including tip. I'd rather spend those dollars at an Epcot restaurant. They are pretty good, and somewhat reasonable depending on what you order. The "all-you-can-eat" places are a good deal if you're starving and will eat a ton, but we usually don't and it just seems like a waste. I will spend that money on a character dinner or two, but that's it. For that kind of money, we generally can get a pretty nice sit-down meal somewhere. A dinner at any sitdown place, for our family of 4 usually runs us $90 or so, and that includes tip. DH and I will share an appetizer, order an entree (this counts the entrees being around $20 each) and share dessert. The kids order off the kids menu, and will also get a dessert. So, for me, this is a better value than any all-you-can eat place. Now, if we go to Narcoossee's, Flying Fish, Jiko, California Grill, etc (you get the picture) the total usually goes up to $130 - $175 depending on place and what is ordered. We do not drink, so this is just for food, and either softdrinks, iced tea or water. I also usually stay away from the food courts, since I haven't found one I really like yet. This is what works best for us. Now, I'll admit that I don't go to WDW with any type of budget in mind, we pretty much decide where we're going to eat beforehand and just go with the flow. We usually go to WDW for around 12 days each summer, so we try to hit 3 of the "nicer" places during that time, go off site 2 nights for some variety and to save a little $$$, and the rest of the time we eat at the other sitdowns. I hope this helped a little, and now I'm going to and hope I don't need to call the to put out the flames!!!!

 

[timC]

I think we're looking for a similar deal as you. We normally go for the high-end restaurants, but this Thanksgiving trip we wanted to keep the food budget under control. Here's what I've got booked for Thanksgiving week, staying at GF. The only one I'm not familiar with is Concourse Steakhouse.

Kona Café
Concourse Steakhouse
Akershus
Wolfgang Puck Café
Liberty Tree Tavern - TG dinner

 

[Dana49]

Meals at Disney can get quite pricey. We always try to have two excellent dinners while we're there for the week. This trip it will be Jiko and the California Grill. On the days when we aren't going to dinner, we enjoy a late lunch at the Kona Cafe, Les Chefs de France, Olivia's, or the Concourse Steakhouse. All are priced fairly reasonable, serve excellent dishes, and are normally quite quiet. Enjoy!

 

[jann1033]

thanks and so far it has been painless!

I was wondering about Wolfgang Pucks since... it's Wolfgang Puck's! And the Kona Cafe sounds very good and is highly rated in a lot of "objective" reviews I have read. I'm guessing those are .."uhh, go somewhere else"..for Boma and Ohana? (personally I usually feel any pre cooked place just can not serve as high of caliber food as cooked to order since it may start out good but never is as good "warm") even if they are fun places to go.

Akershus I have also read good reviews of but truthfully am a little scared by the seeminly 300 versions of herring on the cold board. Husband will eat fish but is not totally crazy about it and herring is not one of my favs. either. any thought about that?

 

[kda]

Since Akershus has (reportedly) changed to a buffet just for the cold food and you select one hot entree, I don't know that I'd recommend it so much. Frankly, the hot foods weren't as enjoyable for us as the excellent quality (and uniqueness) of the cold buffet. We always ate here for lunch, and repeatedly said we'd be happy with the salads and luncheon meats/cheeses.

Boma is our favorite restaurant for a big, big variety of 'different' foods --- but not TOO different. I get tired of eating the same old stuff and appreciate the opportunity to try many new things for a reasonable price. We don't do too many buffets, out of concern for the quality of the food, but have been very happy with Boma on 5 occasions (and will be going back at least once next month). I don't like everything, however, and take many small samples, to decide what appeals to me.

We've enjoyed O'Hana very much (not for a couple of years), but it concerns me, too, that there's posts about the food being dry and overcooked.

 

[hmp2z]

Hi! We sound like we have similar tastes in restaurants - we definitely expect the finer things in life when we are at WDW. For our next trip to WDW, we have planned dinners at Fulton's, V&A's, CA Grille, Citricos, Bistro de Paris, Flying Fish, Kimono, Artist Point, Yachtsman Steakhouse, Portobello Yacht Club, and Cape May Cafe.
Of these, I would say that Portobello Yacht Club is the least expensive, in terms of the quality of the food that we will receive. We always share the creamy gorgonzola polenta, which is absolutely amazing, then have the quattro fromagio pizza. The desserts there aren't outstanding, though I did have a pretty good creme brulee last time we were there. But that polenta is one of the best things I have ever eaten.
Cape May Cafe is our favorite buffet, primarily because we like the steamed clams when they are fresh and plump, and we love the Cape May Coladas. I wouldn't say that it's gourmet food, but then again, it's a buffet and is reasonably priced, so we don't expect the same quality of food. If you like steamed clams, though, the best thing to do is eat here, but wait until they just put out a fresh batch, so that you get them while they're really juicy still.
Narcoossee's used to be on our must-do list, but after our trip last month, we have taken it off. They have re-done the menu, getting rid of my favorite dish, and it has just gotten noisier than ever. The food I got there was sloppily prepared - if I am paying that much money for a crab & lobster cake, I think that 5 big chunks of shell in the cake are inexcusable.
You asked about 'Ohana, and we had our rehearsal dinner there. If you like somewhat dry meat on a stick, this is the place for you. If you like your steaks rare, like we do, then you won't be pleased with how dry this meat is. I like shrimp, but had trouble eating these, because they aren't already peeled. Often the shell was burnt into the shrimp, and I couldn't get it off, which I just didn't like. We wouldn't go back there again - the atmosphere is fun, and there is a great fireworks view, but the food just wasn't our thing at all.
I hope this helps a bit - the restaurants I listed are our favorites, and some of them are kind of pricey, but if you split an app then each get an entree, that helps cut down on costs a bit.
Cheers!
Heather W

 

[Margie J]

Ok, I'll jump in here.

Boma - I thought for a buffet meal it was very good. The uniqueness of the food choices probably tipped the scales into the "better than average" buffet rating. In addition, the Chefs are right there to help with food choices if necessary. Items are well cooked and spiced very nicely. The batches are always refreshed too. I'm not normally a soup eater but theirs are wonderful.

'Ohana - This was fun as a group activity of sorts. I saw it more as an entertainment spot and not a place for fine dining. Not that I thought the food was bad, it was ok and there was plenty of it. It's just not, for me, a "must do" place to dine.

Whispering Canyon Cafe - I had lunch there last spring. The Little Nutty Chicken Salad was excellent. Very fresh and tasty with a good portion size. I'm not a big salad fan but I'd get this one again. I tried the berry cobbler everyone raves about but this dessert wasn't the best I've had and certainly not the orgasmic experience it is for some people. Next time I will stick with the salad or a BBQ entree and get dessert elsewhere.

Akershus - I have always had at least one meal there during every visit. Next week will be the first one since their change in the buffet. Their original buffet was always fresh and tasty IMO and a good value for the money. Given that I love smoked salmon I'd always fill up on that since it was always top quality.

Chefs de France/Bistro - The meals I've gotten here, whether lunch or dinner, have been very good. Lunch will certainly save you money and you will still get a good meal.

Marrakesh - Seems many people forget this place exists. Being in the back away from the crowd requires you to remember it's there. The dishes are filling and tasty without a huge price tag.

Brown Derby - Why not try it for lunch. It's a little more elegant without the outragious prices.

Tusker House - They have very good roasted chicken and other entrees available. Although I do enjoy the sandwiches at Pizzafari a meal from Tusker House is a step above. I'd rather go there then the Flame Tree BBQ which I found too heavy and greasy but people rave about it.

 

[K and K's Mommy]

We eat at a lot of nice restaurants, especially when we are with my parents ^That said, I probably would not take my parents to 'Ohana, but I would take them to Boma. While 'Ohana is a lot of fun, IMO the food is not fabulous. My meat was dry, although the peanut dipping sauce was so good it did not matter. I liked some of the sides but not all. On the other hand, we loved trying the different things at Boma. My DH and I just took little samples and then went back and got more of what we really liked.

 

[dvcgirl]

I agree with lots of what these folks have said. It's really tough to get a good meal in the parks. And many of the better restaurants in the resorts don't serve lunch.

If you have to eat in the MK, or any of the parks, avoid any of the burger basket deals....the burgers are cooked until they're petrified and are generally awful. I mean, I've certainly had worse theme park food, but there are better choices to be had. I've read lots of raves here for Pecos Bills burgers...but found the burgers to be the same quality....and the fixins bar didn't make the burger taste any better. The chicken wrap there is much better.

Kona Cafe can be quite good to hit while in the MK. Just grab the monorail over for a nice relaxing lunch. I've had the Mahi Mahi for dinner there and it's good, and a bargain at $20....at Citricos they'd get another 10 bucks for that same dish. I've had mahi mahi sandwich for lunch, and it was also a winner.

In Epcot, the Tangerine cafe is a decent choice for lunch. Another idea is to grab a fish and chips snack from the Yorkshire Fish Co. We had them recently and they were good.

I also think Spoodles can be a very good choice for a dinner that won't cost you a fortune. We often go there and have a couple of apps from the tapas menu and a couple of the flatbreads. You will spend only about $14-15 a person....add a decent glass of wine and you've got yourself an inexpensive meal by Disney standards.

Skip the buffets and the All-you-can Eat places, well, at least the ones we've tried over the years. We tried the Cape May years ago, and didn't enjoy it at all. We tried O'hana recently, again it's another one folks just rave about.....not very good. We tried Boma, and while it was much better than the other two, it certainly doesn't beckon us back. I guess the buffets and AYCE places remind me of cruise-quality food. Lots of variety, and *tons* of it, but none of that good.

Hope this helps!

 

[jann1033]

Thanks these are very helpful and especially like the Kona for lunch idea!

 

[Deb & Bill]

Some of the places we plan to eat at in January include:

1. Liberty Tree Tavern for Lunch: Order from the menu and get very good homestyle food - pot roast (heavenly) and such.

2. Cape May Buffet for Breakfast: One of the better buffets with characters and you don't need to enter a park. Good choices, my husband likes the blintzes.

3. Boma for dinner: Always lots of good things to choose from ( and I am a picky eater).

4. San Angel Inn for Lunch: Love the Queso Fundido. I'm gonna have that for my lunch.

5. Plaza Restaurant: They make the biggest and best sandwiches either side of the Mississippi. I thought they were big at Jason's Deli, but the Plaza even has Jason's beat. And the ice cream desserts are excellent.

6. Cosmic Rays: They have a good chicken caesar salad and my husband loves the rotisserie chicken. My son loves the corn dog nuggets.

7. Boatwrights at PO: They have the best Eggs Benedict, plus their dinner choices are very good as well.

8. Cinderella's Royal Table for breakfast: Not eating here in January, because we've done it so many times. The breakfast is great. And the characters are so much fun.

Other good places to eat:

Olivia's Cafe at OKW: Excellent for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Yachtsman Steakhouse: Very good for dinner.

 

[goeagles]

This thread made me chuckle because all of friends call me a food snob because I have high expections from restaurants. We were at WDW the first week of Oct. Much to my surprise, the absolute best meal we had was at the Liberty Tree Tavern. I had the pot roast - it was amazing and reminded me of my granny

Hoop De Doo - I've read about people not liking this, but it was the best fried chicken my DH and I ever had! I don't know if it was just a moist batch or if it was recently improved, but we and the kids devoured it. Dessert : awesome. Salad: good.

Kona Cafe (dinner) - excellent for me, good for DH

Living Seas (dinner) - average, nothing spect. our kids are obsessed w/aquariums so we didn't pick this for the food though.

Holllywood & Vine Buffet (dinner) - fair, typicaly buffet. kids loved it. The desserts almost make up for the non-descript food

Ohana (dinner) - my food was terrible, DH and my bro. thought it was fair/ok. None of us would go back.

I wish we had tried more Epcot rest., but with the ages of my children (3, 6, 8) it just didn't work out. Overall, I had such high hopes for overall dining that I was very disappointed and by the time we came home we were really craving a good meal.

Lunches got very redundant (Columbia Harbour House, Flame Tree, SciFi, Blizzard Beach, Cosmic Rays, ESPN Club). But SciFi was definitely worth it - atmosphere is not to missed, or the milkshakes!!! ESPN was fun too, especially since our team won and it was such a close game. Food was fair, nachos had no pizzazze.....

As you can tell, I am a food snob!!

 

[UKDEB]

Another self-confessed food snob here!

We get more and more fussy as time goes on and are really starting to find it tricky to get enthusiastic about most offerings at the parks. The resort restaurants are much better, but can work out expensive, and many of the places we prefer to eat don't open for lunch. The restaurant scene in Orlando outside of WDW is really hotting up, IMHO, and there are so many places we want to return to and so many more we want to try, that WDW dining is featuring less in our plans these days. The only evening meal we're planning so far for our next trip is V&As, although I still love CG, Jiko and Flying Fish.

Places we have done to death (and so probably won't return to in the near future), but which I'd still recommend, bearing in mind the cost issue:

Wolfgang Puck's (although you need to choose carefully to avoid this becoming expensive, I'd say);
Spoodles (ditto);
Rainforest Cafe (gets a lot of slating on these boards, but it's 100% better than many park offerings in my book).

We haven't eaten at many restaurants at Epcot on the grounds that those we have tried have been a little disappointing. I would describle Le Cellier, Chefs de France and Coral Reef as 'nice, but not fabulous'. All a tad overrated in my view.

I'm not a buffet lover, but we have visited a few with friends. I wasn't keen on Cape May Cafe, but Boma was a pleasant surprise. Breakfast there has become a first day tradition and we've eaten dinner there once.

We tried Kona Cafe for the first time last October. I didn't like it as much as some posters on this thread, but it is a pleasant lunchtime diversion from MK and much better than anything you will find there. In May we took the launch from MK to Wilderness Lodge for lunch at the Whispering Canyon Cafe. I wouldn't rush back there to eat, but we had the boat to ourselves and it was a glorious way to spend a while away from the crowds.

We'd always avoided the 50s Prime Time Cafe at MGM, but we decided to give it a try last October and loved it. Maybe we were in the right frame of mind - not sure it's a place you'd want to do over and over.

 

[jann1033]

I think we have pretty well cancelled out Ohana since most , even those who like it, say the food isn't that great . The Coral Reef..I just can't handle eating seafood with their buddies watching me through the window!( we used to have an aquarium and I always felt the same way then, call me crazy!). I am thinking of Kona Cafe for a lunch instead of MK fast food or maybe we will try LTT. columbia house we ate in and it was ok but don't remember ever going to LTT. Thanks for everyone's help

 

[Josephine]

Here is our list and background.
We enjoy eating at the nicer restaurants at WDW. My husband is a chef so we are a little spoiled. Some places we go to we enjoy but come away with, "he does a better job at home' and some we really like, which we go back to.

Flying Fish - really like
Le Cellier - really like
Spoodles - really like and not as expensive as others
Palio - really like
Alfredo - even though we mostly cook Italian at home we enjoy this place
Chefs de France - really like
Victoria and Albert - really like
Wolfgang Puck Cafe - really like
Teppanyaki is good but we a lot of places like this at home
Citricos - really like
Narcooseess - good but not in a hurry to go back
Brown Derby - thought it was ok
Mama Melrose - thought it was ok

Grand Floridian Cafe - great for a casual meal
Yacht Club Galley - great for a casual meal

We stay away from buffets as we generally don't like them, but Boma is the exception.

Places we still haven't tried but would like to
Jiko
Artist Point
Bistro de Paris
California Grill
Liberty Tree Tavern - lunch

 

[stonecreekboys]

We really enjoy good food while on vacation at Disney and most always choose sit down over fast food. I have not tried all the restaurants mentioned, but here are some brief reviews from our family.

O'hana - Excellent overall. Great for families, not a romantic meal. We left stuffed and very satisfied. Plan to eat here again.

Kona Cafe- Excellent. Wide variety and don't pass up the desserts. They are incredible!

Brown Derby- Wonderful! We had a late lunch here with the Fantasmic Dinner Package. A little pricey, but cheaper than dinner.

Spoodles-very good! We sampled several appetizers, salads and main courses. Reasonable prices and great atmosphere.

San Angel Inn- Great food and very romantic atmosphere. It is my favorite restaurant.

Liberty Tree Tavern- skip it unless you are dying to try a character meal. Pricey ($19.99 for essentially what equates to a Stouffers frozen dinners. I believe Stouffers or another food company sponsors this restaurant. Need I say more? my husband thinks it's awful.)

We ate at the Concourse years ago and it was good.

Hope this helps...

 

[jann1033]

Originally posted by stonecreekboys
Brown Derby- Wonderful! We had a late lunch here with the Fantasmic Dinner Package. A little pricey, but cheaper than dinner.

...

was this recent as I thought only "dinner " counted toward Fantasmic. Thanks ( we are trying it already for lunch so if I needed to adjust I could)

 

[Grumpy92]

Another vote for Konas. We never stay in MK for lunch but always run over to the Poly for the great food. Dont miss the Pot stickers. Dinner is good as well.

We also have found the Concourse St very good, both brkfst, lunch and dinner.

All the restaurants in WS are very good. We especially like Le Cellier, Japan, Akershus and Germany. Pretty much the only we like in the studios now is Mama Melrose.

Good Buffets: Cape May Cafe, Boma, Trails End

You might want to check out the menus at:
www.wdwig.com/menu/menus.htm

 

[crisi]

We just got back. Lunch was usually Cosmic Rays or something of that calibar, but we ate well for dinner.

The food snob meals - as we were eating with a 4 and a 5 year old, these are the "second tier" food snob meals - not Flying Fish or CG or Artists Point, but the places I'm comfortable with kids:

Marrakesh: We normally really like this place, but had the bad luck of poor service next to a party of at least twenty people. So I don't really know if the food was even on par. Oh, and my daughter had to visit the bathroom (with me) three times, which didn't make it enjoyable. Not our best meal, but I don't know if it was the food or the service and our own party issues.

Spoodles: I didn't like this, but I think I ordered the wrong thing. Had I stuck to tapas and flatbreads I would have been fine, but I went with the scallops in mashed potatoes - overprepared and too heavy for my taste.

Narcoosees: Several in our party thought this was the best meal we had. The Butternut Squash soup was fantastic. I thought the key lime creme brulee was too sweet. The steak was good (but Le Cellier was better).

Le Cellier: I understand what the raves were about. I did the salmon - which was good, but not wonderful, but my husband the steak lover is still raving about the steak. The cheese soup and chocolate bread pudding were both incredible. This split the vote with Narcossees as our best meal.

Teppanyaki: I really don't consider this a food snob meal...the scallops however were what I had been dreaming of at Spoodles.

Boma: I don't consider this a food snob meal either, and - although the food was good and seeing the resort was worth the trip - I don't think it will be on our to do list in the future. The meats (prime rib and flank steak and salmon) were not great....the strength of Boma is in the odd ball stuff - the carrot ginger soup and the fufu. Zebra domes did not live up to my expectations.

For lunch, the salmon at Tusker House was darn good, considering you stood in line to get it. As were the chicken wraps at Peco's Bills. My mother in law is raving about lunch at LTT, where they split a crab cake and a salad.

Dinner for four adults and two children, with alcohol for the adults, generally ran between $150 and $200 - more at Narcoosees.