What restaurant surprised you?

Splitsville sushi. Yes, seriously :rotfl:

This. Very pleasant surprise when we did the DVC Wednesday night bowling there. In fact, all the food we had at Splitsville was very good, but the sushi was the best of it all.
 
Olivia's at OKW was excellent. I went in with really no expectations, and my sister wanted to go there. It has very good Key West type food, and excellent theming. It was delicious and not too heavy, with perfect service. If it weren't for the issues with getting there, I would absolutely go again.
 
Boatwrights. DH wanted to try a new restaurant and liked the menu so we gave it a whirl and ended up loving it. We eat there at least once a trip, even if we aren't staying at POR. DH loves the jambalaya and sweet tea and I love the prime rib and french onion soup. It is a real hidden gem.
 


Another for Grand Floridian Cafe! Always had delicious meals here, and it's a beautiful place.
 
Nomad Lounge - Great atmosphere and food. Went in just wanting to relax and cool off before the ROL and loved the food and comfortable seating. We also met a nice family from PA and ended up having a great time talking to them.

The Boathouse - Went there mainly to sit at the bar on the lake and watch the Patriots game. Ended up eating in the restaurant first and had a great meal. Then got two seats out at the bar to watch the game and it’s really one of the best spots in WDW.
 


Definitely Nine Dragons. DH didn't want to make any lunch ADRs, so we easily walked in there without reservations. We really enjoyed it, maybe partly because we didn't expect to!
 
Our first time at Sanaa, I seriously thought I wouldn't like anything there, but DW wanted to go the first time. Oddly enough it was one of my favorite restaurants and DWs least favorite of that trip, but that is because we figured out one of the spices they used heavily at the time didn't agree with DW. We went again and both loved it, but there was less that used that spice and so it was easier to avoid.
 
Be Our Guest priced fixed dinner. I had read bad reviews about it since the menu change. I wasn't planning on going any time soon, but then planned a girls trip with my friend who hadn't been to Disney and her number one request was eating here. Looking to change the time of a different restaurant a reservation for here popped up so I grabbed it. It turned out to be a wonderful meal. All our food was delicious and I've always enjoyed eating inside Beast's castle. I had been nervous about the menu change, but I think it made the restaurant better. I'll definitely be going back.
 
1900 Park Fare dinner surprised me the most. I went into it with pretty low expectations and the food was really, really good. I had read reviews that said it was just 'okay', your typical buffet, and I found the food surprisingly good. They had this butternut squash ravioli with sage brown butter sauce that I still think about.

The character interaction with the stepsisters was everything I had hoped for and more. Even with two little kids (a 4 & 2 year old), they did a great job at being the right amount of snarky to be hilarious and not scary.

We absolutely loved 1900 Park Fare when we went in 2010. The character interaction was some of the best we experienced the entire trip. I have pictures of my kids making silly faces and the stepmom giving them such the dirty look, plus the step-sisters were 100% perfectly snarky without being too much for younger kids. My kids thought their antics were hilarious and still talk about that dinner now as teenagers. The food was good, better than I expected.
 
Sebastian's Bistro. The food was creative and tasty, the atmosphere was bright and comfortable and our service may have been the best of this just finished trip. I could have eaten the Pull-apart Rolls with the Jerk Oil every day of our trip. The only thing that was a bit odd was the Teriyaki-ish Glaze on the Jerk Chicken. I'm guessing they put it on there to diminish the heat from tradition Jerk but to me it took away from the authenticity of the dish.
 
Definitely Nine Dragons. DH didn't want to make any lunch ADRs, so we easily walked in there without reservations. We really enjoyed it, maybe partly because we didn't expect to!

In 30 years, I've never been disappointed with Nine Dragons. Not every meal has to be some earth-shattering exclusive experience ... sometimes fun, fast and familiar is just fine. Plus I like that it's relatively budget friendly - nice place to go the day after I drop $1000 at California Grill.
 
Breakfast at Ale and Compass, very good food (mini buffet but extra fresh), service top notch and atmosphere very peaceful - add points for the boat ride :cutie:
 
The Wave at the Contemporary. Our reservation was for breakfast for three but my oldest daughter stayed behind at the resort because she wasn't feeling well. We're not a buffet family however when we're in Disney we will dine at them. What I liked about the Wave was the fact that you could order from their breakfast menu or choose the buffet. Many of the same items you had on the regular breakfast menu were found on the buffet, such as the sweet potato pancakes and such. I'm a Mason Dixon gal so being from Maryland we enjoy the food of the south just as much as those who live deep below the MDL and so for me their grits were some of the best grits I've ever had. I remember telling our sever (who was great btw) and he let me in on the key element that makes them so smooth and creamy. We had such a good time that I just changed our ressie from Kona Cafe for breakfast to The Wave for this coming surprise girls trip in July.
 
Our first time at Sanaa, I seriously thought I wouldn't like anything there, but DW wanted to go the first time. Oddly enough it was one of my favorite restaurants and DWs least favorite of that trip, but that is because we figured out one of the spices they used heavily at the time didn't agree with DW. We went again and both loved it, but there was less that used that spice and so it was easier to avoid.
Excited to try this next month for lunch!
 
Tutto Italia. My wife loves Italian and wanted to try it for our first Disney trip together. I just figured it would be a glorified Olive Garden, but here we are with it in our regular rotation. Service & food are always on point here.
 
The Wave at the Contemporary. Our reservation was for breakfast for three but my oldest daughter stayed behind at the resort because she wasn't feeling well. We're not a buffet family however when we're in Disney we will dine at them. What I liked about the Wave was the fact that you could order from their breakfast menu or choose the buffet. Many of the same items you had on the regular breakfast menu were found on the buffet, such as the sweet potato pancakes and such. I'm a Mason Dixon gal so being from Maryland we enjoy the food of the south just as much as those who live deep below the MDL and so for me their grits were some of the best grits I've ever had. I remember telling our sever (who was great btw) and he let me in on the key element that makes them so smooth and creamy. We had such a good time that I just changed our ressie from Kona Cafe for breakfast to The Wave for this coming surprise girls trip in July.

Hoping to stay there in November, will have to try it out as well as La Cellier and the Crystal Palace.
 
Trattoria at the Boardwalk. Stopped in unexpectedly. Had to wait a little while in Abracadabar which was neat and then were brought to a nice table. Congenial service and I really enjoyed my food - and I don't really care for Italian! It was the first ADR I made for our upcoming trip.

Several years ago we were staying at CBR and ate at the TS in Old Port Royale at the time (can't remember the name). At the time it was VERY poorly reviewed and made many of the Worst Of lists. The atmosphere and service were both pleasant and they had some potatoes they served on the side of our meals that were AMAZING.

But I agree, it's all about low expectations so don't read any of these posts because then your expectations will be too high!
 

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