Robert P
GLOBEX - taking over your world one country at a t
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2002
Intro: We had wanted to revisit the Café since our only previous visit was, as I recall, 7 or 8 years ago. That experience was tainted by a table too small for our party, and terrible timing with the food, which completely swamped the already too crowded table. Also, the noise level was beyond loud that night, and conversation across the small table was impossible. That was a bad experience way back then, but the food was good.
After having sworn off the Express after repeatedly having both poor service and messed up orders (over 50% of the time), we picked the Café as a last minute choice this trip.
Getting there: Have you ever noticed that when you are going to be very early for an ADR, the bus at your WDW hotel is right there waiting for you when you walk up, which makes you even earlier? Well, for us, when we are going to be cutting it close, we always seem to get the longest wait for transpo of our entire trip. This was no exception. We waited over 25 minutes for a DTD bus to appear at BCV. Then, the bus was held at Marketplace for a few extra minutes, while the bus stop was blocked. Oh, the irony.
We arrived 10 minutes late for our 6:30 ADR. This was a last minute (on site, day before) ADR, so we took the time that we could get for a party of 2 adults. We wanted someplace at DTD, that was on the DDP. As we had visited Raglan Road many times this trip, we chose WPC. We stopped by the outside podium, who then sent us to the inside podium, and we were seated right away. This time, we were seated fairly close to the dessert prep area, at a decent size table. I wouldnt have wanted to sit 4 people there, but for 2 of us, it was great. The restaurant was almost full, Id guess 90% occupied.
Our server, whose name I do not have in front of me (maybe either Anne Marie or Rose Marie), was good. Once we told her we were on the DDP, she wanted us to order everything right then. I noticed this before at other DDP places, but it was more obvious this time. Anyway, we werent going to be doing that tonight, so we ordered drinks, and away she went. She came back with drinks in a few minutes, and we then ordered appetizers and entrees. We politely told her we were going to have to wait and pick the desserts later. She seemed fine with that. Side note: the bread basket here was very good this night. Not BlueZoo good, but it was very good bread.
For appetizers, we had the mixed greens salad and the BBQ chicken quesadilla. The greens were as good (IMHO) as a greens salad can be. The quesadilla was excellent. Filled thick with moist chicken, the tortilla itself was either flavored, or grilled with some flavoring, which really added to the dish. In other words, it wasnt just another quesadilla, and I now see what all the fuss has been about in other reviews. It was large enough it could have made for a small meal all by itself. A great choice.
For entrees, Tara had some type of seafood pasta dish (unsure what), that she said was better than the Portuguese seafood stew at Spoodles the night before. I tried it, and thought it was good, but I didnt find it to be better than Spoodles. I had the zwivelrostbraten, or Wolfs Steak. It was an excellent cut of meat, cooked perfectly as ordered (medium rare). The herb butter, served atop the steak, had a nice flavor that matched up well with the ribeye, without taking too much attention away from the steaks taste.
Later, for dessert, we ordered a crème brulee (not the sampler), and the key lime pie. The brulee was very good, but the pie was just downright excellent. The meringue could have had a bit more flavor, but the zesty flavor of the pie was outstanding, and the crust was not soggy at all, as can sometimes happen with a key lime pie.
Service this night was above average, especially seeing the restaurant almost full.
So, to recap, we enjoyed this meal, which was the final TS of our DDP adventure. The bad experience from years ago was now overwritten in our memory, and we will be adding this to our rotation of DTD eateries, especially for when/if we do the DDP again. All in all, an above average meal.
After having sworn off the Express after repeatedly having both poor service and messed up orders (over 50% of the time), we picked the Café as a last minute choice this trip.
Getting there: Have you ever noticed that when you are going to be very early for an ADR, the bus at your WDW hotel is right there waiting for you when you walk up, which makes you even earlier? Well, for us, when we are going to be cutting it close, we always seem to get the longest wait for transpo of our entire trip. This was no exception. We waited over 25 minutes for a DTD bus to appear at BCV. Then, the bus was held at Marketplace for a few extra minutes, while the bus stop was blocked. Oh, the irony.
We arrived 10 minutes late for our 6:30 ADR. This was a last minute (on site, day before) ADR, so we took the time that we could get for a party of 2 adults. We wanted someplace at DTD, that was on the DDP. As we had visited Raglan Road many times this trip, we chose WPC. We stopped by the outside podium, who then sent us to the inside podium, and we were seated right away. This time, we were seated fairly close to the dessert prep area, at a decent size table. I wouldnt have wanted to sit 4 people there, but for 2 of us, it was great. The restaurant was almost full, Id guess 90% occupied.
Our server, whose name I do not have in front of me (maybe either Anne Marie or Rose Marie), was good. Once we told her we were on the DDP, she wanted us to order everything right then. I noticed this before at other DDP places, but it was more obvious this time. Anyway, we werent going to be doing that tonight, so we ordered drinks, and away she went. She came back with drinks in a few minutes, and we then ordered appetizers and entrees. We politely told her we were going to have to wait and pick the desserts later. She seemed fine with that. Side note: the bread basket here was very good this night. Not BlueZoo good, but it was very good bread.
For appetizers, we had the mixed greens salad and the BBQ chicken quesadilla. The greens were as good (IMHO) as a greens salad can be. The quesadilla was excellent. Filled thick with moist chicken, the tortilla itself was either flavored, or grilled with some flavoring, which really added to the dish. In other words, it wasnt just another quesadilla, and I now see what all the fuss has been about in other reviews. It was large enough it could have made for a small meal all by itself. A great choice.
For entrees, Tara had some type of seafood pasta dish (unsure what), that she said was better than the Portuguese seafood stew at Spoodles the night before. I tried it, and thought it was good, but I didnt find it to be better than Spoodles. I had the zwivelrostbraten, or Wolfs Steak. It was an excellent cut of meat, cooked perfectly as ordered (medium rare). The herb butter, served atop the steak, had a nice flavor that matched up well with the ribeye, without taking too much attention away from the steaks taste.
Later, for dessert, we ordered a crème brulee (not the sampler), and the key lime pie. The brulee was very good, but the pie was just downright excellent. The meringue could have had a bit more flavor, but the zesty flavor of the pie was outstanding, and the crust was not soggy at all, as can sometimes happen with a key lime pie.
Service this night was above average, especially seeing the restaurant almost full.
So, to recap, we enjoyed this meal, which was the final TS of our DDP adventure. The bad experience from years ago was now overwritten in our memory, and we will be adding this to our rotation of DTD eateries, especially for when/if we do the DDP again. All in all, an above average meal.
