STK Menu Revamp

[shipley731]

My husband and I have eaten at Morimoto Asia 3 times and been pleased each time. First time was in the regular restaurant getting the ribs, duck and a couple of other things, the second two times at the sushi bar getting a kind of pricey sushi / sashimi thing. All three times we have throughly enjoyed the experience and thought what we paid was in line with what we got. Good service & good food. This is in a direct opposite experience to what we got at The Morimoto in Waikiki. We stayed at the Modern hotel in Waikiki for our 20th anniversary where there is an outpost of Morimoto. Our rate included breakfast & Morimoto was one of our choices. Took an hour for breakfast to come out & it wasn't all that great. We could write that off. Made a reservation for our anniversary dinner for 7pm that day. It was a Wednesday. The first 3 things we tried to order they were out of including the sashimi sampler of 5 pieces of fish. The waitstaff sucked and the food was fine, but I probably admittedly built this up too much before going. It was just underwhelming. Especially since we had done the tasting menu at Alan Wong's 3 days before this meal & it blew us away. I wasn't expecting much from the weird fusion menu at Morimoto Asia, but everything I've tried has been great. It's redeemed my faith in the brand. I think my experience in Hawaii was just an off experience. They take TIW which is a plus & Morimoto seems to drop in every couple of months or so which is more than a lot of the celebrity chef places can say. He actually seems to give a damn. I respect that.

 

[Sans Souci]

My husband and I have eaten at Morimoto Asia 3 times and been pleased each time. First time was in the regular restaurant getting the ribs, duck and a couple of other things, the second two times at the sushi bar getting a kind of pricey sushi / sashimi thing. All three times we have throughly enjoyed the experience and thought what we paid was in line with what we got. Good service & good food. This is in a direct opposite experience to what we got at The Morimoto in Waikiki. We stayed at the Modern hotel in Waikiki for our 20th anniversary where there is an outpost of Morimoto. Our rate included breakfast & Morimoto was one of our choices. Took an hour for breakfast to come out & it wasn't all that great. We could write that off. Made a reservation for our anniversary dinner for 7pm that day. It was a Wednesday. The first 3 things we tried to order they were out of including the sashimi sampler of 5 pieces of fish. The waitstaff sucked and the food was fine, but I probably admittedly built this up too much before going. It was just underwhelming. Especially since we had done the tasting menu at Alan Wong's 3 days before this meal & it blew us away. I wasn't expecting much from the weird fusion menu at Morimoto Asia, but everything I've tried has been great. It's redeemed my faith in the brand. I think my experience in Hawaii was just an off experience. They take TIW which is a plus & Morimoto seems to drop in every couple of months or so which is more than a lot of the celebrity chef places can say. He actually seems to give a damn. I respect that.

I do want to try Morimoto Asia, it seems like I always run out of time while I am down there. LOL

 

[MissM]

i've had dinner there twice. It has good food and it cost about $100 per person, adults with a few drinks each. the food & price compared with a Shula's, Ruth Chris, Capital Grille. The problem is imagine eating a fine steak in a Disco, music was way too loud and hard to hear your conversation. If I eat there again, I'll eat outside

I love me some Capital Grille. Their Kona crusted Filet is amazing. But when we want to go there, it's because we want a nice evening out. I'm going to wear a dress and heels. It's not a spur of the moment kind of meal, it's a planned, relaxed, slow dining evening. I just wonder how many upscale places Disney can balance at once. I wonder how many people are planning on going to Disney Springs for a higher-priced meal like that? Just doesn't seem like the right fit.

And if there's loud music? Ugh. Even worse! Part of the appeal of a higher-end steakhouse like that is the atmosphere; again; if I'm eating at a Capital Grille or similar, I'm not there for a party.

I've never been to STK and given that I live in Tampa, I can't see driving all the way out there when I have other, comparable options right here, but it does feel like a square peg of a restaurant in a round hole of a location to me.

 

[TimeTrip]

Finally getting a chance to eat here. I must seriously question their choice of tables upstairs. Its kind of like outdoor furniture, and impossible to keep clean. Not expected at a place this pricey.

Edited to add that the tables on the entry floor are much more what I would expect.. Lacquered wood with no gaps.

 

[Figment82]

Finally getting a chance to eat here. I must seriously question their choice of tables upstairs. Its kind of like outdoor furniture, and impossible to keep clean. Not expected at a place this pricey.
View attachment 176385

Edited to add that the tables on the entry floor are much more what I would expect.. Lacquered wood with no gaps.

We commented on this exact issue when we ate there in September! We opted to eat upstairs in hopes that it would be a bit quieter (not by much!) and were surprised by the table top choice. It was like they had taken shutters off the windows and used them in lieu of actual tables. My biggest issue was that my glass of water was "sweating" and kept dripping on my leg. And if you spilled even a little bit of food, it would ultimately find its way into the crevices. Made you wonder how they/if they kept them clean.

 

[TimeTrip]

We commented on this exact issue when we ate there in September! We opted to eat upstairs in hopes that it would be a bit quieter (not by much!) and were surprised by the table top choice. It was like they had taken shutters off the windows and used them in lieu of actual tables. My biggest issue was that my glass of water was "sweating" and kept dripping on my leg. And if you spilled even a little bit of food, it would ultimately find its way into the crevices. Made you wonder how they/if they kept them clean.

Oddly enough, the upstairs seemed louder to me... though that was likely because were seated against the wall on the right, right below one of the speakers. Poor design choice again.

 

[Figment82]

Oddly enough, the upstairs seemed louder to me... though that was likely because were seated against the wall on the right, right below one of the speakers. Poor design choice again.

Same here! We went with some friends and intended to have an actual conversation, but it proved a bit difficult. It'd be a great place if you didn't want to talk with your dining companions!

 

[WhatJaneSays]

Same here! We went with some friends and intended to have an actual conversation, but it proved a bit difficult. It'd be a great place if you didn't want to talk with your dining companions!

Yeah for some groups that's a feature not a bug.

 

[matt9112]

I think it's just too high end. When the most recommended place to eat is Blaze Pizza, I think that tells you a lot about what people are looking for. Morimoto and Boathouse fill the bill for a nice, fancy dinner while not breaking the bank. STK just way out priced themselves.

The boathouse ? Can I borrow your bank than? Not like you need it

 

[KCL]

Of all of the new locations opening up not at just DS but across the resort as a whole, this is the one that actually disappointed me.

I actually really like the look of the restaurant's exterior. And the views from the outdoor seating are really nice, especially in the evening. The problem is that the menu did not wow me, nor did the actual food itself. And the wait staff was fine and all, but really, when you go there in the very early afternoon, and no one was downstairs, and the upstairs only had one other location, I would expect great service.

If you are going to charge some of the highest price points for the food, the dining experience needs to truly be an 'experience'. And it just wasn't for us. My cut of steak was good, but it wasn't incredible. We have eaten multiple times at The Boathouse, Morimoto's Asia, Art Smith's Homecoming, Frontera Cucina (excellent establishment), D-Lux and Blaze Pizza (great pizza). And this is no joke; going into each of those locations, and considering how each is specifically priced along with the menu selection and expected level of service, we truly enjoyed each of those and could not wait to return. For STK, we left feeling that it was okay, but a bit too expensive.

In contrast, an equally expensive location is Tiffins and the Nomad Lounge at DAK. We go down to WDW with a group, and everyone agreed that Tiffins was VERY pricey, but in the end it was worth every penny. The service was excellent each time, and the menu items, albeit on the adventurous side, were some of the best meals that we have had. Each one is a work of art, which sort of goes along with the decor of the restaurant itself. There are artistic touches throughout that entire location, with experiences of the Imagineers detailed on the walls from their numerous trips they took when researching the design of DAK. The fulfillment of a rich dining experience is there to be had at Tiffins. This is what we would have expected from STK, but in the end just did not get it. Thus, a bit of a disappointment.

That's what I needed to hear. Thanks and well said.

 

[WDWtraveler]

Photo update as of Friday, Feb. 17. Finally (although could have been some time ago), STK has installed a more permanent "barrier" between their ground floor outdoor dining and the busy pedestrian traffic outside. There is additional space between the planter boxes and the first row of tables so a server can walk through.

 

[lentesta]

I am told there STK may be making changes to its lunch offering.

STK's reader ratings from our book/site are 46% over the past 90 days. That's the lowest we've ever recorded for a WDW table service.

 

[FoodRockz]

I am told there STK may be making changes to its lunch offering.

STK's reader ratings from our book/site are 46% over the past 90 days. That's the lowest we've ever recorded for a WDW table service.

Silver lining: They broke a record!