Brown Derby and Coral Reef Going Down the Tubes?

[Sumshine 904]

:brick:

Okay, I dunno if any of you noticed, but my family sure has... The Brown Derby and the Coral Reef are, like, doing down the tubes IMHO.

Brown Derby - All the good food are being taken off the menu! The lamb (my mom's fav) is now gone, the lobster I think is gone, and no cruton sticks! (when I was little I didn't like salads that much but I'd always eat cruton sticks with blue cheese )

Coral Reef - Not as bad as the Brown Derby but the same delima. It's a sea food restraunt, and they don't have lobster. :veryconfu Don't ask me why. And they also got rid of my favorite dessert, "Sailing Away" whith that chocolate moose boat and the white chocolate oars...

And IMHO, they're food's starting to taste a little... Tasteless. :hurl: Does anyone know what I mean? If so please reply.

 

[disneygal1012]

A lot of items are seasonal items at the Derby. the lobster is usually a late summer early fall item. I don't remember the cruton sticks. Last time I was there it was awesome.

 

[DznyGrlSD]

I haven't been a fan of Coral Reef the last 2 times I've gone there. It's lost it's appeal. I've never eaten @ Brown Derby (except for dine w/an Imagineer) so I don't have an opinion of that place.

 

[dxwwf3]

I've not heard any negative reports about the food quality at the Brown Derby. The menu is a little too "out there" for me, but when I was able to order that grilled chicken from the Kid's Menu, it was always fantastic and the bread is wonderful.

Everything I've heard about the Coral Reef though is that it has never even been up the tubes to begin with . I don't think I've ever talked to anyone that actually wanted to go back there and eat.

 

[radiohost]

I thought Brown Derby was good, yet my girlfriend hated the Cobb salad...which is there signature.

IMHO....50's Prime Time is #1 in the category of going down the hill.

My family used to get great food with great entertainment (aka the waitors)...and the passed four visits have been complete duds!!!! It was on our MUST list back in the 90's....now its not even on our list...a real shame.

 

[DznyGrlSD]

I thought Brown Derby was good, yet my girlfriend hated the Cobb salad...which is there signature.

IMHO....50's Prime Time is #1 in the category of going down the hill.

My family used to get great food with great entertainment (aka the waitors)...and the passed four visits have been complete duds!!!! It was on our MUST list back in the 90's....now its not even on our list...a real shame.

AMEN!! I went to Prime Time 50's on my last trip and my waiter was 'blah.' But I noticed some of the other servers were really into character, so it's REALLY hit or miss anymore

 

[DigitalDisney]

Seems like the food dept at WDW in general is sliding

- Standard fare is being replaced with fancy gourmet garbage.
- The menus are inconsistant. For example, at the Backlot Wrap place in MGM, some sandwiches/wraps include chips and others don't
- Topping bars have definitely shrunk
- From what I've read and heard, it seems like portions at the full-service places have shrunk a little, and the menus have been shrinking/changing (as noted above)
- Some things have become more generic and less special. Some snacks used to at least appear to be freshly made and were openly presented on a place. Now they are wrapped in a plastic bag and appear freshly unboxed or freshly purchased from the local quik-e-mart

 

[davinakb]

I went to BD twice last year, and enjoyed it both times. That said, I do see a lot of paring down of all the menus at the sit-down places, which is a little annoying. What's there is good, but I remember a few years ago when there seemed to be more of a selection or at least enough items to make it really hard to choose. Now not so much, so in that respect I feel your pain. FWIW.

 

[gatordoc]

Went to the Brown Derby a couple of nights ago, and the food remains excellent. Unfortunately, Portobello is going downhill a bit (although they still have one of the best wine lists at WDW). Can't wait for Il Mulino to open - it's now the only hope left for good Italian...

 

[FantasMickeyM]

Not sure I think it's fair to ditch a restaurant just because they got rid of a dessert and don't serve lobster..:veryconfu Especially when it's as fantastic as Coral Reef. I love the aquarium :king:

 

[FantasMickeyM]

Everything I've heard about the Coral Reef though is that it has never even been up the tubes to begin with . I don't think I've ever talked to anyone that actually wanted to go back there and eat.

Talk to me then, I'm going back there in January and I'm really looking forward to it :slurp: . The food was great, we were seated right by the huge aquarium-wall, and we got a big delicious chocolicious dessert for free as we were on honeymoon :king: ! One of my favourite restaurants in Disney World, and in the world generally actually! :sohappy:

 

[figment1985]

The Hollywood Brown Derby was SOOOO good when I went in September. I had steak, garlic mashed potatos, cobb salad, creme brulee.....

 

[HoneyMnShawnee]

The Brown Derby was a great meal, but being on the Dining Plan, I didn't feel the meal was worth two table service credits.. I did have better meals at places that only required one credit.. The Creme Brule was awesome...

 

[meatloafsfan]

I had read so many negative reviews about the coral over the last couple of years and now the reviews seem to be turning around.

We ate dinner there in October and it was very good. The ahi tuna with wasabi mashed potatoes excellent as was the steak.

And yes, a seafood restaurant is still a seafood restaurant even if they don't serve lobster.

 

[Maryssa*]

Food at the Brown Derby still tastes amazing to me, I dont see anything wrong with it. Havent been to Coral Reef in over 10 years though i think.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Seems like the food dept at WDW in general is sliding

- Standard fare is being replaced with fancy gourmet garbage.
- The menus are inconsistant. For example, at the Backlot Wrap place in MGM, some sandwiches/wraps include chips and others don't
- Topping bars have definitely shrunk
- From what I've read and heard, it seems like portions at the full-service places have shrunk a little, and the menus have been shrinking/changing (as noted above)
- Some things have become more generic and less special. Some snacks used to at least appear to be freshly made and were openly presented on a place. Now they are wrapped in a plastic bag and appear freshly unboxed or freshly purchased from the local quik-e-mart

Isnt point 1 sort of contradicted by point 5?

I found this summer that the menus lacked variety, and were far from special. I would have expected more from an off site chain eatery.

 

[FantasMickeyM]

Coral Reef is still GREAT! We went in Jan/Feb this year and LOVED IT!

It IS, however, not a great place to eat if you have food allergies/intolerances. Not a lot of choice.

 

[KevinYee]

Both CR and BD are still "good." I think the question on the table is if they are as good as they used to be years ago - and the consensus seems to be that they aren't.

There's also a groundswell of opinion that the Dining Plan is to blame. The program encourages Disney to homogenize the menus, to save money. Thus, I don't think this general direction of things is going to change any time soon.

 

[k.hunter30]

:brick:

Okay, I dunno if any of you noticed, but my family sure has... The Brown Derby and the Coral Reef are, like, doing down the tubes IMHO.

Brown Derby - All the good food are being taken off the menu! The lamb (my mom's fav) is now gone, the lobster I think is gone, and no cruton sticks! (when I was little I didn't like salads that much but I'd always eat cruton sticks with blue cheese )

Coral Reef - Not as bad as the Brown Derby but the same delima. It's a sea food restraunt, and they don't have lobster. :veryconfu Don't ask me why. And they also got rid of my favorite dessert, "Sailing Away" whith that chocolate moose boat and the white chocolate oars...

And IMHO, they're food's starting to taste a little... Tasteless. :hurl: Does anyone know what I mean? If so please reply.

...hasn't this always been the case for Coral Reef...:lookaroun ...:shrug:

 

[eagles]

i spoke with the coral reef manager, (about another topic) but we ended up discussing the lobster (or lack there of). she told me they just can't find a good supplier. and if the quality is not going to be there for the quantity that they would need, they simply won't offer lobster.


i personally can't wait to go eat there. 27 more days til the world!