Culinary Experiences Rankings

[ParadoxPortals]

OK, so I love dining as an extension of immersive worldbuilding and placemaking. Theme parks can use bars, restaurants, and snack carts to extend the storylines and fictional cultures of their lands. But not every dining option is created equally. Let's rank our favourites. I'll reply to my own post below with mine.

RULES:
1) Any place that serves any type of food or drink is allowed; food carts, reservation-only bars, quick services, table services, Galactic Starcruiser eateries, Club 33, Springs / Downtown eateries, ETC...
2) No real-world chains / brands are allowed in this thread, so no Starbucks or Joffrey's, ETC.
3) All choices have to meet the high bar of having exceptional theming and menu together; if they serve only cheap burgers, they're out.
4) We're ranking these options based on their own merits exclusively, so don't bump up Aloha Isle cuz you can eat Whips at Tiki Room.
5) Rank any amount you like up to 10 max.

 

[ParadoxPortals]

Honourable mention: EPCOT's San Angel Inn if brands were allowed.
10) Aloha Isle
9) Columbia Harbour House
8) Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo
7) Paris' Restaurant Agrabah Cafe
6) Gaston's Tavern
5) Paris' Pym Test Kitchen
4) Paris' Bistro Chet Remy
3) Space 220
2) Jungle Navigation Co Skipper Canteen
1) Satuli Canteen

 

[Rinx]

10. Pecos Bill's (back in the day anyway)
9. Aloha Isle
8. Jock Lindsay's Hangar Bar
7. Satuli Canteen
6. The Ganacherie
5. Cosmic Ray's
4. Trader Sam's
3. Chef Art Smith's Homecomin'
2. Hoop-Dee-Doo
1. Boma

 

[IanDLBZF]

10. Chef Art Smith's Homecomin' Kitchen
9. Beaches and Cream
8. Shiki Sai
7. Skipper Canteen
6. DCA's Wine Country Trattoria
5. Via Napoli
4. Connections Cafe
3. Satuli Canteen
2. Aloha Isle
1. California Grill

 

[JIMINYCR]

1. Chefs de France
2. Yak & Yeti
3. La Hacienda de San Angel
4. Liberty Tree Tavern
5. Hoop de Doo
6. 50s Prime time
7. Regal Eagle BBQ
8. Flame Tree BBQ
9. Raglan Road
10. Cape May Cafe

 

[AkiraRaptor]

1. Victoria and Alberts (Chef's Table)
2. Topolino's Terrace
3. Toledo
4. Jiko
5. California Grill
6. Tiffin's
7. La Hacienda de San Angel
8. Steakhouse 71
9. Sanaa
10. Boma

And if they were still open...Artist Point. And we've done both the regular table and Chef's Table at V&A. Chef's Table is so much better.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

2) No real-world chains / brands are allowed in this thread, so no Starbucks or Joffrey's, ETC.

Are you therefore excluding places like Yak & Yeti, because it is not Disney owned? If so, then some of my favorites would be excluded, including Yak & Yeti and the eateries in Italy.

There's also an element of time to how I would rank most theme park eateries, I had one of the best meals I've ever had anywhere at 'Ohana, but my more recent visits there have been quite disappointing.

Again, highly variable from visit to visit, but some of my favorite dining experiences were in the club floor lounges. The WL club lounge sometimes has meat made in the hotel smokehouse that is excellent, but other times the food is just okay. Other days, the CL food has been marginal. The AKL lounge has a great view of the hotel lobby.

Some of my other bests would be the foods offered at the Art Festival. Back in 2018 I think, the festival introduced me to Taikai. It is a Japanese dessert. The outside layer of the dessert is basically a crispy fish shaped waffle. The filling is variable, but often includes ice cream and something like sweet red bean paste, but I've also had fruit flavors. This year they brought them back, but they weren't nearly as good. Previously, the waffles were made to order. This year' filling also wasn't nearly as good.

One of my old favorite WDW foods used to be the Toll House Cookies on Main Street. Though that probably falls outside your rules.

One QS eatery that I'd list Docking Bay.

Topolino's was great the first time we went, but the more recent visit was not nearly so good.

That is perhaps my other observation when it comes to WDW dining. Over the years, I've met some amazing CM's, and they were a large part of what made the meal exceptional. Outstanding service goes a long way to making a meal memorable, even magical, IMO. If I think of specific places we've dined, the service often changes from visit to visit.

One of the bet recent meals we've had was at Shiki-Sai, but our CM was a big part of why the meal was excellent.

One place that seems to stay great year after year is Mythos.

 

[ParadoxPortals]

Are you therefore excluding places like Yak & Yeti, because it is not Disney owned? If so, then some of my favorites would be excluded, including Yak & Yeti and the eateries in Italy.

There's also an element of time to how I would rank most theme park eateries, I had one of the best meals I've ever had anywhere at 'Ohana, but my more recent visits there have been quite disappointing.

Again, highly variable from visit to visit, but some of my favorite dining experiences were in the club floor lounges. The WL club lounge sometimes has meat made in the hotel smokehouse that is excellent, but other times the food is just okay. Other days, the CL food has been marginal. The AKL lounge has a great view of the hotel lobby.

Some of my other bests would be the foods offered at the Art Festival. Back in 2018 I think, the festival introduced me to Taikai. It is a Japanese dessert. The outside layer of the dessert is basically a crispy fish shaped waffle. The filling is variable, but often includes ice cream and something like sweet red bean paste, but I've also had fruit flavors. This year they brought them back, but they weren't nearly as good. Previously, the waffles were made to order. This year' filling also wasn't nearly as good.

One of my old favorite WDW foods used to be the Toll House Cookies on Main Street. Though that probably falls outside your rules.

One QS eatery that I'd list Docking Bay.

Topolino's was great the first time we went, but the more recent visit was not nearly so good.

That is perhaps my other observation when it comes to WDW dining. Over the years, I've met some amazing CM's, and they were a large part of what made the meal exceptional. Outstanding service goes a long way to making a meal memorable, even magical, IMO. If I think of specific places we've dined, the service often changes from visit to visit.

One of the bet recent meals we've had was at Shiki-Sai, but our CM was a big part of why the meal was excellent.

One place that seems to stay great year after year is Mythos.

You've raised some really good points here, places like Yak and Yeti and Toll House Cookies probably should be allowed to be included as they are so strongly considered to be part of the Disney Parks brand at this point; good niche suggestions as well! I should especially get around to trying Yak and Yeti eventually.

Festivals, especially Food and Wine, always deliver IMO. Because they're not permanent locations I don't think I'd count them among my rules though I do recognise some years the festivals have had truly exceptional offerings so it's good to mention them nonetheless.

Cast absolutely add to a meal experience, it's why I wanted to make clear through my ruleset that a menu isn't everything. Theming, included experiences (Space 220's Stellavator), and more all contribute to the quality of your dinner. Though for the sake of this tier list we'll try to ignore the fact that restaurants can have varying qualities over time and just go off of people's most recent thoughts after their most recent visits.

I have to say for Mythos, I tried it for the first time last summer after being lured in by its infamous banner, it absolutely isn't the world's best any more haha. I love the idea of Mediterranean food at a theme park, and at night the view from the outside seating across the lake with all of IOA's beautiful lighting is stunning. The food was very nice and the atmosphere inside was good too, but the brutally-cold air con and overhyping of the menu from the outside banner let me down a bit. Still in like my top 20 favourite places to dine though.

Thanks for your time and thoughts!

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

Well then, as much as I really like Yak, it is another place that is always cold. It can be especially brutal if you are wet from rain or Kali. That said, the outdoor QS Yak & Yeti is a favorite QS of mine. It maybe isn't the best fried rice I've ever had anywhere, but with the location it is fun. They used to always have a great salad there. It keeps changing though, and each new version is smaller/less great than the last, but still worth considering.

 

[mlayton144]

Biergarten !

 

[Hockey89]

1) Capa
V&A
Shula’s
Bluezoo
Kimonos
Flying Fish Cafe
Tiffans
Citricos
The Boathouse
10) Yak Yeti