Everyone's Best and Worst Dining Experiences?

[dupac]

It's interesting to see numerous people place Coral Reef as their best because after my experience, I swore I'd never go again. I hated every second that I spent in there. My mom also had a similar experience. I wonder what caused the difference? Maybe I should rethink my decision to never give it another chance?

I was really nervous about Coral Reef when we made our reservations because it gets such a mixed bag of reviews, but it was just so good. The fish I got was perfectly seasoned and came with this amazing risotto and scallops... mmmm I'm hungry now. While it was definitely a busy restaurant, generally noise level doesn't bother me much, so that might be a factor as well.

People rave about 50s Prime Time and Liberty Tree, but we were just not impressed with either. I think generally when Disney tries to replicate comfort food it's a miss for me.

 

[Hockey89]

The Best was Victoria & Albert's, with many very good including, California Grill, Flying Fish, Shula's and Yachtsman.
The worst were Artist Point and Hollywood & Vine. In both cases parent let their children run wild bumping into tables, throwing things etc.

Ive had the same trouble with Cal Grill last two times I went...Kids completely out of control...Worst I've even witnessed at a signature place at Disney... It was down right pathetic... Probably just off nights bc people love it.

V&A- The best by far on property....

 

[danyoung56]

It's interesting to see numerous people place Coral Reef as their best because after my experience, I swore I'd never go again. I hated every second that I spent in there.

I'm curious as to what went wrong. I've had many great meals at the Coral Reef. But then I've had a couple that were so-so, mainly because of bad service. Still, it's such a beautiful room that even a so-so meal is still a great experience for me!

 

[Hockey89]

I'm curious as to what went wrong. I've had many great meals at the Coral Reef. But then I've had a couple that were so-so, mainly because of bad service. Still, it's such a beautiful room that even a so-so meal is still a great experience for me!

Well from my experience...Food was not good...Service was terrible... WAY TO LOUD

 

[mcstensrud]

MK Best: BOG Dinner
Worst: Tony's
EC Best:Via Napoli
Worst:Nine Dragons
DHS Best: None
Worst:H&V
AK Best: Flame Tree
Worst: Yak & Yeti
Resorts Best: Turf Club
Worst: Trails End Buffeteria
DTD Best:Earl of Sandwich & Wolfgang express
Worst: Everywhere else right now!

 

[PhilharMagician]

Best meal is tough. We have had good meals at just about every restaurant on property. I would say that our favorite is Biergarten. Food is quite good and a show to go along with it.

Worst meal is tough also. Just as we have had good meals we have had bad meals at many locations. We have 2 that stand out to not return. Chef Mickey's for the sub-par food and after your kids grow up, that celebration thing gets very old and loud. The other is Restaurant Marrakesh for which we tried it once and had horrible service and terrible food and the second time we had horrible service and worse food. It does not need a third try with all of the other restaurants in WDW.

 

[Princess_AmyK]

I'm curious as to what went wrong. I've had many great meals at the Coral Reef. But then I've had a couple that were so-so, mainly because of bad service. Still, it's such a beautiful room that even a so-so meal is still a great experience for me!

I was actually very excited to eat there! Unfortunately, we arrived early but we still waited and waited until 30 minutes behind our reservation time. Then once we were sat, we sat for another 15 minutes before anyone even greeted us or took our drink orders. Our waiter was mostly absent the entire time and from the looks of it, the people around us were frustrated too. When we finally got our food, it was lukewarm, had clearly been sitting out waiting to be delivered to us for a long time, and tasted very bland. I also felt the the quality was really lacking for what I expect from Disney. It took nearly 2 hours for a meal for 2. I have never had an experience that bad at Disney World ever. If I had a bad experience it was always just one aspect that was lacking, never a complete fail all around.
When I got home, I told my mom about it and she said that when she had gone there that the same thing happened to her. This is why I chalked it up to just being a bad egg and decided that I would not go there again.

 

[danyoung56]

I just had that exact same situation at the Brown Derby. And I've had many great meals there, but this one was ruined by a lousy waitress. So I guess it can happen to anyone, anywhere. But I would strongly urge you to try the Coral Reef again - it really is a special place!

 

[David B]

Best- Kona Cafe BEFORE 2014. The steak was great, they had this amazing cheesecake, it was all good.The new menu isn't nearly as good, unfortunately. Currently I really like Jiko also. Some other greats are Boatwrights, Whispering Canyon, and Ohana. I still have a ton of restaurants to try out though....

Worst- Kat Korra/Portabello's- Cat Corra's Kouzzina was borderline inedible. It was that bad. They put so much salt on everything, I literally got sick afterwards. Beautiful location, and the restaurant was very clean and pretty. But they just didn't know how to make food. I hope the replacement is better, although I haven't tried it. Portabello's, meanwhile, does not deserve to be in Disney Springs. There are so many great restaurants in Orlando that could be there instead (KeKe's and 4 Rivers BBQ for example would be amazing in Disney Springs). Both times I have been to Portabello's, the pizza tasted like Clorox (no joke) and all the food just had a odd, premade taste. Combined with no-so-great service, and a long wait for the food, it makes you never want to go back.

BUT, I don't understand all the hate on the The Coral Reef! I've been there twice, and while not amazing, it was decent food and had an amazing setting. Big River Grill at Boardwalk is another restaurant that gets a bad reputation, but has decent food at a good location.

 

[prfctlyximprct]

Best: Chefs de France
Worst: Earl of Sandwich.. I think it is hyped up so much on these boards and after going I was like "meh..." Wawa sandwiches are bigger. Don't kill me.

 

[Baldy]

MK

• Best: Columbia Harbour House
• Worst: Pecos Bill (I am still mourning the loss of the taco salad. Hoping the new menu is better than the past few trips)

AK Best/Worst: Not sure. Everything is okay. Nothing stands out either way.

Epcot

• Best: Coral Reef (Must do for us. Always had excellent food & service.) & Les Halls (Pastries...Yum!)
• Worst: Chefs de France (rude servers, slow service, bland food) *I do love their onion soup though. Worst QS Sunshine seasons (Not a fan of the food, but yummy desserts) -- Even though it is the worst of the QS places we have tried, I would still eat here again

Hollywood Studios

• Best: Starring Rolls (The sandwiches are yummy - even though I am vegetarian, it is the one day of the year that I break my own rule to share my mum's sandwich. Don't forget the desserts either)
• Worst: ABC (long lines, slooooow, didn't like the food). We are going to try again this trip though. Wish me luck.

Downtown:

• Best: T-Rex (We have always had amazing service, the portions are huge and there was always something for everyone) *also, my son swears the steak at Portobello's was the best he's ever had. We are going back this trip to see if he still agrees.
• Worst: Earl of sandwich (not worth a DDP credit and not big enough for sharing)

 

[britdaw]

Hmmm.... I think for me I'd have to break it down into categories. What kind of dining experience? Are we talking just the food, or best in things like character dining, or family dining or date night dining? I think I'm overthinking it. LOL

Best: California Grill. The staff there went above and beyond to make sure our night there was nothing short of magical, from sprinkling castle-shaped confetti on our table, to giving us the best table in the place to view the fireworks from, to making sure all our food was absolutely delectable, we were floored by the service and quality here.
Worst: Rainforest Cafe in AK. I thought it might be a little more special since it's in WDW, but it's no more exciting than the one in Nashville we've been to before, and the food was lackluster at best.

 

[alissafalco]

Best -Jiko.....I can't believe I've only seen it mentioned once here. I was blown away, I think it's still a hidden gem. The filet blew away Cali grills, the service outstanding, the atmosphere beautiful, and the bison appetizer to die for.

Worst- tough call, I haven't had a "horrible" meal. Little things here and there at different places but not enough to keep me from not going back.

 

[Andy_0410]

Used to love Cali grill to the point a couple of years back we would eat 3/4 times per trip. But it now always seems very noisey with uncontrolled kids.
Artist point which I only discovered a couple of years ago was so much better this time around. Especially from a service PoV. The servers don't seem hurried or rush you and nothing is too much trouble

 

[Hockey89]

I just had that exact same situation at the Brown Derby. And I've had many great meals there, but this one was ruined by a lousy waitress. So I guess it can happen to anyone, anywhere. But I would strongly urge you to try the Coral Reef again - it really is a special place!

Dan it's not just one person or one time.... I have read horrid reviews time after time... You can say it's great which is great but many people think it's terrible....

 

[Hockey89]

Used to love Cali grill to the point a couple of years back we would eat 3/4 times per trip. But it now always seems very noisey with uncontrolled kids.
Artist point which I only discovered a couple of years ago was so much better this time around. Especially from a service PoV. The servers don't seem hurried or rush you and nothing is too much trouble

Agree about Cal grill....Used to be a must for us...Not anymore.

 

[danyoung56]

Dan it's not just one person or one time.... I have read horrid reviews time after time... You can say it's great which is great but many people think it's terrible....

All I can really go on is my own experience. And in my experience, having eaten at the Coral Reef probably 20 times, it has rarely disappointed.

 

[Hockey89]

All I can really go on is my own experience. And in my experience, having eaten at the Coral Reef probably 20 times, it has rarely disappointed.

Oh I hear you... If you like it that's great... I know people that like Applebee's and olive Garden too, so the bar is very different for different people.

 

[Punky]

I guess I'm the only one that like H&V. The lunch was pretty good to me, but I didn't like the Sunshine place at Epcot. They had absolutely nothing that neither I or my daughter found appetizing. Disney also ruins a lot of dishes (for us personally) by adding bacon or pork to almost everything. We don't eat pork.

 

[Kate Alan]

I guess I'm the only one that like H&V. The lunch was pretty good to me, but I didn't like the Sunshine place at Epcot. They had absolutely nothing that neither I or my daughter found appetizing. Disney also ruins a lot of dishes (for us personally) by adding bacon or pork to almost everything. We don't eat pork.

I have to say that while I've heard HORRIBLE things about H&V in the past, I ended up trying the new seasonal dinner offering with Minnie & Friends in December and found the food to be very good. I don't know if they revamped the menu but the food was way beyond expectations, and the desserts in particular were pretty great, especially in comparison to the paltry offerings we had later that night at the Osborne Lights Dessert Party.