Has Anyone Dined at Narcoossee's Since it Reopened This Week?

[Weather_Lady]

I just watched/read the several "blogger" reviews, both written and video, that are available for Narcoosses's so far. I feel, to paraphrase the school principal in Billy Madison, that I am now "dumber" for having done so.

I'm not a particularly sophisticated diner, and I appreciate that these folks took the time to share their experiences and thoughts, but they just weren't that helpful, with food and beverages described only as, "ameeeeezing," "pretty good," and "like, really good." (Also, based on the limited knowledge I've gleaned by watching the Food Network, I'm pretty sure "hominy" is not pronounced "HOE Minnie" -- a uniquely Disney-style pejorative!, and "rouille" does not rhyme with "holy." Do I feel guilty about judging well-meaning bloggers who were just excited to be the first to eat at a new restaurant and were sharing the experience as best they could? Yes. Do I still find myself doing it? Also yes.) They also happen to have all ordered the same 2-3 appetizers and the same 2-3 entrees, so there wasn't much breadth in the reporting. The only exception was from a website whose name, like the language of Mordor, I will not utter here, as it will be censored.

I routinely see exponentially more helpful and detailed restaurant reviews by the "real people" here, so I wondered if any of you have been to Narcoossees's since it reopened, and would love to know your thoughts on the ambiance, quality of the view (in light of the new single-level layout) and most importantly, the food. DH and I will be celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary when we visit in August, and since the second half of our family's split stay will be at GF, I was thinking dinner at Narcoossee's (for just the two of us, or possibly for DS17 and DD15 as well) might be a nice way to mark the occasion. Our other table service meals during the week will be at decidedly more humble restaurants: if we're going to choose one "upscale" place and expect it to truly be a cut above, say, Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater or Yak & Yeti, is this a good pick?

I won't be able to make our ADRs until early June, so no rush!

 

[wdwmagic]

We will have a review up by the weekend that will hopefully help you.

 

[Phonedave]

Sorry I cannot help you with a better review, but I just want agree with your assessment of reviews.

"The food was amazing, everything was hot and fresh." Hot and fresh are table stakes for a restaurant in my opinion. If hot and fresh food amazes somebody then they may have to recalibrate the type of food they normally eat.

 

[Doberge]

Our other table service meals during the week will be at decidedly more humble restaurants: if we're going to choose one "upscale" place and expect it to truly be a cut above, say, Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater or Yak & Yeti, is this a good pick?

If you like the menu then I say go for it! I love dining at my resort, it feels nice to roll out the room and stroll to something nice close without worrying about going elsewhere on property. There's enough running around all the other days.

While I think Narcoosssee's would be a safe upscale pick for seafood, there are other options as well. I think Topolino's Terrace, Jiko, Takumi Tei, and California Grill are a cut above others. Takumi Tei is the only one these I'd go out of my way to leave a resort with signature dining. There are some others like Flying Fish that people might throw in there, but I wouldn't pass up Narccoossees for Flying Fish.

 

[Hockey89]

I'll go a step further...
There are literally NO High end, WDW Restaurants left - other than V&A (and I'm not that sure about this one).

Get off site. Best Real Restaurants, lowest cost? Disney Springs. There are several - and they can be booked via Open Table. Edison comes to mind (my son showed me this one).

Better yet? Swan Dolphin. Shula's, IlMulino....
Willing to take a cab? CAPA, or Bull&Bear. REAL Restaurants .

Il Mulino is pretty terrible.... I agree with the rest and would add Bluezoo....

 

[wdwmagic]

REVIEW The newly reimagined Narcoosee's at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort in Walt Disney World​

REVIEW The newly reimagined Narcoosee's at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort in Walt Disney World

REVIEW The newly reimagined Narcoosee's at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort in Walt Disney World

www.wdwmagic.com

 

[aladdin2007]

It looks like it would be extremely loud? especially if its more welcoming to families with children now. Its going to be teeming with kids whereas before it never seemed to be as much.

 

[MagicRat]

My family went there with their $50 food credit in 1993 for visiting DVC (they bought), Narcoossee’s had alligator pate and I was horrified. My grandpa loved it and then became concerned of his shellfish allergy and we made fun of him.

Fast forward to prepandemic and as second generation DVC buyers, Narcoossee’s had the best Sunday brunch.

I hope it is still this good!

 

[Tiggerish]

If you like the menu then I say go for it! I love dining at my resort, it feels nice to roll out the room and stroll to something nice close without worrying about going elsewhere on property. There's enough running around all the other days.

While I think Narcoosssee's would be a safe upscale pick for seafood, there are other options as well. I think Topolino's Terrace, Jiko, Takumi Tei, and California Grill are a cut above others. Takumi Tei is the only one these I'd go out of my way to leave a resort with signature dining. There are some others like Flying Fish that people might throw in there, but I wouldn't pass up Narccoossees for Flying Fish.

I had a fan-frickin-tastic meal at Flying Fish on Jan. 1. The other highlight of that trip was Citricos. Toledo was another strong meal, though tarnished by slow service (we forgave, because it was New Years Eve).

The remainder of our dinners that trip (Dec 28-Jan 4) were at Whispering Canyon—first time, we enjoyed it, Boatwrights (meh) and Il Mulino, which has, in fact, lost a step. Still good, but not great. Used to be great.

Back on topic, sort of, I ate at Narcoossee’s once, some years ago. It was ok—good, but not great. IMO.

 

[Doberge]

I had a fan-frickin-tastic meal at Flying Fish on Jan. 1. The other highlight of that trip was Citricos. Toledo was another strong meal, though tarnished by slow service (we forgave, because it was New Years Eve).

The remainder of our dinners that trip (Dec 28-Jan 4) were at Whispering Canyon—first time, we enjoyed it, Boatwrights (meh) and Il Mulino, which has, in fact, lost a step. Still good, but not great. Used to be great.

Back on topic, sort of, I ate at Narcoossee’s once, some years ago. It was ok—good, but not great. IMO.

The culinary teams running Disney resort operated table service places has done a fantastic job opening and reopening places starting with Coronado's expansion through opening Riviera through slowly reopening after the pandemic. The places that have taken the time to put thought into their menus have mostly hit it out the park. Toledo, Three Bridges, Topolinos, Flying Fish, Citricos, Kona, Steakhouse 71, etc. So admittedly much of my excitement about Narcoossee's is faith in Disney’s resort dining teams from the last few years.

 

[mkt]

We've been trying to get ressies for our upcoming June staycation, but no luck. So we settled for Cali Grille.

 

[Horizons '83]

We've been trying to get ressies for our upcoming June staycation, but no luck. So we settled for Cali Grille.

I've noticed for our late May trip that they didn't release reservations until a week or 2 after the 60 window, so you might want to give it another go or use the touring plans reservation finder

 

[Bill in Phoenixville]

We just got back from a 6 day trip to WDW in May and were very disappointed with Disney's fine dining. We ate at Brown Derby, O'Hana, Via Napoli, Space 220, the Boathouse and Jiko. We had an ADR for Cal Grill but we cancelled once we realized that Disney in general and the cal Grill in particular has changed its menus.

We found most of the fine dining restaurants now have a very similar menu, as opposed to previous visits when each restaurant had its own menus and specialities. It seems every restaurant now serves the same short rib, filet mignon, and several other choices that are almost identical from restaurant to restaurant. Maybe Disney sees this as an economy move?

When we realized that all restuarants had essentially the same choices after the first couple of days, we cancelled Cal Grill and opted for the Boathouse instead which had a better selection on their menu. I would note Via Napoli had its own unique menu and was worth the visit.

In addition, prices have become insane! We are no stranger to fine dining, living in the Phila suburbs and eating out at high end restaurants somewhat regularly. But with all of the WDW restaurants, our family of four routinely exceeded well over $300 and often well over $400 for a dinner, after a bottle of wine, taxes and tips. Frankly, the quality of the food and similarities on the menus does not justify the high costs in our opinion.

The one restaurant we did enjoy and found unique was Space 220. The view was spectacular, and it is a very immersive experience. Food was good, not great, and it was again very expensive. But that was worth it in our opinion, at least once.

In the future, we will look at on line menus before going and if things havent changed, we will plan to eat out of the parks and hotels much more often.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

We just got back from a 6 day trip to WDW in May and were very disappointed with Disney's fine dining. We ate at Brown Derby, O'Hana, Via Napoli, Space 220, the Boathouse and Jiko. We had an ADR for Cal Grill but we cancelled once we realized that Disney in general and the cal Grill in particular has changed its menus.

We found most of the fine dining restaurants now have a very similar menu, as opposed to previous visits when each restaurant had its own menus and specialities. It seems every restaurant now serves the same short rib, filet mignon, and several other choices that are almost identical from restaurant to restaurant. Maybe Disney sees this as an economy move?

When we realized that all restuarants had essentially the same choices after the first couple of days, we cancelled Cal Grill and opted for the Boathouse instead which had a better selection on their menu. I would note Via Napoli had its own unique menu and was worth the visit.

In addition, prices have become insane! We are no stranger to fine dining, living in the Phila suburbs and eating out at high end restaurants somewhat regularly. But with all of the WDW restaurants, our family of four routinely exceeded well over $300 and often well over $400 for a dinner, after a bottle of wine, taxes and tips. Frankly, the quality of the food and similarities on the menus does not justify the high costs in our opinion.

The one restaurant we did enjoy and found unique was Space 220. The view was spectacular, and it is a very immersive experience. Food was good, not great, and it was again very expensive. But that was worth it in our opinion, at least once.

In the future, we will look at on line menus before going and if things havent changed, we will plan to eat out of the parks and hotels much more often.

Bill, totally agree. I think it all started to look more and more the same when they started the Disney Dining Plan. They want the menus to all have around the same prices so there is that typical chicken dish, the sustainable fish of the day and the ubiquitous NY Strip steak.
You will find that apps are not as interesting nor as prominent as in a lot of other places and the prices are higher too because they wanted to give the DDP customer the feeling they are saving so much compared to out of pocket menu prices.
Ah well, you have plenty of fine options and brew pubs right in your hometown!

I should add that the restaurant looks nice but a bit cavernous. I kind of liked the 2 tier seating they had before.

 

[Prince-1]

The culinary teams running Disney resort operated table service places has done a fantastic job opening and reopening places starting with Coronado's expansion through opening Riviera through slowly reopening after the pandemic. The places that have taken the time to put thought into their menus have mostly hit it out the park. Toledo, Three Bridges, Topolinos, Flying Fish, Citricos, Kona, Steakhouse 71, etc. So admittedly much of my excitement about Narcoossee's is faith in Disney’s resort dining teams from the last few years.

Kona is absolute trash. I will say Toledo and Three Bridges are really good.

 

[monothingie]

Had dinner for two on 5/31 with an 8PM Dinner Reservation. (ADR made day of, we switched Space 220 for it because we wanted to see Happily Ever After)

Overall Impression: Decent Food, CM were friendly and cheerful, yet for many it felt like it was their first day at the restaurant, Service was slow and uncoordinated, finally they still hadn't gotten the audio right for the fireworks show (outside it was a whisper, inside it was ear-splitting).

I had the Shrimp and Grits (Highlight of the meal), Lobster Bisque, and the Pork Ribeye (Large and dried out, even though I asked for it to be cooked medium, but I think that had more to do with the less than great service). My partner (Vegetarian) had the Artichoke Salad and Vegetable Paella.

Highlights: New modern decor and fresh look, with an updated menu which still retained some classic menu items. Lots of variety for picky eaters.

Low Points: First, everyone was incredibly friendly and welcoming, but with so many CM running around it was extremely uncoordinated. It also seemed like it was opening night based on CM not knowing the layout of the restaurant (Seating us at the wrong table even after they checked their cheatsheet table map) and also not being familiar with the menu. Lastly, the restaurant was empty, less than half full, which made the environment seem oddly quiet in such an expansive open space, so it threw the ambiance of the restaurant off imo. But this seemed to create coordination issues with the kitchen. By the time we were seated and ordered drinks and appetizers it was around 8:30. Our server asked about watching the fireworks at 9:20 and said that they would coordinate everything around it. Despite promising repeatedly that we would get our apps well before the fireworks, nothing arrived on the table until after, at 9:40. At which point everything was then rushed out of the kitchen and cold for some reason.

Final thought: The experience felt off because of how empty the restaurant was. The service issues certainly didn't help and there is a lot of potential with the menu. I think they could learn from their sister restaurant Citricos (one of the best TS on property) in terms of how to make the experience better.

I would probably try it again, but I think there are better options for high-end TS restaurants on property right now. But hey, at least they didn't make it a prix-fixe.

 

[blackthidot]

If you have ever been to Narcoossee's before then it's basically the same as it's always been with a FEW new thing. If you have been there and liked it then go back. If you have never been there and want to try it then go.

I am a HUGE picture guy...so I like to see the food before I eat it. I can get a good gauge if I will like it from seeing it first. I would hardly never ever go somewhere trusting someone others taste buds. Especially around here, I see people complaining about the weirdest things when it comes to restaurants and food.

Just my 2 cents...

 

[blackthidot]

Had dinner for two on 5/31 with an 8PM Dinner Reservation. (ADR made day of, we switched Space 220 for it because we wanted to see Happily Ever After)

Overall Impression: Decent Food, CM were friendly and cheerful, yet for many it felt like it was their first day at the restaurant, Service was slow and uncoordinated, finally they still hadn't gotten the audio right for the fireworks show (outside it was a whisper, inside it was ear-splitting).

I had the Shrimp and Grits (Highlight of the meal), Lobster Bisque, and the Pork Ribeye (Large and dried out, even though I asked for it to be cooked medium, but I think that had more to do with the less than great service). My partner (Vegetarian) had the Artichoke Salad and Vegetable Paella.

Highlights: New modern decor and fresh look, with an updated menu which still retained some classic menu items. Lots of variety for picky eaters.

Low Points: First, everyone was incredibly friendly and welcoming, but with so many CM running around it was extremely uncoordinated. It also seemed like it was opening night based on CM not knowing the layout of the restaurant (Seating us at the wrong table even after they checked their cheatsheet table map) and also not being familiar with the menu. Lastly, the restaurant was empty, less than half full, which made the environment seem oddly quiet in such an expansive open space, so it threw the ambiance of the restaurant off imo. But this seemed to create coordination issues with the kitchen. By the time we were seated and ordered drinks and appetizers it was around 8:30. Our server asked about watching the fireworks at 9:20 and said that they would coordinate everything around it. Despite promising repeatedly that we would get our apps well before the fireworks, nothing arrived on the table until after, at 9:40. At which point everything was then rushed out of the kitchen and cold for some reason.

Final thought: The experience felt off because of how empty the restaurant was. The service issues certainly didn't help and there is a lot of potential with the menu. I think they could learn from their sister restaurant Citricos (one of the best TS on property) in terms of how to make the experience better.

I would probably try it again, but I think there are better options for high-end TS restaurants on property right now. But hey, at least they didn't make it a prix-fixe.

I ate there early May...it was still like that where it just seemed like a bunch of people were running around doing everyones job. It's always had that kind of feel there but this time it was like way obvious. Honestly I could care less about that though. Just get me my food and make sure my drink is full lol

 

[Doberge]

Had dinner for two on 5/31 with an 8PM Dinner Reservation. (ADR made day of, we switched Space 220 for it because we wanted to see Happily Ever After)

Overall Impression: Decent Food, CM were friendly and cheerful, yet for many it felt like it was their first day at the restaurant, Service was slow and uncoordinated, finally they still hadn't gotten the audio right for the fireworks show (outside it was a whisper, inside it was ear-splitting).

I had the Shrimp and Grits (Highlight of the meal), Lobster Bisque, and the Pork Ribeye (Large and dried out, even though I asked for it to be cooked medium, but I think that had more to do with the less than great service). My partner (Vegetarian) had the Artichoke Salad and Vegetable Paella.

Highlights: New modern decor and fresh look, with an updated menu which still retained some classic menu items. Lots of variety for picky eaters.

Low Points: First, everyone was incredibly friendly and welcoming, but with so many CM running around it was extremely uncoordinated. It also seemed like it was opening night based on CM not knowing the layout of the restaurant (Seating us at the wrong table even after they checked their cheatsheet table map) and also not being familiar with the menu. Lastly, the restaurant was empty, less than half full, which made the environment seem oddly quiet in such an expansive open space, so it threw the ambiance of the restaurant off imo. But this seemed to create coordination issues with the kitchen. By the time we were seated and ordered drinks and appetizers it was around 8:30. Our server asked about watching the fireworks at 9:20 and said that they would coordinate everything around it. Despite promising repeatedly that we would get our apps well before the fireworks, nothing arrived on the table until after, at 9:40. At which point everything was then rushed out of the kitchen and cold for some reason.

Final thought: The experience felt off because of how empty the restaurant was. The service issues certainly didn't help and there is a lot of potential with the menu. I think they could learn from their sister restaurant Citricos (one of the best TS on property) in terms of how to make the experience better.

I would probably try it again, but I think there are better options for high-end TS restaurants on property right now. But hey, at least they didn't make it a prix-fixe.

It's unfortunate enough to see Narcoossee’s half empty at only 8pm even on a Wednesday, but it's really sad to see front and back of house issues when only half full. I had it high on my list to try next month but I'm going to bump it down and not prioritize it.

 

[DocAlan02]

We are going to WDW in mid-August. Been trying to find a Narcoossee's reservation since the day our 60-day window opened. It has listed no availability for the entire length of our trip every time I have checked. Are they still holding these reservations back? If so, any idea when they might open up?