Rank'em Signature Dining

[Thomas_M]

Hello Everyone,

It's been 8 years since my last visit to WDW and my family and I are very excited to return back to WDW.

We went all out on this family vacation and are in the process of finalizing our dining reservations.

My question to you, my fellow board members would to rank/suggest your top 5 signature restaurants.

The last time we all went we dinned at california grill, narcossees and wolfgang. Heard great things about the yachtsman and flying fish so we would appreciate your help in ranking your faves. Thanks!

Jiko
flying fish
california grill
critricos
narcossee's
artist point
yachtsman
le cellier
bistro de paris
hollywood brown derby
fultons crab house
wolfgang puck

 

[baymenxpac]

Hello Everyone,

It's been 8 years since my last visit to WDW and my family and I are very excited to return back to WDW.

We went all out on this family vacation and are in the process of finalizing our dining reservations.

My question to you, my fellow board members would to rank/suggest your top 5 signature restaurants.

The last time we all went we dinned at california grill, narcossees and wolfgang. Heard great things about the yachtsman and flying fish so we would appreciate your help in ranking your faves. Thanks!

Jiko
flying fish
california grill
critricos
narcossee's
artist point
yachtsman
le cellier
bistro de paris
hollywood brown derby
fultons crab house
wolfgang puck

oh the choices, i go:
california grill
yachtsman
flying fish
le cellier
hollywood brown derby
jiko
bistro de paris
citricos
wolfgang puck

i have yet to eat at narcoossee's or artist's point, which i'm getting to on our next trip. that said, i expect them both to rank pretty highly, especially narcoossee's.

as always, my rankings are weighted by my preferences and experiences. for example, the flying fish ALWAYS surpasses my expectations and it has become one of my favorites because of it. for me, citricos didn't live up to the hype.

 

[real mad hatter]

Hmm.

Jikos was outstanding,Le Cellier good but was expecting alot better considering the rave reviews,haven't tried the rest but have CG booked for this year.:wave:

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

1-5 are all quite close.

1. Artist Point: My absolute favorite signature. Peaceful atmosphere, pleasant views of the woods and lake area, and creative Pacific Northwest-inspired cuisine.
2. Yachtsman Steakhouse: Yachtsman has some very interesting appetizers, entrees, and desserts. Or if you prefer, you could go with a classic meat and potato entree. We usually have great service here.
3. Flying Fish Cafe: Like Artist Point, the food ranges from simple to creative, and there are quite a few seafood options (which I like). Atmosphere is busy but not disturbingly noisy.
4. Citricos: I really enjoy the upscale Mediterranean-inspired cuisine, and service here is usually great. The Mediterranean background music and beautiful tiles transport me to Spain and Greece.
5. Jiko: Dark and pretty atmosphere, and food that successfully infuses a variety of African flavors (I'm half-South African, and I always see authentic touches on the menu).
6. Hollywood Brown Derby: The food isn't as outstanding as the above 5 restaurants, but I still really enjoy many dishes, including the cobb salad, grapefruit cake, and grouper. I love the Old Hollywood theme.
7. Le Cellier dinner: Tables are quite close together, and food is relatively simple. That said, I think the food is executed well. The upscale poutine side dish is a standout for me.
8. Bistro de Paris: The food was good and beautifully presented, but the flavors weren't very exciting. Also, service was too slow, and not in a good way (I was by myself, and there were extremely long periods of time when I had an empty plate sitting in front of me).
9. California Grill: Used to be one of our favorites, but I think the food has gone downhill. Our past two meals here were both very disappointing. Plus, the place is really noisy - we found it hard to have a conversation here.
10. Narcoossee's: Food is solid but simple (less creative than other signatures), so it seems really overpriced to me. Plus, over the summer we had the worst service we've ever had at any signature restaurant.
11. Fulton's Crab House: The food isn't very upscale compared to other signatures - I don't feel a need to go back.

I've been to Wolfgang Puck Cafe, but I haven't been to the Wolfgang Puck Dining Room (the upstairs portion that's now a signature) so I didn't include it.

 

[Ariel484]

1. Jiko --> My favorite restaurant in the world (Disney or otherwise)...we've been there 3 times and it's always been excellent. If you're an adventurous eater, give it a try.

2. Citricos (VERY close second behind Jiko) --> Went here for the first time in June 2011. Service and ambiance were great, and we loved the food.

3. Le Cellier --> Haven't been here since it went Signature. We went 3 times before it went Signature...it was good but not great.

4. California Grill --> Went here once in June 2011. Flatbread was delicious, entree was underwhelming (could have just been what we ordered though), dessert was delicious, and the atmosphere was really uncomfortable.

Artist Point, Narcoossee's and Bistro de Paris are on my list of places to try. Good luck making your decision!

 

[mickeysshoes]

We have not eaten at all of them so I will only rank the ones I know about.


narcossee's
yachtsman
artist point
Jiko
flying fish
le cellier

 

[Sweet Melissa]

The first three spots are definite. The others could change by the day. It got difficult to rank the middle. I love them all except for the last one.

1. Jiko
2. California Grill
3. Flying Fish
4. Il Mulino
5. Todd English's bluezoo
6. Shula's
7. Artist Point
8. Citricos
9. Yachtsman Steakhouse
10. Bistro de Paris
11. Fulton's
12. Hollywood Brown Derby
13. Narcoossee's

ETA: I left Le Cellier off the list because I haven't been since it was made a signature restaurant. I also left Portobello Yacht Club off the list because I'm not sure if it's considered a signature anymore.

 

[btk2333]

Our choices would be

1) Yachtsman
2) California Grill
3) Artist's Point
4) Jiko
5) Le Cellier (have only been for lunch, so technically haven't eaten there as a signature)

 

[shmmrname]

1. Jiko --> My favorite restaurant in the world (Disney or otherwise)...we've been there 3 times and it's always been excellent. If you're an adventurous eater, give it a try.

2. Citricos (VERY close second behind Jiko) --> Went here for the first time in June 2011. Service and ambiance were great, and we loved the food.

3. Le Cellier --> Haven't been here since it went Signature. We went 3 times before it went Signature...it was good but not great.

4. California Grill --> Went here once in June 2011. Flatbread was delicious, entree was underwhelming (could have just been what we ordered though), dessert was delicious, and the atmosphere was really uncomfortable.

Artist Point, Narcoossee's and Bistro de Paris are on my list of places to try. Good luck making your decision!

WOW, you hit my list right on for the top 3. I've tried a lot of the others, but to me the JIKO and CITRICOS are just elite. I love them. But, also - there's a few major options I've never tried (California Grill / Victoria & Alberts for sure).

 

[Crush Dude!]

1-5 are all quite close.

1. Artist Point: My absolute favorite signature. Peaceful atmosphere, pleasant views of the woods and lake area, and creative Pacific Northwest-inspired cuisine.
2. Yachtsman Steakhouse: Yachtsman has some very interesting appetizers, entrees, and desserts. Or if you prefer, you could go with a classic meat and potato entree. We usually have great service here.
3. Flying Fish Cafe: Like Artist Point, the food ranges from simple to creative, and there are quite a few seafood options (which I like). Atmosphere is busy but not disturbingly noisy.
4. Citricos: I really enjoy the upscale Mediterranean-inspired cuisine, and service here is usually great. The Mediterranean background music and beautiful tiles transport me to Spain and Greece.
5. Jiko: Dark and pretty atmosphere, and food that successfully infuses a variety of African flavors (I'm half-South African, and I always see authentic touches on the menu).
6. Hollywood Brown Derby: The food isn't as outstanding as the above 5 restaurants, but I still really enjoy many dishes, including the cobb salad, grapefruit cake, and grouper. I love the Old Hollywood theme.
7. Le Cellier dinner: Tables are quite close together, and food is relatively simple. That said, I think the food is executed well. The upscale poutine side dish is a standout for me.
8. Bistro de Paris: The food was good and beautifully presented, but the flavors weren't very exciting. Also, service was too slow, and not in a good way (I was by myself, and there were extremely long periods of time when I had an empty plate sitting in front of me).
9. California Grill: Used to be one of our favorites, but I think the food has gone downhill. Our past two meals here were both very disappointing. Plus, the place is really noisy - we found it hard to have a conversation here.
10. Narcoossee's: Food is solid but simple (less creative than other signatures), so it seems really overpriced to me. Plus, over the summer we had the worst service we've ever had at any signature restaurant.
11. Fulton's Crab House: The food isn't very upscale compared to other signatures - I don't feel a need to go back.

I've been to Wolfgang Puck Cafe, but I haven't been to the Wolfgang Puck Dining Room (the upstairs portion that's now a signature) so I didn't include it.

Cant wait to go to the Yachtsman and Citricos for the first time this year :sohappy:

 

[The MadHatter]

*V&A
1-jiko
2-california grill
3-flying fish (blueZoo is better but not a disney signature)

 

[GoochDSA]

My list is ranked purely on food and service since I have no idea what kind of atmosphere OP is looking for:

1a. Flying Fish
1b. Citricos
3. Bistro (haven't been since it began taking DDP)
4. Jiko
5. Artist Point
6. HBD
7. Wolfgang Puck
8. Cali Grill
9. Fulton's
10. Yachtsmen
11. Le Cellier
12. Narcoossee's

I also didn't count V&A's, Shula's or bluezoo, since they were not included on the OPs origional list. However, they would rank in the top 5 along with FF and Citricos.

 

[Tinkerbell 8]

We tried signature restaurants for the first time this trip and we enjoyed each and every one of them. Here's my ranking (only included places we've eaten at):

-Artist Point
-California Grill
-Jiko
-Narcoossee's
-Yachtsman
-Citricos