What is the most over-rated and under-rated restaurants in WDW?

[chriskbrown]

Overrated:
Chef Mickey's (last time for breakfast was really horrible).


Underrated:
Morimoto - the ribs are just amazing
The Wave for lunch - would gladly go over to Contemporary then anything at MK
Geyser Point - same concept.

 

[Rmacmouz]

Completely agree that the most overrated is Sci-Fi.

Most underrated I'll say Olivia's at Old Key West. There's no reason to go to Old Key West unless you're staying there, but they have a delicious and fairly priced prime rib, and I think their banana bread French toast puts Tonga Toast from Kona to shame.

Agree with Olivia's. Absolutely delicious!

 

[zapple]

Beaches and Cream is so overrated. IHOP has better food.
Ditto for Olivia’s.

Ale & Compass is a hidden gem. We’ve never had a bad meal there, and I can’t say that about any disney restaurant we’ve been to more than once.

 

[Damsel_in_Distress]

Hmm, so what do you consider to be "good" pizza, or do you just not prefer the Neapolitan style?

I can't answer for Hockey89, but my husband and I were both born and raised and haven't moved out of NJ so we generally don't trust pizza out of state...it's probably the one thing we really love about our otherwise terrible state haha. Especially hearing the reviews, we know even Disney pizza will set us up for disappointment. For us, it's all about the taste of the sauce, and the right tender/crusty texture of the dough. Apparently it's all in the water that goes into the dough.

 

[Damsel_in_Distress]

Most underrated: Biergarten. My husband and I have been obsessed with it ever since we booked it for our honeymoon. We love the stage show (and they had the whole restaurant toast to us to celebrate our honeymoon!) and we love us some German food...I'm of Polish heritage and he's got German in him.

Most overrated: Crystal Palace. I do love Crystal Palace (and Pooh!) and it always has had a special place in my heart, but the food and drink selection there doesn't wow us. We skipped it when we went this month. I'd only go back when we have kids, but otherwise I didn't miss it this time around.

 

[Hockey89]

I can't answer for Hockey89, but my husband and I were both born and raised and haven't moved out of NJ so we generally don't trust pizza out of state...it's probably the one thing we really love about our otherwise terrible state haha. Especially hearing the reviews, we know even Disney pizza will set us up for disappointment. For us, it's all about the taste of the sauce, and the right tender/crusty texture of the dough. Apparently it's all in the water that goes into the dough.

The crust just doesn't measure up to great pizza. The sauce is blah.....

 

[jasminethecat]

I see a lot of unimpressed mentions for Sci-Fi, so to respond I say that I was never over-hyped about it, but taking my 3 teenagers and being able to get out of the sun and relative excitement of DHS for an hour of low lighting, great air conditioning and good burgers/entrees and milkshakes was great. We had truly excellent waiters both times and having a positive reaction from all three of my kids in both 2014 (ages 11, 11, & 13) and 2017 (ages 15, 15 & 16) was a big deal.

Back on topic for me (and keep in mind these were using the DDP years ago and free dining)
Over rated -

• Be Our Guest for dinner (underwhelming food, lunch was great though 2 times for simpler but well executed food items)
• Crystal palace (only used it for early park access, food was 'meh', been there 3 times overall but i really did love the pooh character photo ops)
• The Luau at the Poly (way too expensive and food quality was not great IMO, good show but i expected better food, been twice over a decade apart both with and without kids)

Under rated -

• Mama Melrose (under the DDP we got tons of surprisingly decent food, good service and were part of a preferred Fantasmic seating package, i booked it just for something different and expected far less than what we got).
• Garden Grill breakfast (also used it for early park entry at Epcot, and didn't expect the food quality and table-service buffet to be so much better than crystal palace, but it was).

 

[Phonedave]

I can't answer for Hockey89, but my husband and I were both born and raised and haven't moved out of NJ so we generally don't trust pizza out of state...it's probably the one thing we really love about our otherwise terrible state haha. Especially hearing the reviews, we know even Disney pizza will set us up for disappointment. For us, it's all about the taste of the sauce, and the right tender/crusty texture of the dough. Apparently it's all in the water that goes into the dough.

I wont say it is the best pizza I have ever had, but I do think it is solid, and head and shoulders above anything else offered in WDW.

If you are used to (and prefer) your average NJ local pizza joint type pizza, it is not that type of pizza.

If you are used to (and prefer) more of a wood or coal fired pizza, it is more like that. Not sure where in NJ you are, but think Wood Stack in Fairfield, 900 Degrees in Towaco, or Brooklyn's Brick Oven in Hackensack.

Via Napoli is, however, loud and it echoes like crazy. Really bad acoustics in that place.

 

[Hockey89]

I wont say it is the best pizza I have ever had, but I do think it is solid, and head and shoulders above anything else offered in WDW.

If you are used to (and prefer) your average NJ local pizza joint type pizza, it is not that type of pizza.

If you are used to (and prefer) more of a wood or coal fired pizza, it is more like that. Not sure where in NJ you are, but think Wood Stack in Fairfield, 900 Degrees in Towaco, or Brooklyn's Brick Oven in Hackensack.

Via Napoli is, however, loud and it echoes like crazy. Really bad acoustics in that place.

So true about the noise. You can't hear yourself think.

 

[westie]

I promised myself that on my next trip I would eat at Morimoto's at least 3 times. Yes, their menu justifies it. It's so full of yum! Canada never again. I ordered prime rib and got a pan fried steak. When I asked what was up our waiter told us that's how they do it in Canada. Sorry for you guys up north...

 

[Disstevefan1]

It's totally subjective, and our experiences could have been one-offs, but for me:

Most underrated: Biergarten -consistently good with fantastic entertainment and atmosphere

Most overrated: California Grill - one of the worst meals I've ever had on property, both in terms of service and food quality

Shhhhhh. Don’t mention Biergarten. We love that place. Once folks realize how good it is WDW will change it and ruin it.

 

[danyoung56]

Overrated:

Coral Reef (although, I never see much good about it so I wouldn't call it overrated, just, terrible)

I've never understood this. Coral Reef is and has always been one of my favorites, a great 1st dinner on any WDW trip.

Now it's time for Hockey89 to mock me . . .

 

[Damsel_in_Distress]

I wont say it is the best pizza I have ever had, but I do think it is solid, and head and shoulders above anything else offered in WDW.

If you are used to (and prefer) your average NJ local pizza joint type pizza, it is not that type of pizza.

If you are used to (and prefer) more of a wood or coal fired pizza, it is more like that. Not sure where in NJ you are, but think Wood Stack in Fairfield, 900 Degrees in Towaco, or Brooklyn's Brick Oven in Hackensack.

Via Napoli is, however, loud and it echoes like crazy. Really bad acoustics in that place.

Good to know! We do have some wood and coal fired pizza places around here, but we tend to stick to our local Italian restaurants and pizzerias. If I'm going to have pizza in Disney, that is probably what I would give a chance above anything else. Many other options just look like Disneyfied Pizza Hut pizzas haha.

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

Overrated: Ohana & Be Our Guest
Underrated: Jiko

 

[JusticeDisney]

I can’t imagine any place being any more overrated than Ohana.

 

[JusticeDisney]

Underrated: Bluezoo... The lobster dish is outstanding
Overrated: Cal grill or Via Napoli (That pizza sucks)

Well, in fairness, you’ve always been a Burger King type of guy.

 

[The Colonel]

I've always liked Tutto Italia Wine Bar. I'm also a big fan of the Egg Roll Cart. Although the prices are getting hard to justify.

Anything very good in Disney, or a good value, will generally deteriorate over time. Le Cellier is the perfect example.

 

[Bostonjetset]

I can’t imagine any place being any more overrated than Ohana.

This post interests me as I’m in the process of planning a trip to WDW for the first time since 1993 and ‘Ohana looks so good from the vlogs I’ve watched about it. Why do you feel it is overrated? Is the food bad or just overhyped? I generally like Polynesian type food and ‘Ohana looks to have a cool atmosphere. Not sure I’ll make it there this trip but it is on my list is possibilities.

 

[The Colonel]

I wont say it is the best pizza I have ever had, but I do think it is solid, and head and shoulders above anything else offered in WDW.

If you are used to (and prefer) your average NJ local pizza joint type pizza, it is not that type of pizza.

If you are used to (and prefer) more of a wood or coal fired pizza, it is more like that. Not sure where in NJ you are, but think Wood Stack in Fairfield, 900 Degrees in Towaco, or Brooklyn's Brick Oven in Hackensack.

Via Napoli is, however, loud and it echoes like crazy. Really bad acoustics in that place.

Blaze is as good as Via Napoli. Although not sure Disney Springs should be compared to park food.

 

[JusticeDisney]

This post interests me as I’m in the process of planning a trip to WDW for the first time since 1993 and ‘Ohana looks so good from the vlogs I’ve watched about it. Why do you feel it is overrated? Is the food bad or just overhyped? I generally like Polynesian type food and ‘Ohana looks to have a cool atmosphere. Not sure I’ll make it there this trip but it is on my list is possibilities.

In our experience, the food was average at best. Service was fine, but nothing to write home about. And the worst part was, there were flies everywhere. It was disgusting. We had a large group and literally every single one of us said “never again.” Just our experience, though. If you decide to try it out, I hope you have a better time than we did.