Which Signature Restaurants Should We Book?

Which Signature Restaurants should we book?

  • Total voters
    68
drwadadli

drwadadli

Well-Known Member
I personally think California Grill is overrated. If it wasn't for the view of the fireworks, I don't think many people would go. It is noisy so therefore not very romantic. The food is good and they have a GREAT selection of wines. Just my opinion
 
danyoung56

danyoung56

Well-Known Member
Just goes to show you that everyone has a different opinion. The California Grill is my favorite restaurant on the planet, for their food, their service, their view. Just a stunning experience!
 
ABQ

ABQ

Well-Known Member
Jiko has been a staple of mine every year for the past 14 years. Never fails to impress. I went to Monsieur Paul for the first time last year and found the food, the service and the atmosphere were all fantastic, yet it either gets no reviews, or panned by some and I don't understand why.
 
DisDadWoz

DisDadWoz

Well-Known Member
Jiko has been a favorite of ours as well. Steakhouses are fine but we can go to Shulas (or any other good steakhouse) at home so our choice is going to somewhere pretty specific to WDW that is really good.
 
OneofThree

OneofThree

Well-Known Member
ABQ said:
I went to Monsieur Paul for the first time last year and found the food, the service and the atmosphere were all fantastic, yet it either gets no reviews, or panned by some and I don't understand why.
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I'm going to guess it has to do with the average American palate. Likewise, I'm going to guess that the average American just doesn't "get" French culture and attitudes.
 
drwadadli

drwadadli

Well-Known Member
OneofThree said:
I'm going to guess it has to do with the average American palate. Likewise, I'm going to guess that the average American just doesn't "get" French culture and attitudes.
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I think you are completely correct. We have been to Monsieur Paul for different celebrations and have had GREAT service with really good food. Even the chef came out the last to congratulate us on our anniversary.
 
OneofThree

OneofThree

Well-Known Member
drwadadli said:
I think you are completely correct. We have been to Monsieur Paul for different celebrations and have had GREAT service with really good food. Even the chef came out the last to congratulate us on our anniversary.
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Ethnocentricism at its finest. If you are likely to equate "good service" with gregarious, cheerful, and talkative waiter/waitress, an authentically French experience will leave you disappointed no matter how competent and attentive the staff.
 
ABQ

ABQ

Well-Known Member
It's also a bit hidden that people don't know it's there. Unlike Les Chef's which I'm not a fan of. Packed too tight in there.
 
H

Hockey89

Well-Known Member
OneofThree said:
That's a pretty rough take on the Yachtsman. We ate there in December, and our server (Barbara) was just excellent for us. I'll say this about the food -I would agree that everything other than my steak was in fact, just "ok" (apps, my wife's lobster, desert). My filet however, was perfect. My biggest problem with the place is just that I can get steak just as good for much less elsewhere, and the rest of the experience just wasn't worth the $100+ per person I paid. I think both Le Cellier (which consistently gets quite a few negative reviews) and Yachtsman are popular simply because people generally appreciate a steak dinner and haven't been to Shula's yet.
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My problem with YM is it is so inconsistent... I've had great meals... Terrible meals... Great service and terrible service...

You can't compare Le Cellier to YM IMHO... Night and day for food and experience...

I've been to Shula's a few times and it's slightly better but nothing that cracks my top ten for steakhouses around the country....
 
OneofThree

OneofThree

Well-Known Member
Hockey89 said:
My problem with YM is it is so inconsistent... I've had great meals... Terrible meals... Great service and terrible service...
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I haven't dined there enough to speak to this, save to say that I'd be sorely disappointed in any decidedly "terrible" experience there, given the cost.
 
drwadadli

drwadadli

Well-Known Member
OneofThree said:
Ethnocentricism at its finest. If you are likely to equate "good service" with gregarious, cheerful, and talkative waiter/waitress, an authentically French experience will leave you disappointed no matter how competent and attentive the staff.
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I have been to several French restaurants and know how the real French experience is which is why I also comment on the food along with the experience. The comment about the chef coming out is just part of the "Disney-Wow" experience.

A lot of people I have talked to that don't like Monsieur Paul is because they don't like the slightly-exotic cooking style and ingredients plus the blunt and direct staff attitude. That is very typical for most French restaurants but if you find a subject that they are passionate about (breads, gardening, cooking, etc...) then the wait staff open up and become more talking like most Americans are used to.

That being said, I think Monsieur Paul is one of the best French restaurants that we have ever eaten at outside of the ones in France.
 
Disneyfan_76

Disneyfan_76

Well-Known Member
OneofThree said:
That's a pretty rough take on the Yachtsman. We ate there in December, and our server (Barbara) was just excellent for us. I'll say this about the food -I would agree that everything other than my steak was in fact, just "ok" (apps, my wife's lobster, desert). My filet however, was perfect. My biggest problem with the place is just that I can get steak just as good for much less elsewhere, and the rest of the experience just wasn't worth the $100+ per person I paid. I think both Le Cellier (which consistently gets quite a few negative reviews) and Yachtsman are popular simply because people generally appreciate a steak dinner and haven't been to Shula's yet.
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The food quality wasn't anything special, but like I stated before you can probably get better value at other places. We have eaten there twice (2007, and 2016). Maybe it has changed in the last few years, but the service was not good at either of our visits. Messed up drink orders, server seemed to disappear for long periods, etc. The 2016 visit was worst of the two. Food took forever to get out, and when it did, my wife's meal was cold. My medium rare steak was blackened with no pink on the inside. Normally I wouldn't care that much but for that level of establishment they should be able to cook it correctly. Not a big deal, but we just didn't go back again.
 
Sirwalterraleigh

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
Disneyfan_76 said:
The food quality wasn't anything special, but like I stated before you can probably get better value at other places. We have eaten there twice (2007, and 2016). Maybe it has changed in the last few years, but the service was not good at either of our visits. Messed up drink orders, server seemed to disappear for long periods, etc. The 2016 visit was worst of the two. Food took forever to get out, and when it did, my wife's meal was cold. My medium rare steak was blackened with no pink on the inside. Normally I wouldn't care that much but for that level of establishment they should be able to cook it correctly. Not a big deal, but we just didn't go back again.
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Disney is not the place for steak. Le cellier is run like a college campus cafeteria...

...and while i love everything else about yachtsman...the food is just not that good. Bland. It's not the ingredients...it's the prep. You don't just "grill it"...they can do that at cracker barrell
 
PMC0849

PMC0849

Well-Known Member
I think Jiko has the best food in WDW with the exception of Victoria and Albert's. The main drawback of Jiko is the location, AKL can be kind of a pain to get too. California Grill is probably the best setting, the food is still very good. We've been to Monsieur Paul a few times and it's always great, I love French food and even went to culinary school to learn French cooking. The main complaint I have heard in regards to Monsieur Paul is the service, we have always had very warm service, but I attribute that to my wife being fluent and the staff seems to enjoy speaking with her. Les Cellier, sigh, we have had fantastic meals here, and we have had disappointing meals here, if you want steak just go to Yachtsmen.
 
MikeyK72

MikeyK72

Well-Known Member
goofyyukyukyuk17 said:
Does anybody else agree that Shula's has the best or some of the best steak on property?
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I'd prefer filet at Yachtsman over Shula's any day. Personally I like that the Disney owned Signatures give you a chef's interpretation of the dish with sauce and side(s) instead of just a piece of meat on a plate. DW jokes that Disney is my week of filet mignon because we'll do a Signature every night where I'll have filet...and each one is different because of the chef's creativity. But back to my point...Yachtsman is my personal favorite.
 

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