Worst Dining Places

[DisneyJunkie]

It's not often that you'll have a bad meal in WDW, but some places just do not measure up to what you'd hope for or expect. So what are some of the worst places you've eaten at in WDW?

The one that comes to my mind right away was Mama Melrose (located in the Hollywood Studios near MuppetVision). My wife and I love italian food and everything about our meal was just bad, most likely because of the sauces they used. The sauces were just disgusting, the food itself was extremely bland (chicken being tough and somewhat undercooked), and the desert (a tiramisu cake) tasted like it was still partially frozen and was thawing out. Needless to say that's not a place we'll be dining in again or recommending to others.

 

[Kelsybelle]

I can only think of one meal that wasn't up to my Disney standards and it was at Tony's in the MK. Everything from the food to the atmosphere just didn't do anything for me!

 

[ryguy]

This is a hard thread because everyone is different about food. Just because one person had a bad meal doesn't mean the food is bad. Every restaurant has its bad days. That being said I have never really liked Boma or California Grill. The wave I thought was terrible, wish I had the concourse steakhouse back. I am not into creative food dishes. Just give me standard food that tastes great. Oh and the Garden Grill at Epcot was gross, what a waste of money.
I will say a few hidden gems are The captains Grille at the Yacht Club. Certainly if Epcot is crowded its never packed and the prime rib is great. Also liked olivia's at OKW, not very crowded and the food was pretty good. Lastly I thought the food at the plaza restaurant in MK was great. Another gem that not a lot people know about.

 

[Monty]

I've had less-than-great meals at a number of restaurants, but for every one of those I've had plenty of very good or even excellent meals at those same restaurants. I think it really does come down to a bit of hit and miss and what your personal expectations are.

As an example, the previous poster who hated Boma - I have never had a bad meal there and I love the variety and "Afritude" spicing up of the food. Different people enjoy different things. There's also an aspect of service impacting the quality of food. I had a horrible meal at Yak & Yeti, I ordered the Mahi-Mahi. The fish was chewy and cold and the sauce was scorching-hot spicy [had it still been hot, the spices wouldn't have been as 'hot'], the server had left the dish on the line for a long time because he forgot it was one of his. It took forever and by the time I got it the dish was virtually inedible. So, nothing to do with the preparation, but the service. I had the same meal later that week and it was tender, succulent fish with a sauce that accented the meal perfectly.

The one place I've never had anything but perfection is Le Cellier, but I've heard people here say it is over-rated and they'd never eat there again. :shrug:

 

[Victoria]

This is such a hard question to answer because everyone likes different things. For me, Artist Point at WL is totally overrated and the food wasn't that great. I love Garden Grill though. I can do without Hollywood Brown Derby too. I would much prefer going to 50s Prime Time or Spoodles. The one restaurant on property that I can guarantee you will NEVER find me in again is San Angel Inn though. Several years ago I got food poisoning from there that landed me in the hospital. :dazzle: I am not willing to take that risk again for mediocre Mexican food.

 

[gardenia]

Our first and only dinner experience at Jiko was awful. The waiter was downright snotty; the food was smelly mush. We've never been back.

 

[kangaand2roos]

Sorry double post!

 

[kangaand2roos]

Our experience at the Garden Grill was horrible, foodwise that is. We had 5 people from 2 different households and none of us liked anything but the salad. Even the kids thought the mac and cheese and chicken was gross. I've been told it was probably a bad night, but it was the worst food I've had in or out of WDW in a long time. We will not be going back!

 

[SchultzFamily]

This must be the topic of the week--it's been on two other Disney boards that I am a member of. As I've said before, it usually comes down to a matter of personal taste, opinion and expectations. There are four restaurants that we have eaten at in which three were highly recommended and we detested them and won't go back; the other we tried because of it's convenience. We normally give each place two chances--one we have and the others we won't bother going back to. The three highly recommended ones were Boatwright's for dinner, Whispering Canyon Cafe for dinner and Brown Derby for lunch. Boatwright's was the worse in my opinion--rude host, terrible service and just nasty food (I sent my steak back twice and it still came back the third time wrong); Whispering Canyon Cafe we found very overrated and we shared the skillet. I thought the food was terrible and after trying two or three things, stopped eating it; DH continued to eat (he was hungry) and got sick after eating the ribs and chicken--two of the things I didn't try; Brown Derby we had terrible service (and there were only five tables occupied); the server didn't want to be bothered with our questions and the food was mediocre at best (DH hated the grapefruit cake and is a big dessert eater). The one we did for convenience was Hollywood & Vine--we gave this one two tries and after terrible service, filthy eating area, lukewarm food (when there was food at the station) and we refuse to go back.

Like I said, it is a matter of personal opinion, etc. We love LeCellier, Mama Melrose, Plaza, Rose & Crown, Biergarten and others that people don't care for at all.

 

[tink@heart]

All meals/food choices are totally personal opinion, however, good table service is much more subjective. We dined at the Hollywood and Vine buffet last Friday night in a group of 9. We love the food as always, especially the cornbread! But, our server was downright indifferent and neglectful. She would have rather been beneath the elevator shaft in TOT than working that evening. To top it off, an automatic tip is added to our bill. I understand that the tips are divided between a heirarchy of cm's (servers, bus people, etc) And some of them deserved their portion. But, pennies would have been sufficient for her time and service. Unfortunately, we were rushed to make our show time, so we didn't want to stand and bicker? I guess a learning experience.

 

[Phonedave]

Again, I think it comes down to personal taste and to expectations

Take for example Tony's Town Square - to me it is a Olive Garden in disguise. However a lot of people LIKE Olive Garden. I know how Tony's is, and if I end up eating there because of the people I am with or because of ADR problems I know going in, what to expect, and it's passable. It's not great, but not horrible either. However there is not much that I will not eat, so take that passable comment with a grain of salt.

The one place where I just had to thow food away was at the Tomorrowland Noodle Terrace. Bleah !

Yak & Yeti I have only eaten at once, and it was not good (to me). The menu was scattershot, and in search of a theme. The wait staff I had was useless, and the pho was meh. Of course it could have been a bad night, and I will try it again sometime. I was also there maybe 2 weeks after it opened, so maybe they were still working the kinks out.

I like Le Celliar, really I do. I just fail to see what all the hype is about. It is far from the best food, service, or atmosphere I have ever had.

On an entirely unrelated subject (sort of). there is a steakhouse (well three of them) in this area (The River Palm Terrace http://www.riverpalm.com/aboutus.htm) that is a classic steakhouse. Dinner there runs around $100 to $150 a couple. They are advertising very heavly during Spongbob, SixTeen, HannaMontana, Chowder, and other kids shows. Heavy, as in 2 to 3 times an hour. What kid wants their parents to take them to a place like that ?

-dave

 

[brent2124]

Hollywood & Vine! I wouldnt eat there again if it were the only food in DHS!

 

[DisneyJunkie]

I also forgot to mention that the ABC Commissary has some of the most disgusting slop on the menus. I'll never be eating there again.

 

[surfsupdon]

NYE 2004 I ate at Les Chefs and had one of the worst pieces of steak imaginable. Five separate small chunks, overcooked to boot leather quality. Our waiter was also unattentive, and was an older man from Italy. I took French in HS and college and wanted to speak it all night, but couldn't b/c we had an Italian waiter. Big bummer.

But we did have two other meals at Les Chefs on different trips and had a great time.

 

[KristieLC]

Hollywood and Vine was horrible when we went too.

 

[Figment632]

The only restauaunt we hated was San Angel on Mexico. The food was cold and tasted like something out of a can.

 

[KC82271]

JoJo's breakfast at Hollywood & Vine. I am not health conscious, so I don't want turkey this and turkey that. I have no problem if it's offered, but put back regular bacon and sausage. The meal was just plain gross. My 3 YO thought the same.

 

[wvdisneyfamily]

The ONLY places we will never eat at again (as of right now) are the Garden Grill and the ABC Commissary. The places we don't like enough to visit on a regular basis are the Tangerine Cafe, Boma dinner, Crystal Palace dinner, Hollywood and Vine dinner, Les Chefs de France, and Tony's. We might eat them again one of these days, but we don't have a big desire to rush into them this trip.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

All of the MK
All of the Studios, truly horrendous
Epcot not bad but over rated Le Celier
AK - nothing of note

Cape May cafe. an over priced Ponderossa
Wolfgang Sucks overpriced pizza

 

[AMartin777]

Well, I must say I am VERY surprised by some of the responses here. It a very subjective question though and a varience of answers is inevitable. My wife and I along with a group of friends just visited in Oct '08 and found our choices to be all very good.

I must say that Tony's is nothing outstanding but isn't horrible either. The food lacks any kind of originality in taste or presentation but maybe that's the idea.

The ONLY places we will never eat at again (as of right now) are the Garden Grill and the ABC Commissary. The places we don't like enough to visit on a regular basis are the Tangerine Cafe, Boma dinner, Crystal Palace dinner, Les Chefs de France, and Tony's. We might eat them again one of these days, but we don't have a big desire to rush into them this trip.

One of the locations that surprises me as being a letdow for several people here is the Garden Grill. My wife and I ate there in 2001 and had some of the best flank steak we have ever had. The additional sides were wonderful and enjoyed the resturant rotation and characters (which I understand they have discontinued). We have replicated the receipe for the flank steak and is a regular on our table at home. We are planning to return on our Jan 09 trip to eat there again. I hope the quality of the food has not suffered the passing of time. Is the menu as varied and interesting as it used to be?

We LOVE Boma and Whispering Canyon Cafe. The food at both locations was outstanding and we eat at Boma every trip it's a "can't miss" for us.

San Angel Inn was very, very good and the Top Shelf Margharitas were exceptional. Not sure why many do not like this place. The ambiance is also excellent.

Some of the finest meals we have ever had, recent trip no exception, have been at Le Cellier. The prime rib was unbelievable and the service was impeccable.

I have to agree with the post about the ABC commissary in HS. Simply the most horrible food I have ever had on property. In fact, I cannot recall a decent meal at HS save the Quick Service locations which seem decent.