Restaurant that others rave over but you think...really?

[Totoro]

Another vote for Le Cellier. This restaurant was really difficult to get an ADR. We rearranged our schedule to go to this restaurant. Service was really good but some of the appetizers were cold. The steak was okay. We have enjoyed better steak at other restaurants in WDW. I think based on the reviews the expectations were so high that we were really disappointed by the time we actually ate there.

 

[IluvDonald!]

Without a doubt, Fultons. Even if you're buying, we're not going.

 

[Belle5]

Too hyped for us:

Tutto
'Ohana
Le Cellier



Underhyped:

We kinda liked: Nine Dragons--very pretty

 

[Chloesmom]

Chef Mickeys.. just nasty... nothing good to say about it. Food is bad, buffet is dirty, and characters are too rushed to even notice you are there. Mickey backed into me and caused me to throw my food everywhere... and no one cared.
Le Cellier. Nothing like sitting literally one inch from the person next to you while eating in a very dark restaurant...while eating gloppy salty cheese soup... with stale rolls. We have only eating here once and are giving it another go this trip... 2 strikes and you are out for us so we will see.
Coral Reef... place stunk like dead fish.. yeah I get thats what they sell but it should not smell like rotten fish. Service was horrible... even host was a dud... should have been our red flag to run because the barely edible meal made us all sick. On the bright side we all know where all the potties are in Epcot. We will not give this another try... borderline food poisoning is an automatic no more.

 

[Tricia1972]

Mine are Kona (the setting reminds me of a hospital cafeteria and the food isn't much better than our local Denny's) and Narcoossee's (Red Lobster with a much prettier view)



We might be long lost sisters, I couldn't agree more with your post

Kona definitely. I've gotten slammed so many times for saying that I thought it was terrible, but it was. The wait is long. The service is rushed. The food is cold and seems like it was sitting under heatlamps.

I do, however, enjoy the sushi bar at Kona. You just seat yourself (first come first serve) so no real wait. You can also REQUEST the sweet welcome bread and they bring it out. They offer the full kona menu there in addition to the sushi. But, sadly, everything that came out of the Kona kitchen was cold when it came to us there also.
So I just stick to the sushi and welcome bread.

I've heard a lot about the tonga toast but I saw a recipe for it and it's just deep fried sourdough bread (not even french toast style) with bananas in it. If I really decide to ever try something like that for breakfast, I'll get it downstairs at Captain Cookes (they offer it there too) for half the price.

 

[Tramp68]

California Grill without a doubt.

It was worth it to eat during the fireworks, but since they have stopped that, it is now just one WAY overpriced mediocre meal.

 

[ilovejsparrow]

Le Cellier is just eh. Not a huge fan of the food and I feel like I'm eating in a cramped basement.

 

[aussietravellers]

Chef Mickeys (we were sadly disappointed with it, maybe we were expecting it to be so much more because it's so hard to get into, but the food was not that great, the characters were ok but not where near as good as Cape May's, Garden Grill, Ohana's, Donalds or any of the other Character meals we went to)
and
Boma - Dinner (loved breakfast)

 

[christinec68]

To answer the OP:
Le Cellier - I had much better steaks in several other Disney restaurants and better service just about everywhere else.

Pecos Bills - We went there after reading tons and tons of recommendations and had the same burger that is served everywhere else in the world. I didn't get the hoopla over that one.

Trail's End Breakfast - again, I read a lot of great reviews and barely enjoyed the meal. Plus it took a long long time to get refills and the check. There were only 2 other tables seated at the time. And for some reason they had to be seated on either side of us so that we couldn't get up without asking them to move - seriously the whole place was empty and that was just not necessary.

I think if you live in an area w good restaurants, most if not all of the Disney choices are average. I think they are comparable to Outback, Olive Garden etc except they are all over-priced. In general you go to Disney for the entertainment not the food.

I agree with this. I find most of the food at Disney barely on par with national chains in terms of taste and quality but at a higher price. They don't even offer the variety some of the chains provide.

 

[Nathaniel.Strawn]

For me it is a tie between Artist's Point and Narcoossee's. I have only eaten there once each but it was enough to decide to never come back. First of all the service was atrocious, we were ignored both places. Secondly the food wasn't all it was cracked up to be, in fact AP made DW sick (she is a vegetarian so I don't know what could have made her sick). So needless to say I do not foresee going back to either anytime soon.

 

[palavra]

Crystal Palace. The character interaction was just so-so, and the lunch buffet was not good at all. Most of the food was cold and tasteless. This was our first of 7 TS on this trip, and I was pretty worried after that. However, the rest of our meals were good.

 

[Tara]

California Grill without a doubt.

It was worth it to eat during the fireworks, but since they have stopped that, it is now just one WAY overpriced mediocre meal.

Since they stopped what???

 

[thatcrazydisneygirl]

Dinner at Boma wasn't all that great for me three years ago. *Shrugs*

 

[Mamu]

I have 2. Ohana's Tried dinner twice, thought maybe we caught it at a bad night. Second time was no better. Dry over cooked meat.

The other is Biegarden you would think at a buffet you could find something you would like.

I do have one more Liberty Tree Tavern, one I used to rave about back in the 90's. At some point they changed their style of cooking. Tried it twice since the change. No more on my rave list.

 

[Hopefully]

We will not return to the Yachtsman Steakhouse. We have been 3 times and to us the food was just not good. Everything was over sauced and our steaks were tough. We tried 3 times, no more.
It is a beutiful setting and the service was great - just not good food.

I was disappointed in Biergarten on our last trip. We waited 25 minutes in line just to check in. Then another 30 minutes to be seated. Once we were the restaurant was only 2/3 full. Not sure why we waited so long. I thought the entertainment was very short in duration and I was disappointed with the food.

 

[TheRatPack]

There are 3 on our list that we have eaten at during free dining....to use up credits and experience what everyone raves about LOL but we would never have paid for it:

LeCellier: Yuck....all the food was just yuck.
Chef Mickeys: The food is plain, and very limited selection. We like the Hollywood and Vine breakfast buffet a lot better. We are pulled in that Chef Mickey's is a monorail resort and such but it's way too crowded, the bathrooms are not convenient (a must with 5 children...someone always has to go before, during and after their meal) and again the food selection was very limited.
Cinderella's Royal Table: Seriously...this is a 2 credit meal? It's way too crowded, and the food is mediocre (we ate breakfast). The atmosphere was really a disappointment....not sure what I was expecting but the dining area is TINY and the only food that really stuck out was the blueberry cream cheese danish....everything else was stuff you could get off a buffet anywhere in Disney.

 

[iloveeeyore]

YUCK! Not very much fun, either. Soo disappointed in everything from the antics to the cocktails to the food. Dessert and shakes were OK, and that was a good thing!

 

[acename]

Pecos Bills - We went there after reading tons and tons of recommendations and had the same burger that is served everywhere else in the world. I didn't get the hoopla over that one.

I feel the same way. We ate at Cosmic Ray's early in our trip and Pecos Bill's later and the burger was the exact same thing. They had the exact same things on the condiment bar. I thought I was just missing something but apparently not.

We didn't like Whispering Canyon. They didn't do any of the "antics" for us. It was just us two so maybe that was it, but I didn't notice anyone else with lots of ketchup or a big drink or anything. There was a stick horse race, but that was it. The skillet was yucky. It was greasy and fatty, and we LOVE LOVE LOVE BBQ. My husband liked the smore cheesecake but I didn't care for it. It was nice to be in the Wilderness Lodge, but I doubt we'd go there again.

 

[gillep]

Le Cellier- Not good the soup was Bad and the bread was very stale the steaks were Okay but nothing special at all. I also cannot stand how dark it is in there and I hate eating on top of other people it makes for a very strange meal when you feel like you can't have a conversation with your DH without 2 other tables hearing.

Californi Grill: Not that it was bad it was just not nearly as great as everyone was telling me, and it was louder in there than I thought possible for a similarly priced restaurant. I found a lot of the food too salty or that they were making strange pairings. Some of the dishes were really good though and we had top notch service. Also although seeing the fireworks there is fun it just doesn't compare at all to being in MK and I wouldn't make a special trip or deal with trying to get a fireworks ADR.

 

[seadd67]

Love all the oppions!!, I t shows alot of food lovers at Disney. I reall have never found a bad meal at Disney,now I have found favorits! and there was alot of my favorits that Dis fans found not good. Your always going to get a diffrent reaction to every place and meal. But what I love most about the diffrent in oppions Is getting to try them for my self and see. Thanks