Anniversary Dinner Advice

[AKBrewer84]

My husband and I are celebrating our 10 year anniversary at Disney this October. We want to go somewhere special to eat one night but I just can't decide! We are looking at Yachtsman Steakhouse, Le Cellier, and California Grill right now. We won't be on the dining plan, so no worry about credit usage or anything. Any opinions out of these three or suggestions for ones I may be missing? Thanks!

 

[Hopefully]

I would choose Yachtsman Steakhouse. I love the decor, the food is great, and the service is outstanding.
California Grill is way too noisy and over run with ill behaved children, IMO.
The tables at Le Cellier are too close together and it just does not feel that romantic to me.
Good Luck

 

[DisBuckMan]

Shula's, bluezoo, or Il Mulino @ The Swan/Dolphin. Or, Bull and Bear @ Waldorf or Capa @ Four Seasons.

Much better choice than any of the 3 you've listed for an anniversary dinner.

 

[KenHutch]

Get on YouTube and check out Jiko at AKL. I truly think this is the best restaurant in WDW. Great food and elegant. Now out of the 3 you have semi-selected I would vote for an ADR at California Grill around 19:30 to 20:00 hours.

 

[sleepydog25]

Well, it depends upon your criteria for ambiance and food. There will be tons of varying opinions, so why not toss mine in?

Victoria & Albert's - Far and away, the best restaurant on property. Only cons are very expensive and hard to snag reservation. Assuming that's a non-player. . .

AMBIANCE
Jiko - Good food, great service, lovely and quiet setting, beautiful resort, nice wine list
Il Mulino - Not quite as lovely as Jiko, but they have a great menu (they offer half plates of pasta), a wonderful wine list, and our service has always been good
BiCE - Though located at the Portofino Resort over at US, it's a tremendous restaurant with a topnotch menu, superb service, great wine list, and lovely views

CONVIVIAL
California Grill - Generally very good food and service, but it's noisy. Even if there aren't any kids running around, all the glass and the kitchen in the middle of the floor echo voices, clattering, and the like. The plus side is if you time it right (such as Ken's suggestion above), then you can see the fireworks from your table. Even if you don't, you can come back after dinner to watch them.
Enzo's Hideaway - Tucked away in Disney Springs, it's reminiscent of a speak easy, cellar restaurant. We found it nicely done with a touch of whimsy thrown in. Our servers were excellent, and the food was a hit, too. There are booths you should be able to grab if you ask nicely.
Sanaa - One of the best "bang for your buck" places at Disney. Food is very good; service is friendly; drink/wine list is solid; and the bread service is divine. Not upscale, but it's well-themed.
Morimoto - Very unique setting which can be a little loud (not CA Grill loud, though) but with generally good food, especially the available-only-at-dinner buri bop.
Kimonos - If you like sushi. If you don't, never mind.

 

[sponica]

I like Le Cellier, but wouldn't do an anniversary dinner there. It can be loud and tight.

If you're looking for something in a park, I'd totally do Tiffins.

Outside of a park any of the other recommendations so far would rank on my list.

 

[OhThePain]

Shula's, bluezoo, or Il Mulino @ The Swan/Dolphin. Or, Bull and Bear @ Waldorf or Capa @ Four Seasons.

Much better choice than any of the 3 you've listed for an anniversary dinner.

Agree with most of this (I personally don't think Il Mulino is all that great).

The only one I'd add to this list is Jiko at AKL, which has been mentioned by others. Not only is the food and service excellent but you can also make a night out of exploring AKL, sitting by the fire pit with a drink, looking over the savannahs from any of the quiet locations with a view. It really makes for a much more romantic of a night than any of the original 3 restaurants mentioned by the OP.

 

[AKBrewer84]

Thank you all so much! This is exactly the kind of information I was looking for. We normally have our kids with us for all meals, so we've never tried any of the more upscale places before.

 

[Pygoplites]

Shula's, bluezoo, or Il Mulino @ The Swan/Dolphin. Or, Bull and Bear @ Waldorf or Capa @ Four Seasons.

Much better choice than any of the 3 you've listed for an anniversary dinner.

^^^^^^^^^
THIS!!!!!!

Especially Capa @ Four Seasons, with a view of MK, DHS and Epcot fireworks from the 17th floor of the nicest hotel. Very large menu, ranging from tapas for a few bucks to $350/ounce caviar--and all sorts of steaks and seafood in between.

Shockingly, their main entrees like chicken, fish, some steaks, etc., are less expensive than at most of the Disney-run signatures. A whole lobster is $60 at Capa and $72 at Narcoossee's, for example.

 

[DisneyTravelers2008]

I would suggest Monsieur Paul in Epcot or Jiko or Morimoto Asia . These are quiet and unique.

Le Cellier- We were not impressed. Food was ok. But the table are SO CLOSE together!

Yachtsman - wonderful food bu the atmosphere is just not for me. For a nice dinner, atmosphere is really important to me

California Grill- We were not impressed. THe food was just ok for what we paid. I was expecting amazing!

 

[sullyfam]

Out of the 3 you listed, I would go with California Grill. Yes, it can be noisy but it's also romantic at the top of the Contemporary. They whisk you up in a private elevator. You can get a table next to the window and make a later reservation. Stay for fireworks out on the deck. Sounds like a nice anniversary night to me!

 

[Micca]

From your 3 options I'd go with CG, bug I'd chose Citrico's. Very nice food and atmosphere.

 

[richkaryn]

Since not on dining plan, I'd go to Shula's at the Dolphin. (They have an email club and you can put in your birthday --or use your anniversary as your birthday-- and you get a coupon for buy 1 entree get 1 free during the month of your "birthday"). Not to mention the food is amazing, and we've always had fantastic service as well.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Of the three, I would do Cali Grill simply for the view, but I also agree with the suggestions of Capa at Four Seasons or Shula's at the Dolphin. I find the non-WDW restaurants on Disney property to have better quality food and service and, since you aren't on a dining plan, you have the flexibility to eat elsewhere.

 

[AllThingsMickey4]

We are also celebrating our anniversary in Disney this year and as of right now I’m planning on dinner at the Yachtsman Steakhouse followed by a night walking around World Showcase enjoying Flower and Garden.

We dined at Yachtsman Steakhouse once and the food and service was great. The restaurant was overall pretty quiet, but the only thing I don’t love about it is it’s ambiance. It’s very much a steakhouse setting to me versus California Grill with the amazing view. However, I feel like your experience at CG can vary depending on where you are seated (we were seated in the back, near the kitchen with a view out the back of the Contemporary).

My second choice would be Jiko. I am actually still debating on changing our reservation to Jiko. I like the ambiance more than Yachtsman and AKL is just an awesome place to explore.

I was not at all impressed with Le Cellier especially when compared to the other choices. Good luck! It’s a tough decision.

 

[AKBrewer84]

Thanks for all the advice, everyone. We are staying at AKL, so after looking over all the options I think we are going to go with Jiko. We're excited!

 

[gharter]

Thanks for all the advice, everyone. We are staying at AKL, so after looking over all the options I think we are going to go with Jiko. We're excited!

Jiko was going to be my first recommendation. If you go later, it tends to be a little quieter. The food is very good and the staff have always been fabulous. The wine list has many wines that may not be familiar, but the staff can wak you through the menu and wine list.
Enjoy!