Best tasting places to eat?

[Thepinkachu]

Hello. We are planning on going to Disney world for the 1st time ever next year. I've been doing all the planning and am trying to figure out cheaper places to eat with good tasting food on property.

My husband is a chef, and we will be traveling with another chef as well. When we went to disneyland last year we ended up canceling half of our reservations because the food was down right gross for the price. We canceled after spending 60 a person on their "best restaurant" on property, to be insanely disappointed. Ended up eating rice bowls at Lucky Fortune the rest of our stay. Which we were happy with. It wasnt top of the line food, but it had flavor, and the price was decent considering where we were.

With some places I know we are paying for the experience. Doing a character breakfast, be our guest. We expect the food to be gross. The rest of the meals I'm looking for suggestions of places that are good tasting food, preferably in quick service or other places.

 

[cmwade77]

Honestly, if you didn't like Disneyland's food, you are going to hate most of Disney Worlds food, as Disneyland tends to have better food options and is much lower in price.

The being said, I will give you a few ideas, but I am going to first mention my idea of good eats at Disneyland so you have a baseline for my recommendations and can see what I think is good compared to what you think:
Carnation Cafe - Their vegetarian burger, add cheese is good, so is their Chicken Pot Pie and their regular burger. Really not a lot is bad, if you like pickles, my wife loves the fried pickles

Tropical Hideaway - All is good there that I have had

Bengal BBQ - Everything is delicious, but a bit expensive

River Belle Terrace - Can't really go wrong, except desserts tend to be small for the price

Cafe Orleans - Monte Cristo

Hungry Bear - Current menu doesn't have anything bad on it

Red Rose Tavern - The cauliflower steak sandwich is by far the best

Avoid Tomorrowland for food

Plaza Inn - Friend Chicken or Pot Roast, both are delicious and made from scratch

Also don't forget the hand dipped Disneyland Corn Dogs

Carthay Circle - everything I have tried

Flo's V8 Cafe - Delicious food all around

Lamplight Lounge - Again haven't found anything that isn't good

Wine Country Trattoria - Lasagna

Unfortunately many of my go.to counter service locations have had recent menu changes, so I can't really say there, but hopefully this gives a good enough baseline and perhaps a few things to try when you come back.

As for Disney Word, here are some:
Victoria and Albert's - Adult only high end restaurant that everyone seems to love. Not really my scene, but I hear the food is excellent, especially if you go for the Chefs table
Magic Kingdom:
Skipper Canteen - Dinner is better than lunch apparently.

Plaza - Dinner if possible, but basic comfort food done really well

Columbia Harbor House - Best counter service in Magic Kingdom taste wise

Friars Nook - Vegan bratwurst and the Mac and Cheese choices are great as well

EPCOT:
Most of world showcase, except America
Sunshine Seasons - All is good

Hollywood Studios:
50's Prime Time Cafe - Sampler Platter
SciFi - steak (burgers are decent too)

Animal Kingdom
Tusker House (late breakfast, so you overlap with lunch and get both menus)
Flametree BBQ
Satuli Canteen

Animal Kingdom Lodge
Sanaa
Jiko
Boma
The Mara
Pool bars

Wilderness Lodge
Whispering Canyon
Storybook Dining
Whole both of these are definitely experiences, the food is absolutely delicious as well

Fort Wilderness
Hoop Dee Doo

Contemporary
The Wave

Disney Springs
Chicken Guy
D'luxe Burger
Raglan Road


These are some of our current favorites, we are trying new places on our next trip, so this list may change, but this should give some idea.

 

[rosegoldmonorail]

you have to keep in mind, it's a theme park so most places you're getting theme park food. if you thought disneyland's food was "gross," you're probably not going to like disney world's either. personally, i like most of the restaurants at WDW, but then again, i don't have a husband who's a chef lol. @cmwade77 has some good suggestions, but here's my suggestions:

Magic Kingdom:
Eh. Not really a fan of anything at Magic Kingdom. You might like Skipper Canteen though - I'm too picky for it. Columbia Harbor House was okay for a quick meal, but there's better seafood on property.

Epcot:
Anything in Mexico
Morocco if you're feeling adventurous
Via Nappoli has some pretty good italian food and the pizza is really yummy
Germany has an awesome buffet!
Nine Dragons is pretty decent
Avoid Tokyo Dining in Japan. It was bleh.

Animal Kingdom:
Tbh, I don't think I've ever done a sit down in Animal Kingdom... I've heard great things about Tiffins though.
Flame Tree BBQ is my favorite quick service on property!!!
Santuli Canteen always gets good reviews, but again, I'm too picky for it.

Hollywood Studios:
Personally I love 50s Prime Time Cafe, but I feel like it'll be below your tastes... it's average comfort food, but it's not like it's excellent or anything.. I'm just a sucker for fried chicken and mashed potatoes.
There's really not much in DHS dining wise.

Resorts:
Cape May Cafe at either yacht or beach club is fantastic!!! Excellent seafood buffet, and if you do dinner it's not a character meal! Soooo yummy!!
I've heard great things about Sanaa, Boma, and Jiko at AKL. Always wanted to try them.
Victoria & Albert's is supposedly the best restaurant on property. I've never ate there but it's on my bucket list.
I forget the name of it, but there's a restaurant in the Grand Floridian which has a really good breakfast. We actually ate there twice on my one trip because it was so yummy.

That's all I can think of. Like I said, you've got to remember that it's theme park food. There's some good options if you do research. I hope my lists helps!

 

[rosegoldmonorail]

Whoops, I forgot Disney Springs!!

I have only eaten at two restaurants at DS, and I didn't like either of them. One was the Cuban restaurant, I think it's called Bongos? Congos? Something like that... it was awful. The meat was sooo dry. Also D'luxe Burger was okay to me. I didn't like the seasonings they used in their burgers, but other people love it so...

There's a lot of restaurants here that have gotten great reviews which I really want to try:
Morimoto
Homecomin'
Raglan Road
Chicken Guy
Wine Bar George (dole whip mimosas!!!)

 

[KenHutch]

I loved everything cmwade77 listed but I did think of one thing else the Santuli in Animal Kingdom was also very good. I do understand your pain at Disneyland. One of the girls mentioned going there so I started researching places to eat and frankly found very little online.

 

[blf14]

As for in-Park food, Animal Kingdom will definitely be your best bet IMO. We’re having an insanely hard time narrowing down our choices there!

There are also good restaurants in Disney Springs.

We also weren’t overly impressed with anything in MK. And (gasp!) thought the pizza at Via Napoli was average or less than what we can get at home. I wouldn’t hesitate to try other restaurants in Epcot, though, which one just depending on your tastes.

 

[foodiddiedoo]

One of the things to be aware of in Epcot is while the food is "authentic" in most of the World Showcase, it's Americanized, less flavorful versions of those foods. I am lucky to live near NYC so I can get basically any type of food, and while I enjoy Morocco, the food is somewhat more "bland" than what I am always expecting. I understand that they have to appeal to millions of guests a year, and lots of people don't like tons of spice in their food, but just be prepared that the food that claims it is hot and spicy (like at Skipper Canteen's) will be mildly spicy at best. The suggested food locations above are all fairly decent. I've eaten at Victoria and Albert's twice and it's almost as good as many of the 3 Michelin star restaurants I've been to so if you're feeling the splurge it's absolutely worth it. They are not held to the lowest common denominator when preparing their food as it's an experience that people are signing up for and expecting more than anything within the parks.

 

[chris benton]

Please keep in mind that you have to pay a premium for almost everything, and most of the food (ethnic food especially,) has to be made to fit the Disney mold of safety and acceptability for the masses.

Some places that I've found that don't make it seem like you are overpaying in the realm of WDW:

Flame Tree BBQ (full spare rib platter) AND ALSO, GET THEIR ONION RINGS. (split this between two ppl.)
These will not be the best smoked spares you've ever had in your life. They will be decent, but they will be pretty damn good FOR THE PRICE, in the realm of WDW eats. Please remember - GET THE ONION RINGS. Also, the slaw and beans are garbage, imo. The slaw is sweet - huge pet peeve pf mine.

Kimonos at The Swan resort.
If you like sushi, again, this will not be the best sushi you ever had in your life. BUT, it will be about the same quality as you neighborhood, every day sushi spot at home. The thing is, that you will see prices of ngiri that are pretty much the same price as your spot at home, SO, in the realm of overpriced WDW food, imo, Kimonos is a gem, in that the quality is there, but if you stick with simple nigiri, instead of hipster fashion mayo-maki, you'll have decent sushi without overpaying the wdw premium.

Also -
The chicken tenders at WDW are a safety net food. They are usually a pretty safe bet to not be horrific. And I NEVER, seriously NEVER go out and order something like chicken tenders. I'm more Indian Food, Sushi, Thai, anything African. We're a very adventurous fam over here.

I find the food quality at WDW haphazard at best. Prices mean nothing. You have to choose very wisely, and that might just mean ordering the chicken tenders at WDW, and saving the ethnic / fancy food for when you get home.

Oooh one more - that spicy chicken waffle at Sleepy Hollow in MK is pretty decent, BUT the slaw they throw on it is horrendous (again, far too much sugar for me - it was candy sweet) I'd happily get it again, without saw tho.

Also, if you see "Hummus Fries" anywhere at Epcot - GET THOSE THINGS. And eat them close to where you got them - you might want another order.

 

[eva]

As others have said, it is mostly theme park food. But there are a few standouts for us.

MK - We rarely eat here. There is better food at the monorail resorts. We might grab a snack or ice cream. But don’t expect great food in the parks.

EPCOT - CS we like La Cantina and Sunshine Seasons. TS is really hit or miss. We used to like Biergarten. But the last two times we went the food and service were terrible. Spice Road is pretty good. We sometimes eat at Rose & Crown to see Illuminations . But the food at Raglan Road at Disney Springs is better. Tutto Gusto Wine Cellar is fairly good. I personally hate the pizza at Via Napoli. If there is a certain type of cuisine you like, you might give it a try. But don’t expect it to be authentic or like what you can get in Chicago or NY.

HS - no place here would I say the food is excellent. We eat at 50’s Primetime or Sci-Fi mainly for the atmosphere with our grandkids, not the food. We had a decent meal at the Brown Derby awhile back.

AK - We are trying Tiffens for the first time this next trip. I hear good things about it. Flaming tree has pretty good BBQ for counter service. Breakfast buffet at Tusker House was fairly good.

Resorts - I think this is where you will get better TS meals. We like California Grill, Narcoossee’s, Flying Fish, Todd English Bluezoo, Jiko, and Sanaa

Disney Springs - We like Raglan Road, the Boathouse, Morimoto’s Asia, and Homecomin. We really enjoy just bar hopping and having a drink and share something at a number of restaurants at Disney Springs. I guess you would call it a mini DS pub crawl.

If you are looking for top cuisine, you might stick with the signature restaurants. But still don’t set your expectations too high.

WARNING — If you want decent food, never go during free dining! The food becomes subpar and the people paying cash spend a lot for pretty bad food.

 

[MarkinNM]

Food and reviews is VERY subjective, heck I say go in with zero expectations, be open and mostly have fun, seems like everyone is a food critic and can be tearing apart the food and the places, even some before trying it.......who knows you might find some that are pretty good!

 

[hereforthechurros]

Hello. We are planning on going to Disney world for the 1st time ever next year. I've been doing all the planning and am trying to figure out cheaper places to eat with good tasting food on property.

My husband is a chef, and we will be traveling with another chef as well. When we went to disneyland last year we ended up canceling half of our reservations because the food was down right gross for the price. We canceled after spending 60 a person on their "best restaurant" on property, to be insanely disappointed. Ended up eating rice bowls at Lucky Fortune the rest of our stay. Which we were happy with. It wasnt top of the line food, but it had flavor, and the price was decent considering where we were.

With some places I know we are paying for the experience. Doing a character breakfast, be our guest. We expect the food to be gross. The rest of the meals I'm looking for suggestions of places that are good tasting food, preferably in quick service or other places.

Not a chef but we travel to eat all over and understand Disney is just not that. Helps to chill out about that a bit. Most meals are hardly three star Michelin meals but if you want that, V&A is highly recommended.

We were at Disneyland last month and while the food in the parks was blah, Ballast Point was good.

WDW is more of a snack destination in terms of food. Waffles from a Sleepy Hollow, Poutine from the Daily Poutine, snacking at the countries in the world showcase. As far as sit down meals, Disney Springs is your best bet. Homecomin, Morimoto’s Boathouse, Jaleo.

 

[Moliphino]

Magic Kingdom:
Skipper Canteen - Dinner is better than lunch apparently.

The menu is the same for lunch and dinner, there should be no difference.

If you're doing BOG lunch, try the braised pork.

AK: Satuli Canteen or Harambe Market (I like the ribs here better than Flame Tree)
Epcot: Tangierine Cafe, La Cantina de San Angel, Sunshine Seasons
MK and DHS are pretty boring when it comes to QS meals. Maybe try the Brown Derby Lounge, we enjoyed their charcuterie board.

 

[nkereina]

Gotta agree with PP that if you hate DL food, you will loathe the food at WDW. DL food is notoriously better and more unique when compared to WDW. At WDW, they are preparing food for a lot more people. When you have to feed the masses, you need foods that are universally liked, cost effective, and efficient to prepare. WDW's food meets all of that, so it loses some taste and creativity. Don't get me wrong, there are some things we love, but we are not picky eaters or foodies, and certainly no chefs in the family.

I know you're looking for inexpensive meals, but it may be worth splurging on signature dining for a meal or two. That's where the best food can be found. California Grill, Jiko, and Tiffins come to mind for more unique things. For inexpensive, we love Liberty Tree Tavern at MK and Biergarten at Epcot. In fact, I'd recommend almost all TS dining in Epcot for unique and authentic fare.

 

[cmwade77]

The menu is the same for lunch and dinner, there should be no difference.

If you're doing BOG lunch, try the braised pork.

AK: Satuli Canteen or Harambe Market (I like the ribs here better than Flame Tree)
Epcot: Tangierine Cafe, La Cantina de San Angel, Sunshine Seasons
MK and DHS are pretty boring when it comes to QS meals. Maybe try the Brown Derby Lounge, we enjoyed their charcuterie board.

Skipper's canteen may have the same menu, but quality wise everyone keeps saying the quality is substantially better at dinner for some reason.

 

[chris benton]

Hey
@Thepinkachu -
Suggestion: do your research, figure out what places you'd like to give a try, and then ping this crowd.
Youtube: DFB (Disney Food Blog) has some extensive reviews, if you are sitting around and wanna get quick clips of things to try or perhaps avoid. As a PP stated, you'll have to be your own judge, but temper your expectations. This is mass produced, over priced food. I basically try to limit eating horrendous and overpriced food which I think I do a decent job of.

Some more random thoughts:
Character meals are overpriced if you are going for the food only, but if that's the only reason you are going to a char meal, that's your issue. (you already know this.)

Most things of an ethnic variety - definitely temper expectations. Something like Tusker House, for example. If you are thinking "Oooh character meal with Indian flavors" (like I did) you are setting yourself up for a major disappointment. This is DISNEY'S take on "exotic" flavors. I literally laughed when I tried my first bite of a chicken curry dish there. They also had falafel which I recall as one bite and laugh. I will say this though - if you know how to successfully navigate a buffet, you'll do just fine. At Chef Mickey's, I gorged on roast beef, roast turkey at the carving station, and also a REALLY good short rib dish along with mashed taters. Was it worth 55 dollars per? Nope, BUT, if you factor in the character meet/greets and their entertainment for the kids, and the pictures and the memories, then I say yes. At Tusker House, the roasted side of salmon and their take on roasted chicken (in the adult section) were fantastic. Worth 48 dollars per? Nope, but again, for the memories, yes, and I ate well once I navigated what was not garbage.

I also stressed about Mama Melrose for Italian food. I come from a city with tons of Italian joints. I was prepared for the worst, but I thought what we ordered at Mama Melrose was way better than our expectations. But, after researching, I knew I should get the strip. The SO had a wonderful grilled fish, and the kid had a kid's meal pizza and squidamari.

I thought Pecos Bill's fajita platter was an atrocity of oversalted trash, and their fixin's bar was low-rent everything. I'm not a snob, I love to eat trash sometimes, I absolutely LOVE canned orange cheese sometimes. My opinion of Pecos Bill is just that, my opinion. Plenty of other ppl LOVE Pecos Bill. I threw the fajita platter away. I just found it gross. No flavor other than salt, and the fixin's bar could not help.


Teppan Edo for teppanyaki is NOT too wdw overpriced. Your teppanyaki joint at home will probably be better, but in the realm of overpriced food at WDW, Teppan Edo was not too outrageous.

We tried the Mongolian Beef and a kid's meal pizza at Sunshine Seasons, and thought it was trash. Again, plenty of ppl love SS. I was excited to try it. Complete letdown. But again, just my opinion.

We just try to limit the bad food (and there is plenty of it.) You really have to do your research, and target the best option for food at the place and time you'll be hungry.

Also - Pineapple floats. As long as I can get a pineapple float or 2 (or 6) I'll be aight at MK with a tuna sammich and fresh fried chips at Columbia Harbor.

I actually thought the Galactic Salad at Backlot Express at DHS was pretty decent.

Woody's lunchbox's pop tarts were a total waste of money. We tried both flavors. I expected them to be pastry-ish and buttery, they were like straight cardboard with oversugared jam. We threw them both away.

 

[Calee]

You mention that you are doing one character meal-Be Our Guest breakfast. This is not a character meal. The only time there is a character at BOG is dinner, and it is just the beast and he does not come to your table. BOG breakfast is a lot of money for not great food. We do the breakfast just for PPO lol. If you really want to eat at BOG do lunch-better food (but still not amazing), better bang for your buck.

If you really want a character meal/breakfast there are lots of choices, but this isn't one of them

 

[MousetersInc]

When we went to disneyland last year we ended up canceling half of our reservations because the food was down right gross for the price.

The "for the price" is where you'll have a problem. Is any churro worth $6? Is any entree worth $50? But there were many meals we enjoyed; here are my thoughts on what we did. Our favorites that were not Signature Dining and therefore good value for price were Skipper Canteen and Tusker House. I regret missing Satuli too, and am pretty confident that it's great.