In Praise of Quieter Restaurants —help me with the list!

[KPeterso]

We like to do late lunches (like 2:30ish) for a big meal. Chance to sit down midday inside and tend to be quieter. Or sometimes first dinner slot if dining at a resort. Some good places we have tried:

• Grand Floridian Cafe (first dinner slot)
• Tusker House (2:30-2:45 reservation time) - Last year, we were the only group in the one room off to the side just about our entire meal. We got so much attention from staff and characters there.
• Steakhouse 71 (been great for us, but I could see it getting loud)
• Whispering Canyon Cafe (not the main dining area, but the room area at the end that overlooks the lobby walkway. We were there one time and had zero antics and a quiet meal there).

 

[Gem485]

Hello!
We are here for a couple of weeks. My DH broke his hip 6 months ago, and is doing well on this trip. But louder and more crowded restaurants are grinding on his nerves. So I thought a list of more sedate restaurants would be a handy resource.

So far, quieter have been:
Tiffins
Booth at Hollywood Brown Derby
Monsieur Paul’s (not surprisingly)
Boathouse on the porch
Coral Reef at opening by the tank
Sunshine seasons for a snack break
Satuuli canteen early in the day

Worth requesting a table on the side and waiting for it:
Boma
Crystal Palace
San Angel
Wine Bar George

Intolerable noise and bustle (we weren’t expecting these to be quite so wild and crammed.
We obviously are avoiding the Chef Mickeys, etc of the dining options)
Le Cellier
Cali Grill
Trattoria Al Forno

What would,you add to the More Sedate List?

If you're there for a couple of weeks, why not try a couple of the more upscale places offsite? Bull and Bear at the Waldorf is exceptional, as is Capa at the Four Seasons. I didn't find either to be loud or obnoxious.

 

[hsmamainva]

My youngest has autism so quieter spots are important!

We have found Garden Grill to be one of the quietest character meals. And the food is delicious.

 

[nursejackie]

Here's my input to the quiet places:

1. Narcoosees's first sitting at dinner, we always find it very quiet and relaxing.
2. Sci-Fi, again an early lunch sitting, but mainly because nearly everyone's watching the 'movies and adverts' rather than chatting.
3. Cosmic Rays - in my experience there are always quiet corners to be found, outside of the busiest time, a nice air-con break from the heat in summer.
4. Columbia Harbour House - upstairs seating

 

[katallo]

Citricos tends to be quiet. I would have agreed with Ale and Compass in the However, we ate there last night. Not only was it loud, food and service quality were terrible. So disappointing. This was our go to restaurant in the past. I’ll do more of a review later.

 

[2vets]

I really thought I posted a response already, but it seems to have not worked for some reason…

I really do like kids but don’t appreciate insanity at an expensive dinner. Parents who don’t want to parent at these really get my goat. My worst experiences have been at Cali Grill, pretty consistently. Kids running back and forth around the table and between table and bar with tablets at full volume, screaming and hitting at each other, at least 3 different occasions. They have lost my business.

Citricos is often fairly sane. Narcoosees, same, with one exception (similar to CG description). Shiki Sai has always seemed very quiet to me. We’ve also had good luck at Springs restaurants (Homecomin’, Jaleo).

Your very best bets, IMO, especially now, are restaurants not on the dining plan, assuming you can do that - I recommend it highly. Shulas has always been a good choice on that roster, my DH asks for it every trip. Good luck!

 

[Micca]

Boma

The food there is excellent, but it is NOT quiet at all. It's in a huge, cavernous space that seats 270 people...people who create a constant flow of traffic as they get up from the table and return to the buffet for additional servings. We love it there, but expect it to be loud.

Anecdote: We were having dinner there a few years ago and a small child let out a scream that momentarily caused a hush to fall over the entire room. Like "What was that???" Felt bad for the parents then felt good for me cos it wasn't my kid

 

[mommyk8]

Sebastians Bistro right when it opens at 4pm

 

[saraheliz]

Sci-Fi for sure. That's the biggest reason we hit it every trip. My husband calls it the dark, quiet cool oasis in the cement desert of Hollywood Studios.
Flame Tree has lovely quiet seating areas back by the water.
Skipper Canteen was also quiet but we were in a side room, not the big main area.

 

[Quicklabs]

The side rooms at Skipper Canteen were quiet.

 

[MidnightMeeko]

Another vote for Ale and Compass, and Garden Grill for a more subdued character experience. Ymmv.

 

[LMO429]

Shulas

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

Great thread! I really want to be able to talk to the people at my table, and as much as a do like kids and understand what the parents are going through, I don't want to hear them screaming during my meal. We left Flying Fish the one time we had a reservation there bc of a table with a bunch of kids at one end and all the adults at the other end ignoring them. They were screaming like crazy. I can't see paying that much for a meal in that atmosphere.

I guess the point of that story is that we are willing to change our plans on the fly if it's too noisy.

I'm noting these suggestions.

 

[Miffy]

Nine Dragons is usually pretty quiet.