Let's have a fun thread....what Disney restaurants surprised you....good or bad

[acarsme123]

Maybe a fun discussion thread to have:

Curious what Disney restaurants have either wowed you, or let you down, in comparison to their average reviews on Google/Yelp and/or praise/criticisms on other sites like YouTube, Disboards, or other review sites?

I'll start:

Underwhelmed:
Splitsville...I truly hated this meal. It was one of the worst of our last trip, yet it gets high Google reviews and lots of praise from people. Yes the menu is diverse and it seems there's a little something for everyone...that's why we were drawn to it, but the execution was not the greatest in my opinion. I slightly felt nauseous after this meal.

Ohana dinner: noodles with no flavor....overcooked steak and chicken skewers. The shrimp was good, and that was about it. I devoured that shrimp. Ohana breakfast is good though.

Surprised:
Tony's Town Square...It's been awhile since we've been here, but I remember the reviews always seemed bad and it gets ripped on a lot it seems. Maybe we just went in with low expectations, but we were pleasantly surprised. I really had no complaints, and it hit the spot after a long day in the park. Was it the best Italian ever? Well of course not! But for something in a theme park we were very happy with our meal. So much in fact we plan on trying to make it one of our ADRs for this next trip!

Now it's your turn!

 

[Sakurachaek]

Tusker House! Just walked in and had a great character meal with actually nice food

 

[acarsme123]

Tusker House! Just walked in and had a great character meal with actually nice food

Tusker House breakfast was amazing

 

[Simba's Mom]

Good-Nine Dragons at China. Always avoided it because of its poor ratings. Finally tried it one day in spite of that. We loved it. The only problem now is that I had the 9 Dragons fried rice entree (I don't remember what it was called exactly) and it's not offered now. Any good suggestions?

Bad-Jungle Skipper Cruise. Had the Brazilian cheese bread and fruit, but didn't like it at all. The bread was totally bland. Then the most disappointing part was I thought the servers were supposed to act a little like Skippers. Not mine-she just acted like a server.

 

[CynBeth]

We are 3 adults who visit every few years and the other 2 have food allergies so we eat a lot of meals at TS. Not counting the restaurants we have gone to for breakfast that have not gone back to buffet yet our favorites are WCC breakfast, Tony’s dinner, BOG dinner, Tutto Italia lunch, Coral Reef lunch, Chefs de France dinner, Le Cellier dinner, Rainforest Cafe lunch, Boma breakfast and dinner, Hollywood Brown Derby lunch, and 50’s PTC dinner. On our trip next month if we don’t cancel we are trying Liberty Tree Tavern with the AYCTE. We have only had lunch there when it was a la cart. Also new will be Ale and Compass breakfast, The Boathouse dinner, and Space220 dinner.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Whispering Pines breakfast. We did this on a whim on our departure day because we could not get Topolinos at a decent time. Fun place, good food and lots of it, and very easy to get a reservation. Not to mention, WAY less expensive than Topolinos. We will return.

And I'm sure this will get a collective "no duh", the booths at Food and Wine in EPCOT. I had avoided EPCOT during F&W pre COVID because who needs the crowds, but our normal trip date is now during F&W and I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, portions are small, bordering on tiny, but compared to the tab at any sit-down place, prices are very reasonable and the food is great. No more EPCOT ADRs for us during F&W!

Edit to add "BAD";
I feel this deserves to be mentioned every time a thread like this comes up, Rainforest Cafe, any location anywhere, but we had an especially bad experience at the DAK location. ATTROCIOUS service, slow, food was just OK, they refused to refill drinks, and gave us "to go" pudding desert in Styrofoam containers. Let's just say, that went poorly and caused us untold issues for HOURS after. What's worse is there was a mandatory 15% tip because we were a party of 8. NEVER, EVER AGAIN!!

 

[TreAntDeu]

Underwhelmed: Tiffins
Went 5 times over the years and had mediocre to outright bad food and service every time. Finally gave up.

Underwhelmed: Ohana
Extremely fast service and food that just was not special. Bland. Used to be a favorite. Decided to give up quicker than with Tiffins

Suprised: Yak and Yeti
Never had a bad meal at Yak and Yeti. The burger at dinner is so good. Given reviews, I've been surprised by the consistency. Menu has something for everyone and the interior is actually pretty cool too.

Suprised: Bull and Bear at Waldorf Astoria
Now, I was not suprised the food was good. I was suprised I liked our meal even more than Victoria and Albert's. Just phenomenal experience. If you want a pricey fancy dinner. Bull and Bear is where I'm pointing ppl.

 

[DisneyHardin]

Good - the Pop Century Food Court - the turkey sandwich is was so good. The family pizza meal was also really good and a decent deal by Disney standards.

Bad - The Yachtsman - we were looking forward to this ADR so much and the food just wasn't good. Both of our steaks were way over cooked - I even sent mine back and it came out no better.

 

[bobbiwoz]

We recently ate at Paddlefish and loved our food. DH and myself had the stuffed cod, DSis had the Crab Cake BLT. The potatoes with the stuffed cod were perfection! The Crab cake BLT came with wonderful house made potato chips.

Our appetizers were Caprese salad and Fried Green tomatoes!

We had been disappointed that we couldn’t get the Boathouse, but it turned into an excellent meal.

 

[Jennasis]

House of Blues. We ate here because there because we wanted outdoor seating while at DS and it was all we could get. Fantastic meal and the best bread pudding on property.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Underwhelmed: Beaches & Cream
It gets such great reviews and reservations are so hard to score, I guess we set our expectations too high. We were like meh, it’s average diner food.

Surprised: I’ll agree with a PP who mentioned Tony’s. It was most definitely better than the terrible reviews it gets. The fried mozzarella was some of the best I’ve had.

 

[Alexis56578]

Silly, but Pinocchio Village House. I'd heard such terrible things about MK quick service, but the pizza was fine. It wasn't amazing pizza fresh from Italy, but it was just normal pizza. I was expecting cardboard and ketchup,

People are crazy about Disney food. I'm sorry not everything is michelin star rated.

 

[SkyGuy]

Tusker House! Just walked in and had a great character meal with actually nice food

I agree! We had a great breakfast there, and the character interactions were perfect for the children in our group.

 

[SkyGuy]

Underwhelmed (and I know I’m in the minority): Homecoming. We were so excited to try it based on all the fantastic reviews. My son had the chicken and it was greasy and salty. I had the mac and cheese as a side, and it looked amazing but tasted so bland, literally no cheese flavor. We shared the hummingbird cake for dessert, and we must be spoiled by my mil who is a great southern cook because we both thought hers was much better. I was so, so disappointed. Maybe we need to give it another chance.

Surprised: San Angel Inn. Love the ambiance and the food was very good, and there was plenty of it. Any time we’ve been, our server has been great.

 

[kiramay]

Surprised- coral reef. I’m not a huge fan of seafood so I’ve never been interested in trying it but our flight home was canceled and I wanted sit down meal. It was the only place I could get quickly. We ended up having an amazing beef dish! Had a relaxing meal right next to the aquarium.

overrated- Ohana. Long wait to be seated and to get food. Food was ok but it wasn’t worth the hype or cost in our opinion.

 

[igrsod]

Underwhelmed - Citricos, nothing special and definitely not worth the price we paid.
Tusker House, I thought I would love it but it didn't do anything for me
Be Our Guest

Surprised - Mama Melrose
Flying Fish
Skipper's Canteen

 

[VH103428]

Surprise Meal: Mama Melrose's...We had the Fantasmic Dinner package a few years ago and it was amazing. Never even considered going there until we booked it to get good seats for Fantasmic.
Underwhelmed: Cinderella's Royal Table...It was awesome to eat within the castle, but other than that...It was ok at best.

 

[Octoberbaby]

Underwhelmed: Beaches & Cream
It gets such great reviews and reservations are so hard to score, I guess we set our expectations too high. We were like meh, it’s average diner food.

Beaches and Cream is definitely overrated. Not even worth the stress of trying to find an adr. If I'm staying and Yacht club/Beach club and can get a walk up for lunch sure I would eat there, but I wouldn't suggest anyone waste time going there expecting a great meal.

Underwhelmed (and I know I’m in the minority): Homecoming. We were so excited to try it based on all the fantastic reviews. My son had the chicken and it was greasy and salty. I had the mac and cheese as a side, and it looked amazing but tasted so bland, literally no cheese flavor. We shared the hummingbird cake for dessert, and we must be spoiled by my mil who is a great southern cook because we both thought hers was much better. I was so, so disappointed. Maybe we need to give it another chance.

If you're in the minority I'll be there with you. Homecomin is NOT, I repeat, NOT outstanding Southern food. I think people who rave about it obviously haven't eaten good home cooked fried chicken or macaroni and cheese. I will stick to my own kitchen for that.

 

[The Foolish Mortal]

Easily the biggest disappointment I have had with Disney Dining was dinner at MP. This was a few years ago. The place charged top quality prices, but the food was mediocre at best and the ambiance was no different than any other Disney restaurant free for all (other than fewer tables in the dining room). Just not wirth the time or money at all.

Best surprise is probably Via Napoli. First time I went, I expected it to be average. But it was much better than average. Good food, fun decor, and a nice place to relax with my partner

 

[princessmocha]

Underwhelmed: Skipper Canteen. I had been so excited to eat here because everyone raved about it and it was awful. The food was not good and the service we had was awful too.

Surprised: Tony's, I had been prepared for this to be really bad, but my daughter wanted to eat here. It was pretty good. It wasn't the best Italian food by any stretch of the imagination, but it was much better than I thought it would be.