Recommendations for ADR at EPCOT?

[Monorail_Man_NJ]

If you had a choice out of these 3 restaurants in EPCOT which would you choose?

Basically on my EPCOT day I will have the DDP so obviously want to get the most bang for the buck.

I have been to Disney many times (ex cast member) but there are 3 restaurants I would like to try with only 1 day. Here are the scenarios. Help me choose.

1) Garden Grill Dinner at the Land pavillion. Was able to get this reservation and looks really cool with the circular seating. I also like the fact that its a character meal. However after looking at some food reviews I was a little worried.

2) La Hacienda outside of the Mexico paviion. This would not be for Illuminations. Simply looking to try a new food experience. I do enjoy Mexican food and although the ambiance is great in San Angel the food is mediocre. I heard this restaurant has better food.

3) Le Chefs de France. Food looks amazing however I saw in a review that DDP has a limited menu when dining at this restaurant (IE cant choose anything you want) Are limited to certain options.

So out of those 3 any suggestions? thanks in advance

 

[DCLPrincess]

I was just at GG last week. The food was amazing. They have this honey butter that I wanted to eat with a spoon. The character interactions are great and I enjoy seeing living with the land.

 

[mjmgsssp]

I use the DDP at Le Chefs de France almost every trip. I've never had restrictions on their menu.

 

[soccermom54]

We love La Hacienda for dinner and Chefs de France for lunch. We don't do the dining plan.

 

[dakotix]

France would be my pick. The food is great there and really well prepared. We have never done La Hacienda. Personally we LOVE San Angel but for us its because of the atmosphere and to be honest in the half dozen times we've eaten there I can't say I ever noticed the food. It has never been awful or amazing..basically what you would expect from a typical Mexican restaurant. I haven't been to the Garden Grill for 10 years but I did like it. You really can't go wrong in Epcot (except for China - would never go back there). Have you considered Morocco? That is a great restaurant, awesome (authentic) food, and has belly dancers!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Of the three, I would choose La Hacienda. I find the food at Chefs to be incredibly salty and the food at GG to be barely edible.

 

[rg35]

I have been to all three.

Chefs De France is fine. I wasn't blown away. If you regularly dine at French restaurants outside of Disney it might be disappointing.

Garden Grill is fine - it's served family style and the character interactions are great. Like all character dining, it's more about the characters than serving the best food, so moderate your expectations accordingly. Anything being served "family style" is rarely gourmet. That said, I did enjoy the platter they served there.

La Hacienda de San Angel is very good. We have enjoyed it both times we have dined there. The food is definitely better than at San Angel.

 

[djc9699]

Garden Grill is good and love the characters. Food is very fresh and tasty. But no choice in what to order so make sure everyone is good with what is offered.

Chefs De France is a must do for us every trip. We order what we want on the dining plan. I love the Salmon and Duck. Daughter loves the steak.

Have not eaten at San Angel - my daughter is not really into Mexican food.

 

[goofyintoronto]

The food at chefs is delicious! Love the variety and quality of food. I’ve used the DP there and there wasn’t any restrictions.

 

[Wild4Walt]

We did GG for breakfast last week and we found the food very good and the characters were a lot of fun ( even for 2 adults with no kids ). It's your standard, eggs, bacon, sausage but they do give you a huge cinnamon roll skillet to share and a large bowl of fresh fruit ( melons, strawberries and pineapple ).

I've eaten at Chef's a few times ( although not on the DDP ) and always enjoyed the food.

We're not foodies - we just know what we like so keep that in mind.

 

[Monorail_Man_NJ]

Thanks for the replies so far. Seems like Chefs is winning out over the other 2.

 

[CynBeth]

Of your choices we have only done Chefs and we love it!

 

[Momto2minniemice]

Garden Gril is great! Not sure if you are going with kids, but if you are we like it since it is more low key and the characters are great! The food is good as well. Since it is served family style the adults get to eat vs getting up and we are able to have a conversation vs up and down for food like a buffet. The rotation is nice and slow so you really do. It notice it either!

 

[goofyintoronto]

We did GG for breakfast last week and we found the food very good and the characters were a lot of fun ( even for 2 adults with no kids ). It's your standard, eggs, bacon, sausage but they do give you a huge cinnamon roll skillet to share and a large bowl of fresh fruit ( melons, strawberries and pineapple ).

I've eaten at Chef's a few times ( although not on the DDP ) and always enjoyed the food.

We're not foodies - we just know what we like so keep that in mind.

I agree, GG at breakfast is amazing. I've eaten there two trips ago. Food is fresh and fantastic. However, i believe the OP wanted to try dinner. I heard dinner is really good there too though. And the characters cant be beat.

 

[Tinkerbellmom43]

We've done both GG and Chefs. No complaints here! Both delicious, great service and experience. There will always be a negative review somewhere. The menu options in France were fine for us. The food at GG always fresh and really good. I think it depends on the kind of experience your looking for character or not.

 

[caitycaity]

Both La Hacienda and GG are good. I thought CDF was meh.

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

The only one of the 3 I've been to is GG for dinner. We absolutely loved it. The character interaction cannot be beat and hat was really the highlight for us because of the kids. Pluto had a "conversation" with my toddler for a good 10 mins while employees gathered around laughing because it was so darn adorable.

As for the food, I'm vegetarian so I had all the non-meat items plus a special veggie loaf and everything was delicious. The rest of the family really seemed to enjoy the meats. It's not going to be the most amazing food ever, but it's great comfort style food in a fun enviroment. Because it is family-style, definitely make sure the platter items are something you would like.

If you're looking for a fun character interaction with comfort food, go for GG. If you're looking for something casual but still more "adult" then maybe check out one of your other choices. Personally, I've considered both Chefs and La Hacienda but Chefs seems to get a lot of negative reviews about subpar service and La Hacienda's menu is a bit adventurous for some of my weird family. I'd still like to try them, but probably when the kids are older.

 

[Tksolomom]

I have only been to Cefs, but I really enjoyed the food there along with my whole family. There were no restrictions on the DDP, maybe the wine up to a certain price? I didn’t find any issues with the service either while we were there.

 

[phyllis1966]

Of the three, Hacienda is the only place on our must list each trip. We really enjoy the food and the ambience. Servers are super-friendly and service is great, as are the margaritas! It’s one of DD’s favorite WDW restaurants.

 

[kaytieeldr]

3) Le Chefs de France. Food looks amazing however I saw in a review that DDP has a limited menu when dining at this restaurant (IE cant choose anything you want) Are limited to certain options.

That reviewer either misunderstood or misrepresented. Chefs does have a three course, prix fixe menu. If you want three courses using a DDP entitlement, then yes, your appetizer, entree, and dessert options are restricted.