Your Favorite Epcot Resort Area Restaurant??

[Rozzie]

Trying to gear up to make some final plans for our Jan. Trip. We are staying AKL the weekend before, and doing the Sunrise/Sunset Safari's, so our spending $$$ is hitting the glass ceiling.

I want to do 1 other nice TS in the Epcot Resort area. (were staying at BWV) and I am having a hard time deciding. We've never eaten at really any of them, and want to try something different. (except we did the Clam Bake, uhh, not my cup of tea, and ESPN)

So what's your favorite? Mind you, we've eaten in the WS for TS a 10000x times, so we are staying away from there.

Flying Fish? Spoodles? etc, also what about Shula's? I would like to use my DDE, but would be willing to go somewhere DDEless if it's worth the $$$$. :p



TIA friends!! :)

[Colorado Belle]

Flying Fish is excellent (except the romaine salad was bitter so stick with the fish...ahi appetizer scrumptious).

Haven't been to Shula's but everyone who has RAVES.

Since you're staying at AKL have you done Jiko? Went for first time this past trip and I love it!

Remember at AKL: make SURE you don't have a people-pen view

[johnb]

I think the ahi tuna app at FF has been taken off the menu. :( It was always one of those"I'm definitely getting it next time" menu items, and when we went in August, it was gone. :boohoohoo

Flying Fish is my choice for best Epcot resort restaurant. It's a must do for us on the first night of every trip.

[jiggerj]

http://www.mickeyxtreme.com/images/wdwresorts/dinebwspoodles.jpg
Spoodles does now have a pretty limited menu- you might want to check Debs site- But from my experiences the Lemon chicken is delicious (matter of fact...trying my own home-version tonight!) the flatbreads were yummy but the BEST is a Spoodles Bloody Mary...... :D

I prefer Breakfast to Dinner there (but thats just me) but if you do dinner than you can always stroll on the Boardwalk after with a icecream cone(awww...romantic!) from Seashore Sweets and enjoy the entertainment ! (If you go late enough you could always do JellyRolls too!) ;)

Ooops... DDE card accepted too and prices are very reasonable- :)

[soozaay]

I'd like to hear some Epcot WS suggestions too.

We're going to have the DDE....we were going to try the steakhouse in Canada (sorry...cannot remember name :headscrat ), we always wanted to try it, but lately have heard not so good things about it.

[idratherbeinwdw]

Big shout out to Shula's, yum, yum, yum as well as great service--and I guarantee you'll have leftovers to take back to the villa, all the portions of meat are Fred Flinstone size.

Not sure if this figures into your decision, but I don't think I saw any families with little ones there at all the night I ate there. You and Mr Rozaroo can have a nice quiet dinner.

Oh one warning--they do not take DDE, as they are not Disney owned or operated. Which, IMHO, is why the food is so good.

[Rozzie]

I'd like to hear some Epcot WS suggestions too.

We're going to have the DDE....we were going to try the steakhouse in Canada (sorry...cannot remember name :headscrat ), we always wanted to try it, but lately have heard not so good things about it.

WS!! It's a crapshoot to be honest with you.

LesChef is a usually a must do, but I it's slowly making it's way off our list.

LeCellier this past time was good, better than before. Service much better, and I even stopped and spoke with the manager and offerred her compliment. My mom didn't rave about her filet, but she and I were in the middle of a huge fight, and I had a small buzz from hitting 3 booths in 15 min while we were arguing, so.....(I really need to finish my TR's!)

Bistro--only been here 2x. Both times excellent. SanAngel, mmmn, I like the counter service better. Nine Dragons, actually has been very good for us, and a little less $$ than the others. Esp, with DDE. But remember, I am surronded by cows, and not a lot of access to true Chinese Dining. Rose & Crown, good, didn't blow me away, but still good. I did really enjoy their beer selection and appetizers of cheese and such. Italy, can't remember the name, was one of the worst meals we had on property. But that's just us. Mareskesh (sp) was excellent, but only been once. The Jap steakhousey, Lord, Sorry had a few during the game, is good in our experiences.

The thing is about WS, IMHO, is that I might go to Nine Dragons, and have a great meal, and Nono or Mar come right behind me and have a bad meal, and vice versa. The reviews are all over the place. My meals have been all over the place. We might do lunches in WS, but we are slowly backing away from dinner's there. We are to the point where we'd rather spend $50 for a excellent meal at signature dining, than a "is it going to be good this time?" meal in WS.

JMHO, of course. I wish you many a good meal there. I have had some wonderful meals, and wonderful experiences. It is fun to try them, and have our own thoughts and opinions about em'. :blueflowe

happy eating!! :flowerfor

[Blue&Gold]

We enjoy the Rose and Crown, but the Brits aren't known for their cuisine :hehehehe:

Enjoyed our last pre-Illuminations meal there in May, but I had tossed back a couple half-yards of Boddington's, so I might have been eating Alpo for all I cared... :ale:

In the BW area, we've heard good reviews about the Yachtsman steakhouse over at the Yacht Club. Probably not as good as Shula's, but likely more reasonable prices.

[dvcconvert]

For an evening meal....my votes would be for Flying Fish or Yachtsman Steakhouse :)

[nono]

You know, I find staying at BWV to be a disappointment in this area. It should be easy to get great great great meals in the area, yet I'm often left either feeling ripped off at the end (Flying Fish) or sick from gross food (chef boyardee at Alfredos).

That's why we now rent a :coolcar: when staying there, which basically negates the concept of the superior location. :hammer: There's only so many nights I can eat at the ESPN club (:wearenumb ). :lmbo:

[idratherbeinwdw]

You know, I find staying at BWV to be a disappointment in this area. It should be easy to get great great great meals in the area, yet I'm often left either feeling ripped off at the end (Flying Fish) or sick from gross food (chef boyardee at Alfredos).

That's why we now rent a :coolcar: when staying there, which basically negates the concept of the superior location. :hammer: There's only so many nights I can eat at the ESPN club (:wearenumb ). :lmbo:

I hear you nono--but then I feel almost all the WDW restaurants are a letdown, I wouldn't limit the comments to BW. I mean where, except maybe CRT, can you get a REALLY good meal in the MK? Brown Derby is very good, but imho no place else in MGM is great. I haven't found any superior restaurants at AK, although the Rain Forest Cafe has a cool atmosphere.

I agree with Roz's comment that the food is very inconsistent in WS. One visit Rose and Crown was soooo good, the next it was horrible. And once I have a bad experience I usually don't want to waste my money trying again.

I think I have posted this comment before but here goes again. In general I think the WDW food is "dumbed down" and bland to accomodate the masses. The average American isn't used to spices in his/her food, so rather than offend most of the restaurants in the parks are tasteless. WDW has great attractions and lots of cool stuff to do, but I don't think it's the place to go for gourmet meals. And with the prices they charge I find it really adds insult to injury. That's why I cook in my villa most of the time, I save $$ and the food is way better than most of the onsite dining.

The exceptions are the restaurants at some of the deluxe resorts. ie the Kona Cafe is outstanding, and a couple in DTD (again, imho).

[jwatson]

We stayed at the Dolphin in June and while the Swan/Dolphin restaurants didn't take the DDE, every restaurant we ate at did give us a discount when we showed them our DVC membership card. I believe it was 15%, so not as much as the DDE, but still better than nothing. We didn't try Shula's so I can't speak of there specifically, but we ate at several others. HTH!
~Julie

[jdvm]

It's Flying Fish for us. Good stuff.
John

[nono]

I hear you nono--but then I feel almost all the WDW restaurants are a letdown, I wouldn't limit the comments to BW. I mean where, except maybe CRT, can you get a REALLY good meal in the MK? Brown Derby is very good, but imho no place else in MGM is great. I haven't found any superior restaurants at AK, although the Rain Forest Cafe has a cool atmosphere.



OK, well for two reasons I limited my observations to that area:
1. That was the topic ;)
2. It's an area of personal frustration as a BWV owner. :yes: The supposed superiority of the location is dulled somewhat by not really having a selection of signature restaurants from which to choose... When I'm staying elsewhere on property, I never say "Gee, I wish I had a car so I could go over to the Boardwalk area easily to have a meal." When I'm staying at BWV, I do say that, about getting away from the BW/YC/BC choices, to go to places such as: Jikos, Boma, Citricos, Artist's Point, California Grill, Kona, and Raglan Road, for instance...

BWV and BCV area deserves to have signature restaurantS, not just Flying Fish. It shouldn't be left up to the Dolphin to try to even out the offerings with Shulas and BlueZoo (though I will be trying that one in January).

[idratherbeinwdw]

OK, well for two reasons I limited my observations to that area:
1. That was the topic ;)
2. It's an area of personal frustration as a BWV owner. :yes: The supposed superiority of the location is dulled somewhat by not really having a selection of signature restaurants from which to choose... When I'm staying elsewhere on property, I never say "Gee, I wish I had a car so I could go over to the Boardwalk area easily to have a meal." When I'm staying at BWV, I do say that, about getting away from the BW/YC/BC choices, to go to places such as: Jikos, Boma, Citricos, Artist's Point, California Grill, Kona, and Raglan Road, for instance...

BWV and BCV area deserves to have signature restaurantS, not just Flying Fish. It shouldn't be left up to the Dolphin to try to even out the offerings with Shulas and BlueZoo (though I will be trying that one in January).

I didn't mean to go off topic, I was just saying I think the problem is rampant on WDW property, it isn't unique to BW. It certainly wasn't meant as an attack on you and I hope you didn't take it that way.

As far as signature restaurants in the BW BC area, in addition to Flying Fish, which you already mentioned, there is Yachtsman's Steakhouse. Cape May Cafe, with the character breakfast and Clambake dinner is also well regarded by many, although I guess you wouldn't call cape may a signature restaurant.

[nono]

No Mar, I didn't take it that way. :howudoin: I'm fired up about this though, as I couldn't even really think of places to go to be "near home" while getting ready for the marathon. It's a sore subject currently!

It's just amazing to me that the "Epcot Resort Area" is nowhere near on par to let's say, the "Monorail Resort Area" or even the "Back 40" aka Animal Kingdom...or to what you're cooking in your villa! For goodness sakes, what you wrote about that says VOLUMES!!! BTW, can you come down for marathon weekend and cook for us? That would definitely solve my current frustration!!!!

Anyway, maybe if they gutted and replaced Red River Grille and forced Spoodles into having a complete menu, a lot of our issues would go away. Then, oh, dare I dream, open up Ariel's again...The Boardwalk would be HAPPENIN'...:jumpingbe

[jdvm]

OK, Nono,
Mentioning Ariels has got me going now. I think you're raising a good question. I personally think Flying Fish as a destination restaurant. It certainly is for us. In fairness, we go there so much that most of the servers know us and we've really never had a bad meal. Yachtsman tries very hard in my view but I just don't think it is very good value for money. It's just as expensive as Flying Fish, Jiko or California Grill but just not in the same league. It's way too bright and we just don't go there a lot. Spoodles and Ariels occupy great loactions and are pretty spaces (it's been so long since Ariel's was open that my memory's a bit fuzzy) but they both obviously have trouble attracting customers. I'm always a bit amazed that even Flying Fish is so easy to get into.

Now, once you go outside the bubble, the good restaurants are packed. There's an area between Disney property and downtown Orlando called Dr. Phillips and a stretch of Sand Lake Road there is called restaurant row. That's where you'll find Season's 52 (run by the old California Grill chef) and other restaurants such as Moonfish which I think are pretty much on a par with California Grill and Flying Fish. The wait times for these restaurants are far, far longer than the Disney restaurants. Now why is that? Even in Downtown Orlando, some of the really nice restaurants are packed and Lord knows the International Drive restaurants can be impossible--even the few good ones. Winter Park, which is on the opposite side of orlando as the Disney property, likewise pulls people in.

I don't have the answer and hopefully the Disney people ask themselves the same question. But you're right, Nono. Something does need to be done. I see no reason why the Epcot Resort area couldn't draw foodies the way restaurant row does. It's not that much further away for locals. And, parking in the Sand Lake area can be a nightmare and is much easier (I think) on Disney property.

Sorry for the rant.
John

[Rozzie]

Hey John, good thoughts!! BTW, I think we decided on our other "TS restaurant" will be Seasons 52. Helping in that decision is Mr Roz has been begging me to go, he loves it, and we get 25% off there. Decision done!! You said something about parking, and it being really crowded. Do they take reservations? I might PM you with driving directions questions.

I totally agree with you both Mar and Nono. WDW dining, minus 3-4 restaurants has turned to crap lately. I never finished my TR, but maybe I should, as our CaliGrll experience was a big disappointment. I know, being married to the restaurant business I totally know, that stuff happens, bad nights happen. But those my mom's and I Halibut was raw. I was so looking forward to it too. :headache: My pork was raw at Ohana. Not a little pink either. Fleshy weshy. Service was improved at LeCellier, but my mom described her Filet as average.

so for Jan., we are doing the Sunset Safari (Jiko), one night at Boma, and Seasons 52. The rest will be CS, or meals in Villa. We might sneak in Kona, either for dinner, or Tonga Toast breakfast, or both. I haven't decided. Luckily this place is off the radar (knock on wood) and I can decide later on.

I don't know about ya'll, but I'd rather have a Tombstone $5 pizza in the Villa, than spend 3 hours of my time overpaying for underquality food. :cool:

[CRSNDSNY]

http://www.mickeyxtreme.com/images/wdwresorts/dinebwspoodles.jpg
Spoodles gets our vote, too.

[mushu]

Shula's was outstanding but costly, we had 10 of us they put us in our own dining rm. Spoodles was always good, havent had dinner there since the menu changed. Cape May Buffet is outstanding.