A restaurant you weren't expecting much from but were pleasantly surprised

[rosiebean]

Had read so so reviews of Brown Derby and went to lunch (walk up, waited 15 minutes) with the group I was with last summer. Cobb salad was great, apps were great, kid’s meals were very well received, and service was really good. I’d definitely go back!

Same trip, had a lunch ADR at CRT one day and BOG the next. Both times, thanks to reviews here, I warned my extended family that the meals might just be ok...that we were going to experience the castles. Both meals were well beyond our expectations and were a highlight of our trip. I won’t do CRT every trip simply because there are other similarly priced restaurants at WDW I’d like to experience (and I’m on a budget). But I will be back...and I’m currently trying for a BOG lunch ADR for our February trip because we enjoyed lunch there last year so much.

San Angel Inn.

Tony’s.

GF Cafe. Hadn’t heard/read bad reviews. Just went in to dinner and breakfast not expecting much and loved both meals.

 

[dkmulder]

I notice nobody has mentioned BOG

Though somebody did, I would think most are not because this thread is what place surpassed your expectations, and I believe most people go into BOG with quite high expectations.

 

[Minnesota!]

Nine Dragons - I randomly booked a reservation the same morning because we were tired and wanted to have a sit down meal to rest a little in the middle of the day. All five of us loved it. I had the pepper shrimp with spinach noodles. It was amazing! Our server was also very attentive. We loved it so much my daughter wants to eat there for her birthday meal on our next trip. We would have never tried it if we preplanned it but I'm so glad for the last minute find. It's a new favorite.

Yes!!! And the shrimp/noodles is my.jam
..I crave it!

Splitsville sushi, too..

 

[crazycatlady]

Tokyo Dining. It was DELICIOUS. We love sushi and are a little picky, and this was really good sushi. But we were just as impressed with the regular entrees. The view was beautiful and the food was outstanding. It's hard to go now with our son, because the children's menu (or lack of a children's menu) is terrible. I wish they had more normal kids meals or we won't be back for a while.

Also, Boatwrights at Port Orleans Riverside. AMAZING. From the cornbread to the french onion soup, cheese board, pork with spoon bread, the meal was just fantastic. Best meal of that particular trip.

These are exactly mine, too! My DH wasn't feeling Narcoossee's one night so I told him to look around and find something else. He picked out Boatwrights, which was not even close to being on my "want-to-try" list, but since I had picked out almost all of the other restaurants that trip, we went there. What a surprise! Loved the food and the service and now it is one of our favorites.

We don't eat sushi, but the tempura at Tokyo Dining is delicious! I agree with someone up-thread that said that the desserts are not quite up to the other food, though. The restaurant is pretty and the service is always outstanding.

 

[B-Ride]

Strange question because I wouldn't try a restaurant that I didn't have a hope would be good. We have too many favourites to take that kind of chance.

 

[Farro]

Strange question because I wouldn't try a restaurant that I didn't have a hope would be good. We have too many favourites to take that kind of chance.

Well, it can't really be that strange if 84 of us answered it.

 

[porschegrl]

Strange question because I wouldn't try a restaurant that I didn't have a hope would be good. We have too many favourites to take that kind of chance.

My traveling companion and I have very different tastes. So it's not uncommon to book a restaurant that I think he'll really love, and I figure I'll find something serviceable, or vice versa. For example, I booked 'Ohana because he loves meat, meat, and more meat. I figured I'd get by on some noodles and salad. So I was really pleasantly surprised that they provided a whole separate vegan meal for me, and it was delicious!

 

[Disneylover99]

Strange question because I wouldn't try a restaurant that I didn't have a hope would be good. We have too many favourites to take that kind of chance.

We were on the ddp and booked H&V to meet characters we couldn’t meet elsewhere.

 

[MadTownKatz]

We were very much in love with Satu'li Canteen. Going in, I read the reviews, but then again, I was also aware that it was a CS, and well, you know...CS food. However, between using the Mobile Order feature, a feature that I highly recommend, and the food itself, everyone in the family was very impressed with the quality. I will also add Tiffins, as this was a restaurant that greatly exceeded my expectations. I think there were a total of four families in the restaurant when we went for lunch, so between the attentive service and amazingly yummy food, really put Tiffins onto our list of restaurants that are "must visit."

 

[goodeats]

Sci Fi Dine In - I was just expecting mediocre burgers and fries, but everything was excellent. I will definitely be back!

 

[TheDisneyNurse]

Biergarten. I went for the first time on my graduation trip in 2016, and my family had the time of our lives. The band is so fun!

 

[Super 27]

1. Garden Grill Breakfast. I'm pretty picky about breakfast, and had really low expectations going into this. I was very pleasantly surprised by how good it was. It's nothing particularly fancy or unique, but it's just a really solid homestyle breakfast.

2. Pecos Bill's. I have always avoided MK counter service, with a few exceptions (Sleepy Hollow, Gaston's, and the Cheshire Café). But, we agreed to only eat counter service this last trip, and found ourselves at Pecos for lunch. I've got to say, I was actually really impressed. I know everybody raves about the toppings bar, but what really made me happy was that the meats they served were actually seasoned well. Too often counter service food is so bland, but this wasn't at all. It was, overall, a very enjoyable meal.

3. The Wave. We went for lunch once while we had some time to kill before the tragical express, and were expecting a generic hotel restaurant experience, but we were shocked by how good the food and service were. Since then have been back for brunch, dinner, and once for just drinks at the bar, and have been very happy every time.

 

[livyy]

Sci-Fi! Disney is known for either restaurant themeing/atmosphere or food. It is a rarity at times to get both. However, Sci-Fi blew my expectations.
An amazing atmosphere and amazing food?! In one place?!
I walked in expecting cheap burgers and fries and walked out with one of my favorite Disney meals in one of my favorite Disney atmospheres.

 

[Arielfan98]

Coral Reef and La Hacienda de San Angel. Excellent food and service from both places!

 

[fbarker]

Coral Reef and La Hacienda de San Angel. Excellent food and service from both places!

I so agree with you Coral Reef. My wife and I have eaten then the last 3 years and we have had a great meal each time. I can't believe the people who say they have a bad meal there because we have just not have one. Are the table to close? Yes.....is the Service Outstanding......Yes sometimes. The view is very unique and relaxing. Just a nice place to have a nice meal. I am not into Mexican so I can't comment on La Hacienda de San Angel.

 

[DisneyHardin]

.

3. The Wave. We went for lunch once while we had some time to kill before the tragical express, and were expecting a generic hotel restaurant experience, but we were shocked by how good the food and service were. Since then have been back for brunch, dinner, and once for just drinks at the bar, and have been very happy every time.

I'm right there with you on this one. We did The Wave before our Tragical Express last year. I wanted somewhere on the Monorail that had a true "lunch" menu with sandwiches and things because we didn't want to eat a $50 steak for lunch, but did want a sit down. I had a chicken sandwich and DH had a burger. It was the perfect spot for lunch.

 

[Dis703]

Skipper Canteen. We went into it only because I couldn't get Be Our Guest for dinner one trip and it turned out to be an awesome meal. We had great service, really good food, and the staff was awesome about helping me with a surprise dessert for the kids.

 

[Linleedo]

Brown Derby Lounge, Yak & Yeti, and Grand Floridian Cafe. All had really good food. We've returned many years.

 

[kboo]

Strange question because I wouldn't try a restaurant that I didn't have a hope would be good. We have too many favourites to take that kind of chance.

I love this thread! We have too many favorites to hit them all on one trip, so we've decided to try at least 1 new restaurant each trip. On our last 2 trips we tried several, most were pleasant surprises though some were not. But based on this thread, I might give some of them a second (or third) chance. The first time we went to The Wave for dinner back in 2016, I felt that it was disappointing. I'm glad we tried it again, because last February we ended up going there for almost every breakfast and several lunches, it was so good.

... I will also add Tiffins, as this was a restaurant that greatly exceeded my expectations. I think there were a total of four families in the restaurant when we went for lunch, so between the attentive service and amazingly yummy food, really put Tiffins onto our list of restaurants that are "must visit."

Tiffins has jumped to one of our "must go on every visit" restaurants. We went for dinner with high expectations, which were exceeded. I like that the food is a little unusual - we live in NYC so it's nice to enjoy food that you really can't easily get anywhere else.

Biergarten. I went for the first time on my graduation trip in 2016, and my family had the time of our lives. The band is so fun!

I'm not a huge meat lover, and so we never really wanted to try this place. (Plus, ADRs seem readily available). We took a last minute, not-very-planned trip and after hearing raves about Biergarten, decided to try it. It was so fun and our kids had such a blast that we are going again next year.

 

[alldiz]

The Wave!!

Morimoto