Coral Reef or Teppenyaki

Rneighh

<font color=CC33CC>This is a horse of a different
Joined
Jan 6, 2002
Both these restraurants sound wonderful. I have heard some mixed reviews about the food at Coral Reef. Teppenyaki must be very similar to Benihana's which we have been to several times. How is the food at CR? Will Teppenyaki seem like a Benihana knock-off?

Renee
 
I have only been to the Coral Reef and I will tell you..Alligator sausage was on the menu. Food was not that good, portions were very small and meal was very very expensive!!

Hope that helps!

Emily
 
I've eatten at both restaurants. The food at the Coral Reef was so poor, when we complained, they gave us our money back without so much as a question. (Led me to think that, complaints may be frequent)

However, on the other side Teppenyaki is both of mine and my mom's favorite restaurants. We eat there every year for the Candlelight Processional package. The food is excellent and abundant, the chef's are fun and the service is good.

If I were you, I'd definately go for Teppenyaki!
 
In my opinion CR is way over hyped. The atmosphere is great but the food is nothing special.

My Wife and I really enjoy Teppanyaki's. It is simillar to a Bennihanas in that the food is prepared at the table. My kids have always enjoyed the entertainment and I think the food is very tasty.

Overall, both restaurants will provide a pleasant atmosphere but CR is no Flying Fish.:p
 


We were at Coral Reef 9/29 for lunch. My chicken with macaroni & mascarpone was quite tasty, but Hubby's salmon was nothing special. Portions are skimpy, and not worth the prices. We had iced tea, two entrees, no appetizers or desserts, and bill was $50. Yes, the view and decor are special, but we felt the whole thing was really overrated. The salmon at California Grill was sooooooo much better.
 
We've never been to coral reef.

We went to Teppanyaki for the first time in August. Actually, it was our first time at any sort of restaurant like that so we thought we'd enjoy it. It was okay, but we won't be back. Too many other better places in WS and around the Epcot area. The food was okay, but nothing I'd rave about...WAY overpriced, IMO. They guy that cooked our food didn't do much, so I guess that's part of the reason we didn't really enjoy it and thought that it was overpriced.
 
Anything at Teppanyaki that 4yo DS would like. He is still in the chicken nuggets/mac n cheese stage. Sounds like a neat experience for the family.
 


Originally posted by dylansdad
Anything at Teppanyaki that 4yo DS would like. He is still in the chicken nuggets/mac n cheese stage. Sounds like a neat experience for the family.

They do have a children's menu - look towards the bottom of the adult's menu:

http://wdwig.com/menu/men_tepd.htm

Your little guy may surprise you. The wait staff will usually "fix" a pair of chopsticks for the children to use. Most are so fascinated with this that they eat all kinds of things that they wouldn't even consider touching at home. Have personally seen this phenomena with my very picky nephews and have overheard many parents at the restaurant discussing it in happy wonderment. LOL!

If you are not sure, try lunch instead. Prices are lower, but the experience is pretty much the same.
 
We ate at both restaurants in June, so I can compare. Our whole family loved both restaurants.

Coral Reef was a lunch for us. Wonderful rolls and butter. The lobster bisque was excellent and I had to keep my daughter from eating all of mine. The adult entrees were also very good - no complaints whatsover. One child got the grilled Mahi child's meal and I have to say that it was the best tasting child's meal I have ever, ever seen, but it was not chicken nuggets/mac&cheese. The kid's pizza was fine too. The only disappointment was the kid's pasta with white sauce. Absolutely nasty and I told my son not to eat it and he shared my daughter's pizza which was too much for her anyway. We were too full for dessert and we are not terribly light eaters, so I didn't leave thinking the portions were skimpy. The highlight for the kids, of course, was watching the aquarium which all of the tiered booths face. We have eaten here on each trip and not been disappointed.

Teppanyaki was another excellent meal. This time, BD dinner for my husband. We knew the kids would like it, as we do this often at home. Chef was nothing special, but food was wonderful and they brought out a delicious BD cake. I will say that I was nervous the whole time about my 4yo and the hot cooking surface. I guess in the interest of fitting in as many tables as possible, these table do not seem to allow as much distance from the hot surface as what I have seen in some of the other chains. My son could definitely reach the cooking surface, so we had to be vigilant. My kids all get the shrimp kids meal at all the teppan restaurants and they had fun with the rigged chopsticks.

Either restaurant would be an excellent choice, but Coral Reef is definitely more unusual. You can Benihana anywhere and this is no different, but there are, as far as I know, no other restaurants where you can watch a full wall aquarium while you eat.

Ok, just asked the kids and two voted for Teppanyaki, and one for Coral Reef. She also reminded me that they made a big fire on the cooking surface during the meal that might scare little kids.
 
LKS--
My kids are 10 and 13 so no problem with being scared or touching. I am taking my 72 year old mother and leaving DH at home. She has been to Bennihana's many many times (Good family friend is manager at one in Chicago). I think CR sounds wonderful but I had heard so many bad reviews of the food. So glad to hear a wonderful one.

Renee
 
I LOVE this restaurant. I too was skeptical about trying it after reading some of the reviews on this board but was pleasantly surprised....so much in fact that one of the servers has become one of my best friends.

Yes it is fancy, yes it is expensive....it is also exquisitely prepared food that is very fresh. You will find lots of variety on the menu. The Mahi is wonderful and the shrimp and grilled vegetables in a grlic/wine sauce will disappear off your plate in a heatbeat. There is also a grilled pirhana on the menu. Now, while I have not tried this particular offering myself....Tony my server says it is delicious and he tends to be a picky eater.

The menu has been changed recently and they do have a new chef.....there are also now more non-seafood entrees on the menu including a roast chicken entree, a steak and a vegetarian dish.

Starters are wonderful as well with a scallop offering as well as the usual lobster bisque and salads. There is also a new fried perch filet which is absolutely fantastic.

Be sure to leave room for dessert. The chocloate wave is their signature dessert. This is a warm chocolate cake with a liquid Grand Marnier center. It is served with white chocolate mousse ice cream and dried cherries in a port wine sauce.

If you go on a Wednesday- Sunday be sure to request Tony T. to be your server. I guarantee you will have a wonderful dining experience if you do. He is great at listening to your likes and dislikes and suggesting something. He iwll also make any changes to entrees to suit your preferences. He is wonderful with kids as well.......

Judge for yourself. This restaurant is not for everyone, but it is worth a try. I like the new menu and do feel that it has more to offer than the old one.

If you have any further questions...please feel free to private message me.

Linda
 
I got thrown off track by Dylansdad asking about what a picky 4 year old could eat at Teppanyaki. Somehow I thought yours was 4. Anyway, perhaps that bit of info would be useful to him.

Definitely steer your 10 and 13 year olds towards the "good" food and away from the pasta and sauce kids meal! If they do kids meals, that Grilled Mahi, $8.95, I think, was as good as my fish and came with mashed potatoes and haricots vert. All excellent.
 
No picky eaters in my house -- not allowed. I'm sure they will want to order off the adult menu. I may order the kids mahi -- sound like the right portion for me.

Linda we will be there for a late lunch on Thursday. I will ask for Tony.

Renee
 
We go to the Japanese place often. The tempura bar is good also. It is similar to your local place, but we like this kind of place.

CR, I knew I had been there before, I wasn't really sure though. We sat down and the menu was also familiar, both in price and content, but I thought that was maybe from just seeing it on Deb's site. I really like scallops.

Stil;l unsure that I had eaten here before, they brought out my scallops...then it all came back. They brought out this $10+, may have even been $14+, scallop appatizer. There was a piece of lettuce on the plate with TWO tiny scallops. It was the most ridiculous thing I had ever seen...since the last time I was there. It was over ten years prior, but as soon as I saw those two lonely scallops, it all came back.

That is why I had never eaten there again, the food was so-so, portions tiny and we left hungry.

The atmosphere is nice, but we will never go there again.
 
CR seems to be a hate or love type of place. HOw can the same portion be small and huge to people. We are not huge eaters. In fact we usually split meals in WDW becasue the portions are so large.

I guess we will have to try for ourselves.

Renee
 

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