Eating with Disney sceptics

[holden]

Tiffans/Nomad Lounge (NL is my favorite place to eat/drink in WDW)
Narcoossee's
Wine Bar George
Les Halles (for QS that's better than most)

 

[Wings3496]

Honestly, rather than a list of restaurants, I would say just don't eat any quick service, and avoid eating in the Magic Kingdom entirely (QS and TS).

Generally the table service options in the other parks are pretty good, especially if you pick one with a good theme. The best restaurants in general are found at the resorts.

 

[Woodview]

Will you have a car ? If yes then think of places away from Disney Loads of places to try

along Hwy 192 And Hwy 27 .... Animal Kingdom end

 

[fla4fun]

What are their favorite foods? Are they open to anything or are there some kinds of food that they don't like? Are you looking for fine dining, casual dining, or a combo?

I agree with keeping their preferences and willingness to try new things in mind when looking at restaurants. Some people go out of their way to find the most exotic menus on property and some people just want to find the best steak and baked potato. I would figure out which restaurants have items on the menu they would like, and then come back here to get opinions on your choices. Otherwise, you’ll get recommendations for nearly every restaurant on property.

 

[Thegoatfeeder]

Firstly, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the responses, honestly didn't think I would get so many, it is really really appreciated.

They like to eat varied things to be honest, they eat out a lot so I guess consider themselves to be foodies and generally things with bags of flavour, we're UK based so tend to eat a lot of Asian inspired food as we have really good access to that. They enjoy fish quite a bit, and prefer lunches over dinners really and anywhere with a decent wine list . They aren't massive fans of buffets and generally prefer TS over counter service, but obviously Epcot food booths are a must.

Based on all the amazing feedback I think we are definitely going to go with Sanaa (I love the place anyway, but it had slipped my mind I guess because we weren't planning on visiting AKL, but definitely will now), and Nomad Lounge.

Geyser Point seems a really really good option especially since we will be staying at Boulder Ridge (they are at SSR, but they are happy to Uber/Lyft).

They love fish, so it seems based on feedback that The Boathouse is going to be a good idea for them, especially staying at SSR. I think we also definitely plan on hitting Wine Bar George as well. Other options at Disney Springs are appreciated, we have eaten at Jaleo and Homecomin' so have considered both, but open to other ideas.

We had considered Space 220 based on the theme and dining experience, but when we went we weren't that blown away by the food, not sure if its improved at all since opening?

 

[Moliphino]

20 years ago the TS food was better than it is currently. Beirgarten was a Buffet costing around 12. Ohana was in the same price range they could not get people to eat there. Kona had and most other TS had a Filet and Strip steak on the menu. Whipsering Canyon was a skillet if you wanted Ranglan road was also an option. Major changes would be the addition of DS places like Boathouse and many others. The CS is improved as back then if you ate CS it was a lot of burgers but EPCOT countries were always the exception and Sunshine seasons served a lot of food with what was grown and produced there-- the pulled pork sandwich was amazing I will add..... No clue how they ate 20 years ago but really there is not much there that could really impress a person that eat at TS I would go as far as to say it would be the exact opposite. With that they should be impressed if you choose the right CS options although I am sure they will not like the pricing as years ago the food was priced with people staying there multiple days not a one night out and see you in ? price. Sorry if this sounds negative as it is not meant to be. I will gladly tell you what what was there if you send me a list of what you decide.

20 years ago was 2003. Biergarten was definitely not $12 in 2003.

 

[tguz]

We really liked Yak & Yeti at the AK.

 

[ilovebassets]

If you're staying at SSR, Turf Club is actually pretty decent for dinner.

Ale and Compass is one of the few Disney restaurants that actually has great food. Not just "good for Disney" food, but actually good food.

Boma is also quite good for dinner but not cheap. And buffets never feel quite as high-end even if the food quality is excellent.

In the parks, Tony's Town Square has made massive improvements in the past few years. Skipper Canteen is also decent. Yak and Yeti is okay, too.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

You've received a lot of great recommendations. I'd echo Jiko, Flying Fish, Citricos, Narcoossee's, Wine Bar George, Boathouse. I haven't seen Toledo at Coronado Springs mentioned yet. It would require driving (or hop a bus at Disney Springs) but it was recently recommended by the Michelin guide. And if you really want a splurge, Capa at the Four Seasons received a Michelin star (there's also a rooftop lounge if just want light bites). Beautiful views from both of these restaurants. If somewhat adventurous eaters and "foodies," the tasting menus at Jaleo in Disney Springs (Chef Jose Andres) might be of interest - would be easy to get to from Saratoga. Lastly Bull & Bear at the Waldorf Astoria (located essentially between the EPCOT area resorts and Disney Springs) is a fantastic option with tremendous service (each table gets a full team of servers) and a lot of tableside preparations that are so fun for a foodie -- recommend the caesar salad, fried chicken (we get as an appetizer and share), any of the steaks, and the lemon dessert. I believe B&B is undergoing rennovations soon and will be in a temporary location Aug through Sept -- so that might temper my recommendation if visiting during those months).

 

[Halle]

We loved Ale and Compass last year but had a totally different experience in April.
Our server was over bearing and the food was not as good as the previous year. We were so disappointed.
I prefer Todd English's Blue Zoo to the Yachtsman steakhouse.

 

[gmi3804]

I wish OP would edit the title of this thread to correct the spelling of "skeptics."

 

[Guest Mode]

I wish OP would edit the title of this thread to correct the spelling of "skeptics."

I thought the same thing but looked it up and the OP's spelling is correct in British English.

 

[gmi3804]

I thought the same thing but looked it up and the OP's spelling is correct in British English.

Yes, but OP is from PA.

 

[NavyDad]

From my last trip, this month:

For resort restaurants - Second vote for Sanaa, it's now one of my favorites. Most exotic of the food we tried this trip.

For DS - The Edison was really good. It's American food served in a Steam Punk environment.

TP's - Teppan Edo at EPCOT was good, it's like Benihana with Disney flair. Although, I think we liked 50's Prime TIme the best of the TP restaurants we did this trip.

My wife is not a fan of "exotic" food but we love Sanaa. Our list trip I believe we did the bread service and desert. We had a table right at the glass. You can't beat it...

 

[NavyDad]

I’m having a similar struggle with my SIL right now. She thinks if we don’t do table service every meal we’ll be stuck eating hamburgers, pizza and french fries the whole trip. They are joining us 5 nights out of 8.

The plan is doing 1 ADR daily, maybe skipping a day, and a mix of in-park and resort table service. The other meals will be lounges and quick service. I’m actually compiling a list of menus this week to email and put her mind at ease.

Over time we have mostly stopped doing ADR's for sit down dinners, mostly because my wife just does not each much food at one time and we found the prices for Table Service places to be higher than we want to pay. Other than 1-2 ADR's per trip we now just do mostly Quick Service, food carts and snack window type places. We had resigned ourselves to eating mostly hamburgers and chicken sandwiches but overtime we have discovered there is a lot of good food and plenty of variety if you are willing to pop into multiple places throughout the day.

 

[leebee]

Boma, Toledo, Jaleo, Olivia's, GF Cafe, Cali Grill, Narcoosees, Polite Pig (food is good and we love to sit at the bar, have some drinks and share our BBQ), City Works (this was a surprise, good food and a great tap list), House of Blues, Jiko.

 

[ScottOKW2K]

I noted you mentioned they like wine. I'm not a wine drinker but I do remember it being stated that Jiko at the Animal Kingdom Lodge has one of the largest South African wine selections in the country. I can also easily recommend the food there - it's some of the best on Disney property.