Just Back 3/1 - 3/13 Food highs & lows

[Lady Hiss]

4 adults (me, DH, DSIL, DBIL) with some ADRs.

Yummy:
Raglan Road - ADR, early dinner; great service, quiet corner table, excellent food (salmon, beef stew, scallop gnocchi, even the bread service was delicious); entertainment couldn't be seen from our table, but sounded awesome.
The Boathouse - ADR, late lunch; great location on the water at Disney Springs; good food (burgers, fish, and again, good bread); service was slow though.
LaHacienda de San Angel - ADR, late dinner to watch Illuminations, excellent waiter (Vinicio); delicious food (specially prepared mahi-mahi due to allergies; pork carnitas?; short rib) and good drinks (margaritas, sangria).
QS at Japan Pavilion - smiling, friendly service every time; good food (teriyaki chicken, rice); quiet respite from crazy crowds.
The Plaza in MK - ADR lunch; good service, good food (BLTs, fries, nothing fancy), pleasant atmosphere.
Starbucks - Don't flame me, but this place saves me as I know the food/drinks won't interfere with my weird food allergies; efficient service (mostly friendly), consistent quality. NEEDED: more seating options around the various Starbucks. Let's be honest, the parks need more seating period.
Pecos Bill's - DH and I disagree on this one; he liked the tacos; I hate the 'cattle call' queue and can't eat much there; frenetic atmosphere, CMs were efficient at cleaning tables.
Santu'li Canteen - Interesting, different food; clever décor (notice the little details if you have time); lots of tables; CMs at ordering kiosks didn't smile, speak unless spoken to and gave short answers to my questions (made me feel like I was a bother).
Yak & Yeti QS - good food, lousy ordering set-up, trouble finding a table so may need to do ADR for TS next time.
Sunshine Seasons - varied options, friendly CMs, many tables (that are cleaned frequently by efficient CMs).
English Tea Garden Tour (Epcot $18/pp) - A wonderful experience as we learned lots of info about the tea plants, tea processing, etc. AND had a snack of 2 delicious scones with various tea options.

No reason to go back:
Restaurantosaurus - Cattle call set-up for ordering/picking up food; soggy wrap sandwich, no available tables (even before spring break crowds arrived); sullen CMs (the norm this trip for this type of QS restaurant).
Pizzafari - similar to above with the exception that we were able to find a table outside; pizza was okay.
The Mara Marketplace (AKL) - CM taking order didn't speak to us at all (just stared at my DH as we stood there), CM cashier didn't speak either; food options were limited and mostly garlicky. Next time we'll just take the car and go to Panera or Culvers.
HS Food Options - Somehow this park's options seem few and far between to us (I miss Starring Rolls, the fun option of Writer's Stop, a decent sandwich place). We tried Backlot Express and it was just okay (good view of Jedi Training though). MM is okay, but lots of garlic there. Hated H&V; Brown Derby = overpriced; QS on street by ToT = lots of grease, uninspired offerings; SF Diner - meh.
Tiffins - No, we didn't eat there so I'm being a little dishonest here, but $48 for fish? Really? Maybe I misread the menu...

Overall, we enjoyed many good meals during our stay. I much prefer the ambiance of a resort or DS restaurant over the craziness of park restaurants, but FP timing doesn't lend itself to trekking outside the parks to stop for a meal several times a day.

 

[gatordoc]

Can't say I disagree with any of your experiences. But I would comment that Tiffins, while overpriced as many Disney restaurants are, has really good food, interesting decor, and excellent service.

 

[Lady Hiss]

Can't say I disagree with any of your experiences. But I would comment that Tiffins, while overpriced as many Disney restaurants are, has really good food, interesting decor, and excellent service.

When I have a bigger budget, I might give it a try! Thanks for your insight.

 

[leebee]

Totally agree about the food options at the Studios. While we like 50sPT, the schtick gets old and honestly, the food is heavy and portions getting smaller and smaller and of a lesser quality than they used to be. We also liked MM but lately, not so much. QS is desperate at the Studios. We've started leaving by boat and having lunch over on the Boardwalk, or in one of the hotel QS in that area, or the Swolphin. Taking the boat mid-day gives us a chance to rest our tired feet and is kind-of an experience all on its own. Yes, it takes a chunk out of our day, but worth it in our estimation. If we have park hoppers, we'll hop to Epcot for lunch or supper, then back to DS for the evening. There just aren't any decent food options at the Studios... unless you want what we'd think of as typical amusement park food- and I think Disney should be better than that!

 

[loves to dive]

Good review. We love Tiffins, it's one of the few TS restaurants on property that we have repeated, there are just so many we like to try them all. At HS, we eat at the HBD lounge now, it's a little less expensive than inside and we love sitting outside and watching people. We did used to eat inside all the time too, we loved the atmosphere. We stopped eating at Sunshine Seasons years ago, way too crowded most of the time it's hard to find a seat. With all the offerings at WS we just don't think it's necessary to fight the crowd.

 

[rentayenta]

No need to justify enjoying Starbucks! They are solid and consistent and those are good things! Our oldest daughter has worked for them for 4 years and our middle daughter for almost 3 years. They are also really good to their partners; at least that has been our daughter's experiences. They take food allergies and requests very seriously.

Great reviews, thank you!

 

[heidijanesmith]

Great review!

We love Satuli Canteen too, great healthy options that our whole family liked.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Thanks for your comeback review!
I love that Katsura Grill flies a bit under the radar as far as locale and menu.
I can just imagine us walking with purpose this July for that restorative oasis.

 

[Farro]

Hey, I was at Starbucks everyday getting my very berry hibiscus refresher! (no cool lime at Disney ).

My complaint - longest lines of my trip. I waited 35 minutes! I don't complain about Starbucks lines at home anymore.

 

[disny_luvr]

I agree with you about DHS and the food options. We typically plan a meal at Beaches and Cream on our HS day. We always have a hard time finding QS options that appeal to us.

 

[mdelano4]

Wow, you pretty much hit the nail on the head all around. We had the exact same experience at Raglan Road, couldn't see the show. Also walked passed Tiffins for the same reason.