What's your ONE Must-Do Table Service?

[StuckinPA]

I have room for one more TS experience to add and am just curious as to which you love and why. I know it's very individual but we are torn and would just like to hear thoughts from others. Thanks!

 

[DeanDoug]

Tough choice! We like the Cape May Cafe in GF. It is consistently good and not often crowded... Same for the Wave in the Contemporary.

 

[danikoski]

Tusker House was are go to...still love it. But Spice Road Table is now my favorite. Best meal I've had on Disney property was there, and we will definitely be going back next trip.

 

[BriLovesDisney]

Yachtsman Steakhouse. Hands down.

 

[dachsie]

Tough choice! We like the Cape May Cafe in GF. It is consistently good and not often crowded... Same for the Wave in the Contemporary.

Cape May is in the Beach club not GF.

I really liked Grand Floridian Café as a quiet TS. I like Tusker House for the characters and food

 

[Minnesota!]

Boma or Biergarten

 

[chalee94]

Boma. Unique flavors and environment. I love the AKL and the animals on the savanna. But I especially love the ribs (and really like several other options on the buffet.)

Even if I were skipping out on the parks, I'd still want to visit Boma. (There is just nothing comparable near where I live.)

 

[Disneypapa]

Whispering Canyon
O'Hana
House of Blues
Raglan Road

 

[leebee]

Boma. Great variety of food, well prepared, and even if you don't find the flavors to your liking, there are ample "American" offerings AND they'll prepare what you need if you are really sensitive to spice, have allergies, etc. Boma is the one TS we always do, even if we aren't doing the parks.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Uhhhhh....only one? The horrors....

The man would say FF so that frees me up to say Boathouse.
DGD would say either 'Ohana's or VN once she knew the above restaurants were accounted for.
My grand nephew would just look blankly ( he's a chicken nugget and burger guy from not that far back. Fortunately he likes veggies too) and look at me askance so I'll mimic his voice and say Tokyo Dining.
My niece has never been before so I'd push her towards Jiko's which she already heard about from the other kiddos.

Oh right you asked why.........all have good food with nar a misstep on the menus.

Flying Fish- fish, seafood and beef cuts, all cooked with knowledge and care.
So far we've had the grilled octopus, scallops and polenta, a deconstructed shrimp cocktail w/ an elderflower sauce, vichyssoise, and grilled romaine as starters. All memorable and I could make a meal off the starters' menu alone. The entrees we've had so far are: salmon, a fish filet, a beef cut that the man doesn't recall which but says it was delish; and the scallops with nero pasta, a dish that was personally memorable as the night DGD entered big girl food land with no cajoling. Been researching how to make the dish for her birthday next September. This was one of the few places at DW that has desserts that are as good to eat as they look.

Boathouse has a worthy raw bar as a starter or the entire meal. I would stay away from the house oysters as they were a bit too briny for our taste and concentrate on the Atlantic Ocean offerings. The steaks are not aged but still are tender and meat tasty. We always get the Porterhouse so can say nothing about the other cuts. I do wish the wait staff would carve the Porterhouse for us but thankfully I'm handy with a knife a fact that keeps every member out of the kitchen when I'm in a foul mood but I digress. DGD loves their shrimp cocktail and various members of the man's family enjoyed different styles of burgers. fried calamari was coated and cooked to perfection w/ no excessive grease but I now ask for the sauce on the side.
Lovely salads too. I stayed away from their baked desserts, partly from limits on how much flour I'll eat in a limited time but also because I just like sorbet. The man had an ice cream soda float and DGD opted for something in a Mason jar that wasn't around long enough for me to note, LOL.

'Ohana's food is always requested by the children when we go. We'll be eating in the restaurant for the first time since in the past we ordered the Twilight Feast from room service; same food, different locale. Grilled meats, nicely seasoned; a noodle and stir fried veggie dish, a salad we normally mix into the noodle dish (LOL..we like veggies), potstickers and of course the banana bread pudding and guava juice drink. The adults enjoy it as much as the children.

Tokyo Dining is a bit of a under rated gem when compared to Teppan Edo, IMO. It has the view that TE is lacking and the service is meticulous. The food is nothing to sneer at either. Beautifully presented and it's my pick for dinner this trip (we each get to choose a favorite thus making the ADR process more democratic).

Via Napoli is a fun meal for us. The mostly clueless wait staff just makes me laugh as I wait for the eats to come. By the time we eat here (normally mid trip) I'm willing to forgive anything in the name of a good slice of pizza with antipasti trimmings. We generally opt to eat here for a late lunch and either forego dinner or continue snacking around the showcase during the evening. I will point out that we have never ordered a large pie which some DIS reviewers have found soggy in the center. So far it's been individual pies and those have been cooked to perfection in my eyes.

We love Jiko's! We arrive earlier than our reservation when possible and admire the animals wandering the compound and dream of a day that we'll stay there. I love the calmness of the restaurant and professionalism of the staff both from a service and kitchen POV. We probably wont be going this trip due to the brevity of this vacation but there is always next time.

 

[Lisa F]

CA Grill is my son's. when he's happy, I'm happy!

 

[tortoni]

I like Homecomin- relaxed and very good food

 

[Lisa F]

Tokyo Dining is a bit of a under rated gem when compared to Teppan Edo, IMO. It has the view that TE is lacking and the service is meticulous. The food is nothing to sneer at either. Beautifully presented and it's my pick for dinner this trip (we each get to choose a favorite thus making the ADR process more democratic).

Via Napoli is a fun meal for us. The mostly clueless wait staff just makes me laugh as I wait for the eats to come. By the time we eat here (normally mid trip) I'm willing to forgive anything in the name of a good slice of pizza with antipasti trimmings. We generally opt to eat here for a late lunch and either forego dinner or continue snacking around the showcase during the evening. I will point out that we have never ordered a large pie which some DIS reviewers have found soggy in the center. So far it's been individual pies and those have been cooked to perfection in my eyes.

We love Jiko's! We arrive earlier than our reservation when possible and admire the animals wandering the compound and dream of a day that we'll stay there. I love the calmness of the restaurant and professionalism of the staff both from a service and kitchen POV. We probably wont be going this trip due to the brevity of this vacation but there is always next time.

the boy was trying to decide where we should go for our "second signature" (after CA Grill) on our next trip. Like it's his decision, lol. Also I wasn't aware that I had established a pattern of "two signatures a trip either" lol. he is advocating for Jiko.

Also we didn't make it to via napoli last time, I think we'll need to this time (have never been, we get great pizza at home and I worry about the noise level and his sensory stuff)

Tokyo Dining is not something that was on my radar but I bet we could share the chef's bento box quite successfully! Maybe we'll give that a try next time also.

 

[RescueRanger]

Another vote for Boma. In my opinion it is the best buffet on property. We eat there at least once on every trip.

 

[DaisyDuck001]

If buffets are excluded (since those aren't exactly table service), then it's Skipper Canteen for the themed decor and slightly exotic food.

 

[richkaryn]

'Ohana dinner, or 1900 Park Fare Breakfast...Yachtsman if looking for a signature TS

 

[smcabee]

BlueZoo or Il Mulino. If your trapped with the dining plan then Jiko.

 

[NYCgrrl]

the boy was trying to decide where we should go for our "second signature" (after CA Grill) on our next trip. Like it's his decision, lol. Also I wasn't aware that I had established a pattern of "two signatures a trip either" lol. he is advocating for Jiko.

Also we didn't make it to via napoli last time, I think we'll need to this time (have never been, we get great pizza at home and I worry about the noise level and his sensory stuff)

Tokyo Dining is not something that was on my radar but I bet we could share the chef's bento box quite successfully! Maybe we'll give that a try next time also.

.
I'll be "out numbered" (3 kiddos, 2 adults) next trip and have vacationed w/ this crew before. I plan to save all from mini drama moments by allowing them to pick one eatery per person (we'll be there for 6 nights sooooooo the planner gets 2 choices, LOL). This doesn't change my "l'etat c'est moi" overall attitude but does make the little people think they have a chance.

Given his "sensory stuff" I think TD and Jiko's are great choices. You might be able to get around VN's noise level by sitting in the glass fronted ell to the right of the entrance. It was pretty quiet over there when we last went and all the tables weren't filled in that section. Staff did a bit of in house gossip huddling at this end. Couldn't hear them but had a pretty good idea of what was going on from my daze of working in restaurants.

 

[goofy kc]

We like Narcoossee's for the view and the food. Sometimes we are lucky enough to see the fireworks, or even the water pageant.

Via Napoli is my favorite pizza anywhere and we never miss going there when we visit - one trip we went twice! The calamari is especially good too!

Tiffins is our new favorite - and a splurge. Have never been disappointed there and the servers are some of the best at Disney. It is a good idea to put yourself in their hands and enjoy what they suggest.

 

[k2kten]

Sanaa. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the bread service, the butter chicken and Animal Kingdom Lodge is beautiful!