Coral Reef

[maria5]

I haven't seen any review for Coral Reef. Does anyone recommend it for dinner?

[Natazu]

With the exception of one item that is no longer on the menu, we've enjoyed everything Coral Reef has ever put in front of us. The service has been consistently good and The Chocolate Wave on its own is worth a trip across the US in a hot minivan.

Now, since CR became a 1TS restaurant, the atmosphere has morphed into more of a loud family diner with a pretty aquarium. So, not so much the quiet romantic adult experience it once was, Coral Reef is still one of my favorite places at WDW.

[luvwinnie]

We were there last week and we really enjoyed it. My sisters all had steak, ranging from medium to well done, and all three of them really liked it. I had the shrimp pasta and also enjoyed mine. My 3 year old nephew was totally entertained by the tanks, which made for a very pleasant dinner.

[pixiesmimi]

This was one of our TS in August but we went for lunch. Less crowded. We requested and received a table by the aquarium. It was really cool to sit there and watch the fish while eating. Although the scenery doesn't change much. The same school of fish swim round and round in the same spot. They must have been blocked off by something. A shark and turtle would appear every so often though.

Can't remember what DH had but he enjoyed it. I had a chicken dish and it wasn't very good. The appetizers and desert were very good though. I'm afraid if we hadn't been on the free dining plan or even a paid dining plan, I wouldn't be eating there though. Very expensive. The appetizers alone were 9.99 each. The total meal would have cost us around $90 for two. It was good atmosphere and fair food but not that good. We've done it now and glad we did but it probably won't be on our list of things to do again.

[Clotho]

I sadly have to report that our experience was sub par. The food was the low point. There was little on the menu that caught our eye (hubby and me, 33 yrs old both of us), and when we chose, none of it tasted that good. I had a pasta and he had the New York. Both disappointing.

The seating was great, but noplace would be bad. We were one table away from the tank, on the leftmost side. Not much fish action, but the little card they gave us to identify the fish we saw was a great touch.

The night we were there it was chaotically noisy. Rowdy kids in a space that was tiered for better views of that fish tank meant that up front, you are bearing the brunt of a wall of sound. Energetic happy kids are part of what I LOVE about Disney--I live through their joy. But obnoxiously untended kids drive me nuts. That was what we had that night.

Our service was great. The server was really nice without being overly obsequious. Helpful in menu choices, honest and sweet. We tipped her well.

I can't say I would prioritize this restaurant for myself next time we go. But the REASON we went was because we heard so many great reviews from people who had great experiences there. So our experience is differnet from what we were lead to believe. I would recommend anyone try it for themselves. Had my experience been truly horrid (like Spirit of Aloha. AAAARGH!) I would encourage people to never go. But not so for Coral Reef.

So my recommendation: try it! ANd report back!

[mouseketeer mom]

We did Coral Reef once in 2004. We had a lunch and I remember we were not that impressed. BUT..I remember my son wasn't feeling good, everybody was kind of crabby, it was one of those days that just wasn't flowing. Sooo...we are going to try it again in November since we have read so many good things about it. My DH and DD are doing the aqua seas tour again and then we have an early ADR at Coral Reef. Hoping we like it better this time!

[ginger19]

I was there in January and I would not go back. My Dh's meal was pretty good but mine was inedible (the shrimp pasta). The service was painfully slow so that even the fish no longer amused my children who are extremely good in restaurants. The chocolate wave was fantastic but honestly it was hard to enjoy with the rest of the experience. The restaurant was exceptionally loud and getting to the bathrooms was an exercise in climbing over people and around running, screaming children. This was the only restaurant I didn't care for out of our 11 day trip.

[like2workout]

i've only eaten at coral reef once, and it was one of the best dining experiences i've ever had! great food, very attentive staff, great atmosphere. not sure why i've only eaten there once now - ha! i'll be going back!

[courtney2006]

We were there in August and it was our least favorite restaurant. The food was blah and the service was really bad. My husband had to ask for silver 3 times before he got any and never got the water that he had asked for numerous times. We were really looking forward to this restaurant but I don't think that we will bother going back again.

[Sam&Alex&Josh'sMOM]

We went there for lunch on September 6th, and it was the best meal of our trip. I had the blackened catfish and DH had the NY strip... both were mouthwatering. the Chocolate wave was great too! This was our food hi-light! We were the third tier away from the tank, but still saw fine, and our DD 3 years was happy to keep reporting "There's that shark again." Our server was a bit of an air-head, but not terrible... just ditzy... but it was still a GREAT meal! I had called ahead of time and emailed a few pics to the manager and they made our own menu for us (we were celebrating our anniversary.) I tried to get a diver sign but the manager told me there was already one scheduled for our seating time. I was pleased when I actually saw the diver with a b-day sign for a guy a few tables over.

All over... we both loved this place, and have it on the tops of our places to visit when we go back in 09.

I will agree that thanks to the dining plan we could go here... without it we could not have afforded!

Go and enjoy! And let me know what you ate!

[MsMin]

We went in Dec. 05 and loved it. It was 2TS then and well worth it. 3 out of 4 of us had fish, My dd22(now) had the filet and said it was the best @ WDW; but I think it's off the menu now. We had the Tilapia, grouper and Filet. We sat right on the tank and had an awesome server named Riley. We raved about it so much that when we went last Dec. w/ my parents that's all they wanted to do was go to the Coral Reef. I wasn't exciting about the seating b/c since my dad has limited mobility they put him at the first table at the entrance which was great but we had to have two tables and that wasn't super. Our service was awesome and the food was great. There were 7 of us and we ordered the NY strip; Ahi Tuna and Grouper. Everyone agreed it was the best meal we had followed by Spoodles and main difference was the atmosphere.
Just a note, I'm not a fan of the pasta and shrimp anywhere on property. I had it @ Alfredo's and was very disappointed and my dad had it at Concourse Steakhouse and wasn't impressed and when he complains about a dish most of us couldn't eat it. I know some ppl love it but I haven't been impressed yet.
For us we give the Coral Reef a :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: