TBY2225
10-09-2008, 03:54 PM
Here are our Table Service reviews for our trip last week to WDW. We were on the basic free dining plan.
Sunday 9-28-08
We had breakfast at Crystal Palace. We had a 9:30am ressie for 7 and we were seated about 9:45. We were in and out in a little over an hour. The characters came by at a good pace so we had plenty of time to get our food and not feel rushed, but we didn’t have to sit and wait after we were done eating waiting for the characters either. The food was ok. It was standard breakfast food. I wasn’t crazy about the eggs or bacon. They were underdone to me. Nothing really was bad, but nothing stands out either. My DS liked the fruit and DD liked the sausage and Mickey waffles. The oatmeal was surprisingly good and filling. We enjoyed seeing Pooh and friends, but I am not sure we would do this one again.
Tuesday 9-30-08
We had Lunch at Le Cellier. We had an 11:30am ressie for 7 and we were seated right on time. We were on the dining plan and although we have eaten here in the past, this was our first time for lunch. This meal took a little longer, (11/2 hours) as was expected for this restaurant. We had a great waiter Adam. He brought us out our yummy bread which we asked for seconds of the pretzel and sourdough. DH and I ordered a bowl of the cheese soup to share and it was so good! We love this soup especially when eating it with the pretzel breadsticks. My DD didn’t like hers because it is a bit spicy, so she gave it to our friend’s son. All 5 adults (4 adults 1 10yr old) had the Petit filet. DH and I got it with the mushroom risotto and our friends got their’s with the mashed potatoes. We all agreed they were great! So tender and tasty, and quite a big portion for lunch! This is the only steak my husband will eat without some kind of steak sauce. My DS ate some of my steak, risotto and mushrooms and loved it. DD got the kids steak and fries and liked it as well. I tired a bite and it was good also. I am thinking maybe hers was a sirloin? She couldn’t believe she could order steak too! For dessert we got lots of different things to try. My favorite was the Maple Crème Brulee. It was my favorite dessert for the whole trip! You could really taste the maple. The Chocolate Whiskey cake was good too! It was very rich so you can only eat a bite or two of it! I didn’t care for the smores dessert. It was too sweet, but DD and DS liked the marshmallow with sprinkles on top! DD also got an ice cream sundae she shared with DS. This is always our favorite meal of the trip and again this time it didn’t disappoint! I highly recommend Le Cellier. YUMMY!
Wednesday 10-1-08
We had breakfast at Chef Mickey’s at 10:30am. We were seated about 15 minutes past our ADR. Of course the place was packed. It felt very small in there, and I know they are working to expand it, because the loud construction was going on while we were there. First of all I was very disappointed in the characters. We were there for 1 ½ hours and only saw 2 of the 5. We actually had to wait about 20 minutes after we finished eating to just see Mickey. The food was good and much better than Crystal Palace. I loved the vegetable breakfast lasagna and actually had 3 helpings of it! The bacon was crispy and the cheesy potatoes were good. My DS loved that they had mandarin oranges and ate lots of those. DH and DD liked everything they tried as well. We all agreed that the food was much better here, but it was very loud, unorganized, and disappointing in not seeing all the characters!
Wednesday 10-1-08
We had dinner at Liberty Tree at 5:00pm. We were seated very shortly after checking in and as soon as we sat down the characters started coming to the table. This made it hard for our server to get our drink order, so it took a little longer to get started. We saw Goofy, Minnie, Chip, Dale, and Pluto. It must have been a different Chip and Dale that came around each time because they visited us 3 times and acted like they hadn’t seen us before. (My kids have 3 autographs for them each). This made it a little tough to keep eating with so many visits, but the kids loved it. The food took a very long time to come out. Our server apologized, as we waited close to 30 minutes for our food. The salad was a nice change and DH and I both enjoyed the light strawberry dressing. DD and DS didn’t try any. The rolls, Mac and Cheese, ham and potatoes were good. DH said the Macaroni was mushy, but the rest of us thought it was fine. The green beans were the only thing we all didn’t like. They were still crunchy and being from the south, we like our beans soft! The turkey, stuffing, gravy and beef were excellent! We got extras on all of those! The beef was really tasty and tender and the turkey was moist and flavorful. I loved the gravy and stuffing as well. The apple cobbler with ice cream was really good too. We didn’t have much room left for it though! We really enjoyed this meal and would go back even without the characters.
Thursday 10-2-08
We had lunch at Biergarten in the Germany pavilion in Epcot at 1pm. We were seated immediately and noticed that the place was pretty empty. We were seated at a table near the buffet and shortly after our drink order was taken, a very sweet couple sat down with us. We enjoyed the interaction with them and didn’t feel uncomfortable at all. The band started playing around 1:20 and did a 20 minute session. They sung mostly familiar tunes such as Edelweiss and me and my kids went down front to do the chicken dance. I must say that the restaurant was beautiful on the inside. It looked like a small German town. It could almost be an attraction itself. Our waitress was excellent and she talked DH into a beer flight (4 small glasses of German beer) which he enjoyed and I got a Riesling flight (3 small glasses of wine) which was also very good. The food was good too. We liked just about everything we tried, none of us cared for the white sausage, or German meatloaf, but everything else was good. I especially liked the red cabbage, and other sausages with pretzel bread rolls. The best thing was the desserts! The cheesecake and black forest cake rolls were yummy! We enjoyed this experience and would go back again.
Friday 10-3-08
We had an early lunch 11:30 at Yak and Yeti. We were seated immediately and although it wasn’t busy when we sat down, when we left the place was packed! I did like the themeing and the bamboo ceiling and artifacts were nice to look at. I have read reviews about bad service, but we didn’t encounter that at all. Our server was very good, kept our drinks full, talked with us, and apologized that our food was taking a little while to come out. The only thing I didn’t like is that there isn’t any bread or anything to snack on, but that was fine because when the food did come out, there was a lot of it. I got the steak and shrimp combo with white rice and veggies. The steak was very tender and flavorful. I didn’t need any sauce for it and the portion was big! I was given 5 large tempura shrimp that were also very good. They were not greasy and were served with a really nice Asian dipping sauce. The rice was well cooked and the veggies were really nice. It was a mix of peppers, mushrooms, onions, snow peas and had a great flavor as well. I got the mango pie for dessert and it was smooth, tangy and creamy. DH got the ribs. They were good, but not the best I have ever had. They were not fatty and had lots of meat, but not much flavor. There wasn’t much sauce or rub on them. His fried rice was good though. He got the fried wantons and pineapple for dessert. We both loved it. The wontons had cream cheese inside and were served with huge bits of pineapple and ice cream. DD got chicken nuggets, rice and fries. She didn’t like the rice, so DS and I ate it. She liked the nuggets and fries a lot and had an ice cream sundae from dessert. It did take a little longer for lunch than I would like, but overall it was a very good experience and I will definitely be back.
Sunday 9-28-08
We had breakfast at Crystal Palace. We had a 9:30am ressie for 7 and we were seated about 9:45. We were in and out in a little over an hour. The characters came by at a good pace so we had plenty of time to get our food and not feel rushed, but we didn’t have to sit and wait after we were done eating waiting for the characters either. The food was ok. It was standard breakfast food. I wasn’t crazy about the eggs or bacon. They were underdone to me. Nothing really was bad, but nothing stands out either. My DS liked the fruit and DD liked the sausage and Mickey waffles. The oatmeal was surprisingly good and filling. We enjoyed seeing Pooh and friends, but I am not sure we would do this one again.
Tuesday 9-30-08
We had Lunch at Le Cellier. We had an 11:30am ressie for 7 and we were seated right on time. We were on the dining plan and although we have eaten here in the past, this was our first time for lunch. This meal took a little longer, (11/2 hours) as was expected for this restaurant. We had a great waiter Adam. He brought us out our yummy bread which we asked for seconds of the pretzel and sourdough. DH and I ordered a bowl of the cheese soup to share and it was so good! We love this soup especially when eating it with the pretzel breadsticks. My DD didn’t like hers because it is a bit spicy, so she gave it to our friend’s son. All 5 adults (4 adults 1 10yr old) had the Petit filet. DH and I got it with the mushroom risotto and our friends got their’s with the mashed potatoes. We all agreed they were great! So tender and tasty, and quite a big portion for lunch! This is the only steak my husband will eat without some kind of steak sauce. My DS ate some of my steak, risotto and mushrooms and loved it. DD got the kids steak and fries and liked it as well. I tired a bite and it was good also. I am thinking maybe hers was a sirloin? She couldn’t believe she could order steak too! For dessert we got lots of different things to try. My favorite was the Maple Crème Brulee. It was my favorite dessert for the whole trip! You could really taste the maple. The Chocolate Whiskey cake was good too! It was very rich so you can only eat a bite or two of it! I didn’t care for the smores dessert. It was too sweet, but DD and DS liked the marshmallow with sprinkles on top! DD also got an ice cream sundae she shared with DS. This is always our favorite meal of the trip and again this time it didn’t disappoint! I highly recommend Le Cellier. YUMMY!
Wednesday 10-1-08
We had breakfast at Chef Mickey’s at 10:30am. We were seated about 15 minutes past our ADR. Of course the place was packed. It felt very small in there, and I know they are working to expand it, because the loud construction was going on while we were there. First of all I was very disappointed in the characters. We were there for 1 ½ hours and only saw 2 of the 5. We actually had to wait about 20 minutes after we finished eating to just see Mickey. The food was good and much better than Crystal Palace. I loved the vegetable breakfast lasagna and actually had 3 helpings of it! The bacon was crispy and the cheesy potatoes were good. My DS loved that they had mandarin oranges and ate lots of those. DH and DD liked everything they tried as well. We all agreed that the food was much better here, but it was very loud, unorganized, and disappointing in not seeing all the characters!
Wednesday 10-1-08
We had dinner at Liberty Tree at 5:00pm. We were seated very shortly after checking in and as soon as we sat down the characters started coming to the table. This made it hard for our server to get our drink order, so it took a little longer to get started. We saw Goofy, Minnie, Chip, Dale, and Pluto. It must have been a different Chip and Dale that came around each time because they visited us 3 times and acted like they hadn’t seen us before. (My kids have 3 autographs for them each). This made it a little tough to keep eating with so many visits, but the kids loved it. The food took a very long time to come out. Our server apologized, as we waited close to 30 minutes for our food. The salad was a nice change and DH and I both enjoyed the light strawberry dressing. DD and DS didn’t try any. The rolls, Mac and Cheese, ham and potatoes were good. DH said the Macaroni was mushy, but the rest of us thought it was fine. The green beans were the only thing we all didn’t like. They were still crunchy and being from the south, we like our beans soft! The turkey, stuffing, gravy and beef were excellent! We got extras on all of those! The beef was really tasty and tender and the turkey was moist and flavorful. I loved the gravy and stuffing as well. The apple cobbler with ice cream was really good too. We didn’t have much room left for it though! We really enjoyed this meal and would go back even without the characters.
Thursday 10-2-08
We had lunch at Biergarten in the Germany pavilion in Epcot at 1pm. We were seated immediately and noticed that the place was pretty empty. We were seated at a table near the buffet and shortly after our drink order was taken, a very sweet couple sat down with us. We enjoyed the interaction with them and didn’t feel uncomfortable at all. The band started playing around 1:20 and did a 20 minute session. They sung mostly familiar tunes such as Edelweiss and me and my kids went down front to do the chicken dance. I must say that the restaurant was beautiful on the inside. It looked like a small German town. It could almost be an attraction itself. Our waitress was excellent and she talked DH into a beer flight (4 small glasses of German beer) which he enjoyed and I got a Riesling flight (3 small glasses of wine) which was also very good. The food was good too. We liked just about everything we tried, none of us cared for the white sausage, or German meatloaf, but everything else was good. I especially liked the red cabbage, and other sausages with pretzel bread rolls. The best thing was the desserts! The cheesecake and black forest cake rolls were yummy! We enjoyed this experience and would go back again.
Friday 10-3-08
We had an early lunch 11:30 at Yak and Yeti. We were seated immediately and although it wasn’t busy when we sat down, when we left the place was packed! I did like the themeing and the bamboo ceiling and artifacts were nice to look at. I have read reviews about bad service, but we didn’t encounter that at all. Our server was very good, kept our drinks full, talked with us, and apologized that our food was taking a little while to come out. The only thing I didn’t like is that there isn’t any bread or anything to snack on, but that was fine because when the food did come out, there was a lot of it. I got the steak and shrimp combo with white rice and veggies. The steak was very tender and flavorful. I didn’t need any sauce for it and the portion was big! I was given 5 large tempura shrimp that were also very good. They were not greasy and were served with a really nice Asian dipping sauce. The rice was well cooked and the veggies were really nice. It was a mix of peppers, mushrooms, onions, snow peas and had a great flavor as well. I got the mango pie for dessert and it was smooth, tangy and creamy. DH got the ribs. They were good, but not the best I have ever had. They were not fatty and had lots of meat, but not much flavor. There wasn’t much sauce or rub on them. His fried rice was good though. He got the fried wantons and pineapple for dessert. We both loved it. The wontons had cream cheese inside and were served with huge bits of pineapple and ice cream. DD got chicken nuggets, rice and fries. She didn’t like the rice, so DS and I ate it. She liked the nuggets and fries a lot and had an ice cream sundae from dessert. It did take a little longer for lunch than I would like, but overall it was a very good experience and I will definitely be back.