TBY2225
02-13-2009, 09:52 AM
Here are the dining reviews for the 2 Tara’s trip to the World.
I will try to post the trip reports soon!
Tutto Italia
We both love Italian food, so we were really looking forward to trying this restaurant for the first time! We arrived at 4:20 for our 4:30 ADR and were seated in about a minute. It was very pretty inside, not crowded yet, but the tables were very close together. We had great service and they immediately brought us warm bread with olive oil and pickled vegetables. Everything sounded so good on the menu that we decided to order two different things and share. I ordered the Tortelli Zucca. It was 5 huge pumpkin ravioli with a sweet cream sauce and roasted pecans on top. Tara B ordered the lasagna. It was a huge portion as well and meat was finely ground and had a really nice flavor. They were both delicious and we both ate too much of them! Since we were on the dining plan, we ordered dessert. We had the Tiramisu and the signature dessert Bugie/Chiacchere. The Tiramisu was very tasty, but the portion size was pretty small. That was ok though since we were both stuffed! We also ordered the signature dessert. We were both disappointed in this. It was just a few big crispy fried chips (similar to Chinese fried noodles) but thicker. They were covered with powdered sugar and had small bowls of chocolate and apricot sauce on the side. They were really rather plain and kind of a disappointment being that they were supposed to be the signature dessert. Overall, we were really impressed with this restaurant. I think we would both like to go back again and take our families to try it!
Boatwright’s
We had 8:45 ADR’s and were seated within minutes. We had the best server here. We called him “Joey Michael” because his name tag said one thing, but he said his name was another, but he would answer to both! He told us that as of the middle of February they will no longer be serving breakfast. This was disappointing because the food and service was really good! Once again we decided to share and we ordered the Boatwright breakfast (sausage, biscuit, eggs, and potatoes) and the sweet potato pancakes with honey pecan butter and a side of ham. Everything was really good especially the pancakes! They were so sweet that you really didn’t even need syrup! I am very picky about my eggs, and they made sure to get them well done for me. After our meal Joey Michael offered to get us the recipe for the pancakes and even offered to take our picture. We paid out of pocket for this meal so we could save our TS for dinner!
Wolfgang Pucks Express Westside
We used a CS here around 12:45. I noticed that compared to the Marketplace WP, their menu was very limited. I am also glad it was such a nice day since there are only a few seats inside and we had to sit outside. The CM was a little off and didn’t ring our order right for the DDP. She still gave us the drink and dessert though. I had the Chinois salad. It was a huge salad with slaw mix as the base, grilled chicken pieces, and wontons. It has Asian Sesame dressing. The chicken was really good, but I wasn’t that impressed with the rest of it. I really didn’t mind because I wasn’t very hungry from our large breakfast at Boatwright’s. I got a key lime pie slice to go. When I did eat it, it was just ok. Nothing special. I was disappointed that this location didn’t have crème brulee either. Tara B got the Margareta Pizza. It was a large size as well and two people could easily share it. She thought her pizza was very tasty and the flavors were well blended. She also got dessert to go a piece of carrot cake. She took it home to her husband and he said it was very good, especially the cream cheese icing! The Marketplace location is one of my favorite CS locations. I think I will stick to that one from now on!
Kona Café
We got to the Poly around 4:30 and got Lapu Lapu’s at the bar. We both love these drinks and we got lots of comments on them. People would stop us and ask what it was and where we got it. They are expensive, but worth the money! We checked in at 4:50 for our 5:00 ADR and were seated at 5:05. We had a good server who let us share a large bottle of Evian water as our drink on the DDP. The bread and macadamia nut butter were so good that I could have filled up on it! It was warm from the oven and sweet even without the butter! Once again we shared and got the macadamia nut mahi-mahi with sticky rice and watercress salad and the teriyaki steak. The mahi was sweet and firm and really enjoyable and the steak was cooked perfectly without any fat. I really liked the glaze and the broccoli and potatoes were excellent as well. For dessert we got chocolate fondue and banana chocolate crème brulee. The crème brulee was one of the best I have ever had! We also enjoyed the fondue with fresh fruit! Both entrée and dessert portions were large here and we really enjoyed the whole meal! Kona is often overlooked, but it was much less busy that Ohana where the line was all they way to the Kona coffee bar!
Riverside Mill
We used a CS for breakfast because we couldn’t fit in another meal on our short trip to use it on! I got the bacon, egg, and cheese on ciabatta bread sandwich with orange juice and smart water. Tara B got the breakfast platter and orange juice and smart water. It was all enjoyable and I loved the fact that it wasn’t packed in there like it is at the Pop Century! We were able to get our food and check out very quickly and we had a great seat beside the window.
Restaurantosaurus
We used our last CS here. We were hungry after riding Primeval Whirl and saw that there was no line at 12:45 so we decided to stop in. There was lots of seating and I liked that each room had a different theme and feel to them! My kids would love it and I will have to take them on the next trip. The food was standard Disney fare and we both opted for cheeseburgers and fries. We both got chocolate cake to take back with us as well. I liked the topping bar and was able to get mushrooms for my burger.
Garden View Tea (Grand Floridian Hotel)
We arrived just in time for our 3:20 ADR and waited about 5 minutes. I am glad I called to see if I needed ADR’s because even though they don’t take the dining plan, you still do need to have them. We were both looking forward to this, especially Tara B since she is the only girl in her family this is something she probably won’t get to do again for a long while! We were seated in a small garden type room with a patio feel. It has plenty of windows and natural light and a picturesque view of the lagoon and the Polynesian hotel. They brought out Royal Dalton china for a really tea party feel. Our server Kimberly was the only problem with our whole experience here. She was rude and arrogant and we have no idea why. We told her up front that we wanted to split the check and she acted like she didn’t understand. Then we watched as she gave 2 other tables excellent service, bringing them extras and checking on them. After she dropped off our order, we didn’t see her again until she brought the checks. Then she made the comment “Well, if that’s the biggest complication in my life then I’m a lucky woman”. We almost asked to speak with the manager, but decided to drop it. We ordered a Fruit and Cheese tray with 5 cheeses, crackers, and fruit. It was all good and fresh. We especially liked the garlic cheese spread! We ordered two teas. I wish we had known that they give you a whole teapot full and we would have ordered only one. This is something I later overheard Kimberly mentioned to one of the other tables! We got the breakfast tea (vanilla/strawberry) and the Madhatter (passion fruit, vanilla, and pomegranate). They were both good, but the breakfast tea was probably the best tea I have ever had! We had sugar on the table, but I would have liked some lemon and milk which we never did receive, but the other tables were offered and did. . We enjoyed the food, atmosphere, and tea, but were very disappointed in server. She kept this from being the great experience we had hoped it to be.
Teppan Edo
We used our last TS here and had 7:15 ADR’s. We arrived at 7:00 and were seated by 7:15. We were at a table with 2 other ladies and a family of 4 with 2 small kids. The server and cook were both super nice and did their jobs well. Some people were complaining about them not speaking good English, but, I think they did well under the circumstances and tried really hard to speak clear and slow. We both ordered green tea as our drink and it was a nice contrast from the typical soda. Also Tara B got a cherry blossom martini. It had sake, plum wine, and cranberry juice and she said it was delicious! The one draw back was that we waited 30 minutes for the cook to come out after we ordered. The cooking show was fine, not as good as some I have seen, but the chef (Tomo) did a good job. He had lots of personality and was quite humorous. We both ordered the filet. The portion size was big and I liked the fact that they cook the steak with mushrooms. He also cooked it perfectly. The veggies were good as well. I missed having fried rice, but the steamed rice was fine and it was all really filling. I didn’t even miss the soup and salad I get from the teppan place near my home. One of the ladies at the table was a vegetarian and the chef took the time to make sure she could have butter or other items and cooked her meal before the rest of ours. We got the ginger cake to go since we had already been there so long and wanted to use our FP for Soarin before the park closed at 9pm. We both enjoyed this meal and want to take our families on future trips.
I will try to post the trip reports soon!
Tutto Italia
We both love Italian food, so we were really looking forward to trying this restaurant for the first time! We arrived at 4:20 for our 4:30 ADR and were seated in about a minute. It was very pretty inside, not crowded yet, but the tables were very close together. We had great service and they immediately brought us warm bread with olive oil and pickled vegetables. Everything sounded so good on the menu that we decided to order two different things and share. I ordered the Tortelli Zucca. It was 5 huge pumpkin ravioli with a sweet cream sauce and roasted pecans on top. Tara B ordered the lasagna. It was a huge portion as well and meat was finely ground and had a really nice flavor. They were both delicious and we both ate too much of them! Since we were on the dining plan, we ordered dessert. We had the Tiramisu and the signature dessert Bugie/Chiacchere. The Tiramisu was very tasty, but the portion size was pretty small. That was ok though since we were both stuffed! We also ordered the signature dessert. We were both disappointed in this. It was just a few big crispy fried chips (similar to Chinese fried noodles) but thicker. They were covered with powdered sugar and had small bowls of chocolate and apricot sauce on the side. They were really rather plain and kind of a disappointment being that they were supposed to be the signature dessert. Overall, we were really impressed with this restaurant. I think we would both like to go back again and take our families to try it!
Boatwright’s
We had 8:45 ADR’s and were seated within minutes. We had the best server here. We called him “Joey Michael” because his name tag said one thing, but he said his name was another, but he would answer to both! He told us that as of the middle of February they will no longer be serving breakfast. This was disappointing because the food and service was really good! Once again we decided to share and we ordered the Boatwright breakfast (sausage, biscuit, eggs, and potatoes) and the sweet potato pancakes with honey pecan butter and a side of ham. Everything was really good especially the pancakes! They were so sweet that you really didn’t even need syrup! I am very picky about my eggs, and they made sure to get them well done for me. After our meal Joey Michael offered to get us the recipe for the pancakes and even offered to take our picture. We paid out of pocket for this meal so we could save our TS for dinner!
Wolfgang Pucks Express Westside
We used a CS here around 12:45. I noticed that compared to the Marketplace WP, their menu was very limited. I am also glad it was such a nice day since there are only a few seats inside and we had to sit outside. The CM was a little off and didn’t ring our order right for the DDP. She still gave us the drink and dessert though. I had the Chinois salad. It was a huge salad with slaw mix as the base, grilled chicken pieces, and wontons. It has Asian Sesame dressing. The chicken was really good, but I wasn’t that impressed with the rest of it. I really didn’t mind because I wasn’t very hungry from our large breakfast at Boatwright’s. I got a key lime pie slice to go. When I did eat it, it was just ok. Nothing special. I was disappointed that this location didn’t have crème brulee either. Tara B got the Margareta Pizza. It was a large size as well and two people could easily share it. She thought her pizza was very tasty and the flavors were well blended. She also got dessert to go a piece of carrot cake. She took it home to her husband and he said it was very good, especially the cream cheese icing! The Marketplace location is one of my favorite CS locations. I think I will stick to that one from now on!
Kona Café
We got to the Poly around 4:30 and got Lapu Lapu’s at the bar. We both love these drinks and we got lots of comments on them. People would stop us and ask what it was and where we got it. They are expensive, but worth the money! We checked in at 4:50 for our 5:00 ADR and were seated at 5:05. We had a good server who let us share a large bottle of Evian water as our drink on the DDP. The bread and macadamia nut butter were so good that I could have filled up on it! It was warm from the oven and sweet even without the butter! Once again we shared and got the macadamia nut mahi-mahi with sticky rice and watercress salad and the teriyaki steak. The mahi was sweet and firm and really enjoyable and the steak was cooked perfectly without any fat. I really liked the glaze and the broccoli and potatoes were excellent as well. For dessert we got chocolate fondue and banana chocolate crème brulee. The crème brulee was one of the best I have ever had! We also enjoyed the fondue with fresh fruit! Both entrée and dessert portions were large here and we really enjoyed the whole meal! Kona is often overlooked, but it was much less busy that Ohana where the line was all they way to the Kona coffee bar!
Riverside Mill
We used a CS for breakfast because we couldn’t fit in another meal on our short trip to use it on! I got the bacon, egg, and cheese on ciabatta bread sandwich with orange juice and smart water. Tara B got the breakfast platter and orange juice and smart water. It was all enjoyable and I loved the fact that it wasn’t packed in there like it is at the Pop Century! We were able to get our food and check out very quickly and we had a great seat beside the window.
Restaurantosaurus
We used our last CS here. We were hungry after riding Primeval Whirl and saw that there was no line at 12:45 so we decided to stop in. There was lots of seating and I liked that each room had a different theme and feel to them! My kids would love it and I will have to take them on the next trip. The food was standard Disney fare and we both opted for cheeseburgers and fries. We both got chocolate cake to take back with us as well. I liked the topping bar and was able to get mushrooms for my burger.
Garden View Tea (Grand Floridian Hotel)
We arrived just in time for our 3:20 ADR and waited about 5 minutes. I am glad I called to see if I needed ADR’s because even though they don’t take the dining plan, you still do need to have them. We were both looking forward to this, especially Tara B since she is the only girl in her family this is something she probably won’t get to do again for a long while! We were seated in a small garden type room with a patio feel. It has plenty of windows and natural light and a picturesque view of the lagoon and the Polynesian hotel. They brought out Royal Dalton china for a really tea party feel. Our server Kimberly was the only problem with our whole experience here. She was rude and arrogant and we have no idea why. We told her up front that we wanted to split the check and she acted like she didn’t understand. Then we watched as she gave 2 other tables excellent service, bringing them extras and checking on them. After she dropped off our order, we didn’t see her again until she brought the checks. Then she made the comment “Well, if that’s the biggest complication in my life then I’m a lucky woman”. We almost asked to speak with the manager, but decided to drop it. We ordered a Fruit and Cheese tray with 5 cheeses, crackers, and fruit. It was all good and fresh. We especially liked the garlic cheese spread! We ordered two teas. I wish we had known that they give you a whole teapot full and we would have ordered only one. This is something I later overheard Kimberly mentioned to one of the other tables! We got the breakfast tea (vanilla/strawberry) and the Madhatter (passion fruit, vanilla, and pomegranate). They were both good, but the breakfast tea was probably the best tea I have ever had! We had sugar on the table, but I would have liked some lemon and milk which we never did receive, but the other tables were offered and did. . We enjoyed the food, atmosphere, and tea, but were very disappointed in server. She kept this from being the great experience we had hoped it to be.
Teppan Edo
We used our last TS here and had 7:15 ADR’s. We arrived at 7:00 and were seated by 7:15. We were at a table with 2 other ladies and a family of 4 with 2 small kids. The server and cook were both super nice and did their jobs well. Some people were complaining about them not speaking good English, but, I think they did well under the circumstances and tried really hard to speak clear and slow. We both ordered green tea as our drink and it was a nice contrast from the typical soda. Also Tara B got a cherry blossom martini. It had sake, plum wine, and cranberry juice and she said it was delicious! The one draw back was that we waited 30 minutes for the cook to come out after we ordered. The cooking show was fine, not as good as some I have seen, but the chef (Tomo) did a good job. He had lots of personality and was quite humorous. We both ordered the filet. The portion size was big and I liked the fact that they cook the steak with mushrooms. He also cooked it perfectly. The veggies were good as well. I missed having fried rice, but the steamed rice was fine and it was all really filling. I didn’t even miss the soup and salad I get from the teppan place near my home. One of the ladies at the table was a vegetarian and the chef took the time to make sure she could have butter or other items and cooked her meal before the rest of ours. We got the ginger cake to go since we had already been there so long and wanted to use our FP for Soarin before the park closed at 9pm. We both enjoyed this meal and want to take our families on future trips.