No Planes, but trains and automobiles – Table Service Dining Review 1

[Mickey'sGirl]

Cast:
DH – Brian (CanadianWDWFan) Turning 45 on this trip
DS14 – Harry – Celebrating graduating from Grade 8 (High School already?!?!?)
DS8 ½ – Euan – Celebrating his Half-Birthday because we can’t go down in January
Me – Jennifer – Just happy to be making the trip with my guys!

Part 2 Can be found here

Part 3 Can be found here

1. Tony’s Town Square – Magic Kingdom

Atmosphere: You can’t beat the cool comfortable beauty of Tony’s. Tables are well spaced, and the Lady and the Tramp artwork is displayed throughout the restaurant. 5/5

Food: The boys shared Calamari to start. It was lightly coated and not greasy, so very nice. Neither cared for the marinara it was served with. For our mains, Harry had Seafood Diavolo - Linguini pasta with Clams, Mussels, Calamari, Shrimp, and fresh fish of the day in a spicy Tomato sauce . He enjoyed this food immensely, especially the Mussels. Brian had Lasagna, which he said was all right (that was my impression of it when I had it a couple of years ago too … just all right). Euan and I both had Spaghetti and Meatballs. I honestly never expect much when I order Spaghetti and Meatballs when we’re out. I make my own sauce and balls o’ meat at home every week, and I am usually disappointed when I order this out. Well, Tony’s has made a believer out of me! The linguine was hot and al dente, and the meatballs were FABULOUS. Honestly, Tony’s really knows how to make a good meatball, all flavourful and moist. This was a great surprise! Euan ordered an ice cream sundae for dessert, Brian had cheesecake, and Harry and I opted for some Cappuccino’s , served with biscotti, which our server remembered to leave off of my saucer due to my noted tree-nut allergy. 4/5

Service: We had been served by our waiter in the past, and remembered him to be efficient and friendly. For this visit, again he was both. The simple act of thinking to NOT include the biscotti demonstrates the quality of his service. We noticed and commented to the Hostess that we saw everyone in the restaurant helping each other out. Servers were picking up dishes at other tables when they passed, or offered refills of drinks. Real quality service. 5/5

We had fabulous service and other than the mediocre lasagna, terrific mains then some good coffee to finish up. This was a terrific first night’s meal at Disney! Overall rating - 4/5

2.Wolfgang Puck’s Café – Downtown Disney

Atmosphere: I love the open kitchen at Wolfgang Puck’s Café, and passing the sushi bar and pastry bar. I think opening your kitchen to your patrons is a great reflection of the quality of your establishment. The restaurant is very open, and the tables are in close proximity to each other, which can lead to volume issues. It was unpleasantly noisy by the time we were finished our meal. 3/5

Food: We are sushi loving folk, so we ordered some sushi to share before dinner. We had some cucumber rolls, California rolls and salmon rolls (so Euan would partake), and then some spicy tuna rolls and house speciality sushi. Fresh and fabulous. We all really enjoyed the sushi, and the quality of the fish used. I almost wish that we had just kept ordering sushi for our dinner, but that was also very good. Harry had the Pepperoni Pizza. The crust was thin and light, and though he would have preferred it without the red peppers, he thought it was really good. In my opinion two non-teenagers could have easily shared this! Brian had the Cavatappi Chicken Alfredo with bacon, peas and parmesan, which was very rich and delicious, and I had the HUGE Spaghetti with Tiger Prawns, tomatoes, capers, basil, chili flakes and anchovies. I have really developed a taste for capers, and with the anchovies and fresh tomatoes, this was a fabulous dish. There were several plump Tiger shrimp and enough basil. I had trouble finishing my meal partially because it is such a large serving, and partially because I REALLY enjoyed the sushi! Euan had cheese pizza and carrots. There were lots of carrots to share, and we brought some of his pizza home with us. He said it was awesome. We were all very full, but since it was Brian’s birthday, our server brought desserts. Brian had key lime cheesecake, the boys had ice-cream and I had a latte. Brian really really enjoyed his cheesecake. 4/5

Service: The service we received at Puck’s was the best I’ve ever received at a casual restaurant. Our server was well acquainted with the menu and could discuss it very easily (his personal likes and dislikes, recommendations based on portion sizes etc.). He visibly had several large party tables to deal with, but he never failed to show up with fresh drinks or to clear a plate. He was spectacular. 5/5

We’ve dined here twice before, and have always enjoyed our meals. I think the service is what distinguishes this restaurant. Overall rating - 4/5

3. Chef Mickey’s - Disney’s Contemporary Resort

Atmosphere: Chef Mickey’s is always hustling and bustling and in the midst of celebrating. It is bright and colourful. We had no wait when checking in at Chef Mickey’s for our youngest son’s Half-Birthday celebration brunch. We had a decent table not too far from the buffet, and far enough from the kitchen. All of the characters spent a good amount of time for pictures and a visit, part I am sure due to his “birthday” button. Goofy was (as always) fabulous, and really took the time to interact with our son. 4/5

Food: The offerings were primarily “breakfast” at 11 am, and we all ate our fill of oatmeal, eggs, sausage, Mickey waffles and fruit. 3/5

Service: The hostess who led us to our table was about 900 years old, and from New York City. I told her that she comes from my other favourite place in the US, and she gave me a great big hug telling me she was so glad to see us there that day. She was lovely. Our server was there when we needed her, and brought coffee and juice as needed, and cleared our plates quickly. Service was exactly what I would expect at a buffet. 3/5

We all enjoyed our food, and Euan loved the interaction with “the Guys”. Although it is just “all right”, we will continue to come here as long as Euan has the desire … though maybe it will be for dinner. Overall rating - 3/5

[Tri Minnie]

Thank you for sharing your experiences. I truly appreciate all of the detail. We have never eaten at Tony's, but the whole evening, from the service to the food, sounds wonderful and makes me want to try it.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

Good Start! We've always enjoyed Tony's too, even though the majority don't seem to.

[AgentC]

Thanks for the reviews. I've always been hesitant to try out Tony's but I think I might try it now. My kids are huge pasta eaters.

I am with you on Chef Mickey's. We go because the kids enjoy the characters and atmosphere but if they don't request it, it does not make my list.

[Gator]

I'm feeling a lot better about my Tony's reservation.

[yourmagicalguide]

I haven't been to any of the three restaurants you reviewed, but now I'm very much wanting to try Tony's Town Square and Puck's Cafe! I NEVER would have ordered the Spaghetti and Meatballs at Tony's had it not been for your review

Thank you for all the detail and breaking the experience into different sections (i.e. atmosphere, food, service). It was so helpful and the descriptions of the food made me very hungry

Off to read your 2nd review! Thanks again for all the time you put into this

[ElenitaB]

Jenn, you should do marketing for Tony's! Look how many you've convinced right here. There's no better seat in the MK than Tony's balcony during the parades. If I could now only find the right thing to order, we'd be golden.

[January-2007]

Thanks for the reviews! We love Tony's Seafood Diavalo, a favorite for sure.

[faline]

Tony's has been hit or miss for us. I think you are right about the meatballs though. One of the reasons we returned to the spot so quickly after a previous trip was due to the really yummy meatball sub I had eaten here. I can agree about the marinara sauce - the taste is a bit "off" though I can't put my finger on why.

I think we went to Wofgang Puck's but it was quite a long time ago so can't really comment on this location.

Our one and only Chef Mickey's experience (at least since it's been located at the Contemporary and not at Downtown Disney) was close to 3 years ago now and occurred because we had a 2 year old in our traveling party. We found service to be good and the interaction with the characters was fun. I'm not a big fan of buffets and this location featued pretty standard breakfast buffet fare - adequate to fill us up but nothing to write home about.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Thanks for the reviews...interesting about Tony's we had one of our worst meals here in 2008....

[disneymom2000]

I wanted to try Tony's at our last visit. Our ADR was at 8:30pm and the busses ran late so we were about 5 minutes late and they refused to seat us. In fact they told us the kitchen had already closed. I was dumbfounded because the system allowed us to make a reservation at 8:30.