southerngirl
01-04-2010, 03:34 PM
Here are some quick reviews of dining from our recent trip (I should mention our travel party consisted of my DH, my DS (18 months) and me):
Kona Sushi Bar--Dinner 12/19
After a disasterous drive down from Atlanta (a 7 hour drive that turned into 9 hrs because of traffic), we missed our dinner ADRs at the Grand Floridian Cafe. We also missed the club lounge appetizer offerings at the Poly, and it was our son's bedtime, so we decided to feed him (fortunately, I'd packed a dinner for him, just in case) and then put him to bed and see what we could scrounge up for dinner for ourselves. I went to the Grand Ceremonial House, expecting to get CS from Captain Cook's, but after not being impressed with their offerings, I went upstairs and found out that the sushi bar does take out. I ordered the Citrus Hamachi and Volcano rolls. Both were outstanding and pretty reasonably priced ($30, with tax and gratuity, for both rolls). My husband and I commented several times during the trip that it was some of the best sushi we'd ever had, and we LOVE sushi. I will definitely be going here again next trip! Overall rating--A+
Columbia Harbor House--Lunch 12/20--This is our go-to counter service location in the MK. Aside from a CM who was rather militant about refusing to let my husband and son go upstairs and get a table while I got our food (I understand not wanting to let people save tables, but that wasn't the rationale here, as they had no problem letting people get tables downstairs before ordering), it was another great CS experience. We had a kid's meal with grilled chicken and greens, applesauce and a cookie, an adult's fish and chicken platter with fries, and the hummus and broccoli slaw sandwich with chips. We were on the free dining plan, so we also got drinks (bottled water and a Diet Coke) and desserts (chocolate cake and apple crisp). My son ate every bit of his applesauce and chicken (I wish they would have offered us some crackers, though, in substitution for the cookie), and the chicken nuggets and fries were very good. My husband said the fish was good, too, but I didn't try it. The sandwich rated "pretty good." I liked the hummus, but I would have preferred less slaw. It was a bit too sweet and sloppy (too much mayo-based sauce) for my tastes. The chocolate cake was dreadful, but the apple crisp was a very pleasant surprise. It was like a little apple tart, rather than a traditional crumb-topped crisp. I thought it was actually one of the better desserts of the trip! Rating--B.
California Grill--Dinner 12/20
This was another good meal. We went early (5:30), and while the restaurant was very pretty, I can't comment on the fireworks, since that was hours after our ADR. My son had the children's grilled chicken dinner. The waiter was very nice and brought him his own bowl of Goldfish crackers (which he devoured) and also brought his dinner with our appetizer. My son ate every bit of the grilled chicken (a huge chicken breast) and the potatoes. He also had some of the thin green beans, although I think Disney should reconsider putting those on a child's meal, because they are difficult to manage. I brought a package of applesauce with us, which he devoured (my son is a BIG eater, in case you haven't noticed). So, he was happy and full. My husband and I shared the Snake in the Grass sushi appetizer. It was good, but it was nowhere near the level of the sushi we had the previous night. I thought the sauce was too sweet. My husband had the fillet entree, which he said was also "good" but not as good as other steak he had on property. I had a glass of merlot (can't recall the brand, but the great waiter let me try two before I settled on the one) and the pasta special with mushrooms and other winter vegetables. My dish was far too rich for me to finish, but it was good. We skipped dessert, since nothing looked very tempting, and we knew we could have some later at the Poly lounge. All in all, I'd give this an overall rating of "B+." (Side note--we originally were not planning on using TS credits for this meal, but when we got back to the Poly, we realized that was a foolish decision. The Club Level staff were phenomenal, and we ended up having to only pay out of pocket for the gratuity, even though we ordered things (like wine, sushi and our son's meal) that weren't included on our plan.)
Grand Floridian Cafe--Lunch 12/21
We originally had ADRs at Chefs de France for an early lunch, but we realized the day before that our son would prefer to spend the morning in the MK versus Epcot, so we switched to this restaurant (thanks again, Poly Club Level staff!). Once again, my son had the children's grilled chicken breast with green beans and carrots and apple slices. He ate all of the chicken (which was a much smaller portion than at the California Grill), about half of the green beans and carrots (again, not sure about serving kids those thin green beans that aren't very well cooked) and all of the apples, as well as an entire package of Goldfish crackers that I brought. I had the French Onion soup and Rustic Chicken Sandwich. The soup was good (although not as good as the soup at Chefs de France normally is), and the sandwich was also good, if not a bit difficult to manage. The bread was too small for the filling, which kept falling out. My husband had the Strawberry Salad and New York Strip Steak. I had a few bites of the salad, and it was very good. I don't eat red meat, so I didn't have any of his steak, but he said it was very good and much better than his fillet the previous night. Since we were on the dining plan, we all had dessert. My son had a scoop of vanilla ice cream (which he loved), and my husband and I shared the mini dessert platter. It was good, but my only complaint about the desserts at the Cafe is that they are very small. I understand and appreciate portion control, but these are really just a couple of bites each, and if we weren't using TS credits, I would never pay out of pocket for them, because they are just too expensive for what you get. We do love this place, though, especially because it's just a quick boat ride from the MK, and it's typically a nice, quiet break from the craziness of the parks. Overall rating--A-
O'Hana's-Breakfast 12/22
Each trip, we do a character breakfast for our final meal. We did Chef Mickey's last December, but we found it far too chaotic for our tastes, and we didn't care for the buffet-style service. We discovered O'hana during our July trip, and we loved it, so we went back this trip. It is definitely one of our "must dos" now. The food is great and plentiful. We started out with the fruit and breakfast breads, as well as that famous juice (my husband drank about 6 glasses of it) and coffee. Then, they brought the big skillet with hot scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits and the Mickey waffles. All three of us loved it, and we got refills on the eggs and sausage. Plus, the character interaction was really good. We were seated in the first table that the characters visited, and since we had a 7:30 ADR, we got lots of attention. Rating--A+.
More thoughts to come....
Kona Sushi Bar--Dinner 12/19
After a disasterous drive down from Atlanta (a 7 hour drive that turned into 9 hrs because of traffic), we missed our dinner ADRs at the Grand Floridian Cafe. We also missed the club lounge appetizer offerings at the Poly, and it was our son's bedtime, so we decided to feed him (fortunately, I'd packed a dinner for him, just in case) and then put him to bed and see what we could scrounge up for dinner for ourselves. I went to the Grand Ceremonial House, expecting to get CS from Captain Cook's, but after not being impressed with their offerings, I went upstairs and found out that the sushi bar does take out. I ordered the Citrus Hamachi and Volcano rolls. Both were outstanding and pretty reasonably priced ($30, with tax and gratuity, for both rolls). My husband and I commented several times during the trip that it was some of the best sushi we'd ever had, and we LOVE sushi. I will definitely be going here again next trip! Overall rating--A+
Columbia Harbor House--Lunch 12/20--This is our go-to counter service location in the MK. Aside from a CM who was rather militant about refusing to let my husband and son go upstairs and get a table while I got our food (I understand not wanting to let people save tables, but that wasn't the rationale here, as they had no problem letting people get tables downstairs before ordering), it was another great CS experience. We had a kid's meal with grilled chicken and greens, applesauce and a cookie, an adult's fish and chicken platter with fries, and the hummus and broccoli slaw sandwich with chips. We were on the free dining plan, so we also got drinks (bottled water and a Diet Coke) and desserts (chocolate cake and apple crisp). My son ate every bit of his applesauce and chicken (I wish they would have offered us some crackers, though, in substitution for the cookie), and the chicken nuggets and fries were very good. My husband said the fish was good, too, but I didn't try it. The sandwich rated "pretty good." I liked the hummus, but I would have preferred less slaw. It was a bit too sweet and sloppy (too much mayo-based sauce) for my tastes. The chocolate cake was dreadful, but the apple crisp was a very pleasant surprise. It was like a little apple tart, rather than a traditional crumb-topped crisp. I thought it was actually one of the better desserts of the trip! Rating--B.
California Grill--Dinner 12/20
This was another good meal. We went early (5:30), and while the restaurant was very pretty, I can't comment on the fireworks, since that was hours after our ADR. My son had the children's grilled chicken dinner. The waiter was very nice and brought him his own bowl of Goldfish crackers (which he devoured) and also brought his dinner with our appetizer. My son ate every bit of the grilled chicken (a huge chicken breast) and the potatoes. He also had some of the thin green beans, although I think Disney should reconsider putting those on a child's meal, because they are difficult to manage. I brought a package of applesauce with us, which he devoured (my son is a BIG eater, in case you haven't noticed). So, he was happy and full. My husband and I shared the Snake in the Grass sushi appetizer. It was good, but it was nowhere near the level of the sushi we had the previous night. I thought the sauce was too sweet. My husband had the fillet entree, which he said was also "good" but not as good as other steak he had on property. I had a glass of merlot (can't recall the brand, but the great waiter let me try two before I settled on the one) and the pasta special with mushrooms and other winter vegetables. My dish was far too rich for me to finish, but it was good. We skipped dessert, since nothing looked very tempting, and we knew we could have some later at the Poly lounge. All in all, I'd give this an overall rating of "B+." (Side note--we originally were not planning on using TS credits for this meal, but when we got back to the Poly, we realized that was a foolish decision. The Club Level staff were phenomenal, and we ended up having to only pay out of pocket for the gratuity, even though we ordered things (like wine, sushi and our son's meal) that weren't included on our plan.)
Grand Floridian Cafe--Lunch 12/21
We originally had ADRs at Chefs de France for an early lunch, but we realized the day before that our son would prefer to spend the morning in the MK versus Epcot, so we switched to this restaurant (thanks again, Poly Club Level staff!). Once again, my son had the children's grilled chicken breast with green beans and carrots and apple slices. He ate all of the chicken (which was a much smaller portion than at the California Grill), about half of the green beans and carrots (again, not sure about serving kids those thin green beans that aren't very well cooked) and all of the apples, as well as an entire package of Goldfish crackers that I brought. I had the French Onion soup and Rustic Chicken Sandwich. The soup was good (although not as good as the soup at Chefs de France normally is), and the sandwich was also good, if not a bit difficult to manage. The bread was too small for the filling, which kept falling out. My husband had the Strawberry Salad and New York Strip Steak. I had a few bites of the salad, and it was very good. I don't eat red meat, so I didn't have any of his steak, but he said it was very good and much better than his fillet the previous night. Since we were on the dining plan, we all had dessert. My son had a scoop of vanilla ice cream (which he loved), and my husband and I shared the mini dessert platter. It was good, but my only complaint about the desserts at the Cafe is that they are very small. I understand and appreciate portion control, but these are really just a couple of bites each, and if we weren't using TS credits, I would never pay out of pocket for them, because they are just too expensive for what you get. We do love this place, though, especially because it's just a quick boat ride from the MK, and it's typically a nice, quiet break from the craziness of the parks. Overall rating--A-
O'Hana's-Breakfast 12/22
Each trip, we do a character breakfast for our final meal. We did Chef Mickey's last December, but we found it far too chaotic for our tastes, and we didn't care for the buffet-style service. We discovered O'hana during our July trip, and we loved it, so we went back this trip. It is definitely one of our "must dos" now. The food is great and plentiful. We started out with the fruit and breakfast breads, as well as that famous juice (my husband drank about 6 glasses of it) and coffee. Then, they brought the big skillet with hot scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits and the Mickey waffles. All three of us loved it, and we got refills on the eggs and sausage. Plus, the character interaction was really good. We were seated in the first table that the characters visited, and since we had a 7:30 ADR, we got lots of attention. Rating--A+.
More thoughts to come....