Coral Reef... Why such extremes???

[goofynmd]

Coral Reef seems to be the one restaurant that people either love or hate. Why is this? We are trying it for the first time this trip. I booked this for Mother's Day lunch. I thought it was a good mix of entertainment for my 5 yr old, but also a more grown-up meal for my Mother's Day celebration. Will I be disappointed?

[wildernesslady]

We have always liked it there. It's not spectacular, but good food. Your 5 yr old will love the aquarium.

[azcavalier]

We are one of those who consider this a "must do". I thought that the steak I had there tasted just as good as the steak I had at Le Cellier. And I love steak.

We also think that it's the perfect combination of entertainment for the little ones, while being somewhat educational, without providing a childish atmosphere. And we've never had bad service here.

[Stu29573]

When we were there, the food was good, but the service, while adiquate, was not as "friendly" as in other places. Maybe that's the difference. It didn't feel as "Disney" to us. That being said, we would go back with no problem.

[gerald72]

I was slightly disappointed. We probably won't do it again.

[castlelady36]

We have been several times, some good some bad. I agree...the servers might not be so great but the food in general is quite good. I miss the little fish butters though....

[btharvey]

I chalk it up to the environment. There don't seem to be as many choices geared to the smaller ones, or even 'tweens.' Fish and steak are anywhere from OK to very good, depending on the day, and the service for us has never been above "ok to good" ... and usually it's too cold.

Aside from that, how many other places can you chomp down on some beef while waving at a school of scuba divers? It's not a must see, but it "can be" nice.

I'd pick Le Cellier over this, hands down.

[MOJoe]

I've been twice, both times for an evening meal. The first time our food was outstanding. I rated it as one of the best seafood meals ever, anywhere. The service was also exceptional. We were seated on the first floor, so we had a wonderful view of the aquarium. My family had such a good experience that they begged to go back.

The second time just didn't live up to our expectations. The Reef was apparently having a tough night, as we were seated nearly an hour after our reservation. The place was backed, and full of hungry, unhappy, crying children. The food was good, but not great. And the service staff showed signs of fatigue. It wasn't a bad experience, but it wasn't a "great meal."

If we go back, we'll try to pick a time when the crowds are not as heavy.

[DVC2004]

We've dined there twice at lunch time and we always had a good experience. The food was good, our service was good, and the atmosphere was very nice. The kids and us adults enjoyed the view of the aquarium and spotting fish and divers. My husband and I happen to love thier lobster bisque, probably the best I've had anywhere. Not sure about the mixed reviews- but then again our fav place 'Ohana gets some terrible reviews here and in 9 years of dining there we've never had any terrible food or service.

[PinKy]

We've been here a couple of times and we finally decided after the last visit that it just wasn't worth our dining points. I think the restaurant used to be considered a little "fancier" and the service was better. In recent years, the service really has fallen (my main complaint) and there were so many food items taken off the menu (my husband's main complaint) that the whole experience has really lost a lot of the charm. My DH used to be a HUGE Coral Reef fan (we've had our photo taken with the sign. LOL!) and now we don't even consider going there anymore. We will likely give it a try in another year or two to see if anything has changed. Little things are always changing around WDW so you just never know. The aquarium is very nice though for kids AND adults and I believe everyone should try new things so if you'd like to give it a go - have a great time and post when you return so that we can all hear about how it is!

[kakn7294]

I think it's because this is supposed to be a seafood restaurant but it lacks an extensive seafood menu and it often has a staff that seems either harried or indifferent. For some reason, they haven't always got it together here - sometimes it shows in the service, sometimes in the food. However, I do have to say that we've eaten there and enjoyed it and someday will do it again once we've hit the other places in Epcot that we want to try.

[ThanxForNoticin]

You are correct, this restaurant probably has the most extremes with its reviews. Personally, we'll never go back again, as we had 2 very disappointing experiences. That being said, I really would not try to persuade anyone to avoid it just because of our experiences - there are lots of people who enjoy it (even love it there). For us, there are too many other places that we like a lot better - but I hope you have a great experience and enjoy the meal.

[joonyer]

Having been in the restaurant business, I can say the the main reason that any particular restaurant will get reviews that tend to extremes is due to one word: Inconsistency.

If a restaurant is average most of the time, it will tend to get mostly average reviews. But if a restaurant can't be consistent, some days it will be really good, and others it will be really bad. Thus you get the "loved it" or "hated it" reviews. Choose to eat at one of these places and you could easily get either result. You are taking a chance that you will hit it on a good day, Or not.

Then you have the ones that are consistently excellent, which get mostly very good reviews (note that there are some people who cannot ever be pleased) and then there are restaurants that are consistently bad, which usually go out of business, unless they have a captive audience for consumers, like a concession stand at an sports arena or a restaurant at a Resort of Theme park, where they are going to get a lot of business without really trying.

And that about explains the gamut of restaurants at WDW. You can decide which ones fit which category.

[wdwvacationeer]

We ate at the Coral Reef last summer for a late lunch and found it to be very good. Our server was very good, the atmosphere was fun and everyone in our family enjoyed their meal.

[kakn7294]

Having been in the restaurant business, I can say the the main reason that any particular restaurant will get reviews that tend to extremes is due to one word: Inconsistency.
Gee, that's what I was trying to say - only I couldn't think of the word inconsistency!

[joonyer]

There are a lot of reasons for a restaurant failing to provide a consistently good experience for its customers, but usually those factors can be controlled by really good management. It is also difficult for a restaurant to be consistently excellent when it tries to have too varied a menu or tries to be all things to all people. The best restaurants are those who do only a few things very well and stick to just those things. They know what they are good at and concentrate on their specialty. I think Coral reef has some problems in this area. At least that's been our experience.

[ryca1dreams]

I guess I'm one of the people who is not on the extreme on this restaurant. We only went once a few years back and thought it was good - not great. Service was a little slow, but not awful. The atmosphere was neat. I guess it just didn't blow us away or turn us off.

[retiredfigment]

We ate at Coral Reef for the second time in Dec. 09. I did not care for it too much the first time, but had read some good reviews. For what I thought was a seafood restuarant, there was not much seafood on the menu. Small portions, overpriced, noisy.

[pamickeys]

It used to be great! how can you have a seafood restaurant and not serve LOBSTER anymore ? as much as I hate to say it the DP is killing all of the menu selections at all of the restaurants in Epcot.what it used to be, isn't anything close to what it is now.

[Granny Jill A]

There are a lot of reasons for a restaurant failing to provide a consistently good experience for its customers, but usually those factors can be controlled by really good management.

I agree that management makes all the difference. I wonder if Disney ever hears about the complaints for this and other restaurants, or if they just go into a black hole.

I've noticed a recurring theme with certain restaurants - either bad food, bad service, or both.

Isn't Disney paying attention and trying to do something?

[joonyer]

I agree that management makes all the difference. I wonder if Disney ever hears about the complaints for this and other restaurants, or if they just go into a black hole.

I've noticed a recurring theme with certain restaurants - either bad food, bad service, or both.

Isn't Disney paying attention and trying to do something?

I think it's the fact that they know they have a captive audience (customers). Because of their location, and the huge crowds there, they know they don't have to depend on having such a stellar reputation to fill their tables. The popularity of the DDP hasn't helped this either. That's why we've seen the quality of even the better restaurants, like Le Cellier and even the California Grill decline in the past couple of years. They know their tables will be packed anyway.

[Laughin' place]

I know this point has been discussed before, but it bears repeating here:
I have had great experiences there, and will most likely not go back.
Prior to DDP (yeah, you know me..sorry), there was less traffic, fewer little ones, and it was more of an upscale experience (food, service and atmosphere-wise).
Now, I am not anti-little ones at dinner, and we have used DDP our last three trips.
However, I believe that the DDP has led to higher traffic in TS locations that used to be considered "pricey" by lots of folks. I also think that, whereas people brought fewer small children to such spots when they were more "expensive", that disincentive is also gone.
The last two times I have dined there, I have found it a little worn/raggedy looking, very loud, and only average food-wise. Love looking at the fish, dont like the dirty carpet, peeling wallpaper, and screams of children that the food may not appeal to as they run by our table. Just my two cents, but I think thats why there are extreme views.

[SBETigg]

Joonyer and Kathy nailed it with "inconsistency." I have to disagree with people who say it used to be great. My only experience with Coral Reef was ten years ago, and it was so completely awful that there's no way I can ever get my husband to give it another try. And the reviews were very "love it" or "hate it" even back then. We decided to take a chance and went anyway-- and we were so sorry. It could easily have gone the other way, though. I've never been treated so badly and had such awful food. Other people in the same time period loved it. So, I think you need to take a chance and find out for yourself. It could go either way. The atmosphere is good and you probably won't regret it. The risk is that you have one bad meal at worst.

Le Cellier is the opposite story. It's so highly rated not because it's necessarily all that great, but because it is consistent. Some people find it over-rated, like me, but you rarely read about someone having a really bad meal. I would go back.

[GrmGrninGost]

We tried it for the first time four years ago. It has been our favorite meal each year since. Not sure what it is people don't like. For us, the food has been FANTASTIC, the service has been stellar and the atmosphere wonderful! The only complaint I have had is that we usually have to wait 15 or 20 minutes for a table. I am willing to overlook this minor inconvenience because everything else has been so amazing! :mickey:

[Granny Jill A]

I think it's the fact that they know they have a captive audience (customers). Because of their location, and the huge crowds there, they know they don't have to depend on having such a stellar reputation to fill their tables. The popularity of the DDP hasn't helped this either. That's why we've seen the quality of even the better restaurants, like Le Cellier and even the California Grill decline in the past couple of years. They know their tables will be packed anyway.

You're right, of course. It's too bad that their status as the only game in town leads them to forget about food and service. DDP is good for Disney but bad for us. So many people LOVE it, so I guess it's here to stay :(

[btharvey]

We tried it for the first time four years ago. It has been our favorite meal each year since. Not sure what it is people don't like. For us, the food has been FANTASTIC, the service has been stellar and the atmosphere wonderful! The only complaint I have had is that we usually have to wait 15 or 20 minutes for a table. I am willing to overlook this minor inconvenience because everything else has been so amazing! :mickey:

I'm glad you've had such nice experiences. We've never waited less than 45 minutes (I would welcome 15-20 minutes), it's usually noisy, and we've never been seated near the windows, only far away, even when we've asked. I think they've gotten every order right only once ... at least one of us is missing something or gets the wrong item. Waiters have all been cordial, if not "nice." But usually harried. Ah well ....

[btharvey]

Le Cellier is the opposite story. It's so highly rated not because it's necessarily all that great, but because it is consistent. Some people find it over-rated, like me, but you rarely read about someone having a really bad meal. I would go back.

Agree with this, totally. Consistency is the key. I was mildly disappointed when I wasn't "swept off my feet" the second time we ate there, but realized on the third time that it was still good and the difference was my choice of entree.

[Jillirose]

We've eaten dinner at the Coral Reef three times and had excellent food each time. The service left something to desire on the last occassion....

[jonahbear2006]

I did not have any problems with the food. the lobster bisque was great and started the meal off well, but the management was horrible. They were taking walk-ins bc of the hurricane type weather and we were soaked through our sneakers. We waited over an hour for our table and when we had already heard them taking walk ins, when confronted about it they denied it. (bad management) we asked several times to be seated and when they looked at our time we were suppose to be seated the bug eyed hostess passed us off to management. It was suppose to be my daughter's birthday dinner. We then proceeded to wait forever for food, got free lobster bisque for our trouble, then waited 35 min for a check and then another 20 or so to have our card brought back to us. We won't ever go back here, even though the food was good. The entire experience was ruined by bad management. I realize it was a weather issue that may have caused this, but a well managed restaurant would not fall apart in this change in circumstance. I feel my ADRS are already pressed bc there are so many great places to eat, I won't risk even one on a place I am conflicted with about food or service.

[magicgal]

We have had a about three bad experiences there and three good ones. However, the three good ones were from our last three visits, so that is a good sign. For the bad experiences it was due to bad food and bad service. We have always loved the tanks, to us that is the best thing about CR. One other thing I could say that has been consistent in a negative way, is how loud it is in there. Every time we have gone, it was very very loud. I also wish they had a better selection to choose from on their menu.

[LandFan]

We really like it there. I can totally see that it is sometimes noisy and sometimes slow. To combat the noisy part, we tend to book a very early lunch so that we are one of the first to arrive. Then we are done and out by the time it starts to get noisy. We also realize it is usually slow so we go in with that knowledge and expect to relax a bit. It is nice that they have the fish tank to look at - it gives us something to do while waiting. The food has been REALLY good for us though! THe catfish is excellent as is the Mahi Mahi and lobster bisque.