CSR Pepper Market Lunch & Breakfast Reviews 12/13 & 18

[forever a child]

DD16 and I were looking forward to CSR and part of the reason for this was an opportunity to eat at Pepper Market. This was our first time at CSR, PM and using the DDP.

Day two of our visit we had a TS breakfast at 1900 Park Fare. Since we were only planning to do one TS per day and we were going to MK for the day (they were having EMH's until 1am), it seemed like a great day to return back to the resort and use a couple of our QS credits and have a big lunch and then nap in our room before we headed back to MK for late night hours!

It was cold on 12/13 with below normal temperatures for the day! We arrived at PM and there were very few people there as it was about 2 or 2:30 in the afternoon. We were seated and explained how to get our food and pay for our meals. We ordered our drinks with our server and headed over to the different areas to check out what all they had. If you are unfamiliar with PM...I'll briefly explain. You are at a quick service location and can use QS credits if you are on the DDP. But you are seated by a hostess and have a server who will bring you your drinks (like many buffet's). You are given a card and you go to the different stations to get your food, then they stamp your card with what you ordered. When you are DONE with your meal..you head to the register with your card and pay for your meal. Since we were on the DDP...we were informed BOTH times that the REQUIRED 10% gratuity is NOT included with our DDP and we were expected to pay for that OOP. Had I not been on the DDP...I am not sure if it would have been automatically calculated into my final bill at the register or not (does anyone else know the answer to this?).

Well, I asked about the steak and was told it would be a 12 minute wait for it to be prepared. I really wanted to nap soon...so we opted for 1/2 Rotisserie Chickens (each, LOL). Obviously we were not thinking here! It was a lot of chicken and came with sauteed red peppers and carrots. We both HATE peppers of any kind...so most of the veggies remained untouched. (bummer!) It also had mashed potatoes. And really...the potatoes were the only thing that I enjoyed during this meal. My chicken was dry! Very dry and very bland! I was extremely disappointed. DD's was a little more moist than mine but still very bland. No seasoning at all. We both took back with us to the room chocolate mouse cake for our deserts which we at later that night and for breakfast...it was hard to tell..we had so many cakes in the fridge as the week proceeded, LOL.

This lunch meal was our biggest meal disappointment (as would be our breakfast here later on during the week.) It was $42.35 including tax before applying the DDP credits. It was a huge waste and had I been paying OOP I might have complained about it. But we were tired and just wanted to get some rest before our cold late night evening at MK.

OUR SECOND VISIT...to Pepper Market was Saturday, the day we were leaving to go home. We were planning half a day at DTD before we headed out of town. We had a package to pick up that we handn't done the day before at the gift shop...so I started getting hungry and really wanted some Mickey waffles. There were TONS of people all over checking and and out and waiting in line for Pepper Market to be seated. It was about 10:30 ish or so...and after I convinced DD that I wanted to eat here (she wanted to head straight to DTD and just eat there)...but I was hungry and didn't know if I could wait to be fed that long.

I thought we had 3 QS credits left..so the plan was to share one here for breakfast (she wasn't that hungry anyways) and then used the last two for lunch in DTD. BOY was I wrong...we had 5 left!!!! Ugh!

Well...I get up finally to the hostess and she asked how many were in our party....2. Great..but I asked her if they were still serving breakfast because by this time it is about 11am or 5 minutes after or so. So replies no...we are now serving lunch. Lunch??? But I wanted breakfast! So I said....you mean since I had to wait in this line all of this time...while you were still serving breakfast..and you take forever to seat us that I can no longer get what I wanted? She said yes...but could clearly tell I was NOT happy. Either she calls for or he walks by..but the manager shows up. He says that they are not serving breakfast....to which I say the same thing to him. He goes and asks someone back at the kitchen...and the kitchen staff are like...sure...we'll serve her breakfast. So he sets us at the smallest most congested table next to all the long food lines and says they will allow us to eat breakfast. I thank him. Once he leaves....I tell my DD to grab our belongings and we head to the back of the seating area AWAY from the lines of people and out of the way. Yes, DD is embarrassed by me but that is the way I am during these times and she is used to it...so she just follows along side of me. (My disclaimer...this is the only time I get a little temperamental with any of the Disney staff.)

Now we find the waffle station...I order waffles and bacon. Then after I get there and place my order about 6 other families all show up and what do they order...waffles! Yep, the whole place there is wanting breakfast and no one is ordering lunch. So much for the manager making me feel like they were doing me a special favor! Gee! They aren't Mickey waffles either...I am an adult and they only serve those to the kids (bummer!) but I get my waffles and bacon finally and I feel better for having eaten but I an not impressed with Pepper Market at all!
I got the coffee and DD drank the juice and ate the Danish she got at Rix Cafe using our last snack credit.

The bill was $15.10 (before applying the DDP QS credit). I am AGAIN reminded by the server that the 10% gratuity is NOT included in the DDP.

It was a big disappointment over all for Pepper Market and I would not go back again except for the fact that I was hungry and it was close by.:(

[faline]

I am not a fan of this location either. When we ate here, I was standing to place an order (apparently in the wrong place). Case members could see me, no-one acknowledged me or asked me to move to the correct location - they simply continued to carry on a personal conversation as though I was not standing there. We like Coronado Springs and stayed there in May but we never entered Pepper Market!

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Sorry about the experience...we stayed at this resort once and loved the food at the PM(ribeyes on CS), but I do remember that the staff was not the usual friendly CM.....

[big blue and hairy]

I have to say I like everything about Coronado Springs Resort....except The Pepper Market. Twice we have tried the PM for lunch or dinner and it was poor both times. Once we tried it for breakfast and it was acceptable but not great.

I look forward to my next stay at CSR, but I doubt very seriously that we will spend any money at PM. Disney needs to do something about this. Disney does not run PM and whoever does is making them look bad.

:sulley:

[retiredfigment]

We stayed at CSR once. Wasn't a big fan of the PM either. Couldn't understand why we got all our own food, except for pop and were charged a 10 percent gratuity. I can pour my own pop and do so at other resorts - LOL. And yes, you are charged whether on DDP or not and it is automatically added.

[PrettyMinnie]

We want to try this resort on our next trip, it's unfortunate that the available QS is so poor :(

[caryrae]

Didn't I remember reading before that if you don't want to have to pay the gratuity you can order the food to go and just go sit outside by the lake (if it's not to cold that is). My wife and I didn't care that much for PM either.

[faline]

Don't know about the "to go" but I do know there is an outdoor lounge area where you can order appetizers.

[forever a child]

Didn't I remember reading before that if you don't want to have to pay the gratuity you can order the food to go and just go sit outside by the lake (if it's not to cold that is). My wife and I didn't care that much for PM either.

I didn't really have an issue with the gratuity, I knew about it but thought it was funny that every server was pointing it out to me that "it was NOT included in the DDP." So obviously they wanted me to make sure to leave their tip. In any other restaurant that was not be appropriate behavior.

The day we had our lunch it was in the 30's outside and the saturday that we left it was warmer but still too chilly and raining outside. Bummer!:freeze::rain:

[ThanxForNoticin]

I know the Pepper Market gets many mixed reviews on this site. I also know everyone has different experiences. Personally, we've eaten at PM at least a dozen times over the years. We've even gone there special to eat when we're not staying at CSR - and we really like the place. We find the food selection and quality to be excellent. I can also tell you that we tend to be there during times the crowds are lighter, so our experience might be a bit different.... Just wanted to give the place some love!

[xrayqueen]

We were there 12/5 thru 12/11. LOVE PM. We had the best food there. Fresh made pasta, fantastic nachos, wonderful sandwiches etc. We didn't run into one food we didn't like. We always went away full and took dessert back with us. Kids enjoyed it too. Sorry you had a bad experience, but ours was quite the opposite! We still talk about the wonderful food there.:sombrero::clappy::clappy:

[Kenny1113]

I agree with your assessment of PM! It's like diner food (or worse) without diner price. I would have appreciated them telling me about the GRATUITY. When my mom and I ate there a year ago OOP it was not called a gratuity. My mom and I were confused if we were supposed to tip or not and asked what the fee was for. I was told it was for the kitchen staff and was not a tip for the waitresses. We went ahead and left a couple of bucks on the table but thought the cashiers explanation was strange. On our way out I saw a manager and asked him the same question and he informed me it was a tip. I explained to him that the CM had lied to me about the fee. Maybe that is why they call it gratuity, wonder if it is called that for OOP as well. :confused:
I will prob not give it another shot.

[finaldynasty]

I am sorry about your experience. My DF and I only ate the twice, and both times we had ok service. We ate there on our first and second to last day in the resort. Both times we were rushing to get to the parks. Out of the three resorts we have stayed in CSR is our least favorite by far and the overall food option and service is a part of it.:mickey:

[Crow]

have a trip booked there in Feb. I thought it was ok when i stayed there before..got the togo stromboli/calzone.. hope its not bad this trip. used to b that the steak counted as a CS on the dining plan

[DisneyFr33k]

We stayed at CS for the first time last October and were looking forward to trying PM. We ate lunch and dinner there and found their food selection good and portions large, so we were overall pleased. The morning we checked out, we rolled our luggage there at 7am, when they opened to use our last quick service credits. I would have loved to find waffles, but they weren't there at all! They only had a small, limited selection to pick from. I missed my breakfast crossant and mickey waffles from POP. I will never eat breakfast there again.....

Why would the OP be offered a different breakfast selection than I was?