For those who think the DCL food is "meh"

[KSandbergFL]

Originally Posted by clten

We were never blown away by Palo for either dinner or brunch. Like others have posted, we think it has been overhyped here.

While I agree that the food might be "over-hyped", I don't think the overall experience of Palo is "over-hyped". We loved our server (possibly the best service we've ever had, anywhere), and the quiet, cozy atmosphere was splendid. Getting dressed up to visit an "exclusive" restaurant is a pleasure unto itself. I don't see how anyone could "not enjoy" a dinner at Palo... the food isn't 5-star, but it *IS* better than the main restaurants (for the most part) ... and best of all, you can enjoy a romantic dinner without the kids!

We had dinner at Palo, then strolled the deck to watch the ocean... and ended up having some coffee at the Cove Cafe. It was a nice, grown-up evening. We will certainly do it again.

[jship210]

Palo is Horrible~ No one should go there~ the food is the worst~ especially the tomato pizza , the Fillet Mignon, the chocolate souffle, the lasagna too! We ate there every cruise we went on, sometimes two times a cruise~ Stay away! Never ever ask for Sasha, he has always been our server on the Magic, very bad don't ask for him.
Especially during the Month of July 2010,(Wonder Double Dip) while I'm at it, the Cove Cafe is just as horrible, as well as the adult only pool deck chairs. The chairs on the port side by the pool, the first two are the worst in the industry I would not sit there if I were you in the morning from say 0900 to 1200 and after lunch from 1300 to around 1520.

[es45]

Originally Posted by jship210

Palo is Horrible~ No one should go there~ the food is the worst~ especially the tomato pizza , the Fillet Mignon, the chocolate souffle, the lasagna too! We ate there every cruise we went on, sometimes two times a cruise~ Stay away! Never ever ask for Sasha, he has always been our server on the Magic, very bad don't ask for him.
Especially during the Month of July 2010,(Wonder Double Dip) while I'm at it, the Cove Cafe is just as horrible, as well as the adult only pool deck chairs. The chairs on the port side by the pool, the first two are the worst in the industry I would not sit there if I were you in the morning from say 0900 to 1200 and after lunch from 1300 to around 1520.

Got it; thanks for the warning!

[Tneah]

Palo food has more flavor than the dining rooms food, but I expected something more than, "oh, this is good." We just expected more from all the raves about the food and service. I tried the brunch and the dinner and I prefer dinner.

We didn't like it enough to want to book Palo on our cruise this past October.

[love2driveinct]

Glad I am not the only one... was afraid to say something on this board!

Hubby and I enjoyed our dinner at Palo -- the food & service were great. But no "wow" factor... and we enjoyed our dinner for two at Parrot Cay almost as much (kids happened to all be at their clubs).

I was a little sad a few days ago when I first realized that I had forgotten to stay up until midnight to make our Palo reservation, then I thought about whether we even want to go there next time. Maybe for brunch, might be nice to try that...

[spacegirlbobbie]

I loved Palo the first time I ate there. The 2nd time I was seasick and could only nibble a bite or 2.
I still say do the brunch because the food is good and it is different than any other dining on the ship.

[es45]

Originally Posted by spacegirlbobbie

I still say do the brunch because the food is good and it is different than any other dining on the ship.

Thanks for the replies. I think that we'll try brunch but I won't be too upset if I can't get a reservation.

[su_kraft]

Originally Posted by KSandbergFL

While I agree that the food might be "over-hyped", I don't think the overall experience of Palo is "over-hyped". We loved our server (possibly the best service we've ever had, anywhere), and the quiet, cozy atmosphere was splendid. Getting dressed up to visit an "exclusive" restaurant is a pleasure unto itself. I don't see how anyone could "not enjoy" a dinner at Palo... the food isn't 5-star, but it *IS* better than the main restaurants (for the most part) ... and best of all, you can enjoy a romantic dinner without the kids!

We had dinner at Palo, then strolled the deck to watch the ocean... and ended up having some coffee at the Cove Cafe. It was a nice, grown-up evening. We will certainly do it again.

I have to agree that the food may be slightly over hyped - but the fact that you can try everything on the menu or off the menu for that matter and not pay extra (above the $15) along with the athmosphere it makes for a special night out away from the kids. As an example this past september we were velebrating our 17th anniversary. Surf and turf wasn't on the menu but they got it for my hubby. I was having the lamb and they brought me a lobster tail to try... they also brought a salad for each of us, a pizza to share, 3 appetizers aboive what we had ordered. We were stuffed at the end of dinner and tried to pass on dessert, but they brought out a souffle and 2 others. We didn't even sample any of them we were so stuffed. We walked the deck and when we got back to our cabin there was a dessert tray with 4 desserts, and a message to call Palo. When we called they were ready to send a souffle to the cabin. We politely said no. The next night at dinner Pascal brought us our dessert and it was chocolate souffles for the table. Sorry - you can say the food isn't the best in the world, but it is the service and the athmosphere that make it special!

Sue

[acourtwdw]

We recently ate at Palo (Sept 09) for dinner for the first time (have done several brunches in the past). While it was good, we felt it wasn't something that we needed to do again. The service was wonderful and we were very happy with the meal but for us it really wasn't worth it.

[Mrsjvb]

Palo was about 3 steps better than the main dining rooms.. which frankly,overall, disappointed us except for the occasional first or second course.

the ONLY desert I liked the entire week ..was Palo's Souffle

That being said, I have eaten MUCH Better here in the DC area on a regular basis.

It was good, and worth the extra price for what you get above and beyond the food itself, but NOT Michelin Cuisine by any stretch.

To be honest to he overall food quality was the most disappointing aspect of the entire cruise and was enough of an issue that we will really need a major great deal like we had for the Magic in September to tempt us to spend that kind of money again on DCL.

[been2marceline]

Originally Posted by jship210

Palo is Horrible~ No one should go there~ the food is the worst~ especially the tomato pizza , the Fillet Mignon, the chocolate souffle, the lasagna too! We ate there every cruise we went on, sometimes two times a cruise~ Stay away! Never ever ask for Sasha, he has always been our server on the Magic, very bad don't ask for him.
Especially during the Month of July 2010,(Wonder Double Dip) while I'm at it, the Cove Cafe is just as horrible, as well as the adult only pool deck chairs. The chairs on the port side by the pool, the first two are the worst in the industry I would not sit there if I were you in the morning from say 0900 to 1200 and after lunch from 1300 to around 1520.

OT - but never, ever, for any reason try to book the Roy or Walt....

[es45]

Originally Posted by Mrsjvb

To be honest to he overall food quality was the most disappointing aspect of the entire cruise and was enough of an issue that we will really need a major great deal like we had for the Magic in September to tempt us to spend that kind of money again on DCL.

We agree. My husband is against booking Palo because he thinks DCL food is much like what he ate at WDW counter service. I'm hoping for better at Palo brunch since we'll be celebrating our anniversary.

[nashville_minnie]

We LOVED Palo. while the food & experience were fantastic, i think it stood out so greatly because we felt the 3 main dining rooms were pretty awful. On our next cruise, we plan to try to eat in Palo as much as possible.

[ededmd]

Originally Posted by es45

We agree. My husband is against booking Palo because he thinks DCL food is much like what he ate at WDW counter service. I'm hoping for better at Palo brunch since we'll be celebrating our anniversary.

Relative to the rotational restaurants, Palo would be the park equivalent of the best WDW Signature restaurant - whichever you think that is (excepting V&A). It is still Disney but is a HUGE cut above CS or for that matter "regular" TS restaurants.

Is it the best meal I've ever had?; hardly. But the experience is nice, the service is good and the food is much better overall than the rotation restaurants. Your choice for brunch over dinner is wise. We thought brunch was much more interesting and overall more consistent.

The choc souffle was tasty and the cheese and grape pizza a winner though!

[ededmd]

Originally Posted by nashville_minnie

We LOVED Palo. while the food & experience were fantastic, i think it stood out so greatly because we felt the 3 main dining rooms were pretty awful. On our next cruise, we plan to try to eat in Palo as much as possible.

Agreed. The standard of excellence is relative on the ship...

If we didn't have children with whom we wish to spend "quality time" at meals, we too would be trying to maximize our Palo time.