What WDW restaurant surprised you the most on your last trip?

[10MoreMinutes]

Positive: Yak & Yeti lunch. I booked it because it was our last day after going non-stop the entire four days we were there and I knew we'd need a break to rest our feet and get in the air conditioning. I hadn't even looked at reviews and had only glanced at the menu, so we went in with no expectations whatsoever, and it ended up being my favorite meal of the trip! Service was fantastic, food was great, and I loved the decor and the set-up of the restaurant.

Positive: The Plaza. This was the second time I've eaten here. It's a nice quiet place to sit down and have a light meal. The food is basic, but good, and the service was great both times.

Negative: Via Napoli. Basically the complete opposite of our Y&Y experience. We went in with high expectations because I had read rave reviews, and the pizza was soggy and inedible in the middle, service was slow, and it was loud in there, to the point that we had to raise our voices to be heard just across the table.

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

Negative? Liberty Tree Tavern. Went there for the first time since the refurb and wasn't happy at all. The old menu was better... including the old Patriot's Punch! And this might seem petty, but the souvenir mug with Goofy, Mickey and Donald as founding fathers was much cuter too.

Positive? Captain Cooks. For a quick service restaurant, I fell in love with the flatbread pizza and ESPECIALLY the pork fried rice! They got everything right and everything came out fast with friendly employees.

Totally agree, was so disappointed in LTT, the only 2 edibles on our plate were the mashed potatoes and the pork. (And the mashies were not all that!) everything from salad (dismal, small, and poorly presented) to the over dry chicken and the waaaay undercooked beef was a waste of time and credits. It was a one and done for us!

 

[Ewoks]

Positive: Grand Floridian Cafe breakfast. I wasn't sure what to expect going in, but it ended up being a lot better than so many of the negative experiences I've read on here. The French toast was spot-on, and I was served a better pot of pressed coffee there than I got anywhere else on property that trip (including several signatures!). My husband enjoyed his meal too, although I can't remember what he ordered. This was during October, and the restaurant was only a bit over half full. Overall, it wasn't as good a breakfast as the Wave (although no on-property breakfast beats the Wave, let's be real here), but it was great. I'd visit again.

Negative: Kona Cafe lunch and dinner. Ugh. So bad. We went on two separate trips, trusting that maybe the first trip we just had an off night. Nope. It's really just that bad. Bland overcooked food, mediocre menu, atrocious service with the exception of one kind server who was definitely overworked, NOISY, no ambiance, I could go on and on. After reading all the rave reviews for this place on the boards constantly, I felt like I was in the twilight zone on both trips. Their breakfast menu has never appealed to me so I can't give an opinion on that, but I would highly recommend skipping this one going forward!

 

[addiln]

Jiko for me was a real disappointment. I heard and read how many good things people had to say about this place and could not wait to try it for the first time. I thought the food was just ok and the service was about the same. For the price I was hoping for something more and it really did not deliver. I was really surprised how much we liked Rose and Crown though. That was one of my favorite meals and can't wait to go back there again.

 

[Newsies]

Totally agree, was so disappointed in LTT, the only 2 edibles on our plate were the mashed potatoes and the pork. (And the mashies were not all that!) everything from salad (dismal, small, and poorly presented) to the over dry chicken and the waaaay undercooked beef was a waste of time and credits. It was a one and done for us!

The mac and cheese at least was MUCH better last time we went. And so was the dessert! I've never been a fan of bread pudding to begin with, but this was just bad

 

[Nancyg56]

Ohanas...we were so excited to eat dinner there after all the reviews we had read. The service was excruciatingly slow and the meat was so fatty and cold that we couldn't even eat it. Maybe we hit it on a bad night, but we were so disappointed.

Wanted to do a positive though for Narcoosees. AMAZING dinner!

'Ohana! Holy Awful!!!! It has been my family's must do on every trip, so I book it. Teh yalwayts liked it, and I think it's okay. It was the worst dinner we have had ever, anyplace, at any price. I think I would even take the lipstick coffee cup at a breakfast spot near us before o I go back to 'Ohana after that last debacle.

Positive: Mama Melrose at HS. I had read some good reviews on the Boards recently but had never gone thinking I can get good Italian in my home city. However, it wasn't just good, it was excellent. Tasty calamari appetizer. Very good steak. Wonderful cannoli. Even the bread & olive oil plate was great. Best wait service of my vacation. I also really loved the quirky decor & atmosphere. The Fantasmic Pkg was a great deal with the included appetizer.

My server told me that while the restaurant is physically expected to survive the park's transformation, the latest skinny is that it will have a radical theme & menu change. As in no longer Mama Melrose. So sad if true because I had just discovered MM & it may well be gone & under construction for my next trip. I suggested that the entire restaurant including menu & staff be plunked down into the shell that is Tony's at MK. She laughed. I prayed.

MM is one of my all time favorites. As a family, we all agree ont his lovely restaurant.

On my last trip my biggest surprise was Nomads Lounge. I expected a lounge, not a wonderful spot reminiscent of glamping through Africa.

I also was very impressed with Tiffins. The food was excellent and the servers knowledgeable.

Trattatoria al Forno was also a pleasant surprise. The food and the service we experienced were very good.

 

[pens4821]

Our biggest surprise was actually a disappointment. We didn't enjoy ohana dinner. Was really excited for the menu, but only liked the salad and vegetables. Everything else was either bland or tough. The service was awesome, but didn't like the food.

We did like big river grille more than expected. We were just looking for a restaurant on the boardwalk that would be good use of dining credits and we chose here. The ribeye was awesome, and was told the salmon was too. But we were disappointed that they didn't have the two beers on the menu that we thought sounded good.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Hollywood and Vine

I was afraid from reading reviews on here, but we really wanted to do Minnie's dinner. It was so good! We really loved it and would definitely go again. Food was delicious and it was the best character interaction of any of the meals we had.

 

[ArielTheMermaid]

Negative- Sci Fi ugh, I got some kind of sandwich and the tomatoes had no flavor and the lettuce was gross. The theme is cool, but it is SO loud and you can't hear anything. The last time I was there, some creepy alien show was playing on the screen.

Positive- I liked Be Our Guest. I was happy with the food I got. My family didn't even pay for drinks, we were just going to have water (we are cheap) but the server said the Beast wants us to get fountain drinks. I don't know if that happens to everyone, but it made my day.

 

[DISNEY1975]

For better - Tried Sci Fi for lunch my last trip. Had never been as Im not a huge fan of Sci-Fi movies/books etc.. Not sure what I was expecting. Some stupid space movie with aliens while eating?? But, the atmosphere was really neat, whatever was showing didnt bother me ( youre not really there to sit in silence watching a movie!!!) and the food was pretty good. Especially the cheesecake dessert! Mmmmm.

For worse - Trails End. I started a thread asking about the place before my 180 and it did not get one negative comment. I was so excited to try it. Worst food at WDW. Atmosphere was terrible too. Sports bar/restaurant/kids arcade. Never again.

Edit: After I wrote this, I just read the 2 posts above mine! So funny the difference of opinions !!

 

[MamaJessie]

Our biggest negative surprise from last trip was Raglan Road. I really expected so much from the rave foodie group reviews but it did not wow us at all and dessert was all duds.

Our biggest surprise positive from last trip was Y&Y. I wasn't wild about the menu, it didn't really jump out at me - but the food was great and service some of the best we have ever had. And the dessert wontons deserved their legendary status.

 

[David Brent]

negative - ohana

positive - yak and yeti

 

[Jennasis]

Positives:
The Wave...food was perfect. Service was warm and friendly.

Raglan Road....so high energy! I wasn't expecting to be so enthralled with the entertainment. The food was fantastic and I wanted to take our awesome server home with us LOL!

Sanaa...great food! The bread service wasn't the hit I was expecting, but that butter chicken....yum!

Blaze Pizza...it's just pizza right? Wow were we impressed! For the price...can't be beat.

We loved the food at Morimoto, but the service was kind of a hot mess.

 

[bwang123]

via napoli surprised me because it was so hyped up and it was marginal wood fired pizza.

 

[schrammalot]

It seems like Ohanas has gone downhill over the last 2 years. It used to be so great. What happened?

Our Trattoria Breakfast is the BEST! SO good and tasty.

 

[kittylady1972]

Quick report from our last trip.

POSITIVE: Tusker House: LOVED this...booked a brunch time meal and had breakfast and lunch foods...all were outstanding. Now I don't NEED to pay that much for character meals but I did really love the food.

NEGATIVE: Mostly for the service, which was pretty bad...I have some favorite foods here and they delivered...but Kona Cafe. It has been a favorite of ours for a while...but dinner was just really slow and service was bad. I don't think DH was terribly impressed with his food either. I do think my brother and SIL enjoyed their sushi though and the kids enjoyed their kids shrimp. Just not sure I'd bother booking it again with so many other options.

 

[kittylady1972]

via napoli surprised me because it was so hyped up and it was marginal wood fired pizza.

Ok these Via Napoli reviews kinda scare me. We ate there many years ago and loved the pizza and food and have a reservation for our upcoming trip in May. Hopefully it works out for us.

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

Exceeded expectations:
Coral Reef

One and done:
LTT - never again!

 

[Allie B]

Shutters at Caribbean Beach! We had never stayed there before or eaten at Shutters, so booked an ADR for our arrival night. I had Salmon and my husband had the steak. It was wonderful!

Shutters for me too. We missed our Kona cafe reservation so ate at Shutters since it was available and it was one of our best meals!

I was also surprised by Coral Reef at Epcot. Was not expecting the food to be as yummy as it was. On the downside I was expecting more from the menu. Not many options.

 

[Dis703]

We were just at WDW in December and had tried several new (to us) restaurants. We couldn't get BoG or CP for dinner at MK and with the LTT lunch menu changes I very hesitantly booked Skipper Canteen for dinner. The menu wasn't entirely appealing to me, but I needed an MK ADR for a cake delivery and it had the 20% AP discount so I booked the ADR and hoped for the best.

We really enjoyed our dinner here. The food was really good and the service was excellent. They went out of their way to help me with some preparations I needed to make for allergy free cupcakes I brought along for my twins. The decor was really cool and the JC style jokes were entertaining. We are definitely adding this to our rotation for future trips.