GC&S
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2005
All of ourl meals were covered by the Dining Plan except Portobellos. Sorry no pics - I'm sure I could find some in the 800 I took but they would probably be views of the floor or the inside of my purse since I'm still trying to learn how to work my camera.
Portobellos - This by far was the most disappointing. We were staying outside of DTD for a few days as DH was attending a conference. We walked to DTD and headed straight to Portobellos. This USED to be our favorite restaurant. I dont really like Italian food. But I could always find something here that could change my mind. It was crowded but we didnt have to wait long for a table. They put us in the busiest part of the rest., right by the kitchen (even though we requested and said we would wait for a table in a quieter area). Oh well, we sat where they told us to sit. Waitress was ok but seemed kind of annoyed to get another table. She gave us the menus now printed on paper, very small and drastically changed with fewer menu items. There were hardly any pasta dishes. There really wasnt much that appealed to me so I ordered from the appetizers a Margharita pizza. It used to be thin pizza crust with fresh tomato, mozzarella cheese and basil. What I got resembled a small frozen cheese pizza that tasted like a frozen cheese pizza. DH got one of the few pasta dishes and once they brought him the right dish (even though the waitress insisted she ordered what he said) he said it was wonderful. I told the waitress that the pizza was not what I had expected and she said they now put the tomatoes and basil in the cheese and mix it all together. We ordered wine and it was good. But we never saw the waitress again until our bill came (I really wanted some water). It was so disappointing (and expensive). In the hour we were there, we saw the manager summoned to three different tables and heard him offering them free dessert or take a meal off their bill. We will not be returning.
We started our Disney vacation on Saturday and our first meal was at Coral Reef
What a wonderful experience we had here. We had not been here for about 7 years. We had early ADRs (4:20) and the restaurant was pretty busy. We were seated immediately they asked if we wanted a table or a booth. We said booth and they put us on the second tier which had a wonderful view and kept dd entertained. Our waiter was just the best. He asked if the view was ok or did we want to move to the first level which we declined. Our seats were wonderful. DH and I ordered a glass of wine and he brought it immediately and had us sample it to make sure we liked it. DH loves red wine, Im a white winer. DH tasted his and said it was fine. But I knew he wasnt thrilled by it. The waiter came by 5 minutes later with another bottle and told DH to try it he would probably like it better and DH did. That was a really nice thing that he did.
For appetizers, I had the lobster bisque (great) and DH had the seafood souffle which I thought looked gross but he wolfed it down and said it was good. For the entrée, I first ordered the shrimp pasta and the waiter shook his head and said it wasnt one of their best dishes. So I asked about the blackened catfish and he said that was a much better choice. And it was! He warned me that it was very spicy (which I like) and boy, was it spicy. But it was great. DH had the strip steak and said it was great. He asked for for au jus for it but the waiter said they didnt have it. DH then took dd to the restroom and while he was gone, the waiter came back with some au jus that the chef made for DH. Now that is service!! I cant remember what dd had but she did have the veg. appetizer (carrots and celery). They shaped the carrot sticks like fish and dd ACTUALLY ate them
. So now I have to figure out how to make carrots sticks to look like fish. For dessert dd had the make your own sundae which she was thrilled with. Of course they could have brought her a dish of whipped cream and sprinkles and she would have been set for life. Both DH and I had the chocolate wave and wow, how good was that!!
I have seen so many negative reviews about the Coral Reef but it was the perfect start to our vacation. From the time we checked in, until we left our service was impeccable and the food wonderful. DD was so excited to watch the turtles and the fish and it was really fun. Kudos to our waiter for going that extra mile and making our dining experience one to remember!
Ohanas - Again, first time here. Totally not what I expected. We had 6:30 ADRs and had killed some time over at the Contemporary with some cocktails before heading to the Poly so we were in a pretty good mood when we got there. We had to literally fight our way through a sea of people to get to the podium to check in. It was SO LOUD in the waiting area. DD was starting to have a meltdown so I took her downstairs where it was quiet. We came back up 10 minutes later and DH was looking for us as they had already seated him. Now maybe if we had a different table, my opinion would be different. But they put us at a small table right by the aisle. There were two tables empty by the window and I asked the hostess if we could sit there and she said she would check but never came back. By that time salad had already been put on our table so we just sat at the aisle table.
During this time, the coconut races were taking place and three kids had run into our table and there were 4 coconuts under our table
. So DD proceeds to pick up one of the coconuts and refuses to give it up. So now theres a child crying at our table who wants his coconut back, my dd crying because she wants to keep it and now another person has delivered shrimp and wings to our table and weve yet to see a waiter or waitress. I kept having flashbacks of Chucky Cheese 
. All I knew was I wanted out of there!!! Finally a waitress comes over and explains the menu and took our drink orders. The salad was good but kind of dry. They had brought the sauces but no wontons so the waitress went to get some. Oh goody, time for another game!! Here come children racing towards us and dd wants to join them. So off she goes, and with her goes her plate. Could this place get any louder? Any why was our table getting smaller? Were we in the Alice in Wonderland World? Oh, its because they (I dont know who they were because food just magically appeared) brought us potatoes and beans.
Now DH will tell you that I am a picky eater. And I sometimes agree with him. But I had a problem with that we were never given clean plates. So we used the salad bowl to clean off our plates between courses..
I was very grateful to the waitress when she offered an alternate menu for dd and brought her a hotdog and French fries. And more wontons because dd loved those. Oh goody, another bowl for the table. Which keeps getting smaller and smaller. Have I mentioned that nothing has been removed from our table (except dd's plate that is now on the floor).
Now we were waiting for the meat skewers. Im not a big meat eater but I knew DH would be thrilled to get such a variety (that he does not get at home). But the skewers never came. We waited. We finished the potatoes, the shrimp, the beans and the wontons. We watched dd play with her French fries. We watched people drink out of large pineapples. We looked longingly at the tables out of the way of game central. But no skewers. Our waitress came over and asked if we were ready for dessert. Well, ok, does that come before the meat?? So she is shocked that no meat has touched our plates. So pretty soon we are surrounded by skewers. I took a piece of pork and a piece of turkey. The turkey was yummy but I was so full I could only do one piece. DH took a piece of each offering and smacked his lips that I guess meant he liked it. But he was full too.
The evening was coming to an end so that could only mean one thing! GAME TIME!! More kids racing towards our table, dd racing right along with them. Unfortunately our table happened to be at a corner so when they took the turn, sometimes our table got in their way. This time only the empty wonton dish took a dive. DD came back just in time for dessert. I had a bite as did DH. We were so stuffed.
So while the food was excellent (except the dry salad), the service was ok, but the atmosphere was just too wild and noisy for me. Again, perhaps if we had not been right in the middle of all the action, I would feel differently. It wont be high on our must visit again list. But DD had a blast and on our way out, our waitress gave her one of those drink umbrellas. Nice gesture but after I got impaled with it I had to take it away from her. Giving a four year old a sharp object just isnt a wise thing to do. So off we went, me with my bleeding hand, dd screaming and DH muttering to himself about wanting to go back to the Contemporary for another drink. By himself.
Up next: Hoop Dee Doo, Little Einsteins and Chef Mickey
Portobellos - This by far was the most disappointing. We were staying outside of DTD for a few days as DH was attending a conference. We walked to DTD and headed straight to Portobellos. This USED to be our favorite restaurant. I dont really like Italian food. But I could always find something here that could change my mind. It was crowded but we didnt have to wait long for a table. They put us in the busiest part of the rest., right by the kitchen (even though we requested and said we would wait for a table in a quieter area). Oh well, we sat where they told us to sit. Waitress was ok but seemed kind of annoyed to get another table. She gave us the menus now printed on paper, very small and drastically changed with fewer menu items. There were hardly any pasta dishes. There really wasnt much that appealed to me so I ordered from the appetizers a Margharita pizza. It used to be thin pizza crust with fresh tomato, mozzarella cheese and basil. What I got resembled a small frozen cheese pizza that tasted like a frozen cheese pizza. DH got one of the few pasta dishes and once they brought him the right dish (even though the waitress insisted she ordered what he said) he said it was wonderful. I told the waitress that the pizza was not what I had expected and she said they now put the tomatoes and basil in the cheese and mix it all together. We ordered wine and it was good. But we never saw the waitress again until our bill came (I really wanted some water). It was so disappointing (and expensive). In the hour we were there, we saw the manager summoned to three different tables and heard him offering them free dessert or take a meal off their bill. We will not be returning.
We started our Disney vacation on Saturday and our first meal was at Coral Reef
What a wonderful experience we had here. We had not been here for about 7 years. We had early ADRs (4:20) and the restaurant was pretty busy. We were seated immediately they asked if we wanted a table or a booth. We said booth and they put us on the second tier which had a wonderful view and kept dd entertained. Our waiter was just the best. He asked if the view was ok or did we want to move to the first level which we declined. Our seats were wonderful. DH and I ordered a glass of wine and he brought it immediately and had us sample it to make sure we liked it. DH loves red wine, Im a white winer. DH tasted his and said it was fine. But I knew he wasnt thrilled by it. The waiter came by 5 minutes later with another bottle and told DH to try it he would probably like it better and DH did. That was a really nice thing that he did.
For appetizers, I had the lobster bisque (great) and DH had the seafood souffle which I thought looked gross but he wolfed it down and said it was good. For the entrée, I first ordered the shrimp pasta and the waiter shook his head and said it wasnt one of their best dishes. So I asked about the blackened catfish and he said that was a much better choice. And it was! He warned me that it was very spicy (which I like) and boy, was it spicy. But it was great. DH had the strip steak and said it was great. He asked for for au jus for it but the waiter said they didnt have it. DH then took dd to the restroom and while he was gone, the waiter came back with some au jus that the chef made for DH. Now that is service!! I cant remember what dd had but she did have the veg. appetizer (carrots and celery). They shaped the carrot sticks like fish and dd ACTUALLY ate them
. So now I have to figure out how to make carrots sticks to look like fish. For dessert dd had the make your own sundae which she was thrilled with. Of course they could have brought her a dish of whipped cream and sprinkles and she would have been set for life. Both DH and I had the chocolate wave and wow, how good was that!! I have seen so many negative reviews about the Coral Reef but it was the perfect start to our vacation. From the time we checked in, until we left our service was impeccable and the food wonderful. DD was so excited to watch the turtles and the fish and it was really fun. Kudos to our waiter for going that extra mile and making our dining experience one to remember!
Ohanas - Again, first time here. Totally not what I expected. We had 6:30 ADRs and had killed some time over at the Contemporary with some cocktails before heading to the Poly so we were in a pretty good mood when we got there. We had to literally fight our way through a sea of people to get to the podium to check in. It was SO LOUD in the waiting area. DD was starting to have a meltdown so I took her downstairs where it was quiet. We came back up 10 minutes later and DH was looking for us as they had already seated him. Now maybe if we had a different table, my opinion would be different. But they put us at a small table right by the aisle. There were two tables empty by the window and I asked the hostess if we could sit there and she said she would check but never came back. By that time salad had already been put on our table so we just sat at the aisle table.
During this time, the coconut races were taking place and three kids had run into our table and there were 4 coconuts under our table
. So DD proceeds to pick up one of the coconuts and refuses to give it up. So now theres a child crying at our table who wants his coconut back, my dd crying because she wants to keep it and now another person has delivered shrimp and wings to our table and weve yet to see a waiter or waitress. I kept having flashbacks of Chucky Cheese . All I knew was I wanted out of there!!! Finally a waitress comes over and explains the menu and took our drink orders. The salad was good but kind of dry. They had brought the sauces but no wontons so the waitress went to get some. Oh goody, time for another game!! Here come children racing towards us and dd wants to join them. So off she goes, and with her goes her plate. Could this place get any louder? Any why was our table getting smaller? Were we in the Alice in Wonderland World? Oh, its because they (I dont know who they were because food just magically appeared) brought us potatoes and beans. Now DH will tell you that I am a picky eater. And I sometimes agree with him. But I had a problem with that we were never given clean plates. So we used the salad bowl to clean off our plates between courses..
I was very grateful to the waitress when she offered an alternate menu for dd and brought her a hotdog and French fries. And more wontons because dd loved those. Oh goody, another bowl for the table. Which keeps getting smaller and smaller. Have I mentioned that nothing has been removed from our table (except dd's plate that is now on the floor).
Now we were waiting for the meat skewers. Im not a big meat eater but I knew DH would be thrilled to get such a variety (that he does not get at home). But the skewers never came. We waited. We finished the potatoes, the shrimp, the beans and the wontons. We watched dd play with her French fries. We watched people drink out of large pineapples. We looked longingly at the tables out of the way of game central. But no skewers. Our waitress came over and asked if we were ready for dessert. Well, ok, does that come before the meat?? So she is shocked that no meat has touched our plates. So pretty soon we are surrounded by skewers. I took a piece of pork and a piece of turkey. The turkey was yummy but I was so full I could only do one piece. DH took a piece of each offering and smacked his lips that I guess meant he liked it. But he was full too.
The evening was coming to an end so that could only mean one thing! GAME TIME!! More kids racing towards our table, dd racing right along with them. Unfortunately our table happened to be at a corner so when they took the turn, sometimes our table got in their way. This time only the empty wonton dish took a dive. DD came back just in time for dessert. I had a bite as did DH. We were so stuffed.
So while the food was excellent (except the dry salad), the service was ok, but the atmosphere was just too wild and noisy for me. Again, perhaps if we had not been right in the middle of all the action, I would feel differently. It wont be high on our must visit again list. But DD had a blast and on our way out, our waitress gave her one of those drink umbrellas. Nice gesture but after I got impaled with it I had to take it away from her. Giving a four year old a sharp object just isnt a wise thing to do. So off we went, me with my bleeding hand, dd screaming and DH muttering to himself about wanting to go back to the Contemporary for another drink. By himself.
Up next: Hoop Dee Doo, Little Einsteins and Chef Mickey
Do you, by chance, know his name because I'd like to request him if at all possible for our upcoming WDW trip at the end of this month. Glad you had such a great time!!
