By David Juart
All of these restaurants were getting “meh” reviews from the online Disney community at the time of our trip in July 2011. We went against the grain and tried them anyway, and were pleasantly surprised. It just goes to show that everything you read on the Internet isn’t necessarily true. Who’d have guessed!
5. Kouzzina – In an effort to have complete disclosure, we ate here in the summer of 2010, but the same “meh on Net” guidelines apply. Cat Cora is doing it right with her traditional Mediterranean dishes. Surprisingly kid friendly and not terribly expensive, both my wife and I went off the reservation and ordered some of the more adventurous dishes and weren’t disappointed. Next time you’re on the Boardwalk, skip ESPN ZONE and try Kouzzina.
4. Fulton’s Crab House – On our last trip, we arrived a day early and were staying at one of the Downtown Disney Hotels. Not having the ability to eat in-park and not wanting to travel far, we headed to Downtown Disney. The wife being hungry for seafood, we ended up here, much to my chagrin. Fortunately my reservations about this place were put to rest with a fantastic mussel and scallops dish over pasta while wifey enjoyed her crab legs. Long story short, though there may be better seafood options on property, this place shouldn’t be overlooked.
3. Liberty Tree Tavern (Lunch) – Yes, I know I blasted this place for its perennial wait times just a few weeks ago, but today is about the food. Yes, there are better options only a Monorail ride away. But with a hearty, American-style lunch consisting of pot pies, burgers and other red meat dishes you can’t go wrong eating here.
2. Via Napoli – I don’t know how this got on the “so-so” list. Maybe it’s the price, maybe it’s because it’s “just pizza.” But Via Napoli came out of the gates dodging bullets from critics. They must have gotten their stuff together though. Because when we ate there for lunch on our last trip, it was vying for the top meal we had against heavyweights ‘Ohana and Le Cellier. If you haven’t been, go.
1. 1900 Park Fare (Cinderella’s Happily Ever After Dinner) – Speaking strictly about the food, this buffet undeservedly takes a small beating by critics everywhere I look. Frankly, it’s not that bad. There are your traditional Disney buffet dishes, but there were plenty of California-inspired options, plus Prime Rib which makes any buffet.
So what restaurants do you love, despite the critics? Let us know in the comments below. You can also contact us via Twitter @DisDadsPodcast or the author directly @dpjuart.
I’ll throw in Coral Reef. It seems to get roundly trounced, but they served us a good meal. I’ve only been there once, so I may have hit them on their one good day in the past 5 years, but I enjoyed it even though we were seated 2000 miles away from the aquarium (roughly).
However, there are so many good places in Epcot, it may be hard to work through the better places to get here.
I don’t see why Via Napoli gets so-so reviews. It may be just pizza, but it is darn good pizza… and I don’t just mean for a theme park.
I personally feel like it is a great value. You can go share a pizza between 3 people and eat for about $15-20 per person and have plenty of food to leave you satisfied. That seems like a pretty reasonably priced Disney meal to me.
We’re going to try Via Napoli on Monday, and I have high expectations for it, so I hope it doesn’t disappoint.
Count me in the Liberty Tree Tavern group. I love going there. I love the theming and I love the food. It’s good hearty meals, but a bit overpriced and overcrowded.
Liberty Tree Tavern at lunch is totally awesome. The pot roast is by far the best pot roast I’ve ever eaten in my life. The fried cheese (which includes fried cheese curds) is also great.