Fish restaurant at Epcot

[Harry]

There is a great fish restaurant that is hard to get into unless reservations are made I think a week ahead. Anybody know what it is and when reservations must be made?

 

[janej]

Not sure which one you might refer to, but you can search by location here
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningmain.cfm

It is now not uncommon to require reservation months ahead of time depends on when you are going and how many people in your party. The Disney dinning plan have made the restaurants a lot more popular than before.

 

[Sea Six]

Are you thinking of The Living Seas? It's the one where you sit by the big aquarium. Reservations are strongly suggested, but they save a few tables for people without reservations who come right at 4:00 when they open.

 

[bnoble]

Sounds like Coral Reef. "Great" may be an overstatement---it's good, but the food vaguely reminds you of what might have been all the rage in the mid '90s.

That said, I enjoyed the tilapia I had for lunch there last year.

 

[rickandcindy23]

We just ate there two weeks ago. I thought it was anything but great. I had the mahi-mahi, and I thought it was extremely overpriced. And the iced tea was just instant. UGH!

I cannot ever eat at a Disney restaurant again, after a full week of that entire place. I'm glad our daughter got to experience it, but I doubt she will spend the money again, either. We used the DDE, not the DDP, so at least we weren't stuck there for lunches too.

On a brighter note, still love Disney and going again in December and January.

 

[Carl D]

I cannot ever eat at a Disney restaurant again, after a full week of that entire place.

Cindy, where else did you eat that you didn't like?
My wife and I have our favorites that we must do every visit. The downside of that is we rarely try new places. In 20 years of visiting Disney, we have never tried the Ocean Reef.

Our favorites include Yachtsman Steakhouse, California Grill, Jiko, 'Ohana, Narcoosees, Artist's Point, and of course this time of year we do Party for the Senses.

These are primarily located in the resorts, not the parks. The better restaurants seem to be in the resorts.

 

[pgnewarkboy]

Two years ago we took the grandchildren and their parents to the restaurant in EPCOT that "surrounds the acquarium". I just don't remember the name. The food was good but pricey. It was a unique experience and worth the money. It is hard to describe but we all enjoyed it. It tries to give you the feeling of being under water and they succeed very well. You see many large and small fish in an ocean like environment. You might want to go there for lunch when you will get the same experience for less money. I recommend it.

 

[sandcastles]

It seems like Coral Reef is very inconsistent. We ate there last year and my husband and I both agreed it was the best meal and service we had at Disney. Recommended it to friends that had 15 in their party and usually like the same restaurants we do. They said it was horrible, both the food and service.

Most of the complaints that I have heard have been at lunch, not dinner. Also many of them have been at times when the free dining was going on. We usually go about 6 times a year and the few times we went during free dining times we could see a drop in quality.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Cindy, where else did you eat that you didn't like?
My wife and I have our favorites that we must do every visit. The downside of that is we rarely try new places. In 20 years of visiting Disney, we have never tried the Ocean Reef.

Our favorites include Yachtsman Steakhouse, California Grill, Jiko, 'Ohana, Narcoosees, Artist's Point, and of course this time of year we do Party for the Senses.

These are primarily located in the resorts, not the parks. The better restaurants seem to be in the resorts.

Carl, our daughter chose the restaurants. Biergarten was probably the best of the five sit-downs. I thought the entertainment was nice, and the food was pretty good, especially the Bavarian cheesecake. Our granddaughter is 19 months old, and she loved making friends with the kids on the dance floor. She danced for at least 45 minutes, and it was adorable. The Norway restaurant was overpriced, and the food was just okay. Prime Time cafe was just okay. Tony's was decent, I liked the ambience, but Olive Garden's eggplant parmigiana is so much better, for half the price that we paid for spaghetti at Tony's.

We were supposed to go to Kona Cafe that last day, but we didn't get back from Ft. Lauderdale in time. We were also supposed to go to Cape May, but we didn't get back from Cape Canaveral/ Daytona in time. Shucky darns.

Personally, I would rather go to Texas Roadhouse (which is a great restaurant that was almost EMPTY in Orlando; in Denver, those restaurants are packed all the time), Garibaldi's, Backyard Burgers (The best hamburgers I have ever had; try the Blackjack burger), Olive Garden, Smokey Bones, and Red Lobster. I would also rather eat at the Cantina in front of Mexico.

Has anyone ever been to Twistee Treat near Downtown Disney? What a wonderful place for soft-serve.

 

[joyzilli]

My mom and I just came back from Disney and ate at Tutto Italia in Epcot for lunch. We both agreed that the food (pasta) was delicious and would definately go back again.

 

[bnoble]

Most Disney restaurants are really about the experience rather than the food, and they tend to be on the pricier side. That's okay with us, we've got lots of great restaurants at home, but not too many of them have floor-to-ceiling aquariums, are located in castles, or have the Mad Hatter and Alice available to play croquet with your kids. Literally---my son was the croquet ball.

The exceptions are, as Carl mentioned, the better restaurants at the resorts. Some of those are actually quite good as restaurants.

 

[Carl D]

Carl, our daughter chose the restaurants. Biergarten was probably the best of the five sit-downs. I thought the entertainment was nice, and the food was pretty good, especially the Bavarian cheesecake. Our granddaughter is 19 months old, and she loved making friends with the kids on the dance floor. She danced for at least 45 minutes, and it was adorable. The Norway restaurant was overpriced, and the food was just okay. Prime Time cafe was just okay. Tony's was decent, I liked the ambience, but Olive Garden's eggplant parmigiana is so much better, for half the price that we paid for spaghetti at Tony's.

We were supposed to go to Kona Cafe that last day, but we didn't get back from Ft. Lauderdale in time. We were also supposed to go to Cape May, but we didn't get back from Cape Canaveral/ Daytona in time. Shucky darns.

Personally, I would rather go to Texas Roadhouse (which is a great restaurant that was almost EMPTY in Orlando; in Denver, those restaurants are packed all the time), Garibaldi's, Backyard Burgers (The best hamburgers I have ever had; try the Blackjack burger), Olive Garden, Smokey Bones, and Red Lobster. I would also rather eat at the Cantina in front of Mexico.

Has anyone ever been to Twistee Treat near Downtown Disney? What a wonderful place for soft-serve.

Well, I also like Texas Roadhouse.. It's one of my favorites (never been to the one in Orlando), but my wife isn't overly big on it.

Anyway, from your list I can pretty much see why you weren't overly enthralled with your dinners.
The one I really like that is on your list is 50's Prime Time. They have the best PB&J milkshakes on the planet.
I really like the Cantina in front of the Mexican pavilion, but I think San Angel Inn inside the pavilion is borderline disgusting.

May I suggest next visit you try some of the resort restaurants? I think you will be MUCH happier, and in addition you get to visit the awesome resorts.

PS- Were you there during Food & Wine Festival, or did you leave before it opened?

 

[Carl D]

Most Disney restaurants are really about the experience rather than the food, and they tend to be on the pricier side. That's okay with us, we've got lots of great restaurants at home, but not too many of them have floor-to-ceiling aquariums, are located in castles, or have the Mad Hatter and Alice available to play croquet with your kids. Literally---my son was the croquet ball.

Exactly correct.

 

[Harry]

Food and Wine for all

...

PS- Were you there during Food & Wine Festival, or did you leave before it opened?

Two years ago we were there for the festival. I loved it. There were 4 of us and we would each purchase one food and one drink from each country. Then we would all share.

 

[KforKitty]

We also thought Coral Reef was over-rated, its now 2 table-service credits on the DDP which I would say was far from worth it (I was disappointed and we'd only used 1 credit each). I ate a fair bit of fish whilst in WDW last year and I can honestly say that Coral Reef was the worst. I had the Mahi Mahi which was slimy and tasteless. If you want nice fish dishes I'd recommend the Flying Fish Cafe on the Boardwalk or even the red snapper dish at Spoodles.

If you're in Epcot anyway its not too far to get to either of these.

Kitty

 

[janej]

We also thought Coral Reef was over-rated, its now 2 table-service credits on the DDP which I would say was far from worth it (I was disappointed and we'd only used 1 credit each).
Kitty

When did Coral Reef become 2 table-service credits? We were there late August. It was still one table-service then.

 

[moonlightgraham]

2 TS Credits

Wow, if they're charging 2 TS credits for Coral Reef then LaCellier can't be far behind which is actually a much better restaurant.

 

[Carl D]

Wow, if they're charging 2 TS credits for Coral Reef then LaCellier can't be far behind which is actually a much better restaurant.

While I have never ate at Coral Reef, I have eaten a few times at Le Cellier.
The first time was long ago, when it was a buffet. It was okay, but not a must do.
The second time it was a full service restaurant, and it was mediocre at best. We opted not to return, but the masses of people were saying how great it was so we gave it another try last year.
It was one of the worst dinners we had. The tables were close together which spoiled the little atmosphere it had. The piles of screaming kids didn't help. The food quality... well, I guess technically it was classified as steak..

In short, we find Le Cellier to be one of the worst restaurants on property. Certainly to classify it as a good steakhouse would be a joke.
It's a mystery why people love it so much. It may be the most over-rated restaurant I have ever known.

 

[UWSurfer]

I have never ate at Coral Reef either, but many, many years ago I got to dive in the Living Seas exhibit. One of the fun experiences as a diver was to swim over to the windows where people were ordering and eating and try to get them to order or share their food with us...through the window.

At another window we tried to order "fish" by pointing at the fish swimming by. Ok, it was dumb...but alot of fun for both the families with kids there and the divers.

Oh, other stupid diver/kid trick. Put your hand on the glass and get a kid to match your hand with theirs, like a reflection in the mirror. Then, ever so slowly start turning your hand in one direction...going 360 degree's. Of course you can do it weightless in the water side of the glass...the 8 out of 10 kids will follow along and twist around on their heads, backs and whatever to match.

Lots of dumb fun!

 

[suzanne]

There is a place callled Fishbones on Sandlake Drive, that hubby and I really enjoyed . They have both seafood and steaks, not cheap and I would definately make a reservation a few days out. The service and food were great. We did the Coral Reef for dinner for the CP a year ago and the food was terrible. We really loved the dinner in Cinderella's Castle, the prime rib was awesome. We also like the Liberty Tree Tavern. We have tried several of the others in the parks and they were just ok. We usually prefer the offsite places and they are much cheaper.

Suzanne

 

[DanR]

Fishbones

Be carefull at Fishbones.
They cater to mostly a tourist and convention crowd and therefore don't depend on repeat business.
When I was there last, they kept a bottle of wine on the table that they suggest would to go well with the meal.
There's no mention of the price and many people won't ask about the price.
When you get the bill you find out you just had a $100+ bottle of wine.
Living in the area, I had heard about this practice so, I didn't go for the wine.
I'm not saying the wine's not worth it, but it may be more than you expect to be paying for a bottle of wine at dinner.

Also, ask about the price of any specials that they may reccommend or you may be surprised.
The food was very good but, just be carefull.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Carl, I had a strawberry shake at Primetime Cafe and really enjoyed it. The food was basically not so great "Black-eyed Pea'-type." I like Black-eyed Pea, too, but the prices were over double.

I love a restaurant near our home that cooks at your table, and it is expensive, so I don't mind paying higher prices for food, but geez, I expect high quality, if I am paying a high price.

I was looking forward to Kona Cafe. I figured it was probably the best restaurant of all we had on our list for the week. Too bad we didn't get there. I miss Hawaii!

We were there for the first few days of Food and Wine. I always stop for a piece of maple fudge at Canada, but they didn't have it this year.

Well, I also like Texas Roadhouse.. It's one of my favorites (never been to the one in Orlando), but my wife isn't overly big on it.

Anyway, from your list I can pretty much see why you weren't overly enthralled with your dinners.
The one I really like that is on your list is 50's Prime Time. They have the best PB&J milkshakes on the planet.
I really like the Cantina in front of the Mexican pavilion, but I think San Angel Inn inside the pavilion is borderline disgusting.

May I suggest next visit you try some of the resort restaurants? I think you will be MUCH happier, and in addition you get to visit the awesome resorts.

PS- Were you there during Food & Wine Festival, or did you leave before it opened?

 

[bnoble]

It's not realistic to compare Disney's in-park restaurants to the "outside world". You're a captive audience member, and that plays a big role in pricing.

 

[veenstra56]

I was looking forward to Kona Cafe. I figured it was probably the best restaurant of all we had on our list for the week. Too bad we didn't get there. I miss Hawaii!

We have eaten at many Disney restaurants (Flying Fish, Spoodles, Le Celier, etc.) and the one that we consistantly love is Kona. It is one of our favorite restaurants anywhere.