Best restaurant on property if you can only splurge on one?

[TaraPA]

Another thumbs up for Jiko, was there in April & January & both were fantastic as far as food quality, preserntation & service.

 

[DerekV914]

Yeah--not thinking "authentic" when I think "El Cholo." I grew up near East L.A. I can even make my own tamales.
[/QUOTE]
My GF is Mexican. Born and raised by the LA port. I learned a long time ago not to take her to places she hasn't approved of before. Lol.

 

[jbehr12]

We have enjoyed our meals at Grand Floridian Cafe and Citricos - both in the Grand Flordian. The food at the cafe has been delicious. Would not rec. Narcoossee's; the food may have been good there but with the toddlers running around and out of control did not enjoy it. Spoke to the manager and he as much as said they they cannot ask the parents to control their children, so we replied that we can control it by not coming back. Same for Artist's Point - food was very good, but now it is Character meals and kids out of control. Flying Fish okay, but way overpriced for the quality of food. In Disney Springs we always enjoy Homecoming and Raglan Road. Raglan Road noisy with the dancing, but food is great there. Have dined at Morimoto's and enjoyed the food, but again for what they are serving, it is overpriced. In Epcot we enjoy Japan, and they just opened a new higher end restaurant. We attempted M. Paul's but the prices scared us away. Good luck.

Why would you give a restaurant manager in Disney world attitude about kids? He really can’t ask parents to control their kids, it’s Disney world - what do you expect? There’s no enforceable rules that a manager can use in a situation like that.

 

[Pixie_Dust]

So my DGF and I are making a trip in 3 weeks to Disney to meet my parents for their anniversary. I am a seasoned WDW vet, while my GF grew up in SoCal, so she knows DL like the back of her hand, but has never been to the world. We are looking for one amazing dinner, however I've noticed that the quality of the food at Disney has gone down for a while, all while the prices seem to go up. I hate paying high prices for mediocre food, and I'm not trying to be a snob, but we have eaten at multiple Michelin starred places around the world, so we have have no issue paying for high quality food. I am wondering if anyone has any recent reviews for Jiko (previous favorite), California Grill (last time was meh) or any other signature that has not disappointed lately. Are we better off taking the middle road and paying reasonable prices for good food? Or is there somewhere you can recommend that will knock our socks off? Any help is appreciated.

**for the record, we are not expecting Michelin star quality, but we also don't want to pay upwards of $50 per entree if we will be truly underwhelmed

We generally had fun at the House of Blues gospel brunch. My guidebook says Narcoosees is still a relatively hidden gem. We're going to try Tiffins on this trip.
The whole month of September is Orlando Magical Dining -- $35 prix fixe menus all over incl some Disney Springs restaurants. If you want to explore off property: A few years ago we did a lot of those. I was utterly enchanted walking the grounds of the Grand Hyatt Cypress near sunset b4 our ressie at Hemingways. So many great restaurants to choose from with magical dining -- have fun exploring the menus on their website
A step down in price from that: We also always try and bring a Darden gift card (red lobster and olive garden are in their stable) and go to Bahama Breeze. And a step down from that, I also love Cracker Barrel

 

[Pixie_Dust]

We're also looking forward to trying Homecomin on our upcoming trip.

 

[Stillcindersmella]

Bull and bear is going to be our one “babysitter dinner” on our trip this winter, it looks awesome and the reviews are great.

 

[DISNEY1975]

Just back from a 2 week vacation, eating at 22 TS restaurants. Normally I would vote San Angel Inn, as Mexican is my favorite cuisine and I always have a great experience there (this time no exception). But, have to say my favorite this time was Chefs de France. OMG..food was amazing and our waiter was A+++ . It was far better than CRT, Cali Grill, Le Cellier and Brown Derby, our signature dining meals.

 

[jbehr12]

We generally had fun at the House of Blues gospel brunch. My guidebook says Narcoosees is still a relatively hidden gem. We're going to try Tiffins on this trip.
The whole month of September is Orlando Magical Dining -- $35 prix fixe menus all over incl some Disney Springs restaurants. If you want to explore off property: A few years ago we did a lot of those. I was utterly enchanted walking the grounds of the Grand Hyatt Cypress near sunset b4 our ressie at Hemingways. So many great restaurants to choose from with magical dining -- have fun exploring the menus on their website
A step down in price from that: We also always try and bring a Darden gift card (red lobster and olive garden are in their stable) and go to Bahama Breeze. And a step down from that, I also love Cracker Barrel

Narcoossees was a gem in 1995, now it’s a time capsule.

 

[freshmanjs]

Given that there MAY be budget constraints? DW & I will list THREE options in order of quality...

1) V&A - party of two, allocate $1500 with tip. Regardless of WDW? This Fine Restaurant is rated second highest in the UNITED STATES. It is STUNNING.

2) Shula's - Best Steak, Best Lobster on property. Assume about $250, party of two.

3) California Grill - stunning view, great offerings. Assume about $180, party of two.

V&A does not cost that much unless you are spending $750 on wine. It's also nowhere close to a top-2 restaurant in the USA. It wouldn't even crack top 10 in nyc area.

 

[Dean Marino]

Deleted

 

[freshmanjs]

Have you ever actually been there?

" Victoria & Albert's is also ranked as the number 2 fine dining restaurant in the United States by TripAdvisor, behind only Daniel in New York City "

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_&_Albert's

The trip advisor traveler's choice awards is a really bad source for fine dining advice. It's like looking at the people's choice awards to see who is the best screenwriter or director.

Daniel is also not a top 10 in NYC these days...way past it's prime.

Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Le Bernardin, Eleven Madison Park, Per se, Atomix, Momofuku Ko, Brooklyn Fare are all very far superior to Victoria and Albert's. Not even close.

 

[Pixie_Dust]

Narcoossees was a gem in 1995, now it’s a time capsule.

Lol, if it's the same as back then, it's still good I had one of the best halibut dishes I've ever had there, wouldn't mind having it again. And the atmosphere was good when the rest of the restaurants had already been ruined by "hetd em in and out" dining plan disasters.

 

[Pixie_Dust]

Lol, if it's the same as back then, it's still good I had one of the best halibut dishes I've ever had there, wouldn't mind having it again. And the atmosphere was good when the rest of the restaurants had already been ruined by "hetd em in and out" dining plan disasters.

*herd

 

[ForEver2016]

Jiko, Shula’s, Flying Fish and California Grill would be my picks

 

[Disnsyncey]

We had not thought of Disney Springs, since I haven't been in a long time. I know Morimoto has amazing spots dotted between LA and NYC, but does this one hold up?

I ate there, and maybe I'm not a Japanese food expert, but it tasted like any other decent Japanese restaurant I went to.....

but if you're not going to V&A, my FAVORITE is Jiko!

 

[Dean Marino]

Deleted

 

[tinydancer312]

V & A is worth the money. I haven’t done the wine pairing because it’s just too much with all the food. With tip you’re looking at $800.

Not going that route, Jiko has been consistently amazing. Excellent service and food.

Otherwise, try for Cali a Grill Brunch. It was exceptional!

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

Yachtsman Steakhouse

 

[2102raven]

I ate there, and maybe I'm not a Japanese food expert, but it tasted like any other decent Japanese restaurant I went to.....

but if you're not going to V&A, my FAVORITE is Jiko!

it’s “pan-asian” not solely japanese

 

[freshmanjs]

Excellent. Don't go to V&A - more room for others .
DATA remains. More room for us . Your choice, we are not affected .
And you have not been to V&A, have you? .

I didn't say V&A is bad. It's very good for a theme park restaurant. Probably the best one that exists. However, the claim that it is on par with the best restaurants in the USA is laughable.

I have been to all of the restaurants mentioned in my post. Many of them this summer. How many of them have you been to? How many top 50 restaurants in the USA have you been to outside of Florida?

If you want to talk about DATA, where is V&A on any credible list of best restaurants? Any list that isn't driven by fan voting? You won't find it.