Is Coral Reef any better these days?

wvasweetness

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jun 15, 2010
When we first started visiting WDW, it was one of our favorite places. Then we had several not so great experiences there (poor food quality, prep, seasoning) so we haven't been back since 2013 or 14. Is it any better these days?
 
Coral Reef is still the "same". I've gone 3 times between 2016-2018 as well as quite a few times between 2005-2014. It's one of my favorite restaurants in Disney but I understand people's food quality concerns. To me, all the times I've went, they've been "consistent" more or less. I'm ok with their dining experience, in terms of the food, others aren't and that's ok. It's not fine dining and I doubt it ever will be.

It's essentially chain-style food and sometimes hit or miss. I think they are way better than Red Lobster, at least. I've had the mahi mahi a bunch of times as my main dish and it has seriously never disappointed. Other apps have been more hit or miss, sometimes excellent, sometimes more average.

It's not the type of place I see doing anything dramatic to ever really change, to be honest. They know they bring people in because of the atmosphere and ambiance. I think people tend to expect too much from some of Disney's eateries because of the price, to be honest. Every place in Disney is some version of expensive but you don't always get the food quality for the price you pay.

Basically, if you thought they were "mediocre" back in 2013 or 2014, you will likely think the same now or maybe even worse.
 
We ate there for the first time back in May. I thought the food was excellent for WDW/Epcot standards - I was impressed with the quality and preparation. I appreciate a place at WDW where I can get a good/plain/simple piece of fish.

The decor of the restaurant felt old/dated to me.

Service was mediocre to poor (it seemed all of our server’s tables were seated at the exact same time and he just couldn’t keep up).

Probably wouldn’t be our first choice of Epcot restaurants as we like other places better, but we’d go back because of the food.

Like anything, YMMV.
 
We went in 2018 and 2019. Both times both of our meals and desserts were excellent. In 2018 the service was also excellent, in 2019 the service was not great (took forever to get our final desserts/bill) but I would 100% go here again on our next trip :)
 


It has been hit or miss for us until December 2019. Then it was terrible. I am not giving it any more chances. I know restaurants have off days, so as long as the food was decent and the service good, we were satisfied, DEcemebr there was 8 of us for the Candlelight Package, so a really expensive night for a terrible dinner service from start to finish.
 
Agree w PP! Hit or miss for years, but in Nov 2017 we all had fabulous meals, great desserts, and a good server. So, we went back Dec 2018 and it was just bad; the wait, the food, service, etc was not good.
We will take a few years off a maybe try again, though with so many offerings in Epcot it’s diffucult to go back to where you’ve been disappointed.
Enjoy your trip! 😊
 
It's one of my husband's favorites, so we booked lunch a few days ago. We actually booked it while waiting at the bus stop to go to Epcot. We didn't wait long for our table, had a very nice waitress, and enjoyed our food. I had shrimp and grits and that was very good. I was a bit hesitant to book it because I didn't enjoy dinner there two years ago. I think that was more because of the entree I chose, and our server was just "meh" - not bad but not friendly either.
 


We had great food and OK service in August of 2018. We had avoided it for years because of the poor reviews and I was surprised at how good the food was. What made the experience magical was seating right up against the aquarium glass... I didn't care how long the meal took because of the show. We will likely book again on our upcoming late August / early Sept trip.
 
We went once in 2010 and once in 2017 and it was deeply disappointing both times, mostly due to the quality of the food. Given all of the excellent World Showcase restaurants we will not be returning to Coral Reef anytime soon.
 
Maybe I'm in the minority but my family has always enjoyed Coral Reef. We have an ADR there for our next trip.
 
Eaten there many times and never had a bad experience! It does have a somewhat limited menu these days so I always tell people to check out the menu first to make sure there is something that appeals to everyone in your party.

P.S. I like your avatar :)
 
We have eaten there numerous times and really enjoy it. We have had a couple of just so-so meals, just off days, but the majority of the time it is great.
 
Eating fish while watching fish swim around is totally creepy. Next they should add a steakhouse where you look out the window and see cows walking around. Or breakfast place with pigs outside.
 
Still the same. The aquarium is the real attraction.
If you're used to Red Lobster you'll probably love it.
If you're used to real local seafood some place that is known for it like San Francisco, you'll probably turn your nose up at it.
Try ordering something local. Snow Crab, uh not so much.
 
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Food is okay, but I think it needs a big update inside....is it the same from the 80's? The atmosphere might improve if they update it. I don't think it gets a lot traffic, so Disney probably isn't too concerned about updating it anytime soon.
 
The 3 of us ate lunch yesterday at CR. When I booked the adr a couple of months ago, I had some buyer’s remorse after reading some of the reviews. But I’m totally glad that I kept it, as we had a great lunch and experience!

Our server, Daniela, was very funny and offered her favorite selections. She also gave us lots of info on the aquarium, tours, McBride the sea turtle, etc. She shared some personal anecdotes on being a cast member and remained attentive throughout our meal.

Dh had the swordfish, I had shrimp and grits, and dd8 ordered her requisite pasta. All entrees, starters, and drinks were nicely prepared and delicious. Maybe a little overpriced, but I keep I in mind that im eating at a theme park and want to be there to check out vast array of active animals in the aquarium.
Will return during next visit!
 
It'd say it is very okay. We've gone twice on some trips over the past year. By comparison we often dine at Flying Fish, Yachtsman, as well as the likes of Takumi Tei and V&A. Overall we tend to eat very well while we're there. Coral reef for us is often a lunch time meal or a more casual dinner. The view is of course nice for the kids. Some of the dishes are much better than others, nothing is anything I'd write home about, but overall the quality is predictably okay.
 

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