My tween has asked for a fancy dinner

[Mermando]

If you are staying at Crescent Lake and he is only 11, I would take him first to Ale & Compass if he has not been there yet. It is quite fancy and he may not know the difference between a steak there than the Yachtsman. However, if he is a fan a fine dining and only 11, you can go over menus on the app with him and let him pick. Let him pick one entree from each restaurant and then have him pick the restaurant based on the entrees selected.

All of the places mentioned in your first paragraph will have plenty of fun food available for the 7 year old. You can always get a reservation at the Flying Fish, Yachtsman and these days, even the California Grill but Toppolino's is a challenge so you may want to book that now and then change the reservation if he choses a different place when you get closer to your check in date.

Yeah, I think spouse and I will winnow down the options and then ultimately let the kids pick based on menus, etc.

 

[Mermando]

We have eaten at all of these restaurants with our kids, now 12 and 8, but as young as 3. All are just fine with 7 and 11. Caveat being we have been taking them to upscale restaurants since they were little and they behave accordingly. Our girls both have advanced pallets, similar to your kids, and all 4 of the restaurants are pretty accommodating if you request slight modifications to a dish. They enjoyed all 4, especially Topolinos and Flying Fish. Can’t recommend Cali grill anymore with the new pre-fixe menu unless you just really want the fireworks viewing. And if that were a priority for us, we’d choose Topolinos. I hear yachtsman hasn’t been up to par lately, which is disappointing as we usually stay at Boardwalk and it was incredibly convenient and top notch for us and the kids. We ate there every trip, but I think skipping this time. Citricos was just ok for us and usually lots of younger families compared to the other signatures, but am excited to try the new menu. We’re taking our kids to Takumi-Tei next month, which they are super excited to try the multi-course experience.

Whatever you choose will be amazing. My best advice with fine dining and kids is to make sure to not overdo it that day and choose an early-ish reservation. We always do no more than a half day in parks, afternoon swim/rest, and shoot for reservations around 7 or 7:30. If they were still up for it, we’d hang around for fireworks, if not we could bail. We also would try and keep a couple of small “surprises” handy for our youngest to pull out if needed. A two hour experience could be a bit much when she was younger, and a dollar store stuffed toy or workbook or something like that could save the evening. Best of luck!

We added a resort only stay to our trip and the plan is to the fancy dinner that evening. So they’ll probably be exhausted from swimming but not wrecked from a day at the parks. It’s a very different kind of tired!

My cousin recommended Takumi-Tei. She also did it with girls about your kids’ ages and had nothing but good things to say about it. It’s hard for us to commit to such a long dinner in the parks since we don’t get there often (it’s the kids’ first time!). I hope you guys have a wonderful experience there!

 

[Twilghtsprkle]

Citrico’s is a perfect choice and one of our favorites, if you like seafood Narcoossee’s is also great. We used to love California grill but we don’t love the new prix fixe menu. Toppolinos is also delicious and they have the cutest tiny vegetables with their entrees.

We had went to Citrico’s on our last trip and it’s my girls new favorite.
We must’ve had Narcoossee’s on an off day because when we went a couple of years ago our meal was just ok. We have no urge to go back.

We added a resort only stay to our trip and the plan is to the fancy dinner that evening. So they’ll probably be exhausted from swimming but not wrecked from a day at the parks. It’s a very different kind of tired!

My cousin recommended Takumi-Tei. She also did it with girls about your kids’ ages and had nothing but good things to say about it. It’s hard for us to commit to such a long dinner in the parks since we don’t get there often (it’s the kids’ first time!). I hope you guys have a wonderful experience there!

If you had a car I would suggest going offsite and to Kura sushi. Not fancy but a unique experience with conveyor belt sushi. Plus a robot brings your drinks over. That’s another place that my kids say is a new ‘go every time.’ We have plenty of good Japanese restaurants around, but no experience like that.

 

[BeachMouse1]

Jiko is one of our favorite restaurants on property and certainly appropriate for kids. On our last trip a few months ago we were at Monseuir Paul having dinner. We were surprised at how many families were there. A couple came in with 2 younger children I would say maybe a year or two younger than your two. My wife and I thought these kids aren’t going to like this meal. Well they sat thru the whole thing (I even think they were given a children’s portion but don’t hold me to that it looked like they had a smaller portion of each course or they adapted the menu) anyway we stayed chatting with the parents while watching fireworks from the restaurant. They said the kids like to try different foods a while a bit extravagant they decided to take them to Monseuir Paul because they like food and wanted to give them a whole dining experience and to be able to sit in the restaurant and watch the fireworks after dinner from the window was the topping on the cake for them. Maybe not for everyone but I wish my parents took me to something like that when I was their age. I think it’s awesome your giving them experiences like you are

 

[Mermando]

We had went to Citrico’s on our last trip and it’s my girls new favorite.
We must’ve had Narcoossee’s on an off day because when we went a couple of years ago our meal was just ok. We have no urge to go back.


If you had a car I would suggest going offsite and to Kura sushi. Not fancy but a unique experience with conveyor belt sushi. Plus a robot brings your drinks over. That’s another place that my kids say is a new ‘go every time.’ We have plenty of good Japanese restaurants around, but no experience like that.

I just looked up Kura and it turns out we have one nearby. We’ll have to try it out!

 

[Mermando]

Jiko is one of our favorite restaurants on property and certainly appropriate for kids. On our last trip a few months ago we were at Monseuir Paul having dinner. We were surprised at how many families were there. A couple came in with 2 younger children I would say maybe a year or two younger than your two. My wife and I thought these kids aren’t going to like this meal. Well they sat thru the whole thing (I even think they were given a children’s portion but don’t hold me to that it looked like they had a smaller portion of each course or they adapted the menu) anyway we stayed chatting with the parents while watching fireworks from the restaurant. They said the kids like to try different foods a while a bit extravagant they decided to take them to Monseuir Paul because they like food and wanted to give them a whole dining experience and to be able to sit in the restaurant and watch the fireworks after dinner from the window was the topping on the cake for them. Maybe not for everyone but I wish my parents took me to something like that when I was their age. I think it’s awesome your giving them experiences like you are

I never really went out to eat while I was growing up. It just wasn’t how my parents chose to splurge. My kids have been lucky to try a lot of different places because of multigenerational milestone birthdays on my husband’s side. I also credit their preschool’s provided lunches with expanding their palates.

 

[Swaggerwagon]

Do it! We took our kids to Jiko last month and it was so much fun. We never do “fancy” especially at Disney so they were completely out of their element. It was hilarious. The food was delicious. The service was great. It was the highlight of the trip!

 

[jimmymc]

Topolino's and Flying Fish would be my top 2 from your list. Flying Fish has a very seafood-heavy menu, while Topolino's has a bit more variety.

 

[erinch]

Another video for Jiko — linger in the lobby and outside and savor all the special details. I’ve seen lots of well- behaved young kings there doing their experience credit. And some not so well-behaved

 

[Polychrome]

I looooove Jiko and I think my kids would like the food there too. I’m trying to remember if the vibe would be a good fit. Kids aren’t too out of place? Citrico’s would certainly fit the bill and I don’t know why it slipped my mind (although I haven’t personally eaten there).

On our second visit to Jiko, which was only about a week later than the first one (!), there was a couple with a young child, maybe 5 yrs old at a table near ours. I was intrigued by whatever dessert they brought out for her and the parents were taking pictures of it. My husband thinks it was a 'paint your own cookie' kind of thing. If my kids were still young, I would have felt fine bringing them there.

As another poster mentioned, the hotel lobby is amazing and a great opportunity to see the animals on one of the savannas. You can also go out the door towards the pool and go towards the left of the pool area and see a different savanna area.

If you are planning dinner right after a park, you could always take a Disney bus to the resort from the park you are at and then Uber back to your hotel after dinner.

Enjoy, wherever you end up !

 

[AliceNDinah]

Shula's has the best steak on property.

My 11 year old is still raving about his Shula's visit from 2021....best steak ever, in his opinion

 

[gharter]

Our oldest (11) has asked if we can do a fancier restaurant on our WDW trip and who am I to say no to that?! He’s a fan of seafood, duck, steaks, and rack of lamb. We also have a 7 year old who will eat similar things but is less reliable in eating just anything on any given night and is squirmier. We’re staying at a Crescent Lake resort.

I’m considering California Grill and Topolino’s Terrace for food and ambience (mostly fireworks) and Yachtsman and Flying Fish for food and convenience to room.

Would any of these be inappropriate with a 7 and 11 year old? Food is still worth it? Any other to consider? Looking only at resort restaurants. We have other priorities for in-park dining. Thanks!

Either would be a good choice. Our kids went to most signature restaurants when they were younger than that and loved it. It all depends on how he handles a longer meal time. Our kids loved CG, Jiko, Tiffins, Flying Fish. And the loved Victoria and Alberts.

 

[Robber Baron]

At that age our kids loved Shula's. Felt very fancy with white tablecloth, numerous waitpeople, steak presentation.

Can't go wrong with Flying Fish either,

 

[jimim]

From that list Flying Fish and Topolino have been on POINT! Citricos was in our top 3 last trip in November also. Jiko is awesome as always. California Grill RIP for our family since they reimagined it years ago. Just won't do it again. Hate on me but just my opinion. You mention duck. Morimoto has duck. No one will share it with me in my family so I never had it but talked to a local couple next to us last trip who goes for it once a week I guess. lol It does look good. My grandmother always made me duck growing up. Narcossee's another one where you can't go wrong.

If our kids like duck I think you should give that a try. It's not a "fancy" place compared t some of the others mentioned but our meals are always good.

I think right now Topolino, Flying Fish, and Citricos are the best most consistent "fancier" places for our family.

Il Mulino is always good too. Pretty consistent.

 

[MichellT]

Don't sleep on Jiko! Approachable food for teens and a "destination" resort worth a visit/Uber/Lyft I think Shula's has the best steak but it's not very teen-ish. More adult. And a quiet vote for Brown Derby. I don't love it to the moon (just mostly the salad and cocktails, which make things interesting) but all 5 teens in our family LOVE it.

 

[Jacq7414]

When we stayed at BWI we went to Bluezoo. It was the best meal we had at Disney. So good. My 7 year old enjoyed what she had as well

 

[Flagondry]

With kids, I’d also think about the boathouse and then rising in one the car/boats after dinner

 

[BeachMouse1]

If you choose Jiko ask the waiter or host to explain the restaurant to you. The decor and layout has a story that’s interesting. Also Jiko has a pizza “bar” type area that has maybe 6 stools that is inside the restaurant not the bar outside the restaurant. At this bar is a clay oven where the chefs make the flatbreads and salads and it real interesting to sit there and they talk to you and explain what they are doing. It really enhances the experience as opposed to sitting at a table. We always sit there and often the chefs would give us a sample of what they were making LOL

 

[oceanmarina]

My vote is for Flying Fish, it was our best meal there last august

We did Yachtman pre Covid, it was a one and done for us

 

[robinb]

We brought my DD24 to California Grill when she was 7 and 11 (and other ages too) and to this day it's still her favorite. We will be going in September and I was able to snag a fireworks time for her.