You’re going latter part of June? We’ll be there first half and I just realized our dining schedule did wind up pretty sushi heavy. Last minute research for you!
6/2 Cowfish (Trip Advisor has it as #6 sushi in Orlando)
6/3 Date night at Morimoto’s for DH birthday (just the 2 of us so we can do chef’s selection sushi)
6/6 Seito Sushi (Trip Advisor has it as #2 sushi in Orlando)
6/12 Teppan Edo (we might drop this one though if we get saturated since it will be Day 10 at WDW parks)
6/13 Dim sum at Morimoto with the family
Plus a couple other places with sushi options.
(We loved Kimonos last year but are intentionally skipping it because it was one of those perfect nights we don’t want to try to replicate and be disappointed if there is any Covid weirdness. We’ll definitely be back when things normalize. Trip Advisor has it as #4 for Sushi in Orlando.)
I’m a huge fan of Trip Advisor, but it does take some reading-between-the-lines. The place Trip Advisor has as #1 for sushi has too many reviews that all mention some staff member by name and many of the reviewers have posted very few reviews. And management responds to every review. So they are obviously actively cultivating positive reviews.
And sometimes highly rated restaurants are Chili’s and Applebee’s and not that you can’t get a decent meal at those places but come on with the #5 in the whole city.
Look at the 5 stars! It’s not just me, I swear! We lived up the road when it was brand new and moved a couple of years later so I’m not sure how the quality held up in the past 8 years.
So it’s basically good, solid standard hibachi? Maybe I’ll swap that one out. We may just decide to graze F&G all day instead anyway. (We’ll make a judgment call the day before and I figured that reservation would be expendable. It’s one we’ve always been interested in trying but it’s never made the cut.). We already have another day scheduled for grazing F&G and WS QS all day.
But if we do decide we want a sit down meal, what are everyone’s favorite TS at Epcot that are open with a somewhat normal menu? We already have Le Cellier on the agenda.
We are intentionally skipping Biergarten due to Covid weirdness (too expensive per head for 7 people with current format if we have already grazed F&G for lunch since we will probably will want to split entrees).
Coral Reef used to be a “must do” for us until Landry’s opened 2 Aquarium Restaurants near us which are a similar experience, and it looks like their Covid menu is way pared way down anyway.
Another option would be to pencil in Spice Road Table since there are no reservations taken there right now. We had an outstanding pre-Covid meal there during the fireworks last year, but they’ve really pared down their menu and no fireworks so we know it won’t be the full experience.
Kona Cafe at the Polynesian also has a decent amount of sushi options and was pretty good. We had a sushi appetizer that was very good - on par with California Grill for what we had at each. Another option to consider, at least once Kona Cafe reopens…
We are eating at Biergarten, Tutto Italia, Teppan Edo, Le Cellier and Rose & Crown and I’d report back but we’re there at the same time soooooo
Pre-covid I enjoyed both Mexican restaurants and thought the negative reviews were too harsh for both. I did not like Coral Reef so much on my last visit. It was like a red lobster to me and just meh. I have always loved Garden Grill but I think that’s honestly the ambience. Chefs de France I just remember being ok and I don’t have a strong inclination to go back but we eat at Teppan Edo almost every visit and I think it is a notch above the other food in the world imho.
Yes. Good food, but no different than what I can get within a 20 minutes drive at home. I think you have a good plan. I’ve done the same thing at Epcot. Book a TS in advance and then decide the day before whether to do the TS or graze.
We really enjoy the food at La Hacienda de San Angel. I wouldn’t call it a must do, but it is our favorite of the Epcot TS.
I’m of similar opinion. If anything, I felt I could get better up the street at home. Granted, I could have just been on an off day, but it’s something I wasn’t looking forward to doing again when there’s so many other options.
I am a tekka maki fan… or even tekka maki with some cucumber and/or avocado. Looks like the only place that would have anything close to that is Kimonos …which may be too out of the way for us to visit.
Any sushi place that isn’t using strictly prepackaged stuff will make you a tuna roll - plain or with cukes and/or avocado - just have to ask. Even if you don’t see it on a menu. If you’d like to try Kimonos, it’s super simple to get to if you are in Epcot’s World Showcase or at the entrance of Hollyweird. Friendship Boats or walking path. It’s simple to get to, but if you’re not in the area or tight on time, that’s a different story.
I’m just browsing this post and saw this. I looked up the dim sum for Morimoto and was floored by the price. They better be made with a special pork, live shrimp, and other high quality ingredients! $14/4 pieces is more than 2 times more than the best steamed pork dim sum dishes in the SF Bay Area. I know that is Disney prices but I would have a hard time swallowing a couple bites of pork dumpling that cost $3.50 each! Nevermind that I willing pay for CA Grill, Boathouse, etc.
IKR? Houston has an extremely authentic, decent sized Chinatown so I totally get what you’re saying. (It is a bit more pan-Asian than strictly Chinese though.)
But. This is celebrity Disney dim sum.
We thought it would be a tad easier on the pocketbook to take the fam there from dim sum than sushi anyway! (Just DH and I did the sushi as a date night on his bday.)
My dad worked for a Japanese company for close to 20 years when I was growing up. He LOVED the culture and the food (and was thrilled when they sent him to Japan on business, probably one of his favorite trips ever) and exposed us to a lot more than most of my peers of that time period. Not many kids back in the early 80’s had wasabi in their fridge as one of the regularly used condiments!
Dad had a favorite Japanese restaurant in midtown Manhattan that he went to for lunch, often. So often that his appetizer and drink were sitting on the sushi bar by the time he made his way from the door to his chair…and they greeted him by name. He was usually the only Irish-Catholic Caucasian in the entire place.
While dad loved almost all varieties of sushi (Uni was his favorite), I unfortunately am not as adventurous as he was and still like the simple tuna roll. We have definite plans for California Grill and maybe Morimoto if we venture to DS.
I am making lists and will have to make a lot of decisions!
Note: Our tiny suburban town outside Philly has a semi-new restaurant that is owned by a former Morimoto (San Diego) chef. I am spoiled because the food is amazing, we can walk there, and an order of tekka maki is only $6!
for you! 
