Our group of three seniors ate at Citricos last week and were disappointed. The setting is lovely and the service was superior, but the food was nothing special, considering the prices. We ordered red snapper, beef filet, and Mediterranean chicken. Did we make the wrong choices, or is the food just not that good? I had the red snapper, which was a nice piece of fish on top of mud-brown “boulliabaise” base and smashed potatoes, with a glob of shaved fennel on top. Unattractive and murky. Also had the heirloom salad, which was overly fussy, too large, and had very acidic dressing.
Hmmm… I’ve always placed number 3 on my list of favorites for food (after MP and Jiko). My filet was perfectly cooked; every bit as good as CG and LC, and considerably better than the Boathouse. My wife had the spare ribs and they were delicious and fall off the bone tender. I also had the heirloom salad; “too big” is never an issue for me and I don’t remember the dressing to be overly acidic - but that might just be a matter of taste. The desserts were also excellent; my wife had the chocolate banana torte and I had the strawberry-pomegranate mousse. This was back in 2014, and chefs and kitchen staffs do change, so it may not have been as good for you.
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I have never been extremely impressed by any food at Disney. Even the lunch at Skipper’s Canteen, which is my favorite Disney restaurant, isn’t amazing, and certainly isn’t worth what they charge.
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy your experience. I set the bar very low on expectations at Disney.
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Yup.
Across the board.
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I agree that the desserts were good, but none of us thought that the entrees were anything special, and the filet was tougher than it should have been, according to my friend. I’m not expecting amazing food, just competently prepared, good quality food, and that’s not what we got. No matter where in Disney, I realize that they are serving volume food, but I thought that the food at Boma was better than Citricos.
If you live anywhere near a good restaurant scene you will find Disney dining disappointing.
This is sad to hear. I have really enjoyed Citricos the few times we have been there. We found everything outstanding. It has been a few years so maybe things have changed for the worse.
As I said, maybe we made the wrong entree choices. It does seem that Disney is cutting corners and raising prices. I don’t want to have to eat off-property, but I probably won’t book more than one Signature Restaurant next time. Maybe just Monsieur Paul or Jiko.
My vote would be Jiko. Our last visit there was even better than previous ones (which were already great).
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Personally, I judge most of Disney dinning of a “theme park” scale. There are much better restaurants in my city. However, I find Disney dinning to be better than most, if not all, other theme parks. If you go in with a mind set that your dining will be “really good” vs. home, but “Magical” vs. “Six Flags”. You’ll be happier.
Plus, I’m a fan of theme. Example - I usually stop in at T-Rex in Disney Springs for a burger, just to sit in an ice cave and watch robot dinosaurs. The burgers aren’t as great as a couple hometown eateries, but the theme makes it a regular stop that I often recommend. I can say the same for a lot of World Showcase too, but it’s fun to pretend I’m in Germany or Morocco.
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Perhaps you are right. We live in a city with an ever-improving dining scene, and are used to high standards.
My impression is that you will get a better dining experience at the Swan/Dolphin restaurants. I’ve only been to Shulas, but it is what I would expect from a nice steakhouse anywhere. They aren’t included in the DDP as far as I know, so I think they have to compete on their own as restaurants instead of getting to skate by on being Disney and maybe having Mickey come to the table.
I’m planning to take an adult trip next year, so hopefully I’ll get to try more of them, but it will also be F&W festival time, so I plan to gorge myself their and might not be hungry enough to eat a real meal. Hmmm, maybe I can do the festival stuff at lunch time and early afternoon and then eat a late dinner? That might work.
For the most part I agree with you that the food at WDW is bad, but I have had excellent meals at California Grill and Jiko and very good meals at Narcoossee’s and Grand Floridian Cafe. Have you tried any of those?
I have tried CG and the GFC, and both were fine but not spectacular. I don’t like seafood so Narcoosee’s wouldn’t be a good option. I’d like to try Jiko but it would have to be in the absence of my daughter who would not eat anything on that menu.
I like to spend money wisely, and haven’t had any really AMAZING meals at Disney that felt “worth it” for the price.
On one of our first visits, many years ago, we ate at Victoria and Albert’s, and it was divine. However, prices are prohibitive now. I was more aware of food quality this trip, because we stayed off-property and had to pay for meals as we went. We budgeted $750 for six days of meals and blew through that by the end of day 4. Granted, we each had an alcoholic beverage with dinner, but it was still sticker shock.
This is what it’s almost entirely about for me in dining almost anywhere, but especially at Disney. For example, t’s why we go back to the ScFi Dine-In every time- we love the setting and there’s a huge nostalgia factor. I’m all about the ambience.
I’ll suffer through a dry burger or limpid salad, but seat me by the doors to the kitchen and there’ll be hell to pay! 
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