That’s a good way to look at it…
We really enjoyed Coral Reef, including DGD(7) & DGS(4). It was quiet & relaxed, food was delicious, and waiter was very attentive.
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The local 7/11 carry pizza now and it is better then Dominoes and Papa Johns combined and it is only $5
That I understand. We parents try to enlighten our kids to different foods but its not easy. I grew up in the 70 it was eat it or go hungry, I would never let my child go to bed hungry. So if it pizza she wants then its pizza we eat or at least pizza she eats.
You are right it is confusing have your family decide. If they can’t put all the restaurants in a hat three time have everyone take turns picking when one gets three picks that’s the one.
That is exactly the case. I lived in the greater NYC area, and virtually any walk-up window, large restaurant, small restaurant, whatever, had excellent pizza. I’ll say that VN holds it’s own against the best of them. But if you live “down south”, with very little Italian culture, Papa Murphy’s take and bake is sometimes the best you can find. So yes, as someone who considers himself a pretty upscale “foodie” and amateur “gourmet” chef, I frequently go to VN for pizza. It’s all relative.
Living on the Gulf Coast, I have the best shrimp in the world, so I’m not going to order it at WDW. I have an excellent teppanyaki restaurant in town, so I’m not likely to go to Teppan Edo. I can get better take-out Chinese food 4 miles from home, so I don’t eat at 9 Dragons. I have an award-winning steak house in town, so I only occasionally order steaks at WDW (and am frequently disappointed).
I LOVE German food and there are NO German restaurants anywhere near where I live, so Biergarten is a must-do for me (and it’s some of the best German food I’ve ever had that wasn’t made by my Mother or me).
As someone who lived in San Diego for many years, I consider La Hacienda to be good (and much better than I can get where I now live), San Angel Inn “OK” (but with a very good atmosphere) and the outdoor Cantina somewhere to walk past, quickly (although on a hot day, the fair frozen margaritas can really hit the spot).
I had a good friend who was Moroccan and have had my share of authentic home-cooked meals; Tangerine Cafe is actually quite good and Spice Road decent with a beautiful atmosphere. But Marrakesh, other than the apps, is very dull and lacks much in the way of flavor.
I guess the point is we all come from different locales and have had different experiences. What is common or mundane to one person is a unique dining experience to another. That’s what is so hard about making dining recommendations - especially with the diverse cuisines of WS.
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My parents are snow birds. They stay in the Keys there is a place called Boardwalk Pizza that gets there water shipped to them from family in NJ. They have the best pizza out side the Tri State. Most time I’ve had pizza out side the Tri State area I’ve been let down. I like good BBQ but I’m sure living in NJ I’ve never had it (Famous Dave’s is as good as it gets for us). I used to work for a CO. out of Dallas. They sent us all to Dallas for a convention. They fed us Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner for 4 days the closest we came to having BBQ was boiled Hot Dogs and fired Hamburgers. Boy was I upset and we could not leave the hotel. I am looking forward to Flame Tree though.
“BBQ” is a category of foods with an unlimited number of variations. About the only common elements to all BBQ is that the meat is dry-rubbed and smoked. But what goes into the dry rub, what cut of meat, what kind of wood - all make a difference. Then comes the sauce; is there any at all, it it applied during cooking or only after when it is being served, is it tomato or vinegar or mustard based, it is sweet, hot, smoky, or a combination…
Back to my relativity point, if i turn around too fast I’m liable to trip over a really good BBQ place where I live so I don’t eat at Flame Tree very often, but as I remember it it a very nice middle of the road BBQ with a tomato-based sauce (what most people think of when they think of BBQ sauce).
I have a funny Texas BBQ story… Back when I was still active duty Navy we were at a conference in San Antonio and one of the programmed luncheons was BBQ. Imagine a whole room full of Naval Officers, dressed in white from head to toe, trying to dig into a big plate of tomato-based BBQ without trashing our uniforms…
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My feeling too. The “pub” side can be a lot of fun to stop in for a pint, but I found the food in the dining room to be very blah (how do you mess up bangers and mash?). All none of the UK Liners think much of it, I really do like the fish and chips from the take-out window as a QS lunch.
Raglan Road in DS, on the other hand, is one of my all-time favorite restaurants in WDW.
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I’m willing to accept I caught them on an off-day, but I found every aspect of VN to be awful.
The pizza was poor — over-salty — the restaurant was loud to the point I couldn’t hear the server and the service was slow and inattentive.
I understand all of your observations, and as you said, you might have hit it at a bad time. I agree that it is quite noisy; it’s all tile and stucco - but I’ve never been unable to hold a casual conversation there. The food is a bit slow to come out because each pizza is made to order, but I’ve never found any fault in the service itself (and I have very little patience for bad service, anywhere). Salt is kind of a subjective thing; I tend to use a lot of salt, so I didn’t notice this; if I have a general complaint about much of the food at WDW, it’s that it tends to be under seasoned.
I think one of the biggest issues with Disney restaurants in general (except for the signatures) is unevenness. The single worst dining experience I’ve had at WDW was at the Wave (due almost entirely to abysmal service) - but many people list it as one of their favorites. Coral Reef gets a lot of bad reviews for both food and service, but every time I’ve eaten there both have been very good. La Hacienda is usually excellent, but one time I waited over an hour past my ADR time to be seated.
I think the disparity of “reviews” you see posted here (and I include myself in this) is that they are based on a single meal, and virtually any restaurant or server can have a “bad day”. When a new restaurant opens in town, if the first meal I have there is not a good experience, I always give it a second try. Some of my now favorites started off on a bad foot, but made up for it on a second visit. The problem is, when I only get to WDW once every 4 or 5 years (now), I tend to not want to “risk” a second try after a first bad experience. OK - enough of my ramblings; it’s 2:00 AM and I need to go to bed.
A good example of differing perspectives. It’s actually nearly 10AM and I need to get up.
OK, I’ll fess up.
The reservation was last minute. I made it while I was in Future World. I arrived half an hour early and they did their best to seat me straight away. Minutes after I sat down, a huge party (24 people?) were seated and my server was swamped dealing with them. I never stood a chance.
Now, I like salty food too — probably why I thought Le Cellier was fantastic. But this pizza was oversalty. And just not very good.
As I understand it, one of the criteria for a Michelin star is consistency. The inspectors don’t just visit once. This may also be why people like chain restaurants. I was a regular customer at Pizza Express in the UK for about 25 years. And every time I ordered the same meal. And what they served me was identical every time. Just how I liked it. (I don’t go any more because I don’t eat out any more. Because I don’t leave my dog on his own. Ever.)
In general I agree. I had a disappointing experience at CG last year but I would go again. A lot of the disappointment was situational. (My dining companion was in a pissy mood. We got a terrible table, etc.)
But I doubt I’ll do VN again for the same reason lots of people were “against” me going to Teppan Edo. I’ve had pizza before. Really good pizza. (I’ve never been to a hibachi restaurant before, so I’m genuinely excited to try TE.) The only reason I did VN in the first place was that I was hungry, I hadn’t booked an ADR and it had the quickest availability.
That’s what I found as well. The waiter was very snooty with us, too. The pizza crust was burnt around the edges. My daughter, who lives on pizza almost exclusively, told us that she definitely didn’t want to go back there. Maybe they were having a bad day that day, but it only takes one bad experience for me to not want to go back since there are so many other places I haven’t been to yet.
I could not agree more to this statement. We enjoyed being a Rose & Crown as the wait staff were from Scotland, but our special dietary meals were beyond bland. I ordered the gluten free fish and chips, kind of expecting similar to the gf fish and chips at Raglan Road, and I was sorely disappointed. Plain baked cod. No seasoning at all. It’s not exactly their fault that they can’t do gf fish and chips like Raglan Road, but for the money we spent there, it would have been nice to have something that, well, had a robust flavor. The service, though, was top-notch. People without dietary restrictions might not have as “meh” a meal as we did.
Raglan Road, on the other hand, is hands-down our favorite restaurant. The service was impeccable and the food was divine. It’s our new go-to place in the bubble. We’d go every day if it wasn’t so much trouble to get to.
When I asked the kids they all independently picked Teppan Edo. So I guess we will give it a go!
And now that brings me to my next query, Homecoming or Reglan Road…?!
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You need to experience Raglan Road at least once. Go during the show and ask for a table in front of the stage. Your kids will really enjoy it. There is a segment where they teach the kids to Irish Step Dance. It’s lots of fun. And the food is delicious.
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Let’s see if this works:
If the above embed doesn’t work, here is a link to a video of the kids learning to dance. DD15 is the one in the red and black checked dress.
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My poor parents tried. I sat at the table for 8 hours in a showdown over peas once. Lol.
We haven’t pushed Logan, and that’s worked for his personality. He turns 16 in a couple months and he’s really trying a lot these days!
No judgement here on any food strategies. I’m pretty sure we’ll be trying lots of new things at the booths, and we’ll want pizza at some point - why not try the highest recommended? Those ovens look pretty cool too. 
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This was my exact experience at the Wave. That and the fact that the waitress, when she did occasionally come around, was just plain rude. A relatively simple TS of a bowl of soup and an entree took over two hours.
For quiet, I would recommend Coral Reaf. We ate there on 12/30 and thoroughly enjoyed the surroundings and the meal. Teppan Edo is a favorite, however it is not quiet. Biergarten is super loud and a buffet so I wouldn’r recommend that based on your specifications. We love Le Cellier however that is kind of pricey for large groups.