Am I the only one who thinks Raglan Road is overrated?

[Louis morrell]

Nope!

my experience

https://www.disboards.com/threads/raglan-road-my-experience.3788061/#post-61467780

 

[Selket]

This is the only restaurant to ever serve my pn/tn allergic child an actual item with nuts after saying it was nut free, then being shown the nut (almond) trying to tell me it was a large "oat" - then finally admitting it was an almond - then basically hiding away the rest of the meal and not coming back to talk to me. I did complain at the time and also via letter/email when I got home - they could not have cared less. I posted about it here at the time and others posted back with similar experiences including one child taken to the hospital with an anaphylactic reaction.

To this day every time I pass by there it still annoys me. I don't know who operates that restaurant but the company has zero integrity. I don't recommend eating there with allergies or sensitivities despite what they tell you - I just would never trust them.

 

[sdk1231]

I visited Disney Springs during my Oct 1 50th Anniv trip. I was there at lunchtime, and happened to find a noon reservation for 2. Just myself and my daughter. I'd never been to Raglan Road, and knew very little about it. We were seated promptly at a high top (we were asked if we were okay with that, which we were). We had a great view of the stage entertainment (Irish band and dancers), which we found highly entertaining and quite good. We shared the rib appetizer (a full rack of ribs) and a side of mashed potatoes. The service was excellent and the food was served promptly and was delicious. We enjoyed our impromptu lunch visit. It's not a place I'd go for dinner, personally.

 

[rdaky]

It's really overpriced. If I want fish and chips when we're at Disney Springs we just go to Cookes of Dublin because it's cheaper and we can just pick a table outside.

 

[shh]

It was a one and done for us. Food was bad and, like you, we were seated at a corner table with a terrible view of the entertainment. That said, we do enjoy the outdoor area - the appetizers, drinks, and entertainment on the patio have always been great.

I think the outside patio area is beautiful during winter - we reserved a table there and weren't disappointed. They have great live entertainment out there too, but it's lower key - not as loud - not to mention the great DS people watching. It's too stuffy and WAY too noisy for me inside between kids screaming and the irish clogging....but then again, I'm not into that type of entertainment anyway.

 

[bookgirl]

The entertainment is better than the food (it's good but not great). The music is nice, but I've seen some dancing in a few reviews (not sure it's full dancing but maybe just along with music)? That might be annoying, but I liked the music when I was there and it wasn't overly loud, so you could still talk at the table.

 

[clm10308]

I haven’t been in several years, it it has always been one of our favorites. I don’t know that I would make any determination about a particular restaurant right now due to all the staffing and supply issues everywhere.

 

[Nagle]

Not at all. I believe ALL Disney restaurants are over rated and overpriced.

 

[Threehearts]

I have eaten there solo and with my family probably 4 times, the last being this year. In my opinion, the food has gone from just okay to abysmal. We will not return and only did because I thought surely we must have previously hit the restaurant on an off days.

The dancers were very skilled the one time we were able to see them so I would definitely recommend the restaurant if Irish dancing is an interest of you and your family.

 

[TreAntDeu]

I dont particularly think the food is great or bad. But its so loud and packed.

However, sitting at the bar inside mid afternoon with a bread pudding(favorite bread puffing I've ever had is here) isnt so bad. But that is all I ever do here anymore

 

[ncc1701]

We ate there 4 years ago and were underwhelmed. I thought the Fish & Chips at Cooke's and Rose &Crown were better. DH preferred his Shepard's Pie at Rose &Crown. We went for dinner around 7ish. but if we try it again it would be at lunch or an early dinner . Not really interested in the Entertainment so where we were seated din't matter.

 

[Scubadaddy32]

We've had nothing but good meals there, but we don't eat the stereotypical British food either. We've had just about everything on the menu but Shepard's Pie, Fish and Chips and Bangers. LOL A grease filled tempura battered piece of fish is not my idea of a good meal anywhere, much less WDW. LOL
You should always ask for a different table if you can't see the show, that's a huge part of the experience. I have no issues asking for a better table no matter where I go and as long as you approach the situation with respect it tends to not be an issue.

 

[KeepCalmAndCarryOn]

We go almost every trip. It's literally one of our very favorite restaurants. If you tell them when you check in that you want to sit near the entertainment, they'll sit you in there. Even with a group of 15 last time, it was only an extra 15 minute wait to sit right in the middle of the action. Everything I've ever eaten there is outstanding. I can see how every restaurant is hit or miss. We've just never had a miss there

We've had the opposite happen the two times we've gone in the past four years! We went the first time with three toddlers, the second time a year later (kids were going on 3 and 4 years old); and these are kids who LOVE to dance, watch dance, be in the thick of it! We put a note on our reservation to be able to see the stage, mentioned again when we checked in; both times backroom far away from the stage. Most expensive meal I didn't get to eat as we spent the entire time shuffling around the main room trying to allow the kids to see the show. We actually thought they might have an age policy we didn't know about for the main space!

 

[KeepCalmAndCarryOn]

I've been wanting to try Raglan Road at Disney Springs for years, and finally had the opportunity last Saturday. We were staying off-site doing a Universal-only trip, but spent Saturday evening at Disney Springs. I had an 8:30 reservation.

We were sat around 8:45, and put in a dark corner of the restaurant near the exit door, with no visibility of the entertainment or dancers. Disappointing, but someone has to sit there and it wasn't worth us asking for a different table. I ordered the fish and chips and DH ordered the bangers and mash. For me, fish and chips is pretty hard to screw up but it was... gross? It was one long fish fry (not pieces like at Universal or Rose & Crown) and the batter was very hard, and fish was dry. It seemed overcooked. Fries were soggy and undercooked. The batter from the fish gave me indigestion later on as well. DH thought the bangers and mash was decent, but prefers at Rose & Crown. We also didn't care much for the bread service in the beginning, but that's just personal preference. We did have drinks at the Hole in the Wall bar around the corner which we enjoyed, but the poor bartender was the only one on and he was hustling.

I don't know... maybe my expectations were too high? Maybe it wasn't best to try them for the first time during such a busy evening? Anyone else kind of like "meh" over this restaurant too?

We won't be back, and that's ok! We have a great Irish pub style restaurant here in good old Portland, so in terms for meeting a food need, we can do better locally. BUT my disappointment was in our own excitement of bringing our toddlers to see the dancing and live music. We were jazzed thinking that we would be able to actually enjoy a meal while the kids sat entranced watching the fun! We made a request, followed up at check-in and still ended up in the back. We tried again the following year, even commenting about how sad we were to not be able to see the show but we really wanted to try and have that experience; still ended up in the back. And at that point we had waited a while for our reservation and waiting any additional time would have put the kiddos over the edge. I can't really comment on the food since I spent the entire time out front watching the show while the meals were ordered, served and then got cold. I actually assumed they must have some sort of age requirement where littles under a certain age are popped out back.
We addressed it at the time, as there was a table in the front that would have sat our party open until the last ten minutes of our stay...

Not a big deal, but definitely won't return and it was a bummer because the kids LOVED the show.

(As an aside, same thing happened to us at Coral Reef - we were in THE BACK row and the kids just wanted to be next to the fish. We are booking Space 220 on our next trip and I am going to beg, plead and make offerings to the Disney seating big wigs to hopefully not end up in the one corner with limited viewing. Can totally ruin a dining experience when the view or the show is the big draw and you miss it...)

 

[TiggerTrigger]

While it's a fun meal, we don't think there's anything special about the food. My parents had been a number of times with their friends, so I figured they didn't share our feelings. It turns out, their friends love it, but they've just agreed to meals there for the company and find the food to be meh as well.

 

[beebee2786]

We love it. It has become a tradition to eat there after we arrive. My son took Irish dancing lessons and the last time we went in 2019 he got to go up and dance! He was really shy until everyone started cheering for him and got really into it. We love the food but it is the kind of food I grew up with (my paternal side--grandmother was Irish and my grandfather was Scottish). It's always a hit with our family.

 

[nkereina]

Thanks for all the replies. I totally get that its subjective... all restaurant reviews are. They may have even just had an off night with us, and that's fine too. I was just disappointed with the experience after all the hype I see this place get. Its often recommended. Thought it would be an interesting discussion here, and it has been! Thanks!

 

[DisneyDadWV]

We've been there one time on our visit last year, and everyone in our family thought it was excellent. Maybe you just had an off night as most restaurants do once in a while. We plan to go back on our upcoming trip. I also got the fish and chips, and mine was very good. I upgraded to the parmesan garlic fries....they were amazing.

 

[Hubie]

We go there usually the first night every time we visit. Personally, I love the fish & chips with a flight. The entertainment is loud but that's part of the fun of being there.

 

[LiteBrite]

This is the only restaurant to ever serve my pn/tn allergic child an actual item with nuts after saying it was nut free, then being shown the nut (almond) trying to tell me it was a large "oat" - then finally admitting it was an almond - then basically hiding away the rest of the meal and not coming back to talk to me. I did complain at the time and also via letter/email when I got home - they could not have cared less. I posted about it here at the time and others posted back with similar experiences including one child taken to the hospital with an anaphylactic reaction.

To this day every time I pass by there it still annoys me. I don't know who operates that restaurant but the company has zero integrity. I don't recommend eating there with allergies or sensitivities despite what they tell you - I just would never trust them.

I am so sorry to hear this! Raglan Road has been a favorite of ours for years. Hubby and I are both gluten intolerant (being cross contaminated will not send us to the hospital, but it will make us miserable and has the potential to ruin several days of our vacation).

We have never been glutened at RR, and our experience has been that the staff is very knowledgeable and careful, so it's really distressing to hear about your experience! I don't blame you for not wanting to ever go back.