Most over-rated restaurant?

[Canesfan3234]

There are many restaurants that have people that have worked there for years- Narcoossee's- I've had the same servers multiple times. I agree that every restaurant can have a bad night. Overall the food quality and selection has gone down since early 2000s. LTT is my biggest disappointment, they had the best yeast rolls. I used to love that restaurant for lunch, with the menu changes, I won't go back.

yes, you still have a few lifers, but overall the staff is constantly changing. my overall point stands that despite paying similar prices that you would at a Bern's steakhouse, you aren't getting the same consistency due to the nature of staff turnover at disney.

 

[Hannahinwonderland]

BOG for lunch was absolutely atrocious! It was so expensive and the food was terrible I enjoyed it more for dinner & we got a really nice interaction with the Beast..but for lunch it is a SOLID NO.

 

[Jasmine81]

I'd have to say Chef Mickey's. Rude staff, blah food. Don't get it.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Le Cellier. I figure people are too embarrassed to admit they just got ripped off so they convince themselves it’s a good steak house

Golden Corral has steak better

 

[SteveH]

For me any Character Meal is over rated and over priced. You're paying way to much money for a mediocre meal and 2 minutes of time with a human in a costume.

 

[SteveH]

...Golden Corral has steak better

Thank you I had to clean my monitor off after reading that. Thank you for the best laugh of the day.

 

[march2]

For me, there are 2 that come to mind: California Grill and Akershus. Grotesquely overpriced for the food served. Though the atmosphere is important, the food HAS to be there. IMO, O'Hana shouldn't be on this list. It's actually one of the best deals in all of WDW in terms of food quality and price. Great thread!

 

[Canesfan3234]

Le Cellier. I figure people are too embarrassed to admit they just got ripped off so they convince themselves it’s a good steak house

Golden Corral has steak better

Le cellier has gone down in quality for me since they changed the head chef a few years ago and got rid of the lunch menu. However, the steak is still excellent even if it is overpriced.

 

[OKW Lover]

Thank you I had to clean my monitor off after reading that. Thank you for the best laugh of the day.

Sadly, I don't think @OrangeCountyCommuter meant that to be funny. Accurate, but not humorous.

 

[Canesfan3234]

Sadly, I don't think @OrangeCountyCommuter meant that to be funny. Accurate, but not humorous.

There is nothing accurate about that statement unless you are order your steak to be cooked until burnt to a crisp, which yes, even the most premium cut of steak will taste just like what you get at Golden Corral. If that is the way you eat your steak, you should never be going to a restaurant that charges more than $15 for a steak

 

[moesy4]

guys and girls, you have to remember that this is a resort area and you aren't going to bern's steakhouse where everyone working there has been there for 10+ years and you will get the same amazing meal 99/100 times. At the restaurants being mentioned, the prices are inflated even more than most other disney dining and the staff changes frequently which makes consistency harder to maintain on a night to night basis. It stands out a whole lot more when you spend $60+ per person and have a mediocre meal. Add in that if we are on this site, we have been to these restaurants numerous times over our lifetimes. If you consider all of this, of course there are going to be meals that don't live up to expectations. Sometimes there will be some bad luck and you will go b2b bad experiences at a certain restaurant. the reality is that all of the restaurants being mentioned are among the best disney restaurants and more times then not you will go home satisfied. Yes, you can play it safe and go to one of the QS restaurants and get the same $15 burger and fries that is served all over the resort, where you won't be too upset if you get a cold burger, because it cost much less than a trip to Ohana. I'm not saying these restaurants don't have their flaws, but honestly, this thread reads like a whole bunch of nitpicking for nitpicking's sake.

But I think that's the point...we are on this board and can vet out what is consistently good or bad based on research. The vast majority of people that go to Disney don't do the research or depend on their TAs or perhaps a book or a random blogger for opinions. Places like Chef Mickeys, BOG, Ohanas, etc. have a reputation regardless of whether or not it deserves it. And their prices present themselves as a place that would at least somewhat uphold that representation. I think most people have the common sense to realize that Disney prices are inflated, but I think that when you are paying upwards of $300 or $400 for a meal for a family of 4, you aren't crazy for having expectations. I paid $30 for my meal at Chilis last week for all 5 of us combined and I still expected (and received) to be seated in a reasonable amount of time, to have the waitstaff coming in a reasonable amount of time, to have our drinks refilled, our food to be hot and edible, and for the place to be clean enough that I'm not grossed out eating there. I feel like that is a bare minimum for any food place, but should be non negotiable at the price of really any of Disney's TS restaurants. That's not nitpicking, that's expecting a bare minimum of standards for cleanliness, quality, and service to be met. Several of the restaurants on this list (and several that are not) do not meet that consistently...both here, on other forums, and on plenty of other sites.
I also don't think its unreasonable for the cost to at least somewhat match quality...again, people are willing to pay more for ambience, or entertainment, or reputation. But I certainly think it is reasonable, Disney or no, that a meal that costs $75 a person would generally be of better quality than a meal that is $15 a person, regardless of whether it is served out of a food truck or a castle.

 

[bcrook]

But I think that's the point...we are on this board and can vet out what is consistently good or bad based on research. The vast majority of people that go to Disney don't do the research or depend on their TAs or perhaps a book or a random blogger for opinions. Places like Chef Mickeys, BOG, Ohanas, etc. have a reputation regardless of whether or not it deserves it. And their prices present themselves as a place that would at least somewhat uphold that representation. I think most people have the common sense to realize that Disney prices are inflated, but I think that when you are paying upwards of $300 or $400 for a meal for a family of 4, you aren't crazy for having expectations. I paid $30 for my meal at Chilis last week for all 5 of us combined and I still expected (and received) to be seated in a reasonable amount of time, to have the waitstaff coming in a reasonable amount of time, to have our drinks refilled, our food to be hot and edible, and for the place to be clean enough that I'm not grossed out eating there. I feel like that is a bare minimum for any food place, but should be non negotiable at the price of really any of Disney's TS restaurants. That's not nitpicking, that's expecting a bare minimum of standards for cleanliness, quality, and service to be met. Several of the restaurants on this list (and several that are not) do not meet that consistently...both here, on other forums, and on plenty of other sites.
I also don't think its unreasonable for the cost to at least somewhat match quality...again, people are willing to pay more for ambience, or entertainment, or reputation. But I certainly think it is reasonable, Disney or no, that a meal that costs $75 a person would generally be of better quality than a meal that is $15 a person, regardless of whether it is served out of a food truck or a castle.

Reasonable expectation.

 

[Canesfan3234]

I think most people have the common sense to realize that Disney prices are inflated, but I think that when you are paying upwards of $300 or $400 for a meal for a family of 4, you aren't crazy for having expectations. I paid $30 for my meal at Chilis last week for all 5 of us combined and I still expected (and received) to be seated in a reasonable amount of time, to have the waitstaff coming in a reasonable amount of time, to have our drinks refilled, our food to be hot and edible, and for the place to be clean enough that I'm not grossed out eating there. I feel like that is a bare minimum for any food place, but should be non negotiable at the price of really any of Disney's TS restaurants. That's not nitpicking, that's expecting a bare minimum of standards for cleanliness, quality, and service to be met. Several of the restaurants on this list (and several that are not) do not meet that consistently...both here, on other forums, and on plenty of other sites.

I couldn't disagree more with you here. You state those bare minimums yet 99% of the complaints are about things like long waits to be seated even with an ADR(whch guess what, it's disney, you are going to be spending a lot of time waiting), the food coming too fast at ohana, or the food at restaurant X not being as good as the last time they were there. There have been very few complaints about cleanliness or really any of the things you mentioned in your bare minimums. This thread also isn't vetting out what restaurants are consistently good or bad. It's only asking for the bad. For the reasons I already mentioned there are going to be negative experiences among a group of people who eat at these restaurants exponentially more than 99% of people who go to Disney.

 

[starwart]

O’hana to me is the most over rated restaurant. It’s like paying for a brand new Mini Cooper but you received a Yugo instead.

 

[Squirlz]

Our experience at Via Napoli was not good at all. To start with, our server literally did not know what the word 'cocktail' meant. Apparently the only drinks they serve are the ones on the menu, sweet fruity drinks with a hint of alcohol.

Our pizzas were soaked in burnt, rancid oil. Not good at all.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Our experience at Via Napoli was not good at all. To start with, our server literally did not know what the word 'cocktail' meant. Apparently the only drinks they serve are the ones on the menu, sweet fruity drinks with a hint of alcohol.

Our pizzas were soaked in burnt, rancid oil. Not good at all.

I've had a Campari and soda and the man, a vodka martini at Via Napoli; they were fine:dunno:.

What type of pizza did you have? I always opt for a margherita but know they have many pies with lots of toppings.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Ohana dinner. Hands down.

 

[DisBuckMan]

O’hana to me is the most over rated restaurant. It’s like paying for a brand new Mini Cooper but you received a Yugo instead.

I've always kinda viewed 'Ohana dinner as a very overpriced Chinese joint....except the food isn't as good as our local joint we pay $8.99 for.

 

[moesy4]

I couldn't disagree more with you here. You state those bare minimums yet 99% of the complaints are about things like long waits to be seated even with an ADR(whch guess what, it's disney, you are going to be spending a lot of time waiting), the food coming too fast at ohana, or the food at restaurant X not being as good as the last time they were there. There have been very few complaints about cleanliness or really any of the things you mentioned in your bare minimums. This thread also isn't vetting out what restaurants are consistently good or bad. It's only asking for the bad. For the reasons I already mentioned there are going to be negative experiences among a group of people who eat at these restaurants exponentially more than 99% of people who go to Disney.

Actually, I have heard of cleanliness issues at several restaurants, Chef Mickeys being the most obvious one. Someone on this thread also mentioned disgusting bathrooms at CRT.
Of course there is plenty of waiting at Disney, saying that you should be ok waiting 90 minutes to be seated when you have a reservation because there is waiting at Disney in general is like saying it's ok for a phone company to tack on a random $20 charge on your bill because you already know your going to be paying them a lot of money. Sure, 10-20 minutes while they are waiting for a table is clear is perfectly acceptable, but there are multiple times I have heard of people waiting 45 minutes for an ADR to come into a half empty restaurant. If Disney isn't ok with patrons showing up 90 minutes late, then the reverse should certainly be ok.
As a former waitress, things like bringing your food in the correct order (appetizer and/or salad, entree, then dessert) is pretty much the basics when it comes to service. I can remember only 2 or 3 times when I misread how slow the salads were being prepped or how fast the entrees were coming out and they arrived at the same time or even the salad after the entree. In each of those situations, I got reprimanded by my boss (who usually comped the salads as an apology) and usually, a lower tip. And this is at a place where the average entree is $15. Again, basic standards.
There are plenty of threads that ask for recommendations for the best...it is very easy to find them. I don't think it's unacceptable to have an easy reference thread about which ones to avoid. We were wavering between two signatures on our trip and there are enough bad reviews of CG here and other places that it helped us make our decision. What is wrong about that?

 

[Canesfan3234]

saying that you should be ok waiting 90 minutes to be seated when you have a reservation because there is waiting at Disney in general is like saying it's ok for a phone company to tack on a random $20 charge on your bill because you already know your going to be paying them a lot of money.

Where did I say it is ok to wait 90 minutes? At the same time, if you got an 8:30 reservation at Ohana and you show up at 8:29, you should know that you are going to be waiting a bit because pretty much everyone else with an 8:30 reservation checked in before you and will be seated first, plus tables are going to wait until after the 9:00 fireworks to finally get up and leave.

things like bringing your food in the correct order (appetizer and/or salad, entree, then dessert) is pretty much the basics when it comes to service.

this isn't a common complaint at pretty much any disney TS restaurant. Yes, just like you the occasional mistake is made by a server and food comes out of order, but it certainly is not a common occurrence.

I don't think it's unacceptable to have an easy reference thread about which ones to avoid.

this is the part I am taking exception to. This thread isn't serving the purpose to help people going to disney avoid bad restaurants. It's only purpose is to document bad experiences at the most popular TS restaurants. It gives a tainted sample of the average experience most people have at these restaurants.


Overall, I'm not trying to argue that Disney is perfect or should be given a free pass when it makes a mistake. If you had a bad experience at a restaurant, you should absolutely say something to management. You pay a premium at Disney and deserve premium service for that cost. But at the same time, I feel this thread is misguided. I am seeing a lot of posts where there are issues that can easily be attributed to a one time bad experience that can be addressed by a conversation with a manager. You stack them together in a thread dedicated to determining which top end TS restaurant is the most overrated and all of a sudden it seems like every top end TS restaurant in WDW should be avoided. Like I said earlier, because of the nature of disney staffing, there are absolutely inconsistencies that you wouldn't encounter nearly as often at similarly priced restaurants off property, but that isn't really the discussion being had.