Florida Guide > Dining
Disney’s best restaurants
When you start with a title like that you just know that someone else will have another view. Mine is based 30 years of visits to Disney and many meals in most of their restaurants. I have tried to pick out 6 different styles where hopefully none will disappoint.
Victoria and Albert’s in Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort is fine dining with virtually flawless service in a sophisticated setting. The restaurant has an AAA Five-Diamond award and you are served a seven-course meal on Royal Doulton china and lead crystal. If you want an even more special evening then you should try to book the 6-person chef’s table. This is in a candle-lit alcove in the kitchen and offers a unique view of Disney Top rated restaurant kitchen.
The California Grill on the top floor of the Contemporary Resort offers an unbeatable view of the Magic Kingdom and the Seven Seas Lagoon along with fantastic views of the Wishes firework display. New style American Cuisine is the order of the day with some really special desserts and it offers a well rounded California wine list.
The window seats are always the best to have as you can sit and watch the fireworks as the light are dimmed. However many people go out onto an adjoining observation platform and the staff will warm your meal when you return.
Bistro de Paris at Epcot is a charming Belle Époque dining room but its location means that it is best enjoyed in the evening. It is decorated with gilded mirrors, crimson banquettes and the white draped windows overlook the Lagoon. The servers, all from France, bring out a wide range of dishes prepared with the freshest ingredients.
My own favourite after dinner is to have some crepes flamed at the table and then having lots of coffee while watching the Illuminations fireworks.
At the Animal Kingdom Lodge the premier dining room is the called Jiko, here you are greeted by floor to ceiling windows that look out on to a recreation of a boulder-strewn creek. The show piece is a pair of clay ovens which are a highlight of the open kitchen. Here they produce a wide range of meals prepared with what Disney hope will be true African style. This theme is followed through on to the wine list which is totally from South Africa. If they still have the dark chocolate filled beggar's purses on the dessert menu then try to get one of your party to try them.
Artist Point is located in the Wilderness Lodge and is a two story Pacific Northwest restaurant. It has murals of the area and windows which overlook waterfalls, rocky landscaping and the resort's erupting geyser. The decoration style is like a national park lodge with iron chandeliers hang from the ceilings. The tables and furnishings are made of exposed wood and are full of animal carvings. The menu is very seasonal and has grilled buffalo sirloin, pan-seared tuna and some wonderful salmon. There is an outside terrace seating for when the weather is suitable but we have not tried it. There is quiet a wide wine list and it is now exclusively from the Pacific Northwest.
The Flying Fish at Disney’s Boardwalk offers top range and unusual seafood specialties. It is often difficult to talk about particular items on a menu as Disney do make changes by the season and update items on a regular basis. Wrapped Florida Red Snapper was one meal that I enjoyed and if it is still available it will not disappoint.
The restaurant has a decoration style which at first viewing causes you to take a second look, as it has flying fish mobiles, sea blue mosaic floors, and burnished orange fish scale pillars. In 2003 the Wine Spectator gave it a Restaurant Award as its list is truly international and offers such a good range. Disney does seem to have a thing about desserts and here again make sure you don't eat to much bread so that you can still enjoy this last item.
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