REVIEW: Don’t Be Surprised To Find Us at This Disney World Restaurant Again and Again

Sometimes, heading out of the parks and straight to the resorts offers the best dining experience around. While we love Mickey pretzels, ice cream bars, and mini corn dogs, for some fancier meals, we hop on the monorail and try the hotels.

We went to Narcoossee’s at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort to see if it was as great as we remembered. Get ready for a fine dining experience at one of Disney World’s fanciest hotels, because we’re taking you with us.

Background

Located in the Grand Floridian Resort, this is a Signature Dining restaurant (aka Disney’s way of saying fine dining) and focuses on coastal cuisine. It’s typically open seven days a week from 5 PM to 9:30 PM for dinner. Prices range from $35 to $60 per adult and have a dress code where clothes should be “clean, neat, and in good condition,” with no swimwear.

You can make an advanced dining reservation on the Disney World website or app, but same-day reservations may be available. If you’re not staying at the resort, you can take the monorail straight to the hotel.

Atmosphere

Nacroossee’s is located on the water, with stunning views of the Magic Kingdom fireworks. While the music is played through speakers, there is a bit of a restricted view since you’re at an angle, but it’s a nice way to catch the fireworks without having to deal with the crowds or having a ticket to Magic Kingdom. There’s a beautiful atmosphere, and we love to come here for celebrations or a special date.

Food & Drinks

We started with the Chilled Poached Colossal Shrimp for $25, which features local citrus salad, signature cocktail sauce, and remoulade.

This appetizer comes with four massive shrimp that truly felt colossal. They are very meaty and were well cooked and well prepared. They were deveined and shelled with the tails on, and while we appreciate that from a presentation standpoint, it can be quite a bit more work to eat them. The cocktail sauce was good, with a nice tomato flavor, but didn’t have enough of a kick at the end for us, though it was great for those who like theirs a little milder. The citrus vinaigrette was distinctive and added great acidity, but was also on the mild side.

We also had the Hearts of Romain for a salad option, which was $16 and had parmesan-meyer lemon crumble, watercress, cured egg yolk, and fried caper vinaigrette.

This salad came with some highs and lows. The romaine was well prepared and wasn’t wilted or overly stiff. The dressing was perfectly balanced, and there was a great coating over the salad. The fried caper vinaigrette was such a unique concept and was zingy, creamy, and light. The parmesan lemon crumble was fairly overwhelming and, at times, felt like taking a bite of sand. We wish it were served on the side, or there was less, but it was still a solid choice.

 

For our entrees, we had the Korean BBQ Glazed Salmon for $49, featuring lemon grass sticky rice, dragon carrot tahini, and Napa cabbage slaw.

The salmon was buttery with a nice crunchy skin. The carrot tahini tasted similar to a sweet potato puree, which helped to balance the fermented flavor profile of the cabbage slaw, which reminded us of kimchi. The BBQ glaze was delicious, with it being sweet but not too sweet, and was packed with different flavors than we were expecting. The sticky rice was also well cooked, and everything tasted so good together, especially when you got a bit of every element.

Then we tried the Mushroom & Potato Cannelloni for $36, which has confit tomato, mushroom conserva sauce, and vinaigrette.

The primary flavor and texture of the dish are mushrooms, so this is definitely for the mushroom lovers. The noodles are full of different types of mushrooms combined together, so a mild, earthy umami flavor is prevalent throughout the dish. The noodles had a great texture, and the sauce was mostly herbs, adding to the green, earthy flavor profiles. There’s a punch of acidity from the tomatoes, which messed a little with the balance of flavors. It had a sophisticated flavor and texture but nothing too wild.

For dessert, we couldn’t skip the Chocolate Sourdough Bread Pudding for $15. It has pretzel praline, vanilla bean ice cream, and a chocolate sauce.

Oof! Narcoossee’s can do a dessert! While we love the Almond Cheesecake, this might be a worthy contender. It’s a bit of super chocolatey bread pudding with a scoop of ice cream and chocolate sauce to pour on top. It wasn’t overly rich, and the bits of cinnamon help cut through the richness, and the pretzels add a nice crunch. If you love bread pudding, you’re definitely going to love this.

To drink, we had the Key Lime Pie Martini for $18.50, made with Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Midori Melon Liqueur, vanilla cream, and cold-pressed lime juice with a toasted meringue.

This is one of their most popular drinks for a reason. It’s cute, fun, and a beautiful color with the emrginue on top being a nice addition. The key lime flavor was beautiful but definitely on the sweet side without being too tart. It’s creamier rather than zingy. This could be a dessert drink, but we liked to start our drink with it.

We also had the Smoked Dark ‘n Stormy for $18.50 with Goslings Black Seal Rum, charred pineapple syrup, Carpano Antica Formula Sweet Vermouth, smoked chili bitters, and Fever-Tree Ginger Beer.

This was another solid choice! While we were hoping for an actual smoke element, the flavors were awesome. The smoky flavor wasn’t very strong, but it is a perfect tiki-style rum dark and stormy. We loved the chili bitters, and the ginger beer made for a super spiced flavor profile. There’s no heat but a great spiced flavor that was crisp and robust. It’s perfect for drinking on the water!

Magic or Tragic?

You should go to Narcoossee’s if…

• • You’re looking for a fancy night out — This is the perfect date night! You can catch the fireworks and enjoy an excellent dinner in an intimate setting.
  • You want to watch the fireworks — We love watching the fireworks from our table, so you should book an evening reservation to take full advantage.
  • You love good seafood — Narcoossee’s has great seafood options that we can’t always find at other restaurants, so when we’re in a fish mood, we head here.

You’re okay to skip if…

• • You prefer something more affordable — Narcoossee’s is one of the more expensive fine dining restaurants, and while it’s great for a celebration, it might be a little much for a random dinner.
  • You don’t want to leave the parks — The Grand Floridian is a quick monorail ride away from Magic Kingdom. If you’re not staying at the resort and don’t want to leave the parks, you should find another restaurant.
  • You’re feeding the family — While they do have a kids’ menu, it’s a fairly limited menu and still on the expansive side, with Crispy-fried Chicken Strips being around $16.

Overall, Narcoossee’s has a beautiful menu and an interesting menu that is packed with flavor. It’s one of our favorite restaurants in Disney World because of how great the food always is. It’s perfect for celebrating a special occasion, and you can even see the fireworks! The restaurant is certainly one of the more expensive ones, and the dishes are a bit small, and we felt a bit rushed throughout our meal, but it’s still a special place in our hearts, and while it’s fine dining, it isn’t over the top.

In the meantime, make sure you keep following AllEars for the best restaurant reviews so you know where you should go during your Disney World vacation.

WHERE TO EAT, DRINK, AND STAY IN DISNEY WORLD NOW, ACCORDING TO A TRAVEL EXPERT WHO’S SLEPT IN EVERY HOTEL

Have you ever been to Narcoossee’s? Tell us your thoughts in the comments. 

Post a Comment