Reviews of Coral Reef – Lunch/Dinner
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Menus at Coral Reef Restaurant
Reviewed by alfy Review Date: 03/24/2015
Rating: (8) Recommended
We decided to give the restaurant a second chance since dining here a few years back. At that time, we had to wait almost two hours beyond our reservation time to be seated and only got in then because many waiting ahead of us decided to leave to catch the fireworks show. It was fun walking out of the darkened and empty park well after closing, though. But I digress. This time we were seated at about our reserved dinner time. We had a table on the second level with a good view of the windows. Pre-dinner drinks were excellent and the server visited frequently to top up water and bread. Entrees were the mahi and the lobster manicotti, which were both very nice. Particularly good sauce on the mahi. We are not DDP users, so we generally skip the desserts and appetizers. All in all, a very fine experience.
Pros:
Well prepared, tasty foodCons:
—Reviewed by robinmy Review Date: 02/15/2015
Rating: (9) Recommended
This restaurant is in The Seas pavilion at Epcot. My family and I visited on 2/1/15 and were promptly seated. Our table was against the aquarium glass, but I believe there would be a good view from any seat in this restaurant.
I ordered the Mahi Mahi and it was delicious. Another member of our party ordered the steak and said it was very good. Desserts were included with the Disney Dining Plan. The Chocolate Wave is a lava cake. Very rich but so good.
Our waitress was friendly and attentive. Watching the sharks, turtles, and other fish in the aquarium was a treat. I'd gladly return.
Pros:
View of the aquariumCons:
noneReviewed by mharder Review Date: 02/07/2015
Rating: (2) Not Recommended
We had dinner at Coral Reef on Jan. 26. We won't go back. I should note at the outset that this is the first time I've ever said this about any table service restaurant at WDW.
We were "checking out" restaurants in advance of a trip with our grown sons next Christmas. I booked the reservation with some trepidation because of the mixed reviews, but we thought we'd give it a try. Unfortunately, the negative reviews proved right.
We arrived on time for a 5:50 reservation and were told they were 15-20 minutes behind schedule. The lobby area was chaotic with too many guests who were all waiting for their tables. It's hard for me to understand how they could be that far behind that early in the evening.
Our table was between the tables next to the fish tanks and the first row of booths. The only good thing I can say is that it gave us a good view of the fish. However, this seating arrangement really should not exist. We felt like, and were, in the aisle. More than once, waitstaff passing through and guests being seated nearly knocked our bread basket off the table.
The food quality was uneven. My wife ordered Mahi Mahi and said it was good. I ordered the manicotti with lobster but was disappointed. The best way to describe it was that it tasted like it had been heated in a microwave (and not long enough). It was warm, not hot. At the table next to us (and I mean really next to us due to the aforementioned arrangement for the table), a woman had ordered a steak and I noted that she returned it to the kitchen because it was grossly overcooked and tough as shoe leather. To their credit, the manager and waiter promptly replaced it with something that she seemed more pleased with.
Undoubtedly our experience was colored by a table of badly behaved children near us. Grandma and Grandpa had taken their adult children and young grandchildren to Disney World. For reasons that I can't understand, the adults sat at one end and left about 5 kids ages 1 1/2 to 6 at the other end. One 3 year old decided her mission in life was to get the baby to pound on the table (by pounding on the table herself). Other kids were up, down, switching seats, yelling, etc. The adults were oblivious. As a result, we could not wait to get out. Unfortunately, based on some online reviews I have seen for Coral Reef, this seems to be a frequent occurrence.
In the end, I can't recommend this restaurant. While the kids at the nearby table were part of the reason, the uneven quality of the food, the seating, and the delay in seating us cause me to not want to return.
Pros:
The fish (the ones in the tank, not on the table)Cons:
Overcrowded, mediocre food, slow to seat usReviewed by Scrapping in Ontario Review Date: 10/01/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Coral Reef restaurant! We were seated right next to the aquarium and the view was breath-taking! I had the steak for the first time and it was delicious! So flavourful and tender! My only wish is that it was served with a couple of shrimp.
We'll be back!
Pros:
Atmosphere, SteakCons:
—Reviewed by Krissi890 Review Date: 09/21/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
We go to this restaurant every time we are at Disney because the food is amazing. We always order the Mahi Mahi and Shrimp and every time it comes out perfect is delicious! The atmosphere and location are great too with being next to the large fish tank. Would definitely recommend!
Pros:
Atmosphere, food, waitstaffCons:
WaitReviewed by disneylover97 Review Date: 08/26/2014
Rating: (8) Recommended
This was my second time eating at this restaurant. The service was decent and the atmosphere was amazing. I love looking at the fish and sea animals in the tanks. It is a little on the darker side in this restaurant. I ordered the New York strip and I got french fries instead of mashed potatoes, but I later found out that the mashed potatoes were amazing and i would have rather had them! One member in my family got the fish of the day and the others also got the steak. The dessert was the best part of the meal. I got the cheesecake and it was shaped like a sea turtle..so cute and yummy. I will come back to this restaurant.
Pros:
atmosphere, foodCons:
loudReviewed by kiwitess Review Date: 06/16/2014
Rating: (7) Recommended
All of our party of 7 enjoyed the ambiance of the Coral Reef. The aquarium is magnificent and all tables are configured so you can see the tank. There were divers in it when we were dining and it was quite a show. The food was good. It would have been nice to have a little more flavor but, overall, it was pretty good. The desserts were beautiful and the turtle cheesecake was pretty yummy. The service was quite good and we enjoyed our first evening at Disney World at the Coral Reef.
Pros:
aqauarium is amazingCons:
some food is tastelessReviewed by sdlehman Review Date: 06/05/2014
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
Our family dined at the Coral Reef on the last night of our vacation, May 24. We had dined there in the past with mixed reviews and we wanted to try it again. The three adults ordered lobster pasta which according to the description was to have lobster, shrimp pasta and a white cheddar sauce. It sounded pretty good. When it arrived and we began to eat it we all looked at one another. The pasta was the shell kind and was very under done. There was very little lobster and the sauce was watery and bland. Knowing I was paying $30 per plate I pushed on and ate the shrimps and scrounged for any lobster I could find. When we were finished our waitress asked if we would like to see a dessert menu. I said "no but I have to tell you this was very disappointing." She said she would bring the manager who was very polite and asked what we were dissatisfied with. She immediately volunteered to remove the three dinners from our bill and only charge us for the diet Coke and apple juice we had ordered which came to about $5. I left $20 so the waitress would still get a tip since she played no part in preparing the food. I doubt we will be coming back to the Coral Reef anytime soon.
Pros:
AtmosphereCons:
FoodReviewed by clyde0523 Review Date: 05/26/2014
Rating: (4) Recommended
We ate here based on recommendations from friends and family that had been before. They rated it as amazing and wonderful. Maybe it was just an off night, but our experience was anything but wonderful.
We arrived ten minutes early for our reservation and were not seated until thirty minutes after our reservation time. They were busy, but what's the point of being a reservation only type of place if it takes 40 minutes to seat people.
The service was wonderful. Our server was Hollie and she was great. She answered all of our questions and helped us navigate the menu with the dining plan we had.
The restaurant in itself was not what we expected. The folks that recommended this restaurant raved about the atmosphere and that there were salt water aquariums everywhere and that was what we expected. What we got was one wall of fish tanks on the other side of the room that we could not see very well. So if you go, expect that you won't be seeing much unless you are on the floor level near the tanks.
The food was beautifully arranged on the plates, but tasted bland and fishy. So much so that my husband didn't even eat his and the restaurant manager ended up crediting us back his meal point.
The kids meals were ok, but our girls just kind of picked at them. The only thing that was great was the dessert. I recommend the chocolate wave and the cupcakes for the kiddos.
All in all we won't be going back to the Coral Reef. It was a waste of time, energy and dining plan points.
Pros:
—Cons:
—Reviewed by Taffy030 Review Date: 05/25/2014
Rating: (7) Recommended
Always have eaten here every time we come over from the UK.
Food and decoration excellent to sit there watching the fish and turtles fantastic.
Service however very poor and would of awarded a 10 before last visit, however last experience so poor reported to management who basically shrugged it off. NOT WHAT I EXPECT FROM DISNEY AT ALL
Recommend but watch the service.
