By: Nick Maglio, co-writer of the Disney Musings Blog
Before I begin my review, I just want to say, if visiting Walt Disney World, you absolutely MUST go to
Be Our Guest.
It is not about the food, it is about the experience. You ARE in the
Ballroom from Beauty and the Beast. You ARE in the West Wing! You'll see
your host, the Beast! It is absolutely beautiful inside and out, the theming is a 10 out of 10.
But...
...our experience was sadly not as magical as we would have hoped.
We arrived for our reservation a bit early, a good idea, as there always seems to be a line.
Advanced
Dining Reservations at the 6 month mark are a
very highly suggested at this very popular
establishment. We tried to add another couple 5 months prior to our
visit, and we were unable to!
The wait was only a few
minutes, and we were escorted in. I'd seen the exterior on our previous
trip in October of 2012, but my jaw dropped the moment we entered the castle.
None of my photos even come close to doing it justice.
We
were seated in the ballroom by the West Wing, which I had to check out.
On a future trip, I will request to be seated here for a different
experience.
Our host, Beast, makes several appearances throughout the evening.
Our server was very friendly, but, as we'd discover, very inattentive.
For dinner, my wife and friend Kandi had the
Layered Ratatouille,
oven-baked zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms, tomatoes
and caramelized onions sliced and layered with quinoa,
served with a bell pepper sauce for $15.99, which they both described
as excellent. My wife actually said it was like the scene in the Pixar
film "Ratatouille", where the critic was brought back to his childhood
after trying the dish prepared by the "Little Chef", Remy.
Our friend John had the Grilled Strip Steak, with
garlic-herb butter and pommes frites, $29.99.
He
ordered it medium well. It came out charred on the outside, but cooked
fine on the inside, and he said it was okay. I tried his fries and they
were excellent.
I ordered the Thyme-scented Pork Rack Chop, with au gratin macaroni, seasonal vegetables and red
wine au jus, $21.99.
The
macaroni is a grown up mac and cheese, and it was very good, a little
on the rich side. The pork chop was fine. The problem primarily being
just 2 nights earlier, at the Hollywood Brown Derby, I'd had the world's
BEST pork chop, as I've come to call it, and this was destined to not
live up to that.
After one bite, I realized I should have ordered something different.
As for the service, if we wanted anything, we had to locate and flag down our server.
Then, there was the Grey Stuff, and dessert.
I
asked about the Grey Stuff, and we were told that it was only served
for special occasions. As a friend pointed out, isn't the fact the we
are at Walt Disney World a special enough occasion?!
Luckily,
our server took note that Kandi and John were wearing their Anniversary
buttons, and brought us 2 dollops of the Grey Stuff...
... it's good, but not as delicious as the song would have us believe.
The desserts we ordered, however, were a let down.
My wife had the Strawberry Cream Cheese Cupcake,
vanilla sponge cake, strawberry mousse filling, and cream cheese icing,
which sounds amazing, but was described as bland, all the flavor being
on top.
John and I each had the Triple Chocolate Cupcake, chocolate sponge cake, chocolate mousse filling, and chocolate ganache. Again, this sounds much better than it actually was.
At $3.99 each, at least they didn't break the bank.
So, a mixed bag here. Lackluster service, good, not outstanding, food, but arguably the best themed restaurant in the World.
We
will certainly be back, and I will give a different entree and dessert a
try, because where else can you get a photo op like this one of my wife
and me dancing in Beast's Ballroom?!
This article was originally posted on the Tips From the Disney Divas and Devos Blog where Nick is a contributing writer as well as the Disney Musings Blog, which Nick co-writes with his wife, Barbie.
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