Coral Reef... Why such extremes???

[goofynmd]

Coral Reef seems to be the one restaurant that people either love or hate. Why is this? We are trying it for the first time this trip. I booked this for Mother's Day lunch. I thought it was a good mix of entertainment for my 5 yr old, but also a more grown-up meal for my Mother's Day celebration. Will I be disappointed?

[wildernesslady]

We have always liked it there. It's not spectacular, but good food. Your 5 yr old will love the aquarium.

[azcavalier]

We are one of those who consider this a "must do". I thought that the steak I had there tasted just as good as the steak I had at Le Cellier. And I love steak.

We also think that it's the perfect combination of entertainment for the little ones, while being somewhat educational, without providing a childish atmosphere. And we've never had bad service here.

[Stu29573]

When we were there, the food was good, but the service, while adiquate, was not as "friendly" as in other places. Maybe that's the difference. It didn't feel as "Disney" to us. That being said, we would go back with no problem.

[gerald72]

I was slightly disappointed. We probably won't do it again.

[castlelady36]

We have been several times, some good some bad. I agree...the servers might not be so great but the food in general is quite good. I miss the little fish butters though....

[btharvey]

I chalk it up to the environment. There don't seem to be as many choices geared to the smaller ones, or even 'tweens.' Fish and steak are anywhere from OK to very good, depending on the day, and the service for us has never been above "ok to good" ... and usually it's too cold.

Aside from that, how many other places can you chomp down on some beef while waving at a school of scuba divers? It's not a must see, but it "can be" nice.

I'd pick Le Cellier over this, hands down.

[MOJoe]

I've been twice, both times for an evening meal. The first time our food was outstanding. I rated it as one of the best seafood meals ever, anywhere. The service was also exceptional. We were seated on the first floor, so we had a wonderful view of the aquarium. My family had such a good experience that they begged to go back.

The second time just didn't live up to our expectations. The Reef was apparently having a tough night, as we were seated nearly an hour after our reservation. The place was backed, and full of hungry, unhappy, crying children. The food was good, but not great. And the service staff showed signs of fatigue. It wasn't a bad experience, but it wasn't a "great meal."

If we go back, we'll try to pick a time when the crowds are not as heavy.

[DVC2004]

We've dined there twice at lunch time and we always had a good experience. The food was good, our service was good, and the atmosphere was very nice. The kids and us adults enjoyed the view of the aquarium and spotting fish and divers. My husband and I happen to love thier lobster bisque, probably the best I've had anywhere. Not sure about the mixed reviews- but then again our fav place 'Ohana gets some terrible reviews here and in 9 years of dining there we've never had any terrible food or service.

[PinKy]

We've been here a couple of times and we finally decided after the last visit that it just wasn't worth our dining points. I think the restaurant used to be considered a little "fancier" and the service was better. In recent years, the service really has fallen (my main complaint) and there were so many food items taken off the menu (my husband's main complaint) that the whole experience has really lost a lot of the charm. My DH used to be a HUGE Coral Reef fan (we've had our photo taken with the sign. LOL!) and now we don't even consider going there anymore. We will likely give it a try in another year or two to see if anything has changed. Little things are always changing around WDW so you just never know. The aquarium is very nice though for kids AND adults and I believe everyone should try new things so if you'd like to give it a go - have a great time and post when you return so that we can all hear about how it is!

[kakn7294]

I think it's because this is supposed to be a seafood restaurant but it lacks an extensive seafood menu and it often has a staff that seems either harried or indifferent. For some reason, they haven't always got it together here - sometimes it shows in the service, sometimes in the food. However, I do have to say that we've eaten there and enjoyed it and someday will do it again once we've hit the other places in Epcot that we want to try.

[ThanxForNoticin]

You are correct, this restaurant probably has the most extremes with its reviews. Personally, we'll never go back again, as we had 2 very disappointing experiences. That being said, I really would not try to persuade anyone to avoid it just because of our experiences - there are lots of people who enjoy it (even love it there). For us, there are too many other places that we like a lot better - but I hope you have a great experience and enjoy the meal.

[joonyer]

Having been in the restaurant business, I can say the the main reason that any particular restaurant will get reviews that tend to extremes is due to one word: Inconsistency.

If a restaurant is average most of the time, it will tend to get mostly average reviews. But if a restaurant can't be consistent, some days it will be really good, and others it will be really bad. Thus you get the "loved it" or "hated it" reviews. Choose to eat at one of these places and you could easily get either result. You are taking a chance that you will hit it on a good day, Or not.

Then you have the ones that are consistently excellent, which get mostly very good reviews (note that there are some people who cannot ever be pleased) and then there are restaurants that are consistently bad, which usually go out of business, unless they have a captive audience for consumers, like a concession stand at an sports arena or a restaurant at a Resort of Theme park, where they are going to get a lot of business without really trying.

And that about explains the gamut of restaurants at WDW. You can decide which ones fit which category.

[wdwvacationeer]

We ate at the Coral Reef last summer for a late lunch and found it to be very good. Our server was very good, the atmosphere was fun and everyone in our family enjoyed their meal.

[kakn7294]

Having been in the restaurant business, I can say the the main reason that any particular restaurant will get reviews that tend to extremes is due to one word: Inconsistency.

Gee, that's what I was trying to say - only I couldn't think of the word inconsistency!

[joonyer]

There are a lot of reasons for a restaurant failing to provide a consistently good experience for its customers, but usually those factors can be controlled by really good management. It is also difficult for a restaurant to be consistently excellent when it tries to have too varied a menu or tries to be all things to all people. The best restaurants are those who do only a few things very well and stick to just those things. They know what they are good at and concentrate on their specialty. I think Coral reef has some problems in this area. At least that's been our experience.

[ryca1dreams]

I guess I'm one of the people who is not on the extreme on this restaurant. We only went once a few years back and thought it was good - not great. Service was a little slow, but not awful. The atmosphere was neat. I guess it just didn't blow us away or turn us off.

[retiredfigment]

We ate at Coral Reef for the second time in Dec. 09. I did not care for it too much the first time, but had read some good reviews. For what I thought was a seafood restuarant, there was not much seafood on the menu. Small portions, overpriced, noisy.

[pamickeys]

It used to be great! how can you have a seafood restaurant and not serve LOBSTER anymore ? as much as I hate to say it the DP is killing all of the menu selections at all of the restaurants in Epcot.what it used to be, isn't anything close to what it is now.

[Granny Jill A]

There are a lot of reasons for a restaurant failing to provide a consistently good experience for its customers, but usually those factors can be controlled by really good management.

I agree that management makes all the difference. I wonder if Disney ever hears about the complaints for this and other restaurants, or if they just go into a black hole.

I've noticed a recurring theme with certain restaurants - either bad food, bad service, or both.

Isn't Disney paying attention and trying to do something?