Grand Floridian Resort
We had an 8:15 reservation for dinner and sat right away. The hostess took us through the entire restaurant to the furthest corner of the restaurant right by one of the serving stations where they keep the silverware and right next to the entrance to the kitchen. It was just the 2 of us and for some reason this happens to us a lot in Disney. They seem to try to stuff in the corner near the kitchen or in the back at several restaurants. I usually have to request different seats at least a few times whenever we go and it’s just the 2 of us.
It wasn’t terribly busy and there were plenty of other tables available, I noticed a table right across the room by the window. We were able to move to this table after waiting to check with the hostess at the podium. After this slight inconvenience, we now had a nice table with a nice view of the grounds and courtyard area.
Our server greeted us shortly after we sat. The Grand Floridian Cafe has a casual and relaxing atmosphere. The decor is similar to that of the hotel/resort itself which is done in that “turn of the century style” and it’s open and bright. Almost has a feeling of being in a restaurant on Main Street USA similar to The Plaza’s decor but a little more upscale.
I started with a White Superfruit Sangria. This is an organic Eppa white sangria made from organically grown Chardonnay grapes and a blend of fruit juices (Mango, Peach and Blood Orange juices) with a hint of natural citrus essences. It is finished with some fresh fruit which included orange pieces and raspberries.
Our server brought us out some bread and salted butter. Seems many of the restaurants like to top the pat of butter with some type of fancy sea salt which can sometimes be a bit overwhelming although it does make for a nice presentation.
The bread basket consisted of a sour dough roll and another type of bread that had currants in it which were very tasty and unique.
After she brought out our bread and butter we ordered our dinner. And, it was served in what seemed like a flash, no exaggeration, there was a server at our table ready to place our diners in front of us and I was going to tell him he was at the wrong table but sure enough it was the food we ordered. I don’t know how they cooked it so quick. I can only think someone else just ordered exactly what we did since the menu is somewhat limited, but it was what we ordered and “how” we ordered it.
My daughter was looking forward to the kids Meaty Macaroni and there it was. And just only that. Now in the past when we’ve gone to Disney restaurants there was option to get veggies or a salad or even with fruit with a kids meal, but this didn’t seem to be an option here, well, we didn’t really ask either. I was told at another restaurant the next night that she could add veggies to her “kids” entree if she wanted them. It looked good but a little lonely on that big “Mickey-eared” plate, but my daughter was very happy and cleaned her plate.
I ordered the Shrimp and Grits which consisted of jumbo shrimp topped with fennel and chorizo served over creamy Mascarpone cheese grits. I requested the chorizo on the side since I’m not big sausage fan. This was delicious. It had the perfect amount of seasoning and richness even with a slight kick following each bite. The shrimp was also tender. Even though the sauce was rich it wasn’t heavy. I think the chorizo would have made it a little too spicy for me, so I’m glad I got it on the side.
This ended up being a quick meal which was fine because it was getting kind of late. We were in and out in under an hour but I’m not sure this is the norm. We didn’t have dessert but if we did, but they did have a nice dessert tray.
This is actually the “dessert sampler for 2” I believe which consists of: a fresh berry tart, Boston creme pie, a Key Lime tart and Lemon Cheesecake and don’t forget a Chocolate Mickey:-)… I believe some of these are also available to order on their own. This does change often so it may not be the same as of this writing.
We did enjoy our dinner here. Service was very good and so was the food. We had lunch here a few years ago and it was just satisfactory but I think dinner was much better. Definitely would return if we stay within the Magic Kingdom area.