1/8/2011 Narcoossee’s Dining Review, Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort
Jeff's birthday was on January 8th, and I'd saved up some Disney gift cards so we could enjoy a couple of restaurants to celebrate the occasion. Breakfast was at Boma, one of my favorite breakfast locations on property and situated at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge. For dinner, I chose Narcoossee's.
A few photos of Narcoosee's during the day:
I've been to Narcoossee's a number of times over the years, and I've never had anything but excellent food. It is my personal favorite of the signature restaurants I've dined at, in large part due to the location and it also has a more intimate feel than the Yachtsman Steakhouse and Artist Point (both fine restaurants). Narcoossee's is at the elegant Grand Floridian resort and is set out over the water. If you time it right, you can enjoy the Magic Kingdom fireworks and/or the Electric Water Pageant from either your seat or outside.
Our reservation was for 9pm – I booked several weeks ahead, and that was the earliest time I could get. If you are heading to Walt Disney World for vacation, I always recommend booking important restaurants early (I used to be a Disney specialist travel agent and know how some restaurants sell out ahead of time).
The hostess led us to our table, and we were both delighted to see Jeff's birthday celebrated with Mickey-shaped confetti and birthday graphics on the menu. It's always nice to have a keepsake, and this is the second birthday menu we have from Narcoosee's.
The one downside of this visit was the service. It wasn't bad, but our server was very forgetful. We both ordered iced tea to start, and bread is normally brought out at that time. I had to ask for it (we also had to ask for butter for the lobster, tea when it was taken away to be refilled, etc.)
We each started out with an appetizer. I ordered the Butternut Squash-Tomato Bisque ($9.00), and Jeff ordered the Winter Waldorf Salad ($12.00). Both were wonderful. I didn't even notice until I started my soup that a Mickey head was swirled into it. What a wonderful touch! The soup was thick and creamy, with a nice combination of the two flavors. Jeff enjoyed his salad, which included spinach, heirloom apples, grapes, candied walnuts and poppy seed-honey dressing. Both of us would order our appetizers again.
I had originally had my heart set on the Grilled Filet Mignon ($41.00) until I noticed a Wild Mushroom Fettucini ($33.00 with the added Tanglewood Farms chicken) that was the Chef's Recommendation on the menu. It sounded great and was a little less expensive, so that was my choice. Jeff had the Surf & Turf ($59.00) the last time we dined at Narcoossee's, but I read a review that recommended instead the Whole Maine Lobster (58.00), and that is what he ordered. Narcoossee's is primarily a seafood restaurant, but for those of us not inclined, I had four choices on the menu to choose from.
I am not a big seafood eater, definitely not lobster and thus am not as familar with the way lobster is served as Jeff is (he used to live in New England). Jeff very much appreciated the presentation of the dish, with the lobster already cut up and ready to eat. As the menu states, the claws and knuckes are tender and the tail chewy – and that is how it was served. This was a clear winner at the table. It came with baked sherry-cheddar orecchiette pasta and crisp asparagus.
The description of the Wild Mushroom Fettucini included "chanterelle and hedgehog mushrooms with curly spinach and black truffle cream sauce". This was a dish I liked but didn't love – though I enjoyed it enough to bring home the leftovers. It's hard to explain the taste of items I've never (to my knowledge) had before, but next time I will probably stick with the filet. I was glad I added the chicken, which added only $6.00 more to the $27.00 price.
The to-go bag:
We decided to split a dessert, but wanted something light since we were both full. We found the perfect dessert in the Gelato Sampler ($8.00). There were four flavors: chocolate, raspberry, pistachio and cappucino. Each of the gelato flavors were delicious, and it was a wonderful ending to our meal. From looking around at other tables, it appeared to be a popular choice!
I expect we'll go back again in a year, Narcoossee's is a wonderful restaurant to celebrate at! It is my top choice on Walt Disney World for a nice night out. With our Tables in Wonderland discount, we were able to keep our meal with gratuity under $100.00 (the gelato was given to us free for Jeff's birthday, though I was prepared to pay for it).
Narcoossee's is located at Disney's Grand Floridian and can be booked online or by calling 407-WDW-DINE up to 180 days in advance (as of this writing). Menus are printed each day and while lobster and filet mignon have been menu staples, other items aren't. Check the Disney site for the most up-to-date menu.