Coral Reef Restaurant
- Cuisine: Seafood/American
- Meal Style: Table Service
- Meal Seatings: Lunch, Dinner
- Character Dining: No
- Location: Epcot – The Seas with Nemo & Friends Pavilion
- Disney Dining Plan Credits: 1 Table Service Credit
- Tables in Wonderland: Yes
- Reservations: Recommended
- Price Range: $$$ ($36 to $59.99)
- My Disney Vacation Rating:
- Menu: Lunch - Dinner - Dessert - Kids
The Coral Reef Restaurant is located in Epcot’s Future World in the Living Sea’s Pavilion. The Coral Reef Restaurant is one of the most interesting restaurants in Disney. The reason being is that the lower wall has massive picture windows letting you look into the giant Living Sea’s aquarium. These Coral Reef Restaurant windows are fifty feet long and eight feet high. So, you will get a good view of the aquarium. The whole meal you get to watch the fish swim around and you’re treated to all manners of fish from Turtles to Sharks.
As you would expect, the Coral Reef Restaurant is primarily a sea food restaurant. However, there will be at least one steak on the menu for those who aren’t into sea food.
The best seating at the Coral Reef Restaurant is as on the bottom terrace near the windows. You can request to be placed closer to the windows, but be aware it may delay your meal time. For my last trip we had to wait more than thirty minutes to get a lower tier seating.
The Coral Reef Restaurant is on the Dining Plan and the cost is one point. They also take the Tables in Wonderland Dining Discount card.
Coral Reef Restaurant Review
When I think of the Coral Reef Restaurant I think of the amazing view and less the food. The food is alright, but don’t be expecting something gourmet. While I’m not the biggest sea food fan in the world, we did try a few of the different options. The first time we visited we were on the Deluxe Dining Plan, which let us try a good number of them. I started off the meal with an appetizer, but just a Caesar Salad. My wife had the crab cakes and really liked them. The appetizer options here really aren’t for me, but with my not the biggest fan of seafood I get it.
Now, while I’m not into seafood, I do love a good piece of Salmon. The Salmon I received at Coral Reef Restaurant was good. It wasn’t over cooked, but I don’t find it to be amazing as well. I would order it again. My wife had the Grilled Mahi Mahi, and I thought it was well cooked as well. The next time we ate there I had the pork shank and it really isn’t even memorable. I would defiantly go back to the salmon the next time I visit the Coral Reef Restaurant. The dinner portions were just fine if not a tad bigger than I’m used to, but that may also be because we had both an appetizer and a desert.
I am a big desert fan and I do have to say I really liked the Baileys and Jack Daniel’s Mousse. This was an amazing desert that I loved, anytime you mix chocolate and alcohol you have a recipe for goodness. My wife had the key lime mousse. I really can’t stand Key Lime Pie so I really wasn’t a fan of this desert. I did order a Chocolate Wave for my son. It was good, but I defiantly would stick to the Baileys and Jack Daniel’s Mousse when visiting the Coral Reef Restaurant.
Onto the service – The one thing that gets me about the Coral Reef Restaurant, and really all Disney restaurants, is the fact they don’t try to rotate the tables like most restaurants. While I thought the service was good, I really am not a fan of dining for a few hours. I do wish they would bring the food out faster, so we could get back to the parks. All the wait staff I have had have been nice, I guess I just like more speed in the servers.
One thing Disney is great at is great is dealing with kids when going to a restaurant, and that is my favorite thing dining in all these spots. The waiters at Coral Reef Restaurant were no exception. They were great with my son and made him feel great.
In the end, I will continue to dine at the Coral Reef Restaurant. The food was good, the view is amazing, and the service was decent. The experience of sitting with my son and seeing the fish go by can be price less. I would defiantly try Coral Reef Restaurant once, just mainly for the view.
