Originally Posted By Boardwalkbum Has anyone else here found the Portobello Yacht Club to be dissapointing? My dish was ok...farfalle w/ veg & chicken...but certainly wasnt a $17.95 dish. One of my dining companions ordered pork chops w/ carmalized onions over a bed of spinach. Quite the sorry entre. The pork chops looked as though someone had gone to Resteraunt Depot, or some such other resteraunt type outlet, and bought a bag of breaded pork chops and just dropped them into the fryer. I have no problems paying premium prices for a good meal, but this seemed ridiculous. When I think how we had all spent $20 more a piece at Jiko 3 nights before (including tip) and enjoyed our meal so much more it really "sticks in my craw". The service was also pretty lax. I find that particularly upsetting as there is not really any excuse for that in an "upscale" eatery. Now, I am a memeber of the DDE (Disney Dining Expierience) and I did forget that the PYC did not accept my card as they are not a Disney owned resteraunt. Let me stress that this did not make a difference to me as we had been urged to try this resteraunt by a few different people. The fact of the matter is, however, that once I was reminded that this was not a Disney resteraunt, it became more apparent throughout the course of the meal. If you're planning on eating in an "upscale" resteraunt in DTD, do yourself a favor and go upstairs at Wolfgang Pucks.
Originally Posted By oc_dean I thought DtD was considering an Olive Garden ... but I see that was meant to be a durogatory line.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss I haven't eaten at the Portobello Yacht Club in more than a decade. I remember having very good food there, and I most especially remember the roasted garlic and bread. It's a shame quality food apparently is no longer on the menu.
Originally Posted By Boardwalkbum >>I thought DtD was considering an Olive Garden ... but I see that was meant to be a durogatory line.<< I should explain.........I have no problems with the Olive Garden. I've eaten there once and it was fine. The issues I had with the Portobello Yacht Club come from how the eatery is represented. An "upscale" dining expierience (man I hate quotes...but I just gotta use them) should have a little.....uummmm....let me see......thought put into thier recipies. I would not have been dissapointed if the bill had been 1/2 of what it was and I had'nt expected something more. I now know better.
Originally Posted By Boardwalkbum >>I most especially remember the roasted garlic and bread.<< It was the best thing that made the table trekkeruss.
Originally Posted By Boardwalkbum In retrospect, perhaps I should'nt have used the Olive Garden as a negative comparisson. It's just that living in NYC I'm used to excellent quality Italian food when I'm ion the mood. Of course, that's the case for many who live in a major metropolitan area. Particularly in the northeast.
Originally Posted By smeeeko ^^olive garden IS crap compared to all the other Italian restaurants that are so much better anywhere else including Florida and Iowa I'm sure.. it's cheap though. Of the times I have gone there we (me, my friends,not to mention my husband) have gotten crummy food and service. I'm sure there are many folks that like Olive Garden (my mom does for one) otherwise they wouldn't stay in business.. which is what I say about a lot of places.. Macaroni Grill, Taco Bell, etc.. mass food for the masses. I've never been to Portebello Yacht Club but we did have lunch (accidently) at the Crab thingy over in WDW DtD.. my mom's guy wanted seafood. I'm sure we could have gotten seafood at Portebello and my mom & I could have had something more than salad or hamburger to choose from. =( We had window seats and watched while we wait and waited and waited for our food to come down the stairs from the kitchen as lots of folks seemed to be going in & out of the pasta place. Whether it's good or not I don't know but they seemed to have served people a lot quicker.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA In the early 90s, when I was in Orlando, 'The Olive Garden' was really popular. We'd always go with groups from the office. At the time, I was with someone who absolutely loved it. In fact, her family was 100% Italian, and her grandmother and grandfather and aunt and other relatives would pile into the car and we'd all go to 'The Olive Garden.' And they loved it. Couldn't understand that. Hadn't been to one for about 10 years. Visited one in Modesto about a month ago. No change, really. Lots of sodium, not much flavor -- sort of a fastfood place dressed up as a sit-down restaurant. Won't be back for a while.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 <In retrospect, perhaps I should'nt have used the Olive Garden as a negative comparisson. It's just that living in NYC I'm used to excellent quality Italian food when I'm ion the mood. Of course, that's the case for many who live in a major metropolitan area. Particularly in the northeast.< Ditto here is Chicago-- I had no problem with the reference...Olive Garden is as Italian as French Fries are French food. YUCK
Originally Posted By avromark Wait you mean French Fries aren't french (cut)? And Olive Garden isn't Italian? Next thing you'll say McDonald's isn't a burger. I've found even my favourite restaurant has had an off day or two (once when the chef was on vacation). Has anyone else had a bad experience there recently?
Originally Posted By LuvDatDisney The Olive Garden, part of Darden Resturants, got its start in Orlando about the time EPCOT Center opened. The first location was on I-Drive about a mile from Wet and Wild. It was hugely popular with Disney CMs in the 1980s. But when it was the only one, and then one of a test few, it actually had quite good food. It's quite unrecognizable today. I would equate OG to Italian cuisine with fine shopping at WalMart ;-) I did recently wind up at the LBV one for lunch with, not surprisingly, a friend from Disney. I had soup that tasted like it came from a can and salad that tasted like it came from a bag. But the breadsticks and espresso were good.
Originally Posted By oc_dean ah .. no offense about the Olive Garden reference. The truth is ... Olive Garden isn't anything all that special. It's the "K-Mart" of italian restaurants. Even Jon Stewart, the comedian, had to step in with Bush's "Group of folks" line a few years ago - A group of folks is what you would find at an Olive Garden. Had me laughin' hysterically! :O)
Originally Posted By t1lersm0m We ate there in March 2004, and it was very disappointing. We will never go back. There was nothing to rave about whatsoever.
Originally Posted By t1lersm0m <<I would equate OG to Italian cuisine with fine shopping at WalMart ;-)>> Ok, it's just uncanny how much you remind me of someone else. Am I missing something? LOL
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA LuvDatDisney, I didn't realize that 'The Olive Garden' started in Orlando. Interesting factoids there...
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo "Wait you mean French Fries aren't french (cut)? " Nope - they are actually Belgian!
Originally Posted By trailsend awwwww, I like Olive Garden. I eat there only once every blue moon, but the salad is my favorite!
Originally Posted By pixiedust1 We've had dinner at the Portobello Yacht Club at least three times over the years and the food and service were excellent... Olive Garden is a dump.. in and out in 30 minutes if you don't tell them ahead to hold the entree... My two cents...
Originally Posted By LuvDatDisney "LuvDatDisney, I didn't realize that 'The Olive Garden' started in Orlando. Interesting factoids there..." Yesiree. The original, which was replaced by a newer location maybe 4-5 years ago, had a plaque out front saying it was the first. Red Lobster, which is part of the same company, got its start just down the road in Lakeland back in 1968. Much like the OG, it was a whole lot better when it was a small regional chain with a handful of locations. Food seems to get blander when chains expand exponentially. That could be a problem with Disney parks too.
