September 2024
The newly reimagined Citricos inside Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort includes nods to 'Mary Poppins Returns'
The signature restaurant at the Grand Floridian will be under refurbishment through to the summer.
A progressive dinner at 3 Disney Resort hotels, complete with monorail ride and fireworks viewing.
Nearly all Disney operated quick service and table service restaurants now offer allergy-friendly menus - read on for details.
Citricos is a high-end Disney family dining experience, priced to match. The dining room is very comfortable, with a relaxed feel, despite it being one of Disney's signature restaurants. Very kid friendly, including a good kids menu. Ambiance is perfect - not a library, but not overly loud, even with the high likelihood of kids in the restaurant. Service is good, food on the whole is good, although some dishes, such as the flatbread and cheese selection, seem over-priced and not particularly good. The filet, short rib and halibut are all good dishes, and the desserts are top notch. Expect to pay in the region of $100 a head.
Citricos My absolute favorite restaurant on property! We have only had one lackluster experience here with service a couple of years ago in over a dozen visits, so it is tough to beat. The Mediterranean inspired menu always offers signature items like sautéed shrimp, arancini, braised veal shank and oak grilled filet of beef, while other menu items tend to change with the seasons. They moved the check in booth to the outside of the hallway now. Presumably this makes it easier to find for guests and now they use the waiting area as a lounge. It makes them a few extra dollars serving cocktails and gives people something to do while waiting to be seated. We were given a beeper and were seated in about 15 minutes. The restaurant was busy, but it is one of the best so I understand why. Sara seated us near the open kitchen along the windows. Not much of a view this year due to all of the construction on the courtyard pool, but plenty at the bar and kitchen to watch. The Grand Floridian has major refurbishments all of property as a matter of fact. With the construction of the DVC wing and the pool as major projects, Gasparilla’s has been closed and Mizner’s opened for quick service. They seem to be rehabbing to prepare for the GF DVC, from what I have read Gaspie’s needed some serious tlc, so good news there. We didn’t explore much around the resort outside the main building, but the changes are very exciting. Shall we see sweeping changes at the Polynesian next? Looks like things are in the works for that property as well. I opted for bottled water while my parents ordered a glass of wine. Cliff took our order and brought over the house bread and butter afterwards. Our appetizers arrived: cheese plate-with fourme d’Ambert is one of the best blue cheeses not to mention the oldest French cheese, plus a Spanish cheese and another French style from the Basque region with all the accompaniments. Sorry I did not get a picture and the presentation was different this year, but it was nicely arranged. The macerated heirloom tomatoes was a large portion of halved red and yellow baby tomatoes with balsamic vinegar, micro basil and fresh mozzarella slices. I am a sucker for cured meats so the charcuterie plate was a great option. The plate offered a variety of cured meats including Prosciutto di Parma, beef bresaola, duck prosciutto, chorizo, Percorno Romano, medjool dates, pickled fennel, olives and Marcona almonds. A great antipasti platter for one although I probably could have shared with another person. The appetizers were all very good and well received. [IMG]http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p265/erg48/WDW%20Food%20Pictures/IMG_7386.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p265/erg48/WDW%20Food%20Pictures/IMG_7388.jpg[/IMG] Cliff checked back frequently to fill our water glasses and see if we needed anything. He works at Victoria & Albert’s as well so he is used to checking in with guests as often as he can. He made small talk and was very friendly, but not overbearing or awkward. Overall this was probably the best service we had on the trip. Our appetites had hit their peak when the entrees arrived-it was perfect timing. I have tried a number of dishes, but one stood out this time for me the Berkshire pork 2 ways. Now I am not a huge pork fan with the exception of sausage and I must say the pork tenderloin dish at California Grill is lovely too. You cannot go wrong with rendered pork belly after all and alongside a huge piece of tenderloin with creamy cheesy polenta and corn, talk about heavenly! The cherry gastrique really rounds this dish out, a must try at Citricos. The salmon was mildly wonderful, we eat wild salmon weekly, but this was better than what we can get at the grocery store. My mother had the house oak grilled filet of beef with extra vegetables rather than the potato puree. She is not a big fan of mashed or gratin style potatoes, but most places are happy to substitute a reasonable side. Pork Duo [IMG]http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p265/erg48/WDW%20Food%20Pictures/IMG_7389.jpg[/IMG] Dinner was wonderful, the service was excellent. After the warm chocolate banana tart for desert-the evening was nearly perfect!
I was surprised at the service we had. For a signature restaurant our waiter was absolutely horrible. My husband and I waited for almost 20 minutes for our first course, I had the cheese plate and he had a salad. We never got a refill on our water so by the time our entrees came out we were parched, we asked our waiter 3 times for more water and never got it. By dessert I was annoyed and just wanted to get out of there. It took our waiter 10 minutes to bring the check, and then it took him another 15 minutes before he came back to get the check. There was a table of 10 sitting near us and it seemed like our waiter was spending all of his time with them because he knew he'd be getting a larger tip from them. Sadly I will not be going back here again, for the price of our meal it wasn't worth it.
During the Kingdom Konsultant AEP in January we enjoyed a delicious meal at Citricos and were able to sit at the Chef's Domain in a private room. Everything about the meal and the service was perfect. The Arancini for an appetizer I could have had for an entire meal. It was delicious. That was followed up by a citrus salad. I had the Oak-Grilled Filet of Beef for dinner - perfect! And the dessert was a sampler of a Chocolate Banana Torte, Lemon Cheesecake and a cobbler. I can't say enough about how great this restaurant is. When I can book my ADR's for our September trip this is at the top of my list!
Citricos is a table service restaurant located in Disney's Grand Floridian Resort.