Epcot is lauded as the best place for dining in all of Walt Disney World.   With restaurants ranging from the Electric Umbrella is Future World, to Le Cellier Steakhouse in the Canada Pavilion, at least one restaurant in Epcot should cater to your tastes.   On Father’s Day, I took my dad to the Coral Reef Restaurant, which is located to the right hand side of the entrance to The Seas with Nemo and Friends.   Having never dined at the Coral Reef, I thought it would be a good chance to critique the food, the atmosphere, and the value of this sit down restaurant.

The Coral Reef Restaurant is one of the more unique places to eat at Walt Disney World, for one obvious reason:  because it is located in the Seas with Nemo and Friends (or the Living Seas Pavilion to Epcot purists), diners have views into giant tanks full of fish and other watery creatures.   I briefly note that it is interesting that Disney made the conscious decision to serve a menu primarily made up of fish, while schools of fish swim back and forth in front of your eyes.   Nevertheless, the aquarium is truly the star here at the Coral Reef.   This is evidenced by the seating arrangements in the dining room.   There are three levels of tables, and each level is about 150 feet across.  The three levels contain a combination of very large booths and traditional table and seats, all of which provide the guest with a view of at least one of the 20 feet long and eight feet windows that look into the aquarium.  The dining is decorated in “ocean colors”, i.e., blues and sea greens.   The table backing that separates one level from the other is made to resemble waves; a very nice touch to that adds a lot to the atmosphere. 

Like most table service restaurants, the Coral Reef Restaurant offers a limited menu.  The dinner menu consists of six appetizers ranging in price from $6.99 to $11.99, eight entrees ranging in price from $16.99 to $32.99, and four desserts, all of which cost $7.99.  Each entrée is paired with a specific wine as well.  If wine is not your thing, Coral Reef offers a variety of drinks, both of the alcoholic and non-alcoholic varieties.  The most popular drink I noticed during my time there would have to be the Blue “Glow-tini”, complete with the souvenir glow cube.  While I did not have it, I have been told that the adult beverage is quite delicious and very blue. 

For dinner I had the lobster soup and the grilled Mahi Mahi with “Tropical Essence.”  I found the food average and perhaps even a little overpriced.  The Mahi Mahi was a bit dry, and the cashew-jasmine rice combo definitely did not go over well me (perhaps I’m just too used to tartar sauce…).   While I won’t condemn the entire restaurant over my food selection, I do recommend something besides the Mahi Mahi for dinner, should you choose to dine there. 

As I stated before, the real reason people flock to the Coral Reef is the aquarium.  The gripes I had over the food were easily forgotten when I looked up at the huge window in front of me.  I don’t pretend to be an ichthyologist (thank you Webster’s one word a day calendar), but there must have been at least over 20 or so different fish that swam by the window.  The highlight of the night, however, had to have been a very sleepy green sea turtle.  After swimming around for a few minutes, it found the corner of the window I was sitting in front of, sank to the bottom of the tank, and proceeded to nap for a good twenty minutes.  Only when several scavenger fish decided to feed poke him in the eye while looking for food, did he finally get up and swim away.  It was amazing at how close we were to such an incredible creature. 

Another fun distraction was two DiveQuest groups swimming by during dinner.   A cast member and three or four guests with SCUBA certification would swim by and occasionally peer into a window.  One guest looked at me and gestured that he wanted to look t the menu.  He proceeded to point at a selection and gave it the thumbs it.  Another diver put his hand up to the window where a family with small children was seated and a little boy got up and gave him a high five. 

For those of you that may be considering the Coral Reef Restaurant for a romantic dining experience, I would have to dissuade you based on my experience.   While a very nicely themed restaurant with decent food, the atmosphere is anything but romantic and intimate.  While this may result from being in such an enclosed place, or perhaps has something more to do with the amount of guests that Disney crams into the restaurant, it can actually be very loud inside.  So loud, in fact that it is hard to hear what the person in front of you is saying.  This is understandable of course, as guests are engaged in what they are seeing in the tanks and families are conversing with one another over their day in the parks.  A word of warning however, if you are thinking about any romantic escapade inside, for example, popping the question, your loved one might not even be able to hear you and wonder why you’re sitting on the floor clutching a shiny piece of metal. 

The experience is what makes the Coral Reef Restaurant worthwhile, much more so than the food and the dining atmosphere.  Where else can you safely watch two sharks swim by, or have dinner with a sleeping turtle, or watch as a wacky DiveQuest cast member pantomime through the aquarium glass?  With all of the visual input and eye candy, you’ll sometimes forget you’re there to eat food.  The meal becomes secondary – as you are enveloped in the energetic environment (read: loud) and unique sites that you may not ever get to see again. 

In summary, the Coral Reef Restaurant is worth trying, if only for the experience of watching what unfolds in front of you.