Have you ever had one of those meals where everything was perfectly delicious from start to finish? I did recently at one of my favorite restaurants at Walt Disney World, Flying Fish.
Several of us wandered over after enjoying the afternoon at Epcot’s Flower and Garden Festival. Fortunately, our favorite server, Bob, was working and we sat in his section. After quenching our thirst with some good ol Florida water, we ordered a cheese plate to share and then started thinking about wine.
I should preface this by telling you wine is one of my indulgences. I love red wine and love to try new wines! When I go to a great restaurant, such as Flying Fish, I am splurging on dinner so I tend to splurge on my wine as well. So you don’t think this is my typical price point at home, I used to shop for great buys under $10 but those are almost non-existent these days, so now it’s what can I find under $18!
Bob has been my server a number of times and now knows the kinds of wines I like. He always lets me know what is new on the wine list and what “good buys” they have in stock.
A new wine had recently come to the Flying Fish that Bob thought we would enjoy. We decided to give it a try. WOW! We swirled, breathed the aromas and tasted — all four of us at about the same time looked up from our glass with huge smiles! We had a winner!
This wine from Argentina is a “Bordeaux style blend: of Malbec-Cabernet Sauvignon-Petit Verdot. It was smooth as silk and full of great flavors. Flying Fish price was $85 and that’s about the same price range as my Google Search of wine stores indicated.
The Artisanal Cheese plate was enough for the 4 of us to nibble on while we looked at the menu. Unfortunately we gobbled up the cheese before I thought about taking a photo.
New on the menu, at least for me, was a Prix Fixe tasting option!
Flying Fish Cafe Signature Prix Fixe Tasting Menu $63.00/per guest
Appetizer: Duo of “Crispy Maine Coast Jonah Crab Cake” and “Our Very Own Caesar Salad”
Entree Duo of “Char-crusted Certified Black Angus New York Strip Steak” and “Potato-wrapped Snapper”
Dessert: Caramelized Banana Napoleon
Burgundy Wine Pairing Flight : $34.00
Now, on to our meal. I didn’t take notes during the meal as my intention was not to write about it. However our experience was so wonderful, I wanted to at least share some photos. Suffice it to say, all food items were great!
Each of us ordered the same appetizer, one of the regular items on the Flying Fish menu:
The mozzarella was so incredibly fresh with mouth watering textures that we couldn’t believe it was flown in from Italy, we all thought it had been made in-house.
Fresh Mozzarella di Bufala – Florida Yellow Beefsteak, Heirloom and Tiny grape Tomatoes, aged Balsamico, Exotic Peppercorns, Petite Basil, and Sicilian Olio Verde $15.00
Ginger and Teriyaki Char-Crusted Yellowfin Tuna – Asian greens, sesame-laced sea beans, oyster plant and forest mushrooms, with mido-dashi-lemongrass-wasabi Tobikko-Butter Emulsion $37.00
This side dish is to die for and worth taking any remaining home in a “doggie-bag”.
Leek, Fontina and Truffle-laced Trofie Mac n Cheese $9.00
Tagliatelle Pasta a la Bolognese – Rustic Five Meat Ragout, arugula and pecorino Romano $26 (also offered as a Lacto-ovo friendly or vegetarian selection: Pesto-laced Vegetable Primavera $22
Rainforest Pepperberry-grilled Kurobuta Pork Tenderloin – leek, fontina and truffle-laced pasta Mac n Cheese, grilled asparagus with black missino fig, port wine, balsamico, carmelized onion and trumpet mushroom compote $36.00
We were all too stuffed to even think about dessert.
As I said at the beginning, everything just blended together perfectly from the service, to the ambiance, to the wine to the food. It was a great evening and one we will not soon forget! Thanks to the Flying Fish team!
The moral of this story is – you don’t have to be a seafood lover enjoy fine dining at Flying Fish!
Hi Deb,
Wonderful review!! I only found it as I had googled waiter Bob at the flying fish!!! We ate there last November and were lucky enough to get Bob. He made our meal amazing. My daughter loved him so much she got him to autograph her book! We are going back to Disney on honeymoon this November and cannot wait! Keeping everything crossed Bob is still there and we can get him as our waiter again!
Sarah, UK
Nice review! FF used to be a must-do for us on every trip, and what kept us coming back to FF time and again was the superior service from Bob. Actually, my husband and I credit him for introducing us to the wonderful world of wine! Choosing wine at a restaurant can be a daunting task, but Bob helped make it fun! Though we have not been to FF in a while (we think BlueZoo is a better seafood restaurant), I am happy to hear Bob is still around, advising his guests about wine!
Deb — Great review! It really makes me look forward to our visit next week! We had been back and forth about going to FF because it is a signature restaurant, but since we are staying at the Boardwalk and it is our 20th anniversary trip, we decided to go for it and now I am glad that we did. Thanks!
Hi Deb,
I am so glad that you posted this review. Flying Fish is our favorite restaurant at Disney and we go back every year. My husband and I discovered it on our honeymoon 12 years ago! We always have the best service and the best meal. The staff is superb and they are always very accommodating. Especially when we had our youngest son there when he was just 5 months – they made sure we had a table that we could wheel the stroller right up to it so he could sleep and we could eat! Looking forward to dining there again in May.
I LOVE Flying Fish. Its one of our favs, and my husband swears the steak is better than Le Cellier’s!
Hi Deb,
As Enlish folk we only get to WDW every 3 years (takes us that long to save up for the flights!) but try to cram in as much as we can while we are over. Hubby and I were on our 2nd trip without the family last May and finally got to eat at FF………WOW! Without a doubt it is right up there with California Grill as a favourite. Great food, service and ambience. Can’t wait to visit again but next time we will be bringing the grandkids so we might have to sneak out on our own!
Thanks v much for a brill blog and a reminder of life across the pond x
Great article!! This non-seafood eater wants to try all the WDW restaurants. Good to know I don’t have to skip FF!!
I’m a vegetarian and Flying Fish is one of my top choices at WDW. They always have one vegetarian option on the menu (usually pasta) and also have a veggie plate that is not on the menu. The veggie plate consists of several of the “sides” that come with the fish and meat entrees and they’re always fantastic!
We went recently to celebrate our 7 year wedding anniversary. The funny thing is neither of us got seafood!! The whole reason I wanted to try Flying Fish was because of a review that raved about their New York Strip Steak. Everything was fantastic and we even got complimentary champagne in honor of our celebration. Thanks for posting this, it is not the most talked about restaurant at wdw, but it should be!
We were just there a week ago. We go to The Flying Fish every trip. Our waiter was Curly who was also very good. My DH and I both had the prix fixe selection which was very good. My son had the huge porterhouse steak and said it was the best steak he ever had. My daughter tried something new (to her), the lamb. She enjoyed it but after tasting her brother’s steak she was regretting her decision.
The only complaint we had is there was a definite problem in the kitchen and after finishing our appetizers it took one hour for our entrees to be served! Our waiter was ticked. We saw him complain to his manager a couple of times. He ended up giving us a couple glasses of wine for free. It is definitely a pricey meal ($354 for the four of us) which shocked me but what can you do?!
Hi Deb:
That photo looks like tuna tartare, not char crusted yellow fin tuna. I would love to see a pic of the char crusted one.
Thanks!
Steve
DEB: hmmmm let me take another look at our pics.
Deb,
I’m drooling just reading and looking at the photo’s. I’ve always loved Flying Fish and have eaten there 4 or 4 times over the years. Easy choice considering Boardwalk is our first home resort as DVC.
My only problem of late, is getting the others in our adult visits to go there. They don’t know what they are missing. Seems as though the majority always want to go to Yachtsman instead. I love Yachtsman also, but I’m doing some sneaky planning right now to try to get everyone to Flying Fish during our December adult trip because were staying at the Boardwalk again……Great article……VIC
Hi Deb, great review and I am going to get that wine. The place I use has it for $60, I can’t believe FF marked it up so little, that is an awesome price for a restaurant, especially at Disney.
That pork tenderloin was one of the best entrees I’ve ever had – anywhere.