rabbiti
Registered: November 2009
Location: Chicago
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Wed November 11, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 6
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Pros:
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Wonderful food and wine
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Cons:
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Poor organization, and thus, poor service
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The food was fantastic, as was the wine. Both the Fisherman's Stew and the Whole Yellowtail Snapper were great, beyond expectations. The Greek wine was perfect with the food.
I was disappointed by the overall organization and service. (This was not the fault of the few waiters on hand, who were trying their best.)
Although the restaurant opens at 5pm, and they stagger their reservations, they did not start seating people until about 5:25pm. Then, they seated everyone at once, or practically so.
Instead of then being able to stagger the orders and the service, they then had to try to please everyone, at once. Tables with small children, asking for many special services, overwhelmed the few waiters, leaving others to languish.
More efficient organization, and more efficient time management, could allow the restaurant to proceed in a smooth clockwork type fashion.
I dined at seven other Disney restaurants, last week, and all others were beyond expectations, simply fabulous, including: Yak and Yeti, Hollywood Brown Derby, Narcoossee's, Mama Melrose's, Coral Reef, Olivia's, and Artist Point.
Thanks for listening!
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lisaj
Registered: November 2007
Location: UK
Posts: 30
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Review Date: Tue November 10, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Wonderful food, wine and server
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Cons:
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Nothing
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This was a bit of a worry booking. We only booked our holiday one month before and managed to get a 5pm booking here on October 28th.
We had read some very bad reviews and almost cancelled but I am so glad we didn't. This was my favourite meal not only of the trip but of my lifetime. Wonderful.
I am not big on Greek food having only visited Greece once so cannot comment on the authenticity of the food. Both adults had the greek red wine flight which was very nice.
For starter we tried the greek sharing platter so sure that our children would not like it we only ordered the one, it will have to be two next time as the children ate so much of it.
For main course my husband had the fish of the day, red snapper, it was brought on the bone with head but quickly the bones and head were removed by our waiter. My 11 year old son had the Pork but wished he had the steak when he saw mine so we ended up sharing. My daughter had the chicken off the kid's menu.
For dessert my 7 year old daughter had the make your own pizza dessert, son had Greek donuts and I had the chocolate cake which was more like a chocolate sponge pudding with liquid sauce in the middle.
I had the pressed pot coffee to finish and unbelievably it was included on the dining plan.
We loved it, our Croation server could not have been more helpful and we will definitely be back.
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PurpleEars
Registered: June 2006
Location: Canada
Posts: 15
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Review Date: Sun November 8, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Food is good, comparable to food at most of the restaurants on property
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Cons:
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Narrow menu selection, not "balanced" main courses
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We had dinner here on Oct 29. We almost cancelled our reservation after reading some poor reviews here, but we figured we would give it a try anyway. After the meal, both of us were glad that we didn’t cancel the reservation.
Our reservation was at 1805. We were seated within 5 minutes of checking in. We did not try any of the appetizers, but we both had the smoothie and they were good.
For the main course, my husband had the pork T-bone. He said the pork and the vegetables were good, but he was not a big fan of the marmalade. I had the fisherman’s stew. I am not a big fan of clams and mussels, so I asked the server if I can get one without clams and mussels. They were very accommodating and gave me extra shrimp in my stew (especially when my request was simply due to food preference). The stew was very good. One thing we notice was that the main course dishes are not very “balanced” – i.e., the pork T-bone came with vegetables and no starch, and the flank steak came with starch (potatoes), but it didn’t look like it came with vegetables. There are side dishes that could remedy that concern (we didn’t try any of those). We feel that it is something people should know when they plan to eat here so they can plan to order a side dish or plan their other meals in the day to account for the menu choices (similar to eating at the old Concourse Steakhouse).
We both chose the chocolate budino cake for dessert. It is somewhat similar to the chocolate wave at the Coral Reef, but we thought it was not quite as good as the chocolate wave.
Bottom line: we would eat here again, but we may plan our other meals so that we still get a balance diet that day.
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ggdoiron
Registered: January 2006
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 2
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Review Date: Sat November 7, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 3
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Pros:
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many opportunities to be good
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Cons:
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many challenges to overcome
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I'd been very excited about our 6:30 reservation tonight. Arrived early, about 6:10. Checked in and was given one of those flying saucer buzzy things. Asked my husband to hold it while I went to the bathroom... and made the mistake of asking the nice girl at the counter how to get to said bathroom. She sent me out of the restaurant, past the candy shop.... about a block later I luckily encountered Cast Member Kourtney, who fortunately is a manager at Kouzzina and was able to steer me back to Kouzzina and to the restroom adjacent to the restaurant.
We were initially seated at a booth but asked to be moved due to extreme brightness from an overhead halogen (?) spotlight. Much ado, ended up at a table facing show kitchen. Thank you to whoever moved us, bad lighting not the fault of waitstaff. Also need some tablecloths. Tablecloths are cheap.
[NOTE: I grew up near Lowell, Massachusetts, home to a large Greek community and some wonderful Greek food. Shout out to Athenian Corner!! So I realize I'm a pain in the backside about Greek food. I make my own cookies (kourabides), my own spanokapita (spinach pie), and so on.... so Cat Cora already had a nuisance on her hands!]
Boy, is this place loud!!! The conversation of the people next to us with the multiple refills of orange soda is still bouncing around in my head. All ten of them. Fish stew and orange soda. That's what the Disney Dining Plan has reduced us to. Note that we are not on the Dining Plan, although at this restaurant we were asked multiple times.
Our young server tried to shove us along, as I'm sure she needs to for folks who want a 20 minute dinner because they've got a fastpass in an hour. I had to be a little bi***y to make her leave us alone to order a course at a time. Strange number of restaurant management staff running around talking via bluetooth/earbud sorts of things, although none of them seem able to actually interact with a guest.
ASIDE -- the Dining Plan sure makes it tough on a restaurant. If you're reading this review you're already a Disney addict, and have lots of opinions, but we haven't been to WDW for six years and are horrified at how good restaurants are supposed to act like fast-food joints to please folks who don't eat in real restaurants at home.
OK, the real part of the review... Cat Cora wine flight -- liked all of them, nice but not worth big bucks. Server???? where are you??? We knocked that off in five minutes and now we're thirsty.... hello??? please serve us...
Broiled cheese appetizer. Bad, cool. This should be all about temperature. I didn't complain, at this point just wanted entree. Multigrain bread was ok, two small slices each, served with butter topped with **black Hawaiian sea salt. OK, why???? I thought the sea salt was sort of cool, but what's the point???
Meanwhile, server is so freaked out that we're not going with the usual plan (get in and out fast I think) that she'll just ignore us. A bad choice in our case. We generally dine at home because we're fussy, but if we go out we're perfectly willing to spend good money for value.
Waitstaff has apparently had a recent lesson in personalizing the encounter with the customer, so they repeatedly launch into statements like, "My personal favorite is the calamari, because it's crispy and comes with lemon." It feels awkward, however, when all the waitstaff within earshot have the same favorites for the same reason. Just doesn't ring true.
Jerry had the flank steak for dinner, very nice. Wish I knew what the herb mix was that it was served with, excellent. Kudos to the kitchen!!! I had the fish stew (a/k/a ciopinno) Nice fish, shrimp, fennel, clams & scallops. We both spent way too much time waiting for silverware. I should have had a dish or bowl for clam and mussel shells.
I had the Greek cookies for dessert. Nice.
My final gripe??? The bill comes, we shell out $130.00 for the two of us and NOBODY bothers to say, "Thanks for coming!" A pet peeve of mine.
Good ideas, not implemented well yet, but a huge challenge in light of the mix of Dining Plan and Convention guests at this location. Will be interesting to see if Iron Chef Cat Cora can join the firmament of Disney Chef Stars.
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OneLtlSpark
Registered: March 2007
Location: Chicago
Posts: 27
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Review Date: Mon November 2, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 6
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Pros:
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Drink menu, variety of choices
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Cons:
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not authentic greek cuisine
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We had the magical fortune of dining here on 10/30 when Cat Cora was on site for the Food & Wine Festival. She spent a great deal of time at the restaurant speaking with patrons, and posing for photos. I was thrilled to meet an Iron Chef - Cat Cora was warm and very cordial.
I do wonder though, why she elected to develop a Greek menu. It's my opinion that the restaurant would be better served to rebrand, and perhaps use a more general Mediterranean theme to avoid disappointment.
For example, the saganaki was not served with brandy - or flaming. It was instead lightly breaded and warm. This didn't make it bad, just unexpected.
That said, however, we still enjoyed our meal. The Fisherman's Stew is outstanding and my Ouzo-Tini was a delicious, slightly sweet drink with licorice undertones.
I would have liked to sample more items off the menu. Even if it wasn't authentically Greek, the food was still prepared and served well.
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cajundiver
Registered: October 2009
Location: Texas
Posts: 2
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Review Date: Wed October 28, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Food, service
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Cons:
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After all of the bad reviews I almost changed my reservation. I am glad now that I did not. My husband and I had a great meal here. I had the fisherman's stew and thought it was fantastic. My husband has the pastitsio and enjoyed it as well. We had no problems with service. We ordered a couple of Greek beers just to try and they were awful. But that is a personal preference, nothing to do with Kouzzina. The baklava was just o.k. and budino cake was delicous. We had a great time here and would go back just for the fisherman's stew!
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elainep
Registered: October 2006
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 62
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Review Date: Mon October 26, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Good service, tasty meal
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Cons:
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Dining room is still a bit loud
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I arrived at Kouzzina at about 8:20 p.m. or so on Wednesday, October 7th, 15 minutes before my 8:35 ADR time. The lobby area looks pretty much the same as it did when it was Spoodles; the restaurant, though, is decorated with dark woods and cream-colored walls. It doesn’t scream “Greek” and it looks very nice. After about a 5-7 minute wait, I was seated at a table for 2 with a view of the display kitchen, only if I craned my neck to look around a pole. I ordered the Wood-Grilled Flank Steak with Fresh Herb Salsa and Kouzzina Potatoes, mainly because I’d read to much about it, and the Seasonal House Salad, which consisted of Lettuces with Spiced Cashews, Herbs and a Lemon Vinaigrette. The lettuces turned out to be mostly spinach, which was fine with me, and the dressing was very light, almost like it wasn’t there. Very unusual and very good. The flank steak arrived shortly after the salad. It was very flavorful and very tender. The Kouzzina potatoes were also very good—kind of crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. I'd ordered the wine recommended to accompany the dish, a Brassfield Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. It was a nice pairing—the wine had lots of legs. Overall, this was a most enjoyable meal, and if the restaurant participates in the Disney Dining Plan, it’s a good value for one table credit.
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NancyV
Registered: October 2009
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Mon October 26, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? No
| Rating: 4
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Pros:
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Location/appetizers
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Cons:
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Food quality/service
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I made reservations for my family on Oct 1st and was thrilled to be able to get in. I quickly regretted my decision. Service was painfully slow and awkward at best. My DD and I ordered the flank steak and it was awful: black on the outside and raw on the inside as well as tough. Our food was served a good 10 minutes ahead of my husband's. They told me they serve food as they cook it so if it's not done at the same time, they just bring it all out. Well, I've eaten at plenty of restaurants and one is supposed to be served together---isn't that called timing?? At any rate, once we managed to get through dinner (and none of us finished our entrees), I decided to order coffee hoping for a decent cup somewhere in Disney! I guess it's the first time she tried to make french press pot because the entire cup was filled with grounds. It was disgusting. She brought me a spoon to "help" me pick out the grounds........need I say more? Anyhow, save your time and money and go somewhere else. I was very disappointed!
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disney husband and wife
Registered: September 2009
Posts: 11
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Review Date: Fri October 23, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 6
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Pros:
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calamari
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Cons:
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slow service
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Ate here on the second night of our honeymoon with another couple. This was one of the restaurants that we were excited to eat at and we were disappointed.
The service started out good even though there was a very large party next to us. As the meal went on and the party next to us left the service got slower and slower. I was actually getting quite annoyed at how slow they were to check back to get dessert and didn't keep drinks full.
For apps we had calamari and the spreads. The calamari was excellent. The spreads were good. Hubby had the Cinnamon Chicken, I had the Flank Steak, our friends had the roasted veggies and the Fisherman's Stew. Our friend loved the stew, the veggies were good, hubby enjoyed the chicken, and my steak was good. With the exception of the stew none of us were wowed. For dessert we had the Loukoumades, Baklava, and Galaktoboureko. The Loukomades were the big hit. I didn't care for the Baklava, for me it needed to be sweeter but the ice cream was very good. The Galakroboureko was also good.
Honestly, I am not sure if we would return. If the service was better we might go back to try it again in the future but I would rather try another restaurant as to go back.
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miasdad
Registered: October 2009
Posts: 2
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Review Date: Tue October 20, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Unique to WDW menu, Great Location, Food Quality
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Cons:
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Scant Menu selection
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Although we enjoyed Spoodles, it was time for a change. If you are not a "foodie", and expecting the average WDW fare (bland burgers...instead of spicy unique and delicious lamb burgers) then this isn't for you. While I guess it isn't "authentic" Greek cuisine (more inspired by) the pastitsio is PHENOMENAL. PERIOD.
If you enjoy great unique food, eat here.
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Bovim
Registered: October 2009
Posts: 2
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Review Date: Tue October 13, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? No
| Rating: 1
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Pros:
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Bread with butter and special salt
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Cons:
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Everything else
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I am in mourning over the loss of Spoodles. Why did they mess with this great restaurant to put in a "want-a-be" Greek restaurant. The food was not authentic. I know because I was taught to cook Greek by my husband's Yaya. The service was SLOW and courses were served out of order. When we asked to speak to the manager, it took forever to find her and she seemed disinterested in our opinion. She told us "well, Cat Cora is from Mississippi , not Greece!!!! I want my Spoodles back!!!!
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magicfan
Registered: October 2008
Location: Georgia
Posts: 9
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Review Date: Mon October 12, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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attentive servers, food was better than average
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Cons:
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Greek influences too subtle
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Ate here after an 8 hour drive from GA to FL on Oct. 2. I have to preface this by saying I was not expecting a "Cat Cora" dining experience, so I feel I had pretty realistic expectations of the food. However, I was dissapointed with my meal. I had the lamb, which was tender and was good. However, the greek spices were very subtle in the dish. The sauce almost tasted like that of a pot roast. My mother had the cinnamon chicken and enjoyed it very much. My daughter ate grilled chicken from the kids menu and did not like it at all. It was grilled over the wood fire and had a very smoky flavor. I can see where a child would find it off-putting. It was also a little dry. The sweet potato fries that came with the child's meal were good, and a nice departure from the usual side dishes offered on the kids menu. The Greek doughnuts were fantastic! How can you go wrong with fried dough?!? Going in I was a little worried about some of the reviews I've read about service at this restaurant and others for people using the DDP. Those fears were quickly erased at Kouzzina. Our server was AMAZING! And not only our server, but the server at the table next to ours would check on us if he thought we might need something. I was really impressed. Some of the best service I've ever had a restaurant anywhere. Overall, I would recommend this restaurant as one to try, but keep your expectations realistic. If you're looking for a Greek restuarant, or want to try it expecting Iron Chef cuisine, you may want to pass. The food is above average I'd say, but not to the level of a Le Cellier.
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ReaderReviews
Registered: November 2006
Posts: 73
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Review Date: Fri October 9, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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great atmosphere, very pleasant staff.
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Cons:
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Food needs a little help.
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Review submitted by mycadoo:
We ate here for dinner on August 20th. The Greek salad was ok and the saganaki was non descript. Two of our party had the avgolemeno soup and it had a very lovely lemon flavor. The presentation was very nice also. For dinner we had the lamb shank which just melted off the bone- definitely a hit, the flank steak which was very flavorful and was enjoyed by all, the cinnamon chicken and the biggest disappointment of the night- pasticchio. Being a family of Greeks, we were very surprised that this would be the dish that didn't live up to expectations. The meat filling was flavored just right, but the bechamel was so pasty that you had to move it off to the side. For dessert, we ordered an assortment of various offerings including the semolina custard which was delicious, the Greek cookies which only one was Greek (last time I checked macaroons weren't on my Greek families list, and the chocolate cake. All in all, it was one of the better Disney restaurants and time may improve some of its shortcomings. So go-have fun- and toss back an ouzo for me! OPA!
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ReaderReviews
Registered: November 2006
Posts: 73
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Review Date: Fri October 9, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? No
| Rating: 4
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Pros:
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Flank steak
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Cons:
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Service
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Review submitted by tblosser:
We were very excited about eating at Kouzzina especially after meeting Cat Cora the previous day. She was very nice and even posed for a picture. Unfortunately the meal was a disappointment. The bread and butter with Hawaiian black sea salt was great. We ordered the calamari appetizer but unfortunately it never made it to the table. It was on the bill at the end of the meal until I pointed it out to the waitress. When I asked for it to be removed from the bill she wanted to know why. I told her it was never delivered to the table. She had no idea! My flank steak was cooked as ordered and very good. The kids ordered the grilled chicken and fries. The chicken was so rubbery the kids could not eat it and the fries were sweet potato fries. Neither the waitress nor the menu made any mention of the fries being sweet potato; if either had we would have ordered something different. My wife ordered the Cinnamon Stewed Chicken which was over the top with the cinnamon. Kouzzina falls way short of what you would expect from an Iron Chief let alone Disney.
Click here to see this users profile
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ReaderReviews
Registered: November 2006
Posts: 73
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Review Date: Fri October 9, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Service, food, atmosphere
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Cons:
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Restaurant decor
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Review submitted by DoubleUDeeDoubleU:
Just returned from our vacation and stayed at the Boardwalk. We were so excited to eat at Cat Kora's restaurant! I grew up eating Greek/Mediterranean food and have to say that I loved the food at Kouzzina. The feta cheese was probably the best feta I have ever had! The spiced meat balls were way too spiced for my taste. Very intense flavor. The decor could have had more to it...I was kind of bored by how it looked in there. Our server was very animated, and had a lot of insight and hints for our choices. Although, we didn't really take his advice we appreciated it. I would go back to Kouzzina next time.
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