Coral Reef Review
Coral Reef is a seafood restaurant in Epcot at Walt Disney World with views into an aquarium. This review features food photos, our thoughts on the cuisine, and whether the excellent ambiance here is enough to justify dining at this restaurant in The Seas pavilion. We’ve dined at Coral Reef a few times, with this review featuring photos from our most recent visit to Coral Reef.
Although Coral Reef is primarily a seafood restaurant, it has options for everyone for both lunch and dinner. Coral Reef is a 1-credit restaurant on the Disney Dining Plan, and also accepts Tables in Wonderland. Coral Reef is one of the more expensive non-signature table service restaurants at Walt Disney World, making it a bad option if you’re paying out of pocket, but a good option for maximizing your value on the Disney Dining Plan.
On our prior trips to Coral Reef, things had been a bit hit or miss. The food was considerably better during our most recent meal. It was actually very good, unexpectedly good, resoundingly good. As you might have gathered from the superlatives, this was not something either of us were expecting. While we both really enjoy seafood, it can be easy to poorly prepare, and many times even well-prepared seafood is just so-so.
I would compare our meal to some of the better seafood dishes we’ve had at top-tier real world seafood restaurants. It’s still no Flying Fish, which we’d consider the top seafood restaurant at Walt Disney World. However, for an in-park restaurant, Coral Reef has a lot going for it.
We’re getting ahead of ourselves, though. Let’s start by taking a look at that exceptional ambiance…
The ambiance was also better the previous trip because we were able to get a seat right next to the tank. If you have reservations for Coral Reef, we highly recommend waiting the extra 20 minutes or so that it typically takes to be seated at a tank table.
Plus, for you fellow children of the 90s, who doesn’t want to eat at the table where Danny tried to propose to Vicky on Full House, or where Cory interrupts Topanga’s date by holding up a sign inside the tank that tells her “I will chase you forever” on a classic episode of Boy Meets World. Seriously, Coral Reef deserves a spot in the TGIF Hall of Fame (and if such a hall of fame doesn’t exist, it should!).
One of the fun things about sitting at a tank table, especially if you have small children or wildlife enthusiasts, is that the restaurant will provide you with a fish guide describing and picturing various creatures living in the tank.
This can lead to an incredibly fun meal–potentially the best of your Walt Disney World vacation–for your 8 year old…or for your “Tom.”
We dined at Coral Reef for lunch (even well in advance, it was extremely difficult to secure dinner reservations for a day we wanted), and many options on the lunch menu were enticing.
Despite this, we both ordered the Grilled Mahi Mahi. In the future, we need to plan these things better so that we can sample some of each others’ dishes and try multiple dishes. It just sounded so good, though!
And good, it was. The creamy, coconut-lime sauce was the perfect compliment to the grilled mahi mahi (which is right up there as one of my favorite fish, anyway), which had a wonderful texture and flavor thanks to its preparation. Even the rice, something I normally view as a sort of filler, tasted fairly good.
Don’t even get me started on the rock shrimp; I’m salivating at my desk as I think back to their crisp crunch and perfect taste. It’s not often that Disney prepares shrimp this well. They’re usually either soggy and cold or rubbery and cold. These were perfect. I don’t think the cilantro really added a whole lot to the dish besides being a nice garnishing touch.
The Chocolate Wave was delicious, too. Again, we both ordered this, but after such a great experience with it our last time at Coral Reef, this should be no surprise. It doesn’t really look like anything special in the photo here, and honestly, I remember the preparation being a lot more impressive on our last trip, but it was still quite decadent.
Certainly something you should consider ordering, but from what I understand, most desserts at Coral Reef are actually pretty good.
Our server was inattentive, but it appeared that she was serving a lot of tables. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were short-staffed that day, so I don’t blame her. I would rather give people the benefit of the doubt in these situations. Still, I expect attentive service (regardless of who is at “fault”) when dining out, so it was still disappointing, although it certainly could have been a fluke, and nothing on which you should base your decision.
Overall, Coral Reef treated us very well, and was a real surprise. Coral Reef can be a bit pricey if you’re not on the Disney Dining Plan, but the cuisine and ambiance can justify the expense. Many commenters have remarked that the food is a bit hit-or-miss, and our own experiences corroborate this. Knowing exactly how much of a hit it can be has me optimistic for the future, and we’ve decided that if we ever get another subpar entree at Coral Reef, we’ll likely send it back. After all, the restaurant has demonstrated that it’s capable of preparing amazing dishes, and with the prices it’s charging, patrons certainly shouldn’t accept anything less than an exceptional meal. Coral Reef is currently one of our favorite dining options at Epcot and we look forward to returning here soon, but it does lose a point for its noted inconsistencies.
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Your Thoughts…
If you’ve been to Coral Reef, did you have a poor or great meal (or somewhere in between)? Do you think it stacks up to the highly praised options in Epcot’s World Showcase, or would you rather dine at one of those restaurants? Planning on going to Coral Reef? Share your thoughts in the comments!
We ate at the Coral Reef a week ago. We mainly went because of the fish tanks which were awesome! The food was okay. We decided to get the NY strip steaks. They were decent but not nearly as good as the steaks we had a week earlier at the Rose & Crown. They desserts were great! For us the main attraction was the fish tanks.
Just had dinner there. I currently can not breathe I ate so much. They really hit it big tonight! Everything from the service to the food was exceptional. A perfect 10 in my book. My 10 year old sons favorite restaurant and we have been to alot of places. I would highly recommend.
Thanks for the report! Glad to hear they did so well! 🙂
My mom and I were at Disney about a month ago and the Coral Reef ended up being an unexpected highlight of our trip! We ended up having extra TS credits on for our last day and booked the restaurant the night before on a whim. We were originally seated on the second level and a little dissapointed as we had requested tank side and were willing to wait. However, our waiter was fabulous and consented to move us to an empty tank-side table. Neither of us are big fans of seafood, so we went mostly for the ambiance, but my chicken served with polenta was seriously the best chicken I have ever had! My mom had the manicotti, which was also pretty good. For desert we had the chocolate wave and mango chiffon cake; they were positively sublime! Our servers were both fantastic, and this ended up being one of our favorite restaurants at Disney!
Hi Tom,
We have reservations at the Coral Reef for dinner on Easter, which is also my husband’s birthday. Do you know if they will do something special for my husband, such as a complimentary dessert or birthday cake?
Enjoy your blog! Thank you!
They might, but they might not. Really up to the discretion of the server you get. Make sure to mention it when you check into the restaurant, but don’t get your hopes too high!
My family and I ate at Coral Reef this past week, and I was slightly disappointed. When my wife and I were making dining reservations back in April, Coral Reef was one of the meals I was looking forward to most. It just didn’t measure up, unfortunately.
My wife and I split the crab dip, which was good not great. For entrees, we had the Mahi and the Lobster mac and cheese. Neither was bad, but neither was great either. Both desperately needed salt or lemon to brighten up the flavors. Dessert was very good, though. My wife had the mousse and I had the chocolate wave. Both were excellent.
To be fair, I am a bit of a seafood snob, so perhaps my expectations were slightly high going into this meal. Also, our waitress was pretty awful. Inattentive and unfriendly. While one may try to divorce that from your meal experience, it is difficult to do so.
Still, I would go back simply because of the view (I was mesmerized by the huge sea turtle all meal), and the food was okay, just not excellent. I’d give it a 6/10, and that is mainly because of the setting.
I love Coral Reef! I have eaten here every trip since 2006 (6 in total) and have always had attentive service and great food. I was last there in September 2013 for my honeymoon and it was the best meal yet. The short ribs are to die for…I don’t often finish an entire entree but this one has me debating if I should lick the plate…yes it’s that good! My hubby and I are disney bound in a few short weeks and I can’t wait to eat at Coral Reef again. I do wish they would bring back an old menu item which was a favorite of mine. It was blackened catfish on a bed of cheesy grits with a tomato compote and balsamic reduction. Though if they did bring it back and the short ribs were still on the menu I would have to get both 🙂
Love your blog Tom and your photos are always so great!
Coral Reef is another staple of ours. I don’t know if it’s because of the atmosphere or what but we go every trip and are set in a coma once our eyes hit the tank. The food is never anything to rip your shirt off and do the Hulk Hogan ear thing in the middle of the restaurant but it’s good enough and like I said…Dat Tank tho!”
I’m laughing out loud at this comment, even though I don’t really understand what you’re saying…
It should read “and we are sent into a coma”
But I bet that is not what confused you.
My daughter and I ate at Coral Reef in February. I was excited for her to see all of the fish. We did have a good table. The food was terrible though. I had the lobster pasta. The first dish they brought out to me was just pasta with no lobster, so I sent it back. Then it came back with lobster and some nasty green oil all over it. I gagged down a few bites. Having grown up in the Seattle area, I LOVE seafood, but this dish made me never want to eat seafood again. Thankfully the chocolate wave was amazing or I would have left the restaurant starving. With so many other amazing places to eat at Epcot, I would never eat here again.
I keep wanting to try CR. The menu looks awesome. But the hit/miss reviews make me always choosing somewhere else. I’m a total kid at heart, and for me ambience always trumps food quality. But, at the same time, I don’t want to be disappointed.
We (dh dw ds9 ds6 dd4) are debating between CR and Biergarten for our last ADR for Labor Day week. Anything to tip the scales either way?
After reading your post about good restaurants to watch Illuminations, I was able to snag 8:15 La Hacienda ADR’s. Can’t wait to try that.
Also, your photos are always so Amazing! I’m surprised you didn’t include more shots of the tanks.
Even though this is a seafood restaurant my husband ordered a steak and I ordered chicken. We did have the chocolate wave! We had a good meal and would eat here again!
Glad to hear you enjoyed it. Thanks for the feedback!
We went there a few months ago on the dining plan and had an awful experience. We had to wait well past our dining reservation. Our food was cold or just meh and our server couldn’t have cared less about us. We did not have a good view of the tank which is one of the main reasons we picked here. The dessert was good but our server took so long to bring it out our 3 year old was getting antsy and we asked for desserts to go. Four adults and 1 child so we weren’t a huge party. She also messed up our bill. Easily our least favorite dining experience of the trip.
That’s really unfortunate. Did you ask to speak with the manager?
Why Coral Reef remains so hit or miss is a mystery to us. Maybe the manager or Guest Relations needs more negative feedback. Regardless, there is really no excuse for this.
Thanks to your great review and advice, my wife and I booked reservations here on our trip during February this year. We both got the grilled Mahi Mahi…and it was the best meal we had our entire trip. It might even have been the best meal I’ve ever had in my life, but considering I live in Phoenix where there aren’t any good restaurants, that might not be saying much. The Jack Daniels / Baileys dessert was also fantastic.
Thanks for the recommendation!
Thanks for the review! I have high hopes for this restaurant, as I have ADRs booked for May.We have a larger group (6), so it will be interesting to see how it works out for us. My husband is a huge fan of seafood, so we “have” to try it, anyway.
Just ate there for our first time at Disney in June. I agree the ambiance is great but the food was not what I expected. The dessert was great though. I’m happy to hear you gave it another try and I might contemplate doing so if we go again. I also didn’t know about requesting a tank side table so that would be a must.
It’s definitely an inconsistent restaurant. The range of comments here tell me that much. Hopefully you have better luck next time!
We used to lone Coral Reef snd we used to go there on every trip. It used to be great, then good….now it’s just meh. The food isn’t awful…I’m just not sure it’s worth what you’re spying for it. The atmosphere is great, but we’ve had two meals there over the last two trips were the meal was disappointing….not bad, but just not inspiring and certainly not worth the money. We’ll probably skip it next trip.
Ate there about 4 years ago. I think they have a problem with larger groups. We were 8, 6 adults ant two preteens. With ADR we waited 1 1/2 hours past our time. Everyone was cold, cranky, and STARVING. We ended up at 2 adjacent tables. Server was flustered because there were three rooms of people (all on disney dining.) Remember food as being decent, but we have never gone back. Sitting on floor for over an hour isn’t much fun.
We ate at CR earlier this month (January 2014). We booked a spontaneous trip to WDW only 3 weeks out of our arrival date. I had no problem at all getting a reservation on short notice, or rebooking when we changed our park plans around. In both instances we used the FastPass+ system, which is fantastic!
We arrived at CR and asked to be seated next to the tank, and happily waited 20 minutes or so to be accommodated. Surprisingly when we entered almost all of the tank tables were empty, so it remains a head-scratcher as to why it took us so long to be seated.
Our waitress was delightful and provided us with a guide to help us identify what fish we were seeing. One shark in particular visited us numerous times, with a particular interest in our 8-year-old daughter, which she found hilarious. There was also a number of scuba divers in the water as well (apparently this is an add-on experience you can purchase at EPCOT), so they provided some visual entertainment as well.
My husband ordered the mahi-mahi, which he seemed to enjoy. My daughter has the shrimp from the children’s menu, but we were disappointed that it was battered and deep fried as opposed to a much healthier skillet preparation. I ordered the strip loin steak, but have to say it was just ok (see note below).
Despite the food being somewhat underwhelming, we enjoyed our CR experience and would recommend that others take time to enjoy it as well. It’s not every day that you can get up close and personal with a shark.
Note: I had ordered a strip loin steak three times during our recent visit. At the Coral Reef, Fulton’s Crab Shack and at Tony’s Town Square. Each time they looked like they all came out of the same frozen steak box, complete with the grill marks on them. If I can leave you with one recommedation, it would be to not order the strip loin. There are lots of tasty options at WDW, but this is not one of them.
DH and I ate here for the first time on our honeymoon in 2008. The whole experience was amazing! Our table was right in front of the tank. We both got the Mahi Mahi dish you had and loved it. Both of us agreed it was the best meal we had on our trip. Our server was very attentive and friendly. I don’t remember what DH had for dessert but I had the creme brulee. It was very good but wasn’t on the menu last time we were there. The Coral Reef is now the one dining experience DH and I have to do on every trip.
Our last visit was in July 2013. The food was still just as good. We had a large party and didn’t sit near the tank but the ambiance was still very nice. We were eating with a crabby toddler so we didn’t get to enjoy our meal as much as I would have liked but it was still a great experience. The Mahi Mahi is still one of our favorite meals at Disney. I can’t wait to eat there again this fall!
We ate there a few years ago. We had a lot of people with us and the food was not good. It was just a bad experience all the way around. One plus is you get to watch the fish…We’ve been going to Disney World for 35 years and there used to be some awesome restaurants all over Disney with great food…not so much anymore.
My wife and I ate there in September of 2013. We had gotten front row seats to the tank, I assume because it was our honeymoon. We had a very good experience overall. Our server was pleasant and attentive, our appetizers were amazing (my wife had the Charbroiled Octopus, that she still talks about, and I had the Crispy Fried Shrimp<–only because it was our first night and thought that apps came with the Disney Dining plan…whoops). Our entrees were ok. She had the Lobster Orecchiette Pasta (kind of heavy on the cream) and I had the Grilled Mahi-Mahi (the shrimp actually wasn't very good that night, fish was pretty good). Probably an expectational thing, but I think we both were hoping for it to be a little better than it was. By no means were they bad, though. The desserts were good, however we were on the Disney Dining plan so we wouldn't have felt like ordering them otherwise as we were really full!
Overall I am not sure if it has completely turned the corner, but we really enjoyed the ambiance and appetizers!