Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Thethreefull-servicerestaurantsatDisney'sAnimalKingdomare
Tusker House
Restaurant
(actually abuffet);
Rainforest Cafe
,agreat favorite ofchildren; and
Yak
& Yeti Restaurant
.
As you've undoubtedly noticed by now, Disney World is a trend-savvy place, and
every market share has its niche. But Disney World is also about stars, fantasies, and
meeting characters. So if you've become habituated to wood-fired pizza, the
Califor-
nia Grill
atop the Contemporary Resort will oblige. Great sushi can be had at
Teppan
Edo
at Japan in Epcot and at
Kimonos
in the Swan. The best and biggest steaks are at
Shula's Steak House
in the Dolphin,
Le Cellier Steakhouse
in the Canada Pavilion,
or
Yachtsman Steakhouse
at the Yacht Club, albeit way overpriced. In Italy
Via Na-
poli
, an authentic Neapolitan pizzeria, features wood-burning ovens and imports wa-
ter from a source that most resembles the water in Naples, Italy, home of some of the
world's best pizza dough. The 300-seat pizzeria is inspired by the Naples 45 pizzer-
ia on East 45th Street in New York City and has both indoor and outdoor dining. In
Mexico, the counter-service
La Cantina de San Angel
and the full-service
La Ha-
cienda de San Angel
(dinner only) offer a combined 400 seats with alfresco seating
for lunch and a perfect place for viewing
IllumiNations
, the nightly Epcot fireworks
spectacular.
La Cava de Tequila
, a tequila-and-tapas joint, is a place you're never
gonna see unless you can find somewhere to park your under-18s.
The
Planet Hollywood
at Downtown Disney (teens love it) famously belongs
to and has memorabilia from the likes of Demi Moore, Bruce Willis, and Sylvester
Stallone; plus, the planet-shaped building is a perfect counterpoint to Epcot's Space-
ship Earth. The West Side has two celebrity-connected restaurant-nightclubs:
House
of Blues
, part of the chain of New Orleans-style music halls-restaurants once partly
owned by surviving Blues Brother Dan Aykroyd; and
Bongos
, a Cuban-flavored café
created by Gloria Estefan and her husband, Emilio.
Notonlyfilm andsportsstars butalso theFoodNetwork andfood-magazine stars
have been enlisted in the Disney World parade. Paul Bocuse was one of the eponym-
ous
Chefs de France
who designed the menu for that restaurant and, most recently,
Monsieur Paul
in Epcot (and now that the building actually has a kitchen rather than
hauling in food from outside commissaries, it does them much more credit). Boston
star chef Todd English created
bluezoo
for the Dolphin. California's Wolfgang Puck
is so celebrity-kitchen-conscious that the TV monitors at
Wolfgang Puck Grand
