Halfway Through 2023: Disney Dining Roundup

Now that we’ve made it halfway through 2023, it’s definitely time to take a look at Disney dining surveys from this year to help us all understand which locations you might want to visit (or avoid) for the remainder of the year. Menu items, food quality, and service can all change quickly – so having the most up-to-date data and recommendations is always important! If you have an upcoming Walt Disney World vacation planned for the second half of 2023, take a look at these lists before making your dining plans for your trip.

Explain the Math

After every Walt Disney World vacation, you can fill out a post-visit survey to tell us all about your vacation. One part of that survey asks you to rate each dining location that you experienced with a thumbs up or thumbs down. We already have 30,000 dining ratings so far in 2023, so we can take the percentage of reviews that get a “thumbs up” rating and use that as our overall dining satisfaction score for each location.

For today’s lists, I’m not going to worry about splitting locations into table service, quick service, bar/lounge or snack cart. I just want to call out the overall best-of-the-best and worst-of-the-worst to give you some guardrails for your next trip!

Top 10 Walt Disney World Dining and Drinking Locations

1. Tambu Lounge

Satisfaction Score: 100%
Location: Polynesian Resort
Dining Type: Bar/Lounge

The top-rated dining location in all of Walt Disney World so far this year is … a drinking location. Mostly. You can get some food at the Tambu Lounge, but mostly you’ll visit this spot for a Lapu Lapu, a Backscratcher, or a Mai Tai. And it works especially well as a spot to wait out your Ohana reservation.

2. Ale & Compass Lounge

Satisfaction Score: 100%
Location: Yacht Club
Dining Type: Bar/Lounge

Lounges for the win. Ale and Compass Lounge (not to be confused with the restaurant) is conveniently located near EPCOT, but feels like it’s a world away. It is mostly known for a quiet and subdued atmosphere with a great drink selection and service. Unlike the Tambu Lounge, food options here are actually quite filling. The burger and fries rate as a top option.

3. Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill

Satisfaction Score: 100%
Location: Disney Springs
Dining Type: Table Service

The only table-service restaurant to make it into the top 10 so far this year is one that I wouldn’t have personally guessed, even if I had 25 tries. Wolfgang Puck isn’t a wildly popular Walt Disney World dining location. Reservations are pretty easy to get, and it’s not being covered by a lot of recent reviews. But it’s batting 100% with survey-takers so far this year, so you might want to give it a try on your next Disney Springs date night!

4. Sanaa Quick Service

Satisfaction Score: 100%
Location: Animal Kingdom Lodge
Dining Type: Quick Service

During lunch and dinner, Sanaa is an already highly-rated table service dining location. But not high enough to make the top 10. At breakfast, however, the location becomes a quick service option for everyone staying at Kidani Village (or willing to make the trek). We collect survey data separately for the table service and quick service “versions” of the restaurant, and quick service breakfast receives another elusive perfect score. That makes it the highest-rated quick service location of 2023 so far.

5. Aloha Isle

Satisfaction Score: 99%
Location: Magic Kingdom
Dining Type: Snacks

Almost everyone loves Dole Whips. That’s what this Aloha Isle rating tells you. Get your Dole Whip with original pineapple flavoring, or raspberry, or coconut. Get it in a cup, or as a float, or served over a pineapple upside down cake. Then take it to the Enchanted Tiki Room for a snack and a show!

6. Satu’li Canteen

Satisfaction Score: 98%
Location: Animal Kingdom
Dining Type: Quick Service

If you’re looking for a quick service lunch or dinner, this is our top-rated spot so far in 2023. After waiting in line at Flight of Passage, head to Satu’li Canteen for some shade and a bowl of your choosing. Almost everything here gets rave reviews.

7. Les Vins des Chefs de France

Satisfaction Score: 98%
Location: EPCOT
Dining Type: “Snacks”

Disney qualifies this as a snack location … so here’s hoping you consider wine to be a snack. At the Les Vins booth in the France pavilion, you can get wine or wine or wine. Plus champagne or a slush. But definitely no solid food snacks.

8. Mr. Kamal’s

Satisfaction Score: 98%
Location: Animal Kingdom
Dining Type: Snacks

Mr. Kamal’s has a very small but powerful menu. You’ll want to order the fries. A recent sauce shakeup has long-time Mr. Kamal’s fans bordering on outraged, but try them out for yourself and you’ll have a 98% chance of being happy with your decision.

9. The Polite Pig

Satisfaction Score: 98%
Location: Disney Springs
Dining Type: Quick Service

I’m from Missouri, so I’m a barbecue snob. I’ll admit it. I tolerate the barbecue at Flame Tree for the view. Polite Pig has no view to recommend it. But it has decent barbecue. Where it excels is its side dishes, and its selection of bourbons. Craft your own old-fashioned, order some meat with a bunch of sides, and prepare yourself for a very satisfying meal.

10. Tamu Tamu Refreshments

Satisfaction Score: 98%
Location: Animal Kingdom
Dining Type: Quick Service

All hail the Dole Whip, queen of all Disney dining ratings. Once again, a Dole Whip heavy menu cracks the top 10. You can actually get quite a good breakfast selection at Tamu Tamu, but most visitors are stopping here for a Dole Whip in the middle of a hot Animal Kingdom afternoon, or maybe some alcoholic beverages. Why not both?

Bottom 10 Walt Disney World Dining and Drinking Locations

1. Cafe Rix

Satisfaction Score: 61%
Location: Coronado Springs
Dining Type: Quick Service

Maybe quick service isn’t even a fair rating. First, because this location is more grab-and-go than quick service if we’re picking. And second, because a lot of comments point out that service isn’t quick at all. Maybe this location has had staffing cuts that were a little too severe, but between the limited selection and the slow service, almost no one is appreciating Cafe Rix.

2. Energy Bytes

Satisfaction Score: 63%
Location: Magic Kingdom
Dining Type: Snack

Energy Bytes? What the heck is Energy Bytes?! <- probably what a lot of you are thinking. And you can’t be blamed. This location only opened up in March of this year. If you were hanging out near TRON, you could grab some donut holes or “digital dumplings”. But apparently not many people enjoyed the fare … and the menu has recently been gutted. We’ll see how that impacts ratings in the second half of the year. For now, maybe steer away to another dining location.

3. Be Our Guest Restaurant

Satisfaction Score: 65%
Location: Magic Kingdom
Dining Type: Table Service

Be Our Guest is pretty much always one of the lowest-rated table service restaurants in all of Walt Disney World, and in 2023, it’s the very lowest. Demand is always sky-high for a reservation here, and prices are high to match. The food quality and ambiance don’t always live up to those prices and all of the work to nab a reservation. Be Our Guest has some big fans, but overall people come away with a big hole in their pocket and not much to show for it.

4. Planet Hollywood

Satisfaction Score: 70%
Location: Disney Springs
Dining Type: Table Service

The really really low satisfaction ratings at Be Our Guest save Planet Hollywood (barely) from being the worst table service restaurant. There are so, so many other great dining options in Disney Springs – don’t waste your time by eating here instead. If you really really need to eat from a menu curated by Guy Fieri, head to Chicken Guy! instead.

5. Big River Grille & Brewing Works

Satisfaction Score: 70%
Location: BoardWalk Resort
Dining Type: Table Service

Disney’s “only functioning microbrewery” at Big River Grille isn’t unique and fun enough to draw in the crowds and keep them happy. The environment isn’t always the cleanest, and the food is generally reviewed as being “average at best”. Not resounding praise, especially with other options in the same area.

6. Riverside Mill Food Court

Satisfaction Score: 71%
Location: Port Orleans: Riverside
Dining Type: Quick Service

Riverside Mill is a food court serving a very large moderate resort. It has a decent selection of food items, and they are generally individually well-reviewed. Where it falters is being able to keep up with the high demand at peak times. Especially if you are travelling during a busy season, you might want to time your visits to Riverside Mill to avoid crowds.

7. Beach Club Marketplace

Satisfaction Score: 71%
Location: Beach Club
Dining Type: Quick Service

Poor Beach Club Marketplace. It tries. It really does. But there is just too much pressure and not enough delivered. The whole Beach Club/Yacht Club/BoardWalk area is screaming for more quick service and grab-and-go. And Beach Club Marketplace gets all of the anger ratings.

8. Tortuga Tavern

Satisfaction Score: 72%
Location: Magic Kingdom
Dining Type: Quick Service

Tortuga Tavern is only open seasonally, which doesn’t give it a lot of time to hone its menu and provide something that people actually enjoy and can rely on. The current version of the menu has some “theme park basics” … but also a peanut butter/nutella/banana sandwich, orange chicken strips, and a barbecue sandwich. It’s weird. It’s not reliable. Try something else.

9. The Plaza Restaurant

Satisfaction Score: 73%
Location: Magic Kingdom
Dining Type: Table Service

The location of The Plaza Restaurant is great and convenient for a Magic Kingdom day, and service is always top-notch. But we regularly hear about the food being “bland” and “underwhelming,” which is not what you want to hear about food at table service prices.

10. T-REX

Satisfaction Score: 74%
Location: Disney Springs
Dining Type: Tablet Service

If you enjoy over-the-top dinosaur theming with loud and dark environments, T-REX is for you. If you have a child that you love dearly who enjoys those things, T-REX could be for you too. If you don’t, there are so many other better options in Disney Springs.

Do you agree or disagree with any of these ratings? Do any of the results surprise you? Let us know in the comments!