Coral Reef Restaurant in Walt Disney World is located in Epcot’s Future World. Entrees include Pan-seared Sustainable Catch, Seared Rainbow Trout, Seared Chicken Breast and more.
Dining Plan:
This is a table service restaurant. You will use 1 table service credit when you dine here. Reservations recommended.
Meals offered:
Lunch and Dinner: Appetizers include: charbroiled octopus with nori sushi rice, seafood salad with Gulf Shrimp and mahi mahi, a seasonal house salad and more. Entrees include the tuna bowl with spice-crusted tuna and rice noodles, bone-in roasted pork chop with potatoes. For dessert choose a Key Lime Tart, Turtle cheesecake and more.
Characters:
none
Special Events:
Please leave a comment if you know of any parades, events, or festivities that happen in this restaurant.
My recommended reservation times:
Try to reserve an off time such as 11 am, 2:30 pm or 4:30 pm.
My experiences: We ate here on one of our previous trips. The food was delicious and we loved the bread service. There are also some great views of the aquarium while you eat.
Your opinion:
If you have dined at this restaurant, please leave your opinion in the comments section!
You might also consider eating at Captains Grille.
Learn more about Walt Disney World Dining and get suggestions for where to eat, how to use the Disney Dining Plan and more.
We went on our honeymoon. We were seated right beside the aquarium, and a very large sea turtle entertained us the entire time. Love the decor and atmosphere. The food may not be the best disney has to offer, but it’s still really good. I’ve had better and worse at Disney. I’d give it overall at least an 7.5/10. We’ve been twice, the second time with my family. We all loved it. As an added bonus, on our honeymoon trip, my new husband had it arranged for a scuba diver to swim by our table with a message for me to read. I felt like I was in a cheesy rom-com, but I loved it.
I wish WDW had more seafood opportunities w/i the Parks, as Coral Reef is good, but not great selection of food. The ambiance is key, from the door handles to the amazing fish exhibited! Service was fair. Enjoyed lobster ravioli, sitting at a table next to the aquarium, where a large turtle rested. We were a party of four adults dining & YES, I know it’s DISNEY, but there was no way to keep the kids off of our table/area to be able to enjoy a peaceful dinner because of the turtle, so in some ways the environment can be a negative. Enjoyed getting the light up Tinkerbell Straw, lol!
We ate here Aug 2010. I wasn’t too excited about eating here b/c I read all the reviews on allears and many of them weren’t too great. But I tried it b/c everyone in my group wanted to give it a try. We were seated right away which was amazing considering we were a party of 11. I had the steak b/c I am not a fish person (mostly). And the steak was VERY good as were the potatoes. My husband LOVES Salmon and always gets it when we go out, he really enjoyed it! My whole party really enjoyed this one. My favorite was the Chocolate Raspberry Wave for dessert, love chocolate, love raspberries, one of my favorite desserts on Disney property.
LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT! We went there last month (August 2011). The decor and setting were amazing as the restaurant has a spectacular view of the underwater Caribbean Coral Reef. It was a Jacques-Yves Cousteau / 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea / Little Mermaid dinning adventure. Hubby, toddler and I were seated at the table closest the glass Coral Reef window. It was so serene and romantic as sunlight danced on the coral. I was in a trance over the fish, sharks, and rays swimming by. My toddler was star stuck as “Mr. Ray” aka a Stingray swam past our window. The food was remarkable and delicious (although not large portions so this is not a restaurant where sharing a dish will come in handy).
Hubby and I started with Appetizer for Two (highly recommended). Dinner was the Grilled Mahi Mahi ( yummy-yummy-yummy). For dessert we devoured the Baileys and Jack Daniel’s Mousse treat- high recommend it! Kids meal was extremely nutritious and well received by small one. For $8.99 my toddler got a choice of drink, appetizer, entrée (including but not limited to Seared Mahi Mahi & Grilled Chicken Breast), and dessert.
It was one of our most amazing and memorable dining experiences at DisneyWorld. Five Stars! Two Thumbs Up! High Recommend!
We loved this restaurant! The food was good, and our waiter was so nice! We were seated right next to the tanks, so we had a lot of kids running up to see the fish, bumping and hitting us and our chairs as we ate. Not so fun for 2 honeymooners…lol. I love kids, but please, teach them respect for others trying to eat their dinner! I too thought the food was expensive if you weren’t on the dining plan, but a great deal if you are!
We ate here three years ago with a party of 9. We were seated in the VERY back of the restaurant. The service was slow and the food was ok. It will be expensive if you are not on the dining plan. We did not go back there this year.
We ate here in June 2011. We had a table right next to the aquarium. It was way too noisy for us. Tables very close together. Food was okay but nothing to get too excited about. We wouldn’t eat here again with all the other choices.
this is a great restaurant. expensive if you’re not on the dining plan however. my favorite part is the aquarium that is center stage in the restaurant. sometimes you get to see divers and characters inside of the tank. *fun fact: the tank is large enough to fit cinderella’s castle inside with just a couple feet of the castle sticking out.
We LOVE Coral Reef!! This is one of the resturants that we have to eat at everytime we go to Disney. The food is awesome! And when we asked to be seated next to the aquarium, they said they would do their best, and we were seated in the first row of booths, exactly where we wanted!
I ate here with my sister on her birthday. Since it was just the two of us, we had seats right next to the aquariums. We had a wonderful experience–beautiful setting, good food, great company. But,we agreed that we wouldn’t take our kids here until they were much older–like pre-teens and up. I just don’t think they’d appreciate the beauty or the food.
I enjoyed the Coral Reef restaurant mostly for the atmosphere. Eating right next to the aquarium is really a fun experience. The service was excellent and the food was good but not spectacular. I did get the chicken though, so a fish dish might have been better.
Do not go. I had read bad reviews, but we decided to go anyway because of the seafood menu and the aquarium. The service was slow, it took two hours to eat lunch and most of that time was waiting on drinks, the food, the check. The portions were very small and after two hours, my family was hungry by the time we finally left. Hopefully the management has changed on this place since we went three years ago.
we ate here in 07. loved the giant aquariam! that impressed my kids the most! food was ok. hubby ordered a steak and was pretty pleased to find that this restaurant actually had steak sauce! great atmosphere, and pretty good food.
This place looked prettier in the picture, but it was still neat and we were seated right next to the aquarium which was awesome. It was a little warmer then comfortable, but the food was great I had the steak and my husband had the lobster ravioli. We were impressed with the desserts and how they came with thin chocolate slivers that said Congratulations in gold letters (celebrating our honeymoon). The fish guide was neat and we enjoyed taking photos of sharks, sting rays, and sea turtles! It was fun to see the divers in the tank as well. I don’t know that we would go again probably okay experiencing it just the one time especially since on a hot day you want somewhere cool to sit!
This was a great dining experience for us. We ate dinner here during our 2007 trip. The food was great and the presentation was exquisite. My children really enjoyed the aquarium. I really want to do this one again!!!
Our family really enjoyed dining at Coral Reef. We dined there for lunch during our last trip in 2010. My 8yo daughter ordered lobster bisque (I know, strange for an 8yo) and talks about it STILL. I have to admit – it was delicious! Because we were eating lunch and I wasn’t super hungry (and the prices are on the high side), I ordered an appetizer as my entree. It was delicious and just enough for me to be filled without being stuffed! We all enjoyed our food – and the atmosphere. We were not seated down next to the aquarium, but we could still see what was swimming by. It was a very memorable lunch for us and we would definitely consider dining there again!
We ate at the Coral Reef this past May and it was okay. I think the service (or lack thereof) really soured the experience for us. Even though we had a reservation, we waited 15 minutes for a table, and when we were seated it was in the back, very disappointing for the kids. It took our server forever to get drinks, and she gave my 2 yr old a cup without a lid and an adult straw. Before we could get it away from her, she caught her arm on the straw and it spilled. The waitress seemed annoyed that we used our cloth napkins to clean it up (we didn’t have anything else.) After ordering it took 10 minutes for bread, which the kids devoured, and almost 25 minutes for our food. We expected great meals based upon previous reviews from friends, but we weren’t impressed. The lobster ravioli was okay, and my husband said whatever fish entree he ordered was just good. We won’t go back.
This is a great restaurant to visit in Epcot! I usually plan to eat an early dinner when we are in Epcot so we plan it at the very end of the lunch time, right before they close to set up for dinner. Reservations are almost always available then. This way, it’s basically empty in the restaurant and you get the lunch prices if you are not on the meal plan! We always eat throughout the World Showcase anyway so having the 3 or 4 pm meal is no big deal. The food is fantastic and the fish tank is amazing. The kids are a little distracted so getting them to eat is sometimes tough but I would still highly recommend this stop!
We ate there last December as part of the Candlelight Processional package. We picked it because we thought eating with the aquarium in the restaurant would be cool. It was! We were not terribly impressed with the food, but it was OK. Our service was good, but he true draw for us was the aquarium. I was impressed that every table is set up to look at the aquarium and that they have clip on high chairs so that my youngest wouldn’t end up with her back to the fish because she was in a high chair. We all had a great view and enjoyed it. I’m not sure we’d go back, but it was a great experience!
We went for lunch and I thought the food was good, but nothing amazing – probably on par with Red Lobster. The service was a little show. However, the atmosphere is amazing and totally made it worth it in my book! We were seated right by the aquarium and my kids were enthralled the entire time.
We were on the dining plan – not sure if I would pay out of pocket for this.
Loved it! Loved it! Loved it! You won’t be disapointed.
We’ve eaten there once- good food- good service-not memorable BUT this was right after we dined at Artist point and Yachtsman steak house- so had we eaten there first I’d probably have been more impressed.
Does anyone else think it’s weird that you are eating seafood next to an aquarium?
They had this fabulous Blackened Catfish over polenta back in Aug. 2007. My husband and I both loved it. I am so disappointed it is not on the menu anymore. Surprised too; at the time they said it was one of their most popular dishes. I’ve heard good things about the mahi mahi and may try that when we return to Coral Reef on Thursday!
The kids loved it. We went in Jan and we didn’t have reservation and got right in. The kids were more into watching the divers than eating.
We went there for the first time last September. We had tried to get in the time before that, but it was booked solid. I do recomend a reservation is you want to try this place. Call way ahead of time though, it books fast. I don’t really recomend this place for kids under 3 unless you can get close to the tank. The food is very good, but will not fit for everyone. Check the menu first. The inside was pretty, and the tank is really cool. I would go there again, but only with adults so that I could really enjoy it.
I love the fish tank at Coral Reef. It’s so beautiful to watch, and it certainly makes the wait for your meal fly by. It’s especially fun when a scuba group comes by. Kids love it! The downside to Coral Reef is that it is NOISY. It is difficult to have a conversation or for the hard of hearing to interact. I’ve never gotten to sit on the lower tier, but I imagine that would be beautiful. I’ve eaten at the top several times, and it is entertaining, but not as fun as being in “the action,” I imagine. A must do for your marine loving family.
Lobster ravioli is delicious. Steaks are good. The experience is fabulous. Such a beautiful setting.
We ate here for the first time in May. I have to say, this in one of my favorite restaurants and I hate seafood. I made reservations for the earliest dinner seating (around 4:30). The restaurant was nearly empty and I asked for a table by the aquarium. The hostess said that shouldn’t be a problem since NO ONE else had asked! I sat there mesmerized watching the fish swim by. The kids liked it too, but not as much as me. LOL
This was probably our least favorite place to dine. The food was o.k not as good as I expected and the service was SUPER SLOW……we dined with our 7 children and it was very hard to keep the little ones entertained for so long while we waited for our food. Being DVC members we go to Disney every year….and have not been back to the Coral Reef since, so many other places we like better :)
We dined here and while we enjoyed it not sure we would do it again. The food was good not great…It was very pretty in there..but the aisle between tables was so small that everyone that walked by bumped into us. I will say that the service was GREAT, they went out of the way to make sure my daughter was eating and happy. Was a good meal..but too many other places I enjoy more at Disney.
Since we have been to WDW 17 times in the last 11 years this is the only restaurant we have had a bad experience at, the waitress was rude, even more so after I tasted the scallops and sent them back because I did not like them, sh told me ” I must have never had a scallop before or otherwise I would appriciate the taste of them”. I told her that I do know what scallops taste like and I did not like the taste of this dish. She then would not let my mother order off the kids menu even though I explained to her that my mother just got out of the hospital with stomach cancer and she could not eat a large meal. We have never been back to this restaurant.
I know this is totally off subject but had to share…@Jaci I had the same problem with kids in our food and in our laps at ‘Ohana. We were seated right by the windows and had just received our dessert when the fireworks show started and suddenly there was a barrage of kids ON TOP of us!! One of the kids even tried to get in my friend’s lap! I would be horrified if my kid was climbing on a stranger! The mom’s response “Oh honey be good…this is their table too.” Um no…it IS OUR table. Before we knew it another kid was eating the ice cream on our table. The servers were apologetic after the fact-but really it was weird.
If you have tweens be sure to check the menu for them. I took DD when she was 11. We were on the dining plan so she was eating off the adult menu. She ordered a salad and didn’t like it. They were willing to bring her something off the kids menu, so she got some food, but even that wasn’t that great. I don’t remember what I had, but it wasn’t that good. We have never gone back.
I totally agree with Brianne. The food was good, but not sure if I would eat there if it weren’t for the dining plan. The service was a bit lacking. We waited a long time for our meal. The kids meals came right out and they were finished before we even received ours. Thankfully they were entertained by the aquarium. If we weren’t able to sit by the tank I don’t think the restaurant was worth it. We happened to be seated at 5:30 which coincided with the folks who did the scuba in the tank add on thingy. So there were a bunch of scuba divers swimming and waving at the diners for 45 minutes. The most important thing is the kids enjoyed themselves and loved seeing the fish, sharks, sea turtle and scuba divers!
We were very disappointed when we went here. The server disappeared for long periods of time when we wanted her and seemed a long time over everything. Our food was just okay but part of that may have been because it wasn’t very hot. I would probably try it again though because the setting is wonderful. It is so beautiful inside, the aquarium is just mesmerizing.
The food was ok but the in smell of the restaurant turned me off. I would not go back.
My family and I ate at the Coral Reef on our last trip to Disney World (January 2011). We requested to sit next to the aquarium and luckily got the first table against it. The food was good, not great like LeCellier but still good. My 10 year daughter was very pleased to order a steak with the dining plan (being she’s too old for the child’s menu now). As with any Disney restaurant they are all a bit pricey, thank goodness for the dining plan!! Sure beat the normal buffets at the “Character Dining” restaurants we frequent. We saw the giant turtle and a bunch of fish. I’m not sure how excited we’d of been to sit away from the aquariums though. Service was great, food was good, restaurant and bathrooms were clean and we were seated within 5 minutes. Definitely nice to relax at a table dinner after a long day, especially park hopping to get to it!! Not sure if we’d eat there again but glad we tried it!
It’s a beautiful place. Make sure you get a table near the aquarium. The food is okay, but there are better places to eat dinner. The atmosphere is very nice.
We dined there once on our honeymoon 8 years ago – it was fabulous. The waiter gave us an amazing table and we go to watch divers in the water (which apparently doesn’t happen all the time). The meal was fabulous and I felt like I was in a 5 star restaurant even though I was wearing jean shorts and a tank top!
To be honest I didn’t care for it all that much. The atmosphere is gorgeous, do not get me wrong. The food was ok. I went last fall for the first and only time with my friends and their 3 year old. I think our first mistake was we went during F&W Festival. I think I just didn’t want to have a big meal-but with a little one with us we needed to make sure she had something. She loved the chowder. I have a shellfish allergy so my choices were really limited. I ended up getting the Rainbow Trout which was pretty good but the beans were not cooked enough for me. I think I had really hyped it up in my mind after watching Danny try to propose to Vickie on Full House all those years ago! :) In all honesty, it’s not that bad-I just think there are far better options at Epcot for the money you end up spending there.
We went there on my birthday this past year! The food was just ok, and the service was really slow, but they did give us free desserts! The tank is only on one side of the restaurant, and the tables on that side are really squished together, so that’s kinda awkward. Overall, it was pretty nice, but next time I’d rather eat at the Sci-Fi Drive-In again.
We loved it. my best friend got the Mahi Mahi and gave it two thumbs up. I got the steak, horseradish mashed potatoes, and asparagus and it was DELISH.
The only obnoxious thing was that we had a table next to the aquarium and parents kept letting their kids basically climb on us and snap flash pictures of the aquarium right next to us. :( It was really rude!
This is my absolute favorite restaurant in Disney. I love the atmosphere of the aquarium and it is so wonderful to eat dinner next to the tank. They have a sea turtle that is 32 years old, we asked our server! Crazy huh? We have always had great service. The food is mainly sea-food plates, but they do have chicken and salad options too. On our honeymoon and anniversary, they have given us free desserts, which are also super yummy.. It can be pricey with a whole family.
My husband and I ate at the Coral Reef on our first Disney World Trip. The aquarium in the middle was a pretty awesome sight. As far as the food was concerened we weren’t overly impressed with the selection. I guess we should have taken into consideration that it is geared more towards seafood. This was when the dining plan had appetizers. Even the appetizers were more seafood oriented than anything else. We have not been back there since our first trip.
This is one of my familys fave’s. The Mahi Mahi is superb, It is a must when you have the dinning plan. It is pricey if you dont. Dont forget to make reservations too.
I have dined her twice. Both times were great. Once was dinner. That was really nice. Food was good and the service lacked. But all in all it was good. The next time I had lunch here and it was really good, but the one thing about this place that bugs me is that you expect it to be seafood and there is not much seafood at all. We expected it to have a bunch of seafood and there were only a couple of choices. Food was good for both lunch and dinner. Service was not that great. But we enjoyed it and are eating there next week Thursday night for dinner.
The food was a little to weird for me. I must say they catered to a gluten-free pal of mine. But I thought the atmosphere was fun, we were too far away from the aquarium to identify most of the fish. We went there because that was the only place we could get reservations at the time. Our waiter was quite talkative and gave us quizzes to occupy the wait for our food. Check the menu and if it your cup of tea then all means this is the place for you!!!!!
Delicious and the Reef is fabulous. Sometimes the character aren’t necessary and we do the dining plan. Very nice adult and kid friendly dinner.