Is Narcoossee's Fine Dining Worth the Splurge?
- Dan
- Feb 8
- 5 min read
Updated: Mar 3
Absolutely! And I'll tell you why!
Narcoossee's is one of three signature fine dining offerings at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, at Walt Disney World.
The restaurant is situated away from the resort buildings and is located on the waterfront of Seven Seas Lagoon. This location is literally everything and when the sun goes down, soft lighting gently glows inside the restaurant and with Magic Kingdom views across the water, the mood is firmly set to romantic.
Of course, I cannot guarantee who might be dining at the same time as you, but due to the price point, my experiences here have been a gentle, relaxing and romantic atmosphere. It is not a restaurant filled with kids and whist there are kids dining with their families, it is a more civilised experience than perhaps Chef Mickey's might prove to be.
Narcoossee's only opens for dinner and you want the reservation at Magic Kingdom fireworks time. Reservations are highly recommended 60 days out.
The music from the Magic Kingdom night time show is streamed into the restaurant and onto the outside porch too. Yes - there is a wrap around porch and Narcoossee's servers will offer to pause your dining, so that you can step outside and enjoy a stunning view of the fireworks.
Now, Narcoossee's is typically known as a seafood restaurant. Whilst this is unapologetically true, there are options for those non seafood loving humans too. Overwhelmingly though, the seafood at Narcoossee's is deliciously fresh and freshly modern, and inspiring too.
I won't run through everything on the menu for you, as you will want to see the whole menu and price point I'm sure. I will however, show you what I had on my recent visit. If you'd like to see the full current menu, you will find that HERE
As you will undoubtedly suspect, Narcoossee's isn't on the cheap side. Let's get that clear from the get go. Honestly, unless you are rich, this is going to be your date night, treat night or special meal during your vacation. If you are rich, then you can dine here every night -- and I am available if you ever need some company!
A little pet hate of mine now, please dress up a little if you're dining here. Have a wash, a shave, a shower and make a bit of an effort. It is a signature fine dining restaurant and some of the people have literally come straight from a theme park. Bring the class to this experience, for your own enjoyment as well as for the atmosphere of other diners. You don't need to dress up to the nines, but make a bit of effort. Please.
As you can see, we didn't go nuts, but shirts and shoes, chino shorts. And we had showered and shaved too.
So anyway, let's tell you our most recent experience at Narcoossee's.
We were staying at Wilderness Lodge and took a boat across to Magic Kingdom, scanned into Magic Kingdom for a very quick PhotoPass photo and then took the walking path to Disney's Grand Floridian Resort.
The Grand Floridian is our home DVC resort and we especially like the walking path from Magic Kingdom to the Grand Floridian. We had time and chose to walk, but you can of course drive there, take a boat or the monorail.
As we approached the resort, we checked in for our reservation on the My Disney Experience App and when we arrived we were asked to take a seat on the porch. It was very nice, just sat there, relaxing and looking out on the lake.
Our server was wonderful, Edwin. He was polite, professional, knowledgeable and interested in giving us a wonderful experience. He explained the menu and gave us recommendations. I ordered a cocktail to start and he advised me against it, suggesting it was more appropriate as a dessert cocktail. He was right!
My fiancé, David, started with a Chimay Reserve Ale, before moving onto the very safe Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc. I however am a sucker for a speciality cocktail and tried two over the course of this meal. I started with the Smoked Dark and Stormy. At $17 this wasn't a cheap cocktail and now it is $17.50. It was really great though; Goslings Black Seal Rum, Charred Pineapple Syrup, Carpano Antica Formula Sweet Vermouth, Smoked Chilli Bitters, and Fever-Tree Ginger Beer. It had a sweetness, a smokiness and real chilli kick to it. They weren't messing about with this one!
The cocktail suggested for dessert was A M A Z I N G ! I would go back to Narcoossee's just for this cocktail. It was a Key Lime Pie Martini; Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Midori Melon Liqueur, Vanilla Cream, and Cold-pressed Lime Juice with a Toasted Meringue. Oh my! Again, priced at $17, this was worth every single cent! Smooth, sweet, tart, and presented as a Mickey! What more are you needing from a cocktail?
The food quality was incredible here. I cannot tell you just how great EVERY SINGLE MOUTHFUL tasted. Fresh, delicious, well prepared and beautifully presented.
David started with the Ocean Charcuterie; Lobster Sausage, Ahi Tuna Pastrami, Octopus Capicola, with Crab-stuffed Cherry Pepper. Now $28 for an appetiser is a lot. I am not going to try and sell it to you. It is a lot. But he loved every single morsel of that food. There wasn't a scrap left on the platter. Now I'm not saying that David is greedy, but you probably could share that platter
I am typically your salad dodger, as you can probably see for yourselves. But I opted to try a salad for my appetiser. It sounded delicious and I just wanted to try it. I have no regrets in my choice. For $15, I had the Blueberry and Barrel Aged Feta Salad; Tiny Lettuces, Pistachio, Cornbread Cracker, Lemon Curd Dressing. A very fresh salad, with a citrusy and tart dress, sweet blueberries and pistachios and salty feta. It was perfect.
For our entrees, David had the Plancha-Seared Scallops & Parisian Gnocchi at $54 and I had the infamous Surf & Turf at $87.
The Scallops were huge and came with English Peas, Tasso Ham, Truffled Meyer Lemon Cream and David devoured them so fast, that I didn't even manage to get a photo of them. The scallops were cooked perfectly and presented immaculately.
The Surf and Turf. Well I knew I was getting this before I even got on the plane. It had been on my wish list for many many years. It was perfect. I love good cuts of beef and also lobster is one of my favourite things to eat. This dish was Filet Mignon, Butter-poached Lobster Tail, Potato Mash, Roasted Rainbow Vegetables, Red Wine Demi-glace. I enjoyed every mouthful.
A beautiful restaurant, an incredible ambience, super service, the most delicious food - and Happily Ever After. What a stunning romantic date night! I am very privileged to have dined at quite a few Disney Signature restaurants and I have to tell you, that Narcoossee's is one of the very best! We did get a DVC 10% Discount off of our food, which before gratuity came to $265.82 for everything that we had. And honestly, I think it was well worth the splurge. So - get splurging! I don't think you will regret Narcoossee's!
If you have already dined at Narcoossee's, please share you experience below.
If you haven't, is Narcoossee's now on your list for your next trip?
Photo Credit - All photos owned and copyrighted by WDWAO
Well you certainly make this sound tempting! I am not a big seafood person but maybe one trip will include this. Dark and stormy I have forgotten about as you don’t see that everywhere. That key lime martini and steak looked amazing.
This sounds absolutely amazing! Made my mouth water just reading about it!
That key lime martini looks delish!
Looks like a very special experience to have 😊