It’s trip report time once again! We’re taking a quick pause on the trip report proper to review some of the restaurants I tried on this trip. Check out all the posts from this report here. Onward!
I ate at two new-to-newish table service restaurants during my Wine & Dine Weekend trip. Now that I’ve mentioned both in my trip report, let’s get down to a review!
SHIKI-SAI IN EPCOT
For our pre-race meal, we chose Shiki-Sai: Sushi Izakaya, the restaurant that replaced the former Tokyo Dining in the Japan pavilion. Rice + noodles = carbs, so that all checks out.
Although it’s necessarily been some time since I last ate at Tokyo Dining, by my memory the decor hasn’t changed overmuch; the interior is still done up in dark woods with understated elegance. Of course the most coveted seats are the tables that overlook World Showcase lagoon, but I’d say a good half the restaurant has a decent view through the large windows.
In the grand Epcot tradition, the servers are all Japanese, and there were the Japanese touches you would expect, including a hot hand wipe before your meal. Apropos of nothing, the art on the menu and coasters is beautiful too.
It being an early hour, I threw caution to the wind and had one cocktail. I once had three margaritas the night before a 20 miler, so how bad could it be? (It was, in fact, fine, but I do NOT recommend that three margarita thing.)
I went with the violet sake cocktail, despite the menu describing it with little more than the word “popular.” I like sake and I’m a sucker for pretty drinks, okay? Turns out it includes desert pear and that, to me, was the dominant flavor. I hardly tasted the sake at all. If you’re after what amounts to a light and refreshing juice, then I’d recommend it, but you’ll want to look elsewhere for a drink that packs a punch.
So I’m looking at the online menu now, and I must confess I’m a bit perplexed – it looks much, much more extensive than I remember, specifically in the sushi section. I don’t remember an individual, basic roll option, which is what I would’ve preferred to order. Maybe there was an additional, separate sushi menu we were supposed to get? Or I’m an idiot and missed it completely? All I remember were the huge fancy roll combos.
Anyway, whether by some oversight or my own stupidity, I skipped the sushi in favor of the Salmon miso yaki, which is grilled and miso-glazed, and the vegetable tempura, which is essentially an assortment of vegetables fried in a light batter.
Neither wowed, but both were very pleasant! The vegetable tempura came with a wasabi salt mixture I found intriguing – if you dig wasabi and/or horseradish you’ll like it too. There were some fun veggies in there, including sweet potato and onion and tons of mushrooms. The portion is generous if you want to share.
The salmon by contrast is a small portion, but very tasty if you like salmon. It wasn’t overly fishy, and had that flaky texture everyone looks for in a filet. The miso glaze had a slight sweetness to it, almost like a teriyaki. Pescatarians should enjoy this one.
Ultimately I give Shiki-Sai my tentative seal of approval… but I need to go back and try some sushi proper next time. I love sushi!
ROUNDUP RODEO BBQ IN DISNEY’S HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS
Woody’s Roundup Rodeo continues the conceit of Toy Story Land itself: you’ve been shrunk down to the size of a toy, and your meal is being served in one of Andy’s playsets. The interior is colorful and chaotic, like they used leftover props from Toy Story Midway Mania, and the food is more themed than it is carefully prepared, but if you’re on the hunt for fun and family-friendly you’ll more than likely dig it.
It’s also a handy place to go if you’ve got indecisive kids, because Roundup Rodeo is one of those restaurants where the choices are largely – although not entirely – made for you. This is one of those family-style restaurants where the food comes out on platters and you serve yourself the bits you want. Although not a buffet, the price is a flat $45 (at the time of this writing) across the board for adults. Follow along with the menu here.
You do get to make a couple decisions yourself, namely whether you want the meat- or plant-based menu plus which four of the eight possible sides you’d like to try. We stuck with the standard meat platter, which includes ribs, sausage, brisket, and barbecue chicken. We also selected grilled street corn, loaded tater tots, mac and cheese, and baked beans as our sides.
A selection of salads, including a romaine and kale salad, watermelon and mint (which seemed to be largely just watermelon), and a cucumber tomato salad also automatically come with your meal. Oh, and it all starts off with cheddar biscuits, which is nice.
Technically you’re supposed to choose only one dessert per person, but our server was generous and brought us one of each, including the Forky cupcake that’s technically for kids. I don’t know if this is policy or varies by Cast Member; either way, we certainly appreciated it! The desserts come in cute little mason jars and are apple, chocolate, peach-strawberry, and lemon blueberry cheesecake.
Perhaps you find it odd that I just barreled straight through everything we ordered without offering a review play-by-play as I go. That’s because this entire menu can be summed up thusly: this all looks and tastes like good counter service food. You are without a doubt paying for atmosphere. Everything was fine; nothing was exceptional. Nothing stood out. I wouldn’t come back expressly for any of it.
I wouldn’t necessarily warn you off depending on your expectations, though! The atmosphere I mentioned is really fun, with the Cast Members working hard to sell the whole “you’re a toy in Andy’s backyard” concept. Periodically Andy comes back and everybody is supposed to freeze, and sporadic toy shenanigans ensue. My personal favorite is the mighty trick stunts of Duke Caboom, which are literally performed by a CM running a regular toy around the restaurant. Now that’s the kind of weirdness I can get behind!
That and they’ll bring you seconds of anything you ask for, so I wouldn’t go so far as calling Roundup Rodeo a must-skip or overpriced or anything. It’s certainly a well-rounded meal, anyway, with the salads and fruit and stuff. But go for the giggles, not for the food.
RANKING THE RESTAURANTS: IN CONCLUSION
Do either of the restaurants above shoot to the top of my list? Nah. Topolino’s this is not. Nevertheless, each has a place in the Disney dining landscape. Also I’m still beating myself up for not asking if there was a regular sushi menu. Anyone wanna take another go-round at Shiki-Sai with me?
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I *think* the full sushi menu was in there because I remember feeling REALLY overwhelmed with the menu there and all the choices. However what I ended up ordering was really good so at least that worked out! I’ll totally go there again though because there was a lot of stuff that I wanted to try (hence the being overwhelmed).
The food at Roundup Rodeo was actually better than I expected but my expectations were low haha. I know they have a vegetarian platter so if I go back I might request that, because the meats were just eh and I mostly preferred the sides and salads!
I’m gonna march into Roundup Rodeo, plant both hands on the table, look deep into my server’s eyes, and say GIVE ME ALL THE MAC AND CHEESE YOU HAVE