[Park Hopper]

DW and I ate at Raglan Road on Friday night (11/4) after spending the day at the Food & Wine Festival at Epcot. Overall it was a very pleasant, if not great, dining experience and we agreed it's a restaurant we would visit again.

The restaurant is very attractive, with four wooden antique bars imported from Ireland and is beautifully appointed with custom furnishings designed and built in Ireland. It's hard to believe the location once housed the Jazz Club.

The service at Raglan Road has been reported as being spotty but it probably was the highlight of our visit. As soon as our hostess seated us, I asked about the flap with the Disney Dining Experience card. She politely explained that they didn't accept the card and apologized for any misinformation.

Our server, with the not-so-Irish name of Sergio, was both attentive and knowledgeable about the items on the menu. We couldn't have asked for better service.

In addition to the servers, there were numerous employees circulating around the restaurant who seemed to be part of some type of multi-layered management team. Some talked on headsets, some rearranged tables to accommodate larger parties and others stopped at tables to inquire if everything was satisfactory.

The one glitch in our meal came after we both ordered the Colpucinno appetizer, which is a colcannon soup made of creamy potato, bacon and cabbage. After placing our order, a member of the waitstaff came to our table to apologize that they were out of the soup (it wasn't quite 7 p.m. yet) because a batch made in the kitchen was deemed unacceptable to serve. We ordered a different appetizer, but lo and behold, several minutes later another server arrived with our soup -- leaving us to wonder if this was the soup that was unacceptable to serve.

The server who told us they were out of the soup then returned to apologize for the confusion. She said she didn't know the kitchen had made yet another batch of soup, and no, this wasn't from the bad batch.

As for entrees, my wife played it safe and ordered the beer-battered fish and chips, called One & One on the menu. The dish was very popular -- we observed many servers delivering it in its distinctive presentation of the fish and chips wrapped in a conical piece of paper and placed vertically in a wire rack. The fish was excellent and the batter coating maintained its crispness throughout. We both thought it was better than the Rose & Crown's fish and chips at Epcot, and at $15.95 a nickel cheaper to boot.

I was more adventurous and chose chef Kevin Dundon's signature dish, called Kevin's Kudos. The menu describes it as oven-roasted loin of bacon with a Irish mist glaze served with braised cabbage and creamed potato. Unlike what it sounds like to Americans, loin of bacon is not what we think of as traditional bacon. It's actually cured pork loin (think of cured ham).

Kevin's Kudos was a thick slab of loin cut in three slices but left joined at one end to give the presentation a fan effect. The meat, served on a bed of creamed potato, was absolutely delicious: a wee bit salty, and very tender. The serving of creamed potato (call them mashed) was also good but a bit skimpy and the braised cabbage amounted to a single leaf used more to adorn the dish than anything else. All in all, though, both entrees were very good.

Despite it's somewhat fancy trappings, Raglan Road is not a place to go for ambience and romance. It is, after all, a pub, and quite noisy once things get cranked up. There supposedly is live Irish music every night, replete with dancers who perform on tabletops. We decided to leave, but were told the music began "around 9:30 or 10." Our server said when the music begins the restaurant goes into "pub mode," which means the menu becomes limited to appetizer-like fare.

We'll definitely go back some night -- and plan the visit to include the music.

[DisneyTeacher]

Thanks for the first hand review, Park Hopper. I am so happy to hear you had a pleasant experience after reading some not so nice reviews on the service.

[Erin]

Parkhopper, as usual your reviews are better than excellent! Sounds like you had a great time! :c)

It's great to read your posts.

[daisyd]

TY for the review I have had the loin of bacon at KD's restaurant in Vegas, and it was the best entree at the table!

[Metalfan]

Interesting! Definitely have to take a trip down there sometime in the near future!

[LRTJS]

I think we will definitely go there Friday night! Can you make reservations? We want to eat but we also want to be there for the music. Can't stay up too late though because I have to catch a bus at 7 am to get to the Super Soap weekend!! Thanks PH for this great review.

[DisneyTeacher]

Originally Posted by LRTJS

I think we will definitely go there Friday night! Can you make reservations?

Yes, you can make a PS, just call the usual WDW-DINE number. I have read if you want to make it the same day you have to call the restaurant directly.

[WishUponAStar]

I love pubs, I CANNOT wait to try this one! Do they serve Guiness warm and "chilled?" What do they have on tap?

[ddoll]

Excellent review, Park Hopper! Thank you so much! You've got my mouth watering now.

[BuzzLightyear]

Thanks for the excellent review.
We are going to try this place out next trip.

[quakercub]

I'm ready!!! January at Raglan Road!!!!!