Raglan Road - Downtown Disney

Last night we met up with some friends who were visiting from Blackpool England. They visit about every other year.. ever since I was about 11 years old when I became penpals with the daughter (Sarah) of the family. I always look forward to their visits, although we all make it a point to keep in touch during the time in between. Now, Sarahs husband has an aversion to food that isnt "normal"... (i.e. non-Brit fare)... so I suggested that we give Raglan Road a try. Its a new place in Downtown Disney (they always stay at Disney)... and one that Dave and I hadnt tried before... (I pride myself in having tried just about every single restaurant at Disney ;-))


Like most restaurants they brought out some bread for starters... nice dense soda bread... but for dipping they gave us a "Guiness & Honey Reduction with Olive Oil". It tasted more of honey than anything, but I thought it balanced out the soda bread nicely... although it was a bit disapointing considering how cool it sounded.


I ordered the Shepherds Pie... the presentation was fantastic! Unfortunately the flavors didnt impress me as much. The menu read that the mince was supposed to be beef and lamb... and honestly I tasted no lamb at all. But... it was pretty!!


Dave ordered Fish & Chips... his comment was.. "eh". We agreed that the Fish & Chips are better at the Rose & Crown in EPCOT. Though... they were presented nicely too.. complete in paper wrapper.


The dessert on the other hand was fantastic. We ordered and shared a sampler... and judging by how we all attacked it at once, we all enjoyed the bread & butter pudding the most. Served complete with its own little jugs of two sauces, Vanilla Creme Anglais.. and a butterscotch caramelly thing that I didnt touch cause I'm not the biggest butterscotch fan. Besides the bread pudding was vanilla ice cream with raspberries in a yummy little cookie shell... and a chocolate mousse. All were fantastic.. but I'm stickin with the bread pudding!


Service was ok... our waitress was attentive, but the girl who brought out the dessert just plopped it down in front of us without explaining the different sauces. We had to wait for the waitress to come back and explain them. Also a warning that an 18% tip is added to the bill for parties of 6 or more. Well more than I would tip if I had been given poor service.

All in all though the time was enjoyable.. the atmosphere is nice, dark and ambient.. I also noted that parties with small children were all seated in one isolated section of the restaurant.. I liked that! The food was presented beautifully... altho the flavors fell just short of what I would anticipate after catching sight of my leaning tower of Shepherds Pie.