Need a relaxing date night? Have a sleeping baby? Want to simply get away from the crowds and the bustle of the Disney parks for a while?
We asked our friends on the Disney Food Blog Facebook Page for their recommendations on quiet dining in Disney World and Disneyland, and we want to hear YOURS, too!
The locations mentioned the most in Walt Disney World were: Jiko at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, Artist Point at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, and Victoria & Albert’s at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa.
In Disneyland, Facebook Friends gave the most shout-outs to Blue Bayou in Disneyland Park and Napa Rose at the Grand Californian Resort.
Best Disney World Restaurants For Quiet Dining
Let’s take a peek at these top Disney Food Blog reader choices for quiet dining in Disney World!
Jiko
For romance, delicious dishes, and a peaceful meal inspired by low lighting and a calming water feature view, head over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge’s Jiko.
Jiko View
Facebook Friend Adhiraj G. recommends “Jiko later in the evening! great view, great service and quiet (in a relaxed sort of way)!”
Filet and Mac and Cheese at Jiko (Mac and Cheese can be ordered by request)
A window-side table offers a beautiful view during daylight hours while savoring the gourmet cuisine. Keep an eye on the soothing “sunset wall” at the back of the restaurant, which cycles through the colors made by an African sunset while you dine.
Birds flying toward the sunset (wall)
Read our most recent review of Jiko here. Jiko is only open for dinner.
Artist Point
Nestled in the American Northwest theme of the Wilderness Lodge, Artist Point and its view of Bay Lake in the distance soothes weary travelers. Facebook Friends Lyn W., Julie M., and others heartily recommend Artist Point’s chilled out atmosphere!
Artist Point View
As a signature restaurant, Artist Point serves up creative dishes in a relaxing atmosphere. After the sun sets, low lighting beckons guests to unwind in this restaurant. Walk-ins are possible too! See our most recent Artist Point review here. Artist Point is open for dinner only.
My Beloved Smokey Portobello Soup with Roasted Shiitakes and Chive Oil at Artist Point
Victoria & Albert’s
Elegant and refined, Victoria and Albert’s has accomplished a AAA five diamond rating. This restaurant transforms dining into a memorable experience with dedicated servers, personalized menus, and complimentary roses for the ladies!
Victoria and Albert's Main Dining Room
Facebook Friend Lenny C. emphatically states, “Victoria & Alberts is the king!”
With a strict dress code and patrons required to be age 10 and over (sorry; can’t bring the sleeping baby here), Victoria and Albert’s in the Grand Floridian Resort maintains an exclusive and quiet atmosphere.
Heirloom Tomatoes, Iberico Ham Croutons and Burrata Cheese with Yellow Tomato Gazpacho
Read a review here of the ultra-attentive Chef’s Table, though for true quiet I’d recommend the regular dining room or the Victoria Room. Victoria and Albert’s is open for dinner only.
Best Restaurants For Quiet Dining in Disneyland
A couple of restaurants topped the list for quiet dining in Disneyland with our Facebook Friends and readers!
Blue Bayou
The Blue Bayou offers a twilight, indoor setting nestled in New Orleans Square. The lighting – twinkling, glowing, and candlelit – inspires diners to unwind in this creole restaurant featuring views of the Pirates of the Caribbean boats floating by.
Blue Bayou Atmosphere
If the lighting doesn’t soften your mood, the Monte Cristo sandwich served at lunch certainly will! Read a review here.
Monte Cristo Sandwich at Blue Bayou
Blue Bayou is open for lunch and dinner.
Napa Rose
For a sophisticated menu with fine wines, Napa Rose inside Disney’s Californian Hotel is an outstanding choice!
Relax and Rejuvenate at Napa Rose
The INCREDIBLE Napa Rose Mac and Cheese
Facebook Friend Kim O. exclaims “Or if you want to spend some real money go to Napa Rose at Grand Californian. But it’s quiet and intimate and really good cuisine.”
With warm tones and Craftsman decor, Napa Rose offers a muted environment with impeccable service. You’ll find a review here. Napa Rose is open for dinner only.
Runners Up
Honorable mentions for the quiet dining title include Narcoossee’s at the Grand Floridian and Coral Reef in Epcot’s Future World.
We appreciate all the great responses! Check out the rest of our Best Disney World Restaurants series here!
What’s YOUR Recommendation For Quiet Dining?
We know there are lots more places to dine in a quiet atmosphere in Disney’s parks and resorts (Steakhouse 55 in Disneyland and Grand Floridian Cafe in Disney World come to mind!), so join in with your favorite by adding to the list in our comments section below!
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While we don’t specifically go for the quiet, the Big River early in the afternoon, is usually peaceful if you sit on the patio. The boardwalk is pretty deserted in during the day and the view is terrific.
I agree these are the quietest restaurants at WDW! At least Jiko and AP, I concur, I love them both for that reason. I am sure V&A is the quietest of the quiet, but I haven’t been yet (hoping to get there next year).
Gee–no wonder I’ve been to Jiko more than any other on-site restaurant! Gotta love quiet!
Where is the mention of Steakhouse 55 and Carthay Circle for quiet dining and excellent food? As far as Blue Bayou goes, the service I had when I went was pretty poor, the food did not taste very good (the meat dishes), and it was noisy with lots of children present at the restaurant.
Grand Floridian Cafe was a hidden gem for us. Food and service were wonderful, and it was a quiet, peaceful meal. We also got a same day ADR, and probably could have gotten in without one. Planning on visiting there in December when we check out the Christmas decorations. While we loved Coral Reef as well, it was packed and noisy when we visited.
I find Blue Bayou loud so that’s off my list. Carthy Circle is on the list. Quiet, well spaced tables and private rooms make it private. Service is efficient and seamless. Food is awesome!!!!!!!
Bistro de Paris is always nice and quiet!
@Pamela: I gotta say, two of the loudest, most annoying parties I’ve ever sat next to at a Disney restaurant were at Carthay Circle and Steakhouse 55. But I agree that those restaurants are usually pretty quiet. I guess you can find rude guests everywhere….
Coral Reef is a runner up? Really?? I ate there once and it was SO LOUD! It’s one of the reasons I won’t go back. We could barely hear each other speak, let alone hear our server. Yachtsman Steakhouse, now that was a quiet dining facility. At the DLR, the new Carthay Circle Restaurant is relatively quiet, depending on which room you are seated at. But Steakhouse 55 wins hands down at the Disneyland Hotel for me for being a nice, quiet place for a meal.
I agree with the commenters here that Carthay Circle is much quieter (and the food is far better) than the Blue Bayou. I love the Blue Bayou for the chance to eat in the Pirate Ride, but my last meal there included a child at the next table who screamed throughout the entire meal, and while the gumbo is very good the other food is good, but not worth the price if you weren’t paying for the fireflies. I must say my waiter was good though. I ate at both the restaurant and the lounge at Carthay and while the lounge is not as quiet as upstairs (no surprise) it was still peaceful and the food was excellent. The food upstairs was mind blowing, the service was excellent and the background music, quietly playing jazz renditions of Disney tunes has me waiting for the album to come out. For my next trip, I’m planning on eating upstairs at Carthay at least twice and once at the lounge and skipping the Bayou. I’ll just ride the Pirates an extra time to get the atmosphere in.
Artist Point!
Coral Reef was so loud we only stayed 5 minutes and politely excused ourselves before we ordered our meal. We were disappointed as the scenery was beautiful.
My vote at WDW would have to go to Boatwright’s at Port Orleans Riverside. It’s pretty out of the way for most visitors, so I’ve found it rarely gets busy. Pretty tasty food too!
Coral Reef and Narcoossee’s are very LOUD by our standards.
You know what restaurant is relatively quiet? Sci-Fi Drive-In! Other than the sound of the clips playing, at least. Everyone’s watching and eating, too busy to talk! 🙂
Sanaa is also exceptionally quiet, in our experience.
Carrie, I could see any restaurant at Disneyland Resort getting pretty loud, and I hear you that being at Carthay or Steakhouse 55 doesn’t necessarily guarantee a quiet meal. I do think the host/ hostess of both of these restaurants will try to help guests who request a quiet area to sit for dinner to get a table in a quieter area upon seating though.
Laura, other than you getting good service, my last experience at Blue Bayou was similar to your own with crying kids, small noisy children, and adults trying to talk over the noise. Blue Bayou attracts families… families often with small kids, and unfortunately, and this is me speaking as a mom here, some people just allow their kids to cry and cry or run around without barely blinking an eye.
And I want to mention, with Blue Bayou the gumbo and the monte cristo sandwiches are raved about, but Cafe Orleans has the same dishes for a fraction of the meal price, usually delivered with faster service too. And their fries and beignets… yum!
All in all, I do not think any restaurant inside Disneyland is necessarily quiet (with perhaps the exception of 33), but if I have to shell out good money for a meal, I walk outside of Disneyland and go elsewhere.
Artist Point was exceptionally loud when we were there. We had a nice dinner, but atmosphere was greatly lacking. Besides The Chef’s Table or Queen Vicoria’s Room, the best overall dining experiences, for us, are Cali Grill, Jiko, and Citricos. Yatschman has stepped their game up recently too. Artist Point ranked, for us, significantly below almost every nice resteraunt at EPCOT, all other signature resteraunts, and most lounges, especially Metzlers. We have literally eaten at every resteraunt on property (we get our money back on our Tables in Wonderland) except Monieur Paul’s (going soon) and Artist Point, probably because of all the hype, was disappointing.
Great list. I’d add Citricos and Sanaa. But Coral Reef, a runner up? That has to be the loudest restaurant on property.
The Wave is my quiet restaurant favourite. Great food, service and a nice respite from busy theme park touring.
Coral Reef? No way. It was filled with screaming children at about 3:30. Made our experience most terrible. Agree with Grand Floridian Café. Brown Derby was quite as is France and Italy in Epcot
The picture of the table at Jiko? That’s the exact spot where we sat at on our Christmas 2012 trip. It was perfect! There were a few children in the restaurant (ours were with my parents, elsewhere), but they were far enough away that we didn’t even notice any noise that they were making (if any!). I completely agree that Jiko is a fantastic place for quiet (and amazing) dining.
Blue Bayou is actually pretty noisy. The food is not very good anymore, and prices are outrageous for what you get, even by Disney standards. As others have said, you can get the Monte Cristo next door at Cafe Orleans for less $.
Carthay Circle is much more quiet. More expensive, but at least the food is closer to what you would expect for the price.
My favorites for quiet dining from our WDW trip in December 2012 are: Jiko, California Grill, Narcoosee’s and The Wave.
The restaurants I disliked were Grand Floridian Cafe (very busy and loud at lunch), Flying Fish Cafe and Le Cellier – which does not live up to the hype for a 2 credit “Signature Meal”. I had a much better experience at The Wave which is 1 credit.
Sanna is the forgotten restaurant. It may be a little louder when full but I’ve never been there when it’s been packed. Booths are quiet, offer a good view, and one of the best meals in WDW.
I’d agree with those who have recommended adding Sanaa.
Captain’s Grille!
The best surprise quiet meal we had was on the balcony of the Pinocchio Village Haus. There are only 4 tables, and you’re up over the hustle and bustle of Fantasyland. And, bonus, you have views of Cinderella’s Castle and Prince Charming’s Carrousel. It’s perfect for a quick time out from the crowds of the Magic Kingdom.
Our quietest meals have been at the resort restaurants in the afternoon; i.e. Sanaa, Captain’s Grill, Kona cafe, the Wave, Grand Floridian Cafe, etc. We get excellent service and it’s a good time to sit down and rest up for the remainder of the day.
We had a disappointing meal at Artist Point. Rude waiter, some food , good some not. Would never go again. I’d eat in my room first. It was fairly quiet but not a good experience.
I like this article but Blue bayou is in Disneyland not Disneyworld which I thought this was quiet in Disney World
Clyde B — We cover both Disneyland and Disney World here, so we include restaurants from both coasts 🙂
I’ve had great experiences at Artist’s Point and we love being able to leave the kids at the Cub’s Den childcare center.
I’m planning on trying Jiko on our next trip and of course one of these days getting that elusive reservation to the Chef’s Table at V&A.
As for the honorable mention for Coral Reef… Wow, I have only ever left one written complaint in 23 years of traveling to WDW and it was about the noise, poor service, and mediocre food at Coral Reef. I couldn’t recommend that spot to anyone, especially not on a list of quiet places to enjoy a meal.
Sanaa has to be one of the quietest and best restaurants at Disney World. The food is fantastic, the atmosphere and service are amazing. Jiko is awesome too. Blue Bayou is terrible. It is loud and the food is awful.
Coral Reef? Good Grief!! (snicker) Not quiet, and really not in the same league as the others.
Narcoosee’s is a favorite of my family, and should be included on the “quiet list”, because it is a quiet, relaxed resturant.
Victoria & Albert’s is #1 without a doubt. Have visited five times, and we’re more impressed each time we go. And where else can you listen to a harpist play? Not only fabulous, but quiet, relaxing, and pampering.
My other votes are also Jiko, and Artist Point for a nice quiet dinner experience. Artist Point is the hidden jewel of WDW. I’ll bet you can get a table without a reservation almost anytime.
The service there is wonderful. The food inspired.
Definitely Monsieur Paul at EPCOT. I went the day after Christmas a few months ago and it was an amazing experience.
Great list! We absolutely love Sanaa at lunchtime. A nice quite relaxing break from the craziness of Animal Kingdom!
Teppan Edo or Tokyo Dining! Also nice spot to watch fireworks away from the crowd!
Definitely agree with Sanaa. To go off on a slight tangent, I’d highly recommend Garden Grill for a quiet Character meal. We went in December and had an excellent meal. Because of the structure of the restaurant, we were largely unaware of our fellow diners apart from the table next to us. There was great character interaction without the usual Character Meal Chaos and noise.
Sara — Great suggestion! Thanks so much for weighing in!