Vegan/Vegetarian Restaurant/Dining Help Thread

Oh, and we really loved the tofu dish at Satu'li in Pandora. You can choose your base and your sauce to make it what you want. We like tofu anyway, but thought this was really good. A firmer tofu, so it has some heft to it.


Just something I read about this before we went a couple of months ago...the only vegan sauce is the chimichurri sauce. One of the other sauces has fish in it...so also not vegan or vegetarian.

Also, they have boba balls that they sometimes put on the dish. They weren't vegan initially, but they have recently changed them and they are now vegan!

My husband and I both really enjoyed this dish!
 
Just something I read about this before we went a couple of months ago...the only vegan sauce is the chimichurri sauce. One of the other sauces has fish in it...so also not vegan or vegetarian.

Also, they have boba balls that they sometimes put on the dish. They weren't vegan initially, but they have recently changed them and they are now vegan!

My husband and I both really enjoyed this dish!

The black bean vinaigrette contains fish sauce :( The creamy herb dressing must contain eggs instead of dairy because it's listed on the allergy menu as being suitable for guests with dairy allergies. In any event, it's fine for vegetarians, but not for vegans.
 
ok...i asked DD about their experiences eating vegetarian in august and she was a lot more positive than me..

however, take into account that she eats fish but not shellfish...

so she eats vegetarian and certain fish - which opens a lot of possibilities at WDW (where there are some really fine fish dishes available).

but regarding vegetarian, she reminded me that when we were at Cinderella's Royal Table for lunch - the chef came out to speak with us.

we were a table of 8 with various dietary issues, so the chef came out to figure it out.

She was wonderful by the way. Very sweet and made lots of suggestions.

so for DD, the chef prepared a special pasta dish that DD said was super delicious.

And she also prepared a tray of all sorts of appetizers - all of them vegetarian...

it was wonderful...all of it....and she kept sending out more and more..

oh...and by the way, when DD had originally asked the server if the chef might be able to prepare something, he said absolutely not..

and he was a really really really nice server, but i guess he didn't know.

in any case, the chef came out because there were problems with special order food that was ordered in advance for a few members of our group..

so once she was out talking to us, she took care of everyone...

and again, it turned out to be one of our very best meals during our 3 weeks at WDW in august..
 
continuing from my last post...

as i said, DD disagreed somewhat with me...

though she agreed with my assessment that some of the vegetarian food is now too spicy for her..

and she also agreed that counter service food is very much lacking for vegetarians - especially the switch out of the veggie burger for that hideous felafel burger.

.
 


My favorite vegetarian meals in August were:

CRT- just asked for vegetarian meal and received an absolutely delicious couscous and vegetable dish and an app of tomato soup. I only had a couple bites of the soup because tomatoes are rough on my stomach, but it was really good.

Ohana- just mentioned that I was vegetarian. I was brought out a separate app of 2 kinds of chips and 2 kinds of hummus. Then they brought a tofu stir fry with vegetables. I could also eat the bread, salad, and noodles that everyone received. They even had vegan ice cream. Everything was delicious.

Garden Grill- again, just mentioned that I was vegetarian. They brought out a plain salad without the meat, eggs, and dressing (my request), a separate platter with a veggie meat loaf, mashed potatoes, vegetables, rice, fries, plus I was served the rolls, Mac and cheese, and berry shortcake that everyone got. Everything was really good.

Bon Voyage Breakfast- ordered Pancakes with berry compote from the menu and substituted the meat for potatoes. The potatoes were incredible! You also get a platter of pastries.

Raglan Road- Some kind of quinoa burger ordered from the menu with truffle fries. The burger was thick and flavorful.

HDD- ordered a simple wagon wheel pasta with sauce and veggies from a separate vegetarian menu. It was simple, but good. Everyone was served corn bread, mashed potatoes, corn, and strawberry shortcake.

And for the worst:
Trails End was a bust. When I checked in, they handed me an allergy pamphlet that listed the common allergies (fish, nuts, etc) that were present in the buffet offerings. There was nothing about vegetarian or vegan. When our server came by, I asked to speak with the chef. The server then asked what my allergy was and I tried to explain that I don't eat meat and can't tolerate a lot of dairy. She cut me off to say that they have salads and stuff on the buffet. I reiterated that I'd like to speak with a chef about my dietary restrictions. She told me they were super busy and that it's obvious when I look what has meat in it. I started to say that meat wasn't the only issue when she cut me off and said she'd send someone by, but that it could be a while. Everyone else was getting their food while I was alone with my toddler at the table when a woman came by. She never introduced herself, so I have no idea if she was a manager, chef, or what, though I doubt chef given what next ensued. She said, "You don't know what's vegetarian?" I replied that I'd like someone to go over it with me so I knew what was safe. She looked at me like she was waiting for me to follow her so I scooped up my toddler and we went to the buffet. She gestured toward the right half of the buffet and said, "Basically, this stuff doesn't have meat. The stuff over there like the chicken and the carving board, you want to avoid." I responded that I wanted to know what had dairy as well. She told me that was listed in the allergy book. I again asked if she could go over the buffet line offerings that have dairy with me.

She seemed rather frustrated at this point, but finally walked over to the food and said, "You probably want to avoid the dressings and the salads that have dressings. The baked beans and mashed potatoes are fine, as are the vegetables. There's fruit and there's baked potatoes over there." Then she walked away. I went back to the table dumbfounded. She never went over the dessert station and I couldn't believe she told me the baked beans were okay as there was definitely visible meat in them (and confirmed by DH who ate them), I've never seen mashed potatoes without dairy, and sometimes vegetables have butter or bacon grease so I would have liked to clarify that. I didn't really feel comfortable eating anything from the buffet at this point, after being told to eat things that were clearly not okay for me to eat.

When our server came by again, she asked if I was vegan or vegetarian. I started to say that it's kind of complicated and that I don't eat meat or fish, but when it comes to dairy I can handle some things if... She AGAIN cut me off and said she'd see if her vegetarian and vegan chef could come talk to me but that he was very busy.

About 45 mins pass and my family is done eating. I've only had some fruit from the buffet. Finally, I see Chef TJ come out and I get excited. He goes to one table, then another, then disappears back in the kitchen. The kids are antsy and I'm feeling terrible that everyone is waiting on me. DH tells me not to worry and they will wait all night because he knew how much I was looking forward to this meal. Finally, the sever comes by, plops a plate of food in front of me saying the kitchen had prepared it, and walks away. It consisted of 2 mushrooms, 2 pieces of zucchini, 2 squash, tomatoes, onions, and a handful of tofu covered in some sauce. I took a bite and realized that the sauce was balsamic vinaigrette. The mushrooms were good and the zucchini was okay, the squash soaked up the vinaigrette and I couldn't stomach it. I hate the taste of balsamic vinaigrette. The tofu was somehow dry but still tasted strongly of the vinaigrette. Tomatoes and onions upset my stomach so I didn't touch those. I ate the mushrooms, zucchini, and a couple pieces of tofu, but couldn't stomach the rest. The server didn't say anything when she took the plate away.

Overall, I was incredibly disappointed with how everything was handled there and we ended up going back to our resort where I ate the rest of my leftover quinoa burger from Raglan Road.
 
Last edited:
And for the worst:
Trails End was a bust. When I checked in, they handed me an allergy pamphlet that listed the common allergies (fish, nuts, etc) that were present in the buffet offerings. There was nothing about vegetarian or vegan. When our server came by, I asked to speak with the chef. The server then asked what my allergy was and I tried to explain that I don't eat meat and can't tolerate a lot of dairy. She cut me off to say that they have salads and stuff on the buffet. I reiterated that I'd like to speak with a chef about my dietary restrictions. She told me they were super busy and that it's obvious when I look what has meat in it. I started to say that meat wasn't the only issue when she cut me off and said she'd send someone by, but that it could be a while. Everyone else was getting their food while I was alone with my toddler at the table when a woman came by. She never introduced herself, so I have no idea if she was a manager, chef, or what, though I doubt chef given what next ensued. She said, "You don't know what's vegetarian?" I replied that I'd like someone to go over it with me so I knew what was safe. She looked at me like she was waiting for me to follow her so I scooped up my toddler and we went to the buffet. She gestured toward the right half of the buffet and said, "Basically, this stuff doesn't have meat. The stuff over there like the chicken and the carving board, you want to avoid." I responded that I wanted to know what had dairy as well. She told me that was listed in the allergy book. I again asked if she could go over the buffet line offerings that have dairy with me.

She seemed rather frustrated at this point, but finally walked over to the food and said, "You probably want to avoid the dressings and the salads that have dressings. The baked beans and mashed potatoes are fine, as are the vegetables. There's fruit and there's baked potatoes over there." Then she walked away. I went back to the table dumbfounded. She never went over the dessert station and I couldn't believe she told me the baked beans were okay as there was definitely visible meat in them (and confirmed by DH who ate them), I've never seen mashed potatoes without dairy, and sometimes vegetables have butter or bacon grease so I would have liked to clarify that. I didn't really feel comfortable eating anything from the buffet at this point, after being told to eat things that were clearly not okay for me to eat.

When our server came by again, she asked if I was vegan or vegetarian. I started to say that it's kind of complicated and that I don't eat meat or fish, but when it comes to dairy I can handle some things if... She AGAIN cut me off and said she'd see if her vegetarian and vegan chef could come talk to me but that he was very busy.

About 45 mins pass and my family is done eating. I've only had some fruit from the buffet. Finally, I see Chef TJ come out and I get excited. He goes to one table, then another, then disappears back in the kitchen. The kids are antsy and I'm feeling terrible that everyone is waiting on me. DH tells me not to worry and they will wait all night because he knew how much I was looking forward to this meal. Finally, the sever comes by, plops a plate of food in front of me saying the kitchen had prepared it, and walks away. It consisted of 2 mushrooms, 2 pieces of zucchini, 2 squash, tomatoes, onions, and a handful of tofu covered in some sauce. I took a bite and realized that the sauce was balsamic vinaigrette. The mushrooms we're good and the zucchini was okay, the squash soaked up the vinaigrette and I couldn't stomach it. I hate the taste of balsamic vinaigrette. The tofu was somehow dry but still tasted strongly of the vinaigrette. Tomatoes and onions upset my stomach so I didn't touch those. I ate the mushrooms, zucchini, and a couple pieces of tofu, but couldn't stomach the rest. The server didn't say anything when she took the plate away.

Overall, I was incredibly disappointed with how everything was handled there and we ended up going back to our resort where I ate the rest of my leftover quinoa burger from Raglan Road.


That's horrible! When I ate at Trail's End, Chef TJ was unfortunately on vacation, but another chef still came out to talk with us in a reasonable time. We didn't even touch the buffet, and still had several courses of good food.
 


WoW, this is all amazing to hear!!!!! Well maybe Amazing isn't the right word to use, but I'm kinda dumbfounded:confused3 after reading all of these stories...

We rave about the places that are down in WDW about their knowledge and understanding when it comes to dietary needs/allergies... What I cant get is, in this day & age ( at a place that has Sooooo many guests ) can't seem to be up 2 date....True the TS restaurants might be a lil busy from time 2 time, but never where a mgr. or chef can't come out in a reasonable time..My DW is a vegan, & also has a wheat allergy(Basically GF) & my DD has a dairy allergy...In all the times we've gone as a family (Which I believe now is double digits) We've never had an issue or had to wait for a chef more than 10 mins. tops. "Were we lucky?" I hope not, I'd like to think that every restaurant operates close to the same high standard that they should...And that goes for the QS places too.

For all that had crummy experiences, I'd like to say sorry for that, but Keep your heads up & be persistent ( which most have) because at this point moving forward, if they'd like to continue working in the customer serv. end of the business, then they'll make it right.:thumbsup2

Great thread BTW thanks!
 
Thanks everybody. Since info about vegetarian food is so hard to find online (or outdated), I really do appreciate everyone taking the time to keep posting.

And just to tag along to @LongLiveRafiki, we ate at 'Ohana after a break of many years in November and our vegetarian feast was incredible. More food than we could possibly hope to eat, but fresh and flavorful. So you just never know. Hope springs eternal.

But so sorry about that oily plate of vegetables. I imagine a Chef TJ delight is on everyone's bucket list, so that's super disappointing.
 
We are coming up on our first vegan trip in April. I'm so nervous about this dining situation! I'm afraid we are going to starve! lol and I've been looking forward to chef TJ for months and if he's not there.....well I'm going to be crushed!
 
We are coming up on our first vegan trip in April. I'm so nervous about this dining situation! I'm afraid we are going to starve! lol and I've been looking forward to chef TJ for months and if he's not there.....well I'm going to be crushed!

Last I knew, his days off were Friday and Saturday. We went on a monday and he was definitely there, although as stated above, it didn't work out as planned. I'm hoping it was just an off night with some miscommunication all around. I think because I didn't come out and say I was vegan from the very beginning (which I'm not entirely, but didnt have an opportunity to fully explain) may have just led to a bunch of confusion. So my recommendation is to have it noted on your reservation that you have an allergy/ dietary issue and once your server comes around, tell them right away you are vegan and would like to speak to a chef. Good luck!
 
At Gasparilla Grill at GF the tomato soup (with the grilled cheese) is made with chicken stock. I was glad I asked.

They have a veggie burger.

When our server came by again, she asked if I was vegan or vegetarian. I started to say that it's kind of complicated and that I don't eat meat or fish, but when it comes to dairy I can handle some things if...

Honestly I’d just start simply telling them you’re vegan up front. Once the chef is there then make the differences obvious.
 
I'm not sure if these places have been mentioned in this thread before, but I wanted to throw them out there just in case.

Boatwright's at the Port Orleans Riverside had a vegetarian (actually vegan, but called vegetarian as to not "scare away" the vegetarians, according to the server) jambalaya, and some salads. They also had vegan bread rolls, vegan butter, and ice cream made with tofutti. Other than that though, they didn't have a lot of options (they didn't have any tofu on hand). The vegan member of our group is a picky eater, so she just had a large plate of french fries for dinner, plus some ice cream.

Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe in Magic Kingdom had a falafel burger with tzatziki sauce. My boyfriend said it was kind of dry, but it tasted alright. They supposedly also have a Greek salad that has feta on it + feta dressing, but I don't remember if I saw that on the menu when we were there.

Paddlefish had a vegetarian pasta on the menu. I don't remember if it was vegan-friendly though.
 
Does anyone know if the new specialty cocktail at California Grill's brunch is safe for vegetarians? I heard they replaced the mimosas and now they are serving champagne with boba pearls. I remember reading that the boba at Satuli Canteen wasn't safe and then it was and not it isn't again, so I'm not sure what to think. We have reservations at the end of May, so there's a good chance they'll be back to regular mimosas by then, but I'd like to be prepared! TIA!!
 
Have any vegans done Wild Africa Trek? I'm going to request a vegan meal for my travel companion, but he's just wondering what will be served!
 
Have any vegans done Wild Africa Trek? I'm going to request a vegan meal for my travel companion, but he's just wondering what will be served!
I'm only vegetarian, but my meal was SO GOOD at Wild Africa Trek (they say it is just snacks, but it filled me up). While everyone else had a shrimp dish, mine was tofu. it has been a while, but I think most of what they served me was probably vegan - it would make it easier for them to accommodate both restrictions instead of having another different meal to prepare. I told them when I booked that I was vegetarian, then again when I checked in. They were very good and specialty boxes were tagged so they could ensure I received the correct meal.
 
Would anybody be interested in a, mainly quick service, vegetarian dining report when I go down next month? I am going to see my kiddo (she is doing the college program) and had high hopes on doing lots of table service but finances took a hit so it will be quick service for the most part. She is veg., I am not but we also both have odd allergies that others might have.
 
@babytrees2514 I would be interested as well. With TS, I know they are likely to have vegetarian options. With QS, it isn't always the case, so I'd love to hear about what you find and how good it is.
 

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