Before any Disney trip, I spend a great deal of time looking at food porn and menus, trying to decide where to eat. When I discovered the Scotch egg on the menu at Rose and Crown, I showed it to Mark; this immediately prompted Mark to ask that we eat there. I made the reservations, and we were set. We were scheduled to check in at 6:45 for dinner.
Of course, all time before our reservation was spent riding rides and soaking up atmosphere. We had fastpasses for Soarin', and because that took a little longer than expected, we didn't show up to check into the Rose and Crown until 7:00. The very nice CM started looking for our reservation in the system but was having no luck. That's when we realized our reservation was actually for 6:35, making us 25 minutes late. Uh-oh.
While it looked pretty bleak, the CM gave us a beeper and told us he would add us to the list. He told us he wasn't sure how long the wait would be; he warned us that it may be a good twenty five minutes or more. We accepted that as our punishment and went to look around the shops. It turns out the buzzers work through out the entire UK pavilion. It makes waiting a lot less painful. After wandering through the shops and a bathroom break, our buzzer went off. It was maybe a ten minute wait.
Now, if you're not familiar with the Rose and Crown, it's situated on the waterway, with both interior and exterior seating. It's a popular place to get dinner and watch Illuminations, which I had never seen. I had not chosen our dinner time for that purpose, and I didn't expect to be seated outside. With people specifically asking for those tables, I figured we would be inside. We gave no seating preference, as we just wanted food. For whatever reason, it worked out that we were seated outside, right up against the rail. As the young lady was walking us to our table, she encouraged us to stay for Illuminations, even though it was quite a while before they started.
The temperature had cooled a bit, and there was a nice breeze off of the water. Our server was incredibly nice and went over the menu with us, pointing out the dishes she was fond of. We chose our drinks, and while she went to get them, we debated over what to order.
I honestly have no idea what he is looking
at on his phone.
When she returned, we placed our order and enjoyed the view. To dull the pain of waiting, they also provided some bread and butter.
It's the little touches that set Disney apart.
I love the newspaper look
of the paper.
Soon, our server was bringing our appetizers. Mark had the Scotch egg, which he said was phenomenal. I tried it, and it tasted like all of breakfast, rolled into one. I'm glad for the experience points, but I don't think I could have eaten a whole one. It was heavy and rich.
A Scotch egg is a hardboiled egg, surrounded
by sausage, which is then deep fried. I'm sure it is
guilty of many deaths, but that is part
of the adventure.
Maybe to balance out Mark, I ordered the frisee and apple salad. Traditionally, I'm not a fan of fruit on my salads, but the call of blue cheese was too strong to resist. The key to a good salad with blue cheese crumbles is something a bit sweet to complement the flavor of the cheese. It turns out that apples are good for that. I had also never had craisins until this salad. I think I leveled.
Behold my amazing salad! It's a bunch of weird leafy lettuce
with some apples and craisins and cranberry vinaigrette. There were also
tomatoes, candied nuts, and blue cheese crumbles!
Our entrees took quite a bit of time to show up. It actually got dark while we were waiting. It worked out okay though, since we had bread and appetizers. Mark ended up ordering the Cottage Pie. He liked it quite a bit. I don't think I tried it.
It's ground beef, onions, and carrots covered by
mashed potatoes and cheese. They usually
put mushrooms in it, but Mark had
them leave those off.
I was a bit more boring with my meal. I opted for beef sirloin steak; it was served with blue cheese butter, my weakness.* It came with onion rings and seasonal vegetables.
The taters aren't pictured, as they were
super blurry. They really existed...
I swear!
I was wanting comfort food, so I added a side of mashed potatoes on the side. That was an excellent decision, as they were the best part of the meal.
Around this point in time is when we started experiencing the only real problems of the night. I am a heavy drinker.** It had been pretty hot, and I was a bit dehydrated. I had ordered both a soda and a water and was going through them pretty quickly. I sat with no beverages for quite some time before we flagged her down and asked for more. It had to have been about fifteen minutes before she brought me more to drink. Mark had time to leave, use the restroom, and return before my drinks were refilled.
Since I was in such a good mood, it didn't ruin the night, but it did impact my ability to eat. I ended up not even trying the onion rings because they were cold by the time I had a drink. I ate all of the green beans and mashed potatoes though. Even cold, they were worth eating. I had a few bites of steak but didn't finish it. It was okay, nothing spectacular.
Once we finished our meals, the server stopped back by and took our dessert order. Disney has been kind enough to provide Mark with as much bread pudding as he could possible eat. It seems like it's offered at each and every restaurant. Rose and Crown was no exception; Mark ordered the sticky toffee pudding. I, however, opted for the Jaffa tarts.
The server was kind enough to clear our table and take our dessert order before Illuminations began. She warned us that she would drop off the desserts but not interrupt our viewing. It was finally time to see the show.
Now, I've been to Disney many, many times. Somehow, I've never seen Illuminations. If we're in the park when they are happening, we are usually rushing out. It's not fun to be crammed together with everyone else who is leaving via bus when they end. Tonight, we had a front row seat for the show and decided to enjoy it.
We were not diappointed!
Explosions!
There was fire and lasers and music and more lasers!
There's a globe!
The music is pretty good. I didn't care for the stuff that had lyrics, but the instrumental pieces were beautiful.
Pew, pew, pew!
The show is quite long and definitely worth a watch.
Maybe I wouldn't bring children who were afraid of
fireworks to the show.
About halfway through the show, dessert showed up. Mark's sticky toffee pudding was great; he really liked it.
Sweet but not too sweet.
My dessert was not as good. It actually tasted like a Hostess snack cake. I didn't hate it, but I was a bit disappointed. I was still glad for the experience though.
If any British people are out there, I would love to know
if Jaffa cakes are some cheap snack you give your kids or if I just
got a bad batch.
As we finished up dessert, Illuminations came to a close. As with many Disney shows, the finale was amazing. Somehow, they crammed in even more explosions!
The globe opened up!
If you haven't eaten at Rose and Crown, you should. The food is good, and if you aren't adventurous, there are options for you. That's a plus. You can try something new or something you're used to. While the service fell a bit short at times, it didn't ruin the evening. Watching Illuminations from the restaurant was an incredible bonus. In the future, that's how I will try to watch the show, if I choose to see it again.
*If I ever get pregnant, I'm going to hate not eating soft cheeses.
**I know I am repeating myself from other reviews; get over it. I don't assume that anyone is reading all of these things.
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