Hi. I'm looking for a nice upscale ($$$) restaurant near the Dolphin Hotel or Epcot in Walt Disney World for 3 adults. The purpose is a thank you dinner for a graduate student, so not family oriented places (which could be noisy).

The Flying Fish is on the Boardwalk which is in the Epcot Resort area,(this is where the Dolphin is)so you'd be able to walk there easily.
Flying Fish gets great reviews for food, service and wine

I second Flying Fish as a good option.

Just inside the EPCOT gate is the French restaurant Les Chefs de France.

If you have a car or access to the Disney transportation system, Artist's Point at Disney Wilderness Lodge has very good food.

California at the Contemporary Hotel is frequently Disney's top rated restaurant.

Portobello at Downtown Disney is really good Italian.

I like Narcoosie at the Grand Floridian. Great view, setting and good food.

Agree with stumpworks73 about Artist Point and California Grill. They won't disappoint! One word of caution, however: book ASAP.

_______________________________________________
Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

Bluezoo - In the dolphin hotel
Yachtsman Steakhouse - Yacht club hotel

Here is a list of all the disney restaurants and their menus:

http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm#res

enjoy

Really liked Flying Fish, but we thought it was loud inside the restaurant; it was a later reservation too (~ 8:30 or 9 pm). Also, enjoyed Blue Zoo at the Dolphin.

Other restaurants (not by Epcot)that we like include Jiko's at AKL & Artist's Point as mentioned above.

Thank you all for the good ideas! We like the idea of walking from the Dolphin to the Flying Fish, so I'm going to check out it's website. Artist's Point sounds interesting, also, so I'll ck that menu too.

(Side note: We were actually thinking of changing our hotel reservation from the Dolphin to the Boardwalk Hotel, since that is a Disney hotel and we'd be able to use Disney transportation.)

The Boardwalk Inn is very nice. The rooms are recently re-done and the decor is very pretty. Their Club level is very nice as well.
I always recommend staying on-site at WDW vs. off-site if budget allows! Disney theming is a lot of fun

bluezoo is one of my favorite restaurants. Artist's Point great too, if you like salmon, itis great there. California Grill has good food, but I am always disappointed at all the people in sneakers and shorts for an upscale restaurant.

FYI, the Dolphin has Disney transportation.

For clarity's sake, I should say that guests at the Dolphin have full access to Disney transportation, and Disney buses (as well as the boats to the Studios and Epcot) stop there.

You must book at California Grill on the top floor at the Contemporary Resort on Disney property! The view alone is just drop dead gorgeous and then stay through sunset and fireworks. This should not be missed. However, book early because reservations are booked months in advance.

ttt

Hello all!
We just returned from Disney. We kept our reservations at the Dolphin and really enjoyed the hotel. The only problem was lack of rooms with Q or K beds.
We ate at the Bluezoo, the Artist Point, and the Columbia Restaurant in Celebration. All three were outstanding.
Bluezoo had this amazing appetizer made with large scallops on top of rib meat. (Who would have thought to put the two together?) Artist Point Salmon was as good as we had in Seattle. We've eaten at Columbia in St. Augustine and were not disappointed. Thank you all for helping to make our trip so memorable!

The flying fish has been replaced by a greek restaurant, Kat some thing or another. If you want a great steak I would go for Shula's in the Swan.

The Flying Fish Cafe is still there. The new Mediterranean estaurant by celeb chef Cat Coura, Kouzzina, is next door (in the space formerly occupied by Spoodles).

My recollection is that while the Dolphin has double beds, the Swan has queen beds.

I checked on Kouzzina while we were there. It is trying to classify itself as a Mediterranean restaurant, but it is very Greek.

When I made the hotel reservation, they couldn't guarantee a king....we could only "request" one. When we arrived, none were available at either the Dolphin or Swan. We (barely) slept in a double the first night, and surprisingly, one became available the next day. So, we repacked (annoying, but worth it) and moved into the king room. A queen bed at the Swan would be great, too, but I suspect we would only be able to "request" one there also.

It's been a while, but again my recollection is that the two-bedded rooms are double beds at the Dolphin and queen-sized at the Swan.

Last time we visited we had a fantastic Chinese meal in the Nine Dragons at EPCOT. Best Chinese we have ever had, no doubt!