Restaurant #1: Olivia’s Cafe

Location: Old Key West Resort
Meals Served: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Meal Experienced: Dinner
What We Ordered:

Things You Should Know About Olivia’s

1) When you’re here, you’re family
Olivia’s is located at the original Disney Vacation Club Resort. Consequently many of the guests there are DVC members that are definitely not on their first trip to Walt Disney World which gives the restaurant a bit more of a family instead of touristy feel. Also, much of the decor in and around Olivia’s consists photos of DVC families visiting Walt Disney World over the past 20 years presented in an eclectic collection of frames.

2) When you’re with family, things sometimes get loud
The design Olivia’s with its hard floors and large main room with four walls means this is probably not the best restaurant for that intimate, romantic dinner. However, if you’ve got kids and don’t want to stick out, this is great place to go. Kids are not only provided the standard Walt Disney World Resort kids menu with its various activities but Olivia’s offers coloring sheets with characters such as Lightning McQueen and a handful of crayons in various colors.

3) The service is family style, too
Our server was a little more casual than you sometimes get at Walt Disney World and that’s meant in a good way. We had Gideon with us and she swapped some parenting stories. But the service was also very good with everything coming out when it should and very regular refills. We were also impressed when she got caught up with another table but made sure another server came out to give us refills. She even remembered to bring a side of tomatoes for Gideon, an obviously unusual request.

4) The food’s good, too
Doobie loved his Olivia’s Marathon Pasta. It’s normally served with shrimp but can also be done with chicken or vegetarian. It’s the only vegetarian option on the menu but it is very good. It was spicier than he expected (he’s a wimp) but despite the occasional pain, the spice really added to the flavor. The side of Olivia’s Potatoes (ie: Potatoes O’Gratin) was also a great choice. Rebekah found her salmon flavorful and not at all dry. It was about the size of a large deck of cards. She’s not fond of the creamy drizzle that was put on the salmon but easily scraped it off and will be sure to order it without in the future. The salmon sat on top of a well dressed tangy salad with a small sprinkle of diced tomatoes, cucumbers and onion. The portions were pretty good as well. Doobie took home half of his pasta and can report it reheated very well!

5) Not a bad wait
We had about a 20 minute wait for our table. Olivia’s is one of the better places to have a wait. It’s right next door to the merchandise shop and just across the walkway from the lobby with some very comfortable chairs and a TV for the little ones. It’s also right next to the marina if you’d like to gaze at the water and adjoins a bar if you want to pass the time that way.

6) Recommendation...
With its good food and friendly service it’s easy to recommend Olivia’s Cafe. Because of its hotel location, it’s also one of the easier restaurants to get into with or without a reservation. And the family feel makes it a somewhat unique experience among Walt Disney World restaurants. It’s not the place for a romantic meal, but for almost any other situation, Olivia’s is a good choice:

Overall on a scale of 1 to 10...
Doobie: 7
Rebekah: 8