Review of Toledo, Tapas, Steak and Seafood at Coronado Springs
On July 9th the brand new tower at Coronado Springs opened to guests. Gran Destino Tower is now the place where you go to check in and where the park transportation stops are located. But it is also home to 3 new dining experiences. Barcelona Lounge, Dahlia Lounge and Toledo, Tapas, Steak and Seafood.
As soon as reservations were available I managed to score us a table for opening night for the purpose of this particular review, first I was a bit hesitant because we had such a disappointing time at Jaleo, which is also a tapas focused restaurant, but I have to say that we were very pleasantly surprised.
Atmosphere: The restaurant is located on the 16th floor of the Gran Destino Tower and offers amazing views of Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Blizzard Beach and a bit of Epcot. The restaurant itself is an open air concept with the tapas kitchen being very visible. Beautiful olive trees invite guests in and the roof does a progressive color change through out your meal, changing from magenta to red to orange and yellow. The best thing for me was that although the restaurant feels more upscale it is not overly elegant and fits nicely with the rest of Coronado Springs.
The Food: the menu is presented beautifully, separated into tapas, beverages and entrees. The waiter was very helpful without being pushy on suggestions and explanations of the different offerings. We decided to try a bit of everything and here’s what we ordered:
Salt Cod-stuffed Piquillo Peppers $3 (pintxos): a red pepper filled with cheese and hints of cod over crostini. The pepper was on the sweeter side which complemented the saltiness and fishiness of the cod. This is described as a bite or two and they were not lying.
Charred Octopus $15 (cazuela) presented in a beautiful terra cotta bowl, the octopus was cooked to perfection, no chewiness which can tend to happen when dealing with octopus, the romanesco chimichurri sauce perfectly complemented the octopus.
Savory Churros $10 (appetizer) our waiter described it as an “interesting” plate with chorizo and cheese dust that leaves your fingers kind of orange like cheetos. Despite that description we gave it a try, the waiter’s explanation hit the mark on all fronts. His recommendation of squeezing the lime on it was brilliant as it brought out the flavor of the churro and gave it some needed moisture. This was the most filling plate but also one that we might not get next time.
Hanger Steak $32 (entrees) beautifully cooked medium well for my daughter, it was tender and basically you could cut it with your fork. The potatoes had an amazing flavor and the veggies were perfectly charred. The photo doesn’t do it justice, it is a good amount of steak.
The Toledo Tapas Bar $12 (dessert) described as a progressive dessert. It’s a cheese cake with sections of lemon curd, raspberry mousse, crunchy chocolate and Spanish coffee, it is recommended to eat it in that order which we did. Absolutely incredible. My daughter said she would go back just to order this.
As I mentioned before we were pleasantly surprised and satisfied, although it is on a higher price range this is the perfect place to celebrate a special moment or a date night. We will be returning for sure.
View from the Top: we knew we would be able to see Illuminations and Star Wars a Galactic Spectacular from the balcony of the lounge but these two shows offer very little in terms of bigger fireworks that it doesn’t really make it worth it to go just for that. But it is a different way to end your night. There is a way to see Happily Ever After from Toledo but it is a special dining room that has to be booked in advance.
Our bill with 10% Annual Passholder discount came to $69.02 before tip. Not as pricey as other places that offer the same style of food and we loved it. 100% recommend it to anyone thinking of going.
Right before we had dinner we tried the coffee at the Barcelona Lounge on the ground floor. It is presented very nicely but is is basically Joffrey’s coffee, which I enjoy. We got a hot coffee (cortadito) and a cold brew. Bill came out to $9 before tip.
Here’s a video of the Dhalia Lounge, in honor of the friendship between Walt Disney and Salvador Dali. With the beautiful view from the balcony