Wolfgang Puck Express
Downtown Disney
Lunch
Date of Visit: 7/7/2007
Time of Visit: 12:41
Adults in Party: 2
Children in Party: 1
Total Cost: $39.25
Average Price Per Adult: $16.63
Ten Point Scale
Food: 9.8
Value: 8.2
Service: 8.0
Environment: 7.3
Overall Rating: 8.3
Advantageously placed opposite the Virgin Megastore and the first highly visible counter-service in the West Side of Downtown Disney, Puck Express rightfully ought to be busy all the time. It has name brand recognition, a terrific location, and a varied and interesting-sounding menu. What prevents massive crowds, though, are the extremely high prices.

The spicy chicken pizza ($11) comes on an ultra-thin crust - expect to use a fork, not hands - but completely fills the plate and is in fact enough food for one person. It has the chicken you expected, plus sliced roma tomatoes, yellow peppers, and leek. There was no sauce, but an oil instead, which lent an oily but tasty texture to the entire affair. Even the cheese was spicy - this item was a hit. The even more costly meatloaf ($15) was a large slab of meat plopped atop a bed of garlic mashed potatoes, with gravy spilling all around. Except it wasn't gravy so much as a sweet barbecue sauce, and the meat could fairly be described as various pork products and an odd mushroom assembled into a meatloaf shape. Mostly it was ground pork, though a distinct piece of bacon came through every so often. It tasted quite good, but the sauce overpowered any garlic flavor, and the entire effect was a bit too homogenous for an entire meal. It was also overpriced.

The child macaroni and cheese ($6) did not come with a milk ($1.50 for the small bottle), so the child meal total was quite expensive. The cheeses used were exotic white cheeses, and they blended together very well. A child without a discerning palate may not notice (or may, in fact, yearn for the "normal" stuff), but adults may like this meal. It helps that the serving is enormous, so that most adults will find the $6 well worth the expense for their own meal.

Since this is counter-service, the cashier portion goes quickly. You're given a number to place on a table, and they bring the food out to you. We found this reasonably fast, though a major problem can be seen in that the seating is almost wholly outdoors at this eatery. A few barstools along a counter line the inside, but most patrons will have to sit outside. It's covered, at least, but the seating is cramped and the fans overhead do not do much to mitigate the effects of the summer heat.