Cat Cora’s Kouzinna in Walt Disney World

Nancy Pistorius, had recommended that we give celebrity chef Cat Cora’s Greek-inspired restaurant a try, so on an evening last May, while staying at the Boardwalk Hotel, we wandered into Kouzinna. Greek for ‘kitchen’, Kouzinna is decorated in dark brown artisan furniture. The open-concept restaurant makes you feel right at home before you even taste anything. We appreciated that the tables are set far enough apart from each other eliminating the crowded feel, and the noise level was minimal which is important as our son is noise sensitive.   After seeing us come in, exhausted  from a fun-filled day at Epcot, the attentive staff was more than accommodating; seating us at a quiet, corner table in really good time. That was just the beginning of our wonderful experience.

The service

Our server was really patient; not only spending time explaining each dish to our son with autism, but helping him customize his order exactly the way he liked it: little cream, sauce on the side and no dill or mint on absolutely anything!

The food

My husband and I shared the Kouzinna Spread Sampler. It consisted of hummus, charred eggplant, similar to the Romanian Zacusca my mom used to make, and Tzatziki with warm pita bread slices. I ordered the Avgolemono, which is an egg and lemon soup, that had the right amount of flavoring and texture without being too sour or thick. My son ordered his favorite dish,fried Calamari, that he fondly nicknamed ‘mini Ursulas’ in reference to the octopus in his favorite movie The Little Mermaid and he had no problem polishing off his plate. While waiting for our main course, we got a kick out of watching the chefs in the restaurant’s open kitchen prepare othepatrons’ dishes in flaming copper pans and wood burning ovens. Our main dish was the Kouzinna sample trio of char-grilled lamb burger, mini Pastitisio, which is Greek lasagna, and cinnamon stewed chicken with orzo. So tasty! Though we were pretty full, we did not leave without trying freshly made Loukomades (Greek donuts) drizzled with warm honey and cinnamon. They not only turned out to be a perfect way to top off a good dinner but left us craving more. So, come back we did-the very next morning for breakfast. Once again, there was a minimal wait for a table without prior reservations. The morning staff were just as friendly and accommodating for our son with autism as those from the previous day.

The breakfast

After reading the menu twice because it was that hard to make up our minds, we all ordered their ‘breakfast pizza‘. Picture a warm pita bread with a thick layer of house-cured salmon and soft scrambled eggs topped with capers, bacon and dill over a thick layer of Tzatziki sauce. Delicious! We were so impressed because it took less than fifteen minutes to arrive at our table! As we waited and gazed out the window at the people passing by on Disney’s Boardwalk, my husband and I slowly sipped our Bloody Maias  (spin off  the traditional Bloody Mary)– a heavenly blend of vodka, honey, lime juice, Bloody Mary mix and dill, while our son savored his all-natural lemonade topped with wild berry foam. As this was our very last day in Walt Disney, we decided to end our vacation on a sweet note with a dessert and ordered a classic golden waffle topped with mascarpone cheese, honey and chopped pecans.   But it turns out the sweetest treat was yet to come. You won’t believe what was waiting for us when we asked for the check! The Maitre d’ and server had heard our son rave about the food and lemonade and decided to surprise him with a parting gift – a beautiful hardcover celebrity recipe book signed by Cat Cora!   Talk about great customer care! Sadly, the contract between Cat Cora and Disney is slated to come to an end on the last day of September 2014. We are very sad to see this chapter come to a close.]]>