Dessert! Dessert! Dessert! Whenever people talk about Disney dining, they wind up sounding like Sarah Jessica Parker in Hocus Pocus. I understand the why of it. The desserts at Disney theme parks are universally delicious. These are not, however, the foods that will sustain you during a hearty day of theme park tourism. It’s the entrees that provide the protein you need to walk thousands of steps to reach your favorite attractions.
I’ve never quite understood why the main courses get the short shrift when people talk about eating at Disney, either. Let’s correct that right now by discussing the best of the best when it comes the most important courses each meal. Note that I’m not a foodie by any stretch of the imagination, so I received input from several Disney superfans in compiling this list. Here are the nine entrees we consider to be the best at Walt Disney World.
9. Fish and Chips – Rose and Crown Pub & Dining Room
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Many of the pavilions at Epcot feature cuisine more than worthy of this list. I previously compiled a list of my favorite eight if you want to see how well we line up on Disney foods. Rose and Crown deserves a second mention here for doing the one thing expected of a British restaurant spectacularly well. When a person holes up at this restaurant for dinner, the intent is oftentimes to stretch out the meal long enough to enjoy Illuminations during one of the courses. There’s no better way to pass the time than by celebrating one of the true staples of English food culture.
Fish and chips, while basic cuisine at its core, represents every preconceived notion that people have of British cuisine. The surprise is how crispy and “mouth-meltingly good” the fish is. That’s an actual quote from a family member. Plus, it’s so fresh that you can’t help but wonder if Disney cast members are casting fishing rods into the water a few hours before Illuminations. Actually, that’s gross. Forget I said that.
8. Mom’s Old-fashioned Pot Roast – 50’s Prime Time Café
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I’m a huge fan of kitsch, which means that I love the setting of this restaurant. Where else can you go today to have people who will later ask you for a tip boss you around if you don’t demonstrate proper manners at the dining table? The food here is admittedly heavy, so it’s not perfect for everyone. If you’re like me and enjoy the nostalgia of an entire family sitting down together to eat a meal, however, there’s a lot to love at 50’s Prime Time Café.
The best meals they offer are all recipes for classic staples of American cuisine. There’s nothing the least bit fancy about a pot roast. The dish is by nature utilitarian, crafted to include enough food to feed a large family for multiple meals. The pot roast at this Hollywood Studios restaurant somehow feels high-brow, though. The slow-roasted meat is remarkably tender, and the moat of gravy is drool-worthy. This entrée will remind you of Sunday dinners from the halcyon days of your youth, even if you never actually had these kinds of meals as a kid. The memories are collective, possibly due to Happy Days re-runs.
7. Pan-seared All-Natural Chicken – Cinderella’s Royal Table
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Anyone who eats at Cinderella Castle should feel like royalty, and royals are served the most delicious of succulent treats. While the formal staff at the restaurant prepares many delicacies, the pan-seared chicken stands apart for its verve and tenderness.
The beauty of the dish is that it’s designed to blend with the other standard components, something easier for chefs to do at Cinderella’s Royal Table, where guests receive only a handful of options for meals. This stylistic choice guarantees that the average diner will blend the chicken with a combination of Farro wheat risotto plus wild mushroom and leek ragout. Finally, a stone ground mustard jus pulls all the elements together into a mouth-watering bite. You may visit Cinderella’s Royal Table simply because it’s the most iconic theme park landmark in the world, but the tremendous quality of the food there may surprise you.
6. Cheeseburger – Sci-Fi Dine-In
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The dish is an American institution as well as your likely default choice every time you grab fast food on your way home from work. In order for a cheeseburger to stand out, it’s got to offer something you wouldn’t get anywhere else. While I could argue that the giant bun or the heapin’ helpin’ of beef is what differentiates the cheeseburger at Sci-Fi Dine-In, that’s not quite true. It’s the flavor in combination with the overall experience.
Eating here feels like stepping foot into yesterday, those days in the 1950s when Walt Disney was still trying to nail down the concept of the theme park but the food was already aces. Guests sit at a “booth” that is actually car-shaped and watch movies on the big screen that centers the entire building. The joy of living at the start of the space age adds to the ambience, and the meaty flavor of the restaurant’s signature cheeseburger will leave you begging for more.
5. Grilled New York Strip – Kona Café
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I’m a carnivore. I feel like it’s important to acknowledge this fact. Some people describe themselves as meat and potatoes people, yet they’re perfectly fine having a Cobb salad for dinner. I’m not like them. If I don’t eat meat and potatoes, I’ll starve to death. I could never make it as a vegetarian, because when I look at cows, I realize it’s either them or me.
Given the above, you’ll understand why steak is a very serious subject for me. In fact, it’s life or death. So, when I say that the Kona Café offers the best New York strip at Walt Disney World, you should believe me. I’m an authority on this one by circumstance rather than by choice. When I plan advance dinner reservations each visit, the first thing I check is whether a place has a steak. It’s why places like Yak and Yeti and San Angel Inn are popular with many people but will never work for me. I’ve eaten basically every strip steak on property, and I’m telling you that Kona Café beats them all.
4. Bobotie – Boma – Flavors of Africa
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South African cuisine comprises a key portion of the menu at this Animal Kingdom Lodge restaurant, and if you’ve never tried it, you’re truly missing out on something wonderful. Bobotie is a modified version of an Indonesian dish called bobotok that is basically meat covered with a custard roof. Yes, that’s a real thing. Bobotie uses minced meat, but it substitutes an egg-based topping for custard. The meat is generally either beef or pork, although I’ve only had the beef version at Boma. If you’ve never tried this, imagine shepherd’s pie with a lot of curry and an egg flavor rather than mashed potato. It’s…definitely different than anything you’re likely to find at most American restaurants, but the flavor absolutely pops.
3. Layered Ratatouille – Be Our Guest
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When this restaurant opened to tremendous fanfare in 2012, people directed most of the attention toward the stylish new Magic Kingdom castle and the alcoholic beverages served within. Over time, Be Our Guest sustained its popularity as the toughest reservation at Walt Disney World by delivering haute cuisine in a breathtaking building chock-full of great special effects.
Despite its reputation and Disney’s ability to charge basically whatever they want for people to eat there, you can still eat a delicious entrée for less than $20, which means the food is the same price as your local TGI Friday’s, at least if you want the vegetarian option. There’s only one at Be Our Guest, so they made sure to perfect it. That dish, layered ratatouille, exemplifies Disney’s ability to serve staples of the common folk as mouthwatering culinary triumphs fit for a beastly king.
The ratatouille at Be Our Guest is technically a vegan dish comprised of eggplant, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, and zucchini that is layered with quinoa. The French refer to one of their national favorites as peasant food, but Disney’s chefs elevate it with a stunning bell pepper sauce that blends masterfully with the quinoa. The only complaint anyone has about the dish is that you’ll want a larger portion, because it’s so delicious.
2. Black Angus Boneless Rib-Eye – Le Cellier Steakhouse
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Canada never receives the respect it deserves with regards to food on the world stage. They’re tremendous adult beverage makers, particularly in the fields of beer and wine. Also, no matter what anybody thinks of poutine, Canadians are certainly innovative about its ingredients. With regards to Le Cellier at the Canada Pavilion, many of their meals are spectacular, but there’s a reason why Steakhouse is in the title.
Given my self-professed expertise on the topic of steak, I expect that I surprised you by not naming one of the more venerated Walt Disney World restaurants such as Victoria and Albert’s, Yachtsman Steakhouse, or Shula’s Steakhouse. Those places might have glowing reputations, but I’m not claiming to be a foodie here, simply someone that knows exactly what I like. And as a fan of perfectly marbled meat, I liiiiiiike Le Cellier Steakhouse. Their Rib-Eye is moist, meaty, and mythic in flavor.
1. Pork Two Ways – California Grill
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No Disney restaurant can compete with California Grill when it comes to pork dishes. They are the unquestioned master of the succulent pig. They’re aces at pork loin, pork belly, and pork tenderloin. They even splash pork fat on some of their other tasty treats in order to give them a flavor boost. Still, there is one dish that stands above the rest at California Grill. It’s the one that causes anyone who’s had it to turn into Homer Simpson when they recall the taste, drool hanging from their lips all the while. Mmm, pork two ways.
For 20 years, people identified California Grill with its seminal dish, pork loin. It’s a well-seasoned piece of pork with polenta and goat cheese. There’s nothing fancy about the ingredients, but the execution is always superlative. The new addition is the pork belly portion of the entrée, and it’s somehow even more delicious than its storied companion. The chefs at California Grill have mastered the art form of pork fat as a flavor profile enhancement. Simply stated, the single best bite I’ve ever experienced at Walt Disney World is the new version of pork belly in the Pork Two Ways dish. The next time you’re ready to make advance dinner reservations for Disney, don’t even think about it. Simply book a dinner at California Grill and then thank me later.
