Eating at Disney Springs has grown all too exciting in recent years. Disney has changed the entire identity of the area, evolving the prior Downtown Disney concept into a complete theme of springs everywhere. The company has also prioritized fine dining, incentivizing famous chefs to open restaurants onsite. Nobody ever goes hungry at Disney Springs these days.
If anything, the problem at the entertainment complex is too much choice. Disney has built a special food truck area that is capable of satisfying the hunger of basically any customer. They also have more than 20 restaurants onsite at Disney Springs. Which ones are the best, you wonder? Well, that answer is always in the eye of the beholder. Chaos theory ensures that the same two people will have entirely different meal experiences when eating at the same establishments. Keeping that in mind, here are my selections for the best restaurants at Disney Springs.
7. Splitsville
Image: DisneyNothing whets the appetite like the smell of used bowling shoes, right? Your preconceived notion on this subject could lead you astray here. Splitsville is one of the most unique and engaging dining experience on the entire Walt Disney World campus. It’s also one of the hidden gems of Disney Springs.
At Splitsville, you’ll discover a shockingly deep menu of food options. In truth, that’s one of the traits of most Disney Springs fare. In a shameless attempt to cater to the needs of every potential eater, most of the restaurants offer an outsized menu. Splitsville, a restaurant inside a bowling alley, offers spring rolls, mahi mahi, and edamame as menu options. You will NOT find these flavors at your local bowling alley. Plus, they have something called Macho Nachos, which sounds like a fighter from Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out. When you eat at Splitsville, you’ll enjoy great food in an inimitable setting. Any self-respecting theme park tourist has to try it at least once.
6. D-Luxe Burger
Image: DisneyIs there anything more All-American than Walt Disney World? And is there anything more All-American than a burger, fries, and a milkshake? The answer to both questions is an emphatic no, and that’s why D-Luxe Burger makes the list. The name tells the story here. Craft burgers are all the rage, and this Town Center restaurant is the undisputed king of Disney Springs.
As a burger fan (they’re all that keeps me alive), I have a soft spot for any place that specializes in mankind’s greatest food. D-Luxe Burger is basically a higher end version of Five Guys, the most wonderful chain restaurant ever invented, and what’s awesome about the place is that the food is cheap by Disney Springs standards.
Image: DisneyA couple can eat here for $25-$28, and I’m being specific here. D-Luxe Burger offers three menu options for couples. You each get a burger and a drink, and you share a mountain of fries for $27.99 or less, depending on how adventurous you are with your burger choice. And what’s great here is that the restaurant accepts mobile ordering. It’s one of the first grab and go spots at Disney Springs, making it an ideal option to maximize your time in the entertainment district.
5. Morimoto Asia
Image: DisneyIn the mid-1990s, I stumbled across a syndicated channel airing of a Japanese cooking show. I was hooked immediately. That program, Iron Chef, has since earned an American version, and one of the ways the Food Network honored the original version was by hiring one of the chefs. Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto was the new kid on the block during the heyday of Iron Chef in Japan. By the time the American version rolled around, he was the grizzled veteran and a well-known celebrity chef.
In 2015, Disney and Iron Chef Morimoto joined forces on an eatery that offers “Pan Asian cuisine.” I don’t claim to know enough about the culinary stylings of Morimoto to explain what that is. Based on my Iron Chef viewings, however, it seems to involve electric eel and some eye of newt. Still, the secret ingredient in all of Morimoto’s cuisine is peasant food, all of which his cooking skill elevates until it’s worthy of kings. The man can make ramen taste like ambrosia. Morimoto Asia is one of the largest eating establishments at Disney Springs, and it’s still near capacity most of the time. That speaks volumes about the menu. It’s the best Japanese food available at Walt Disney World…and I include Teppan Edo in that.
4. T-Rex
Image: DisneyOkay, everyone has irrational favorites among the Disney restaurants. T-Rex is one of mine. I realize that the place is comically loud, making conversations difficult (sometimes even impossible). And I know that the menu isn’t for everyone. The strange combination of protein-rich meats is great for carnivores. For everyone else, it’s a heavy meal in a chaotic environment.
The appeal of T-Rex is that it’s dinner and a show. Every 20 minutes, the ceiling turns into an over the top recreation of the cosmic strike that killed the dinosaurs. Sure, you could see a better version of this at Dinosaur the attraction, but you get to watch it three times during your meal this way. Plus, you get hearty food and the type of terrific service that you should expect from a Tillman Fertitta restaurant. The host of Billion Dollar Buyer on CNBC owns Landry’s, of which T-Rex is a member.
Image: DisneyHere’s a pro tip for you. Sign up for the Landry’s Select Club here. It costs $25 to join, but you promptly receive a $25 credit on your account. Then, you get another $25 the month of your birthday. Most importantly, you’ll get preferential seating and reverential treatment during your meal.
PS: Finish your dinner with the Chocolate Extinction. You won’t regret it.
3. Earl of Sandwich
Image: DisneyOne of the best parts of Disney Springs is that you can always find food that will match your budget. The food trucks in particular are designed to cater to money-conscious visitors as well as Orlando residents who want to save their spending money for the parks.
Earl of Sandwich is a novelty in that the food is cheap, but the flavor is ethereal. You won’t believe how great a meal you can get here for only a few dollars. This restaurant has the same score on Trip Advisor as ‘Ohana! That site, the unofficial ranker of world travel, currently lists Earl of Sandwich as one of the 50 best restaurants in all of Orlando. Putting it in more precise Disney terms, Trip Advisor voters slot this place ahead of Boma (!) and only three spots behind California Grill! And it’s a freakin’ sandwich shop!
2. The Boathouse
Image: DisneyOne of the oddities about the Disney Springs area is that the upscale restaurants are hit or miss. Fulton’s Crab House was so frustrating that Disney killed it, ultimately replacing it with Paddlefish. And Paddlefish’s reviews are middling at best. Trip Advisor currently rates it outside the top 500 restaurants in Orlando. Similarly, STK Steakhouse is notoriously inconsistent, which is inexcusable for such a pricey eatery. And The Dining Room at Wolfgang Puck Grand Café is somehow inferior to the cheaper Puck-run Quick Service restaurant downstairs.
With so many disappointing fine dining restaurants, the great one stands out that much more. The Boathouse isn’t a cheap meal, although it’s less expensive that the original menu indicated. The entrepreneurs behind the establishment quickly adapted to the fact that the $100+ entrees on the menu weren’t selling and moved to, well, it’s not peasant food by any stretch, but the offerings today are satisfactorily patrician in flavor and price.
Image: DisneyThe Boathouse obviously prioritizes seafood, as the theme here is all nautical, all the time. The restaurant famously offers amphicar rides (albeit for a stiff fee of $125) and has an outdoor seating area that overlooks Disney Springs and Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa across the way. It’s a serene watery backdrop for fishy foods, but the steaks and other offerings are, if anything, better. I’m actively obsessed with the complimentary bread here, too. It’s my second favorite at Walt Disney World after Kona Café.
The Boathouse costs two Table Service entitlements on the Disney Dining Plan. If you’re paying out of pocket, you’ll be hard-pressed to pay less than $80 for a couple. So, it’s too expensive to claim the title of best restaurant at Disney Springs, at least in terms of bang for the buck, the criteria I’m using here. It may, however, have the best overall food quality, though.
1. Chef Art Smith’s Homecoming
Image: DisneyWhen people talk about southern comfort food, what they’re really discussing is the way that certain flavors remind them of home. Southern culture includes so many Sunday dinners and other family and church-related get-togethers that potato salad becomes a way of life for kids. An evil, disgustingly flavored way of life.
Perhaps I’m saying too much about my childhood.
The point is that southern cooking goes hand in hand with family in the minds of southerners. We remember our parents, grandparents, and friends feeding us comfort foods like chicken and biscuits. No, it wasn’t the healthiest food we could have eaten, but it was the tastiest.
Art Smith, formerly the personal chef to Oprah Winfrey, has an amazing resume. He’s competed on Top Chef Masters, he’s written three books that were bestsellers AND award winners, and is a frequent television personality. Art Smith got his start as a chef back when he was in college at Florida State University. He earned a cooking fellowship…with Walt Disney World.
Image: DisneyIn 2016, the celebrity chef returned to his roots when he opened Chef Art Smith’s Homecoming, a Disney Springs restaurant that offers the type of southern cuisine your granny used to make. Dishes like Fried Chicken and Doughnuts are the headline-grabbing items, but you should sample everything from the menu at some point. Southern staples like deviled eggs, hushpuppies, and fried green tomatoes are all worthy of your attention. And no matter what you do, don’t leave the restaurant until you’ve tried the hummingbird cake. It will make you feel like you’re flying.
Everything listed here has the potential to give you the greatest meal of your life…but Chef Art Smith’s Homecoming is still head and shoulders above the rest. For this lifelong southerner, it’s like a Cracker Barrel recipe cooked by a James Beard Award-winning chef. The combination is simply unbeatable.
