So, I am sorry for the little hiatus from posting but my job IRL is sort of at its worst in April. My fun/work balance has been unreasonably off.
But I am back. And I figured I would continue telling you what I enjoy eating.
Those of you…
…Well, THAT of you…
…Erm, that of ME….
…That read this blog…
….may remember my last Top 5 post focusing on my top 5 signature (2-credit) meals at Walt Disney World.
Next in line are what I refer to as “standard table-service” restaurants. To refresh your memory, I define “standard table-service” as:
- Standard table-service – This covers all the 1 credit sit-down restaurants. To be honest, there are multiple categories even within this larger group of restaurants (casual, theme, buffet, etc.) but I will be sort of lumping all of them together into one post. The only category I am not including here are character meals, which will also get their own post.
WAYNE’S TOP 5 1-CREDIT (NON-CHARACTER) STANDARD TABLE-SERVICE RESTAURANTS
5 – Liberty Tree Tavern, Magic Kingdom (Dinner)
Liberty Tree Tavern is located in the Magic Kingdom. And to be honest, the phrase “located in the Magic Kingdom” doesn’t really conjure up any idea of fine dining. But Liberty Tree Tavern is – in this blogger’s opinion – the best sit-down restaurant in the Magic Kingdom. Which still makes it #5 on my list.
While you can order a la carte, the most popular thing to order at Liberty Tree is the Patriots’ Platter – an all-you-care-to-eat family style feast of awesome. And being that it’s located in Liberty Square, the cuisine is erm…American? Thanksgiving? Gluttony?
The food is substantial. And continuous. And pretty delicious. There is some sort of salad to start things out. But meh…
After that though, its insane amounts of turkey, pot roast, pork, mashed potatoes, stuffing mac and cheese, et cetera, et cetera.
And you can have wine. In the Magic Kingdom. Which you kids today don’t know is a very huge deal.
And dessert. Oh dessert. The dessert here is the stuff of legend. I present the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake – vanilla toffee cake, chocolate sauce, and vanilla ice cream. Erm, yeah. It’s awesometown.
One drawback to this place? The insanely small bathroom located upstairs. I once changed an infant in that bathroom and it may have been the singularly worst parenting moment I have ever had.
4 – Yak and Yeti, Animal Kingdom (Lunch)
Yak and Yeti poses an interesting dilemma. I love the place, yet I am lacking in the picture department. I have looked back over my past posts and while I do mention Yak and Yeti here and there, I haven’t taken very many pictures of the place or the food. I must have been too busy eating, I guess. Which speaks to how much I love it. But I do have a couple, so let’s try and make the best of things.
The inside of Yak and Yeti is incredibly themed. Lots of little details around every corner.
And despite having an unfortunately unappetizing sounding name, the food here is excellent. Our favorite appetizer is the Pork Pot Stickers. They are a MUST every time we visit.
For an entrée, I used to get the steak and shrimp. Every time. But for some reason, they took that greatness off the menu a while back and it shows no sign of returning any time soon. That doesn’t mean there aren’t still great options available. I have gone back a couple times to the Chicken Tikka Masala, but when you have another to share it with, the Dim Sum Basket for Two is def the way to go.
The basket contains the aforementioned pot stickers (which is good because you will always want more after the appetizer), shrimp siu mai, cha su bao, and pork siu mai. Everything is steamed on a banana lead and it comes with a soy lime dipping sauce.
I’ll wait while you book a trip.
3 – Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’, Disney Springs (Dinner)
Homecomin’ is the newest restaurant on this list, but it nonetheless deserves a spot. We tried Homecomin’ back in our November 2018 trip for the first time and I fell in love with the place. Located in Disney Springs, Homecomin’ is based on Florida cuisine.
And no, that doesn’t mean terrible pizza and sub-par Chinese food.
The interior is all light and airy. All wood and what not. Very welcoming.
Their drink list is phenom, loaded with whiskey and moonshine. And their appetizers stand as works of art on their own. When we visited in November we got the Bunch of Puppies and the Church Lady Deviled Eggs. The hush puppies were delicious and I loved the jalapeno jelly they were served with, a perfect mix of spicy and sweet. But the deviled eggs. Oh, those deviled eggs.
Seriously the best deviled eggs I have ever eaten. I mean, look at ALL THAT BACON.
Their standout entrée is, of course, fried chicken and donuts. Because frikkin fried chicken and donuts. The whole dish is delicious and does that whole savory and sweet thing quite well.
As for dessert, I have heard great things about the Hummingbird cake but when we were there, around the holidays, there was a seasonal pumpkin bread pudding we couldn’t pass up. It was incredible but it being seasonal, probably not a big help talking about it here.
2 – Sanaa, Kidani Village (Dinner…early dinner)
Sanaa gets high points not only for its food, but also for its view. And that’s really why I have this place pegged for an early dinner. The food and interior lends itself well to dinner but the outside view requires some light to fully appreciate it. Place has floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the savannah. Throughout the meal, it’s pretty common to see animals just walk up to the window. It’s pretty great.
The thing everyone talks about here when it comes to the food is the Indian-Style Bread Service. You get a choice of five different types of bread – traditional naan, garlic-ginger naan, spiced naan, onion kulcha, and paneer paratha – and like all these different sauces and accompaniments like roasted red pepper hummus, spicy jalapeno lime-pickle, and tamarind chutney. It’s a fun, shareable food adventure-type way to start your meal.
They also make a mean scallop there, when its on the menu.
Everything I have had here has been good, but last time we visited I went for the Potjie-Inspired with Butter Chicken, Short Ribs, and Aloo Masala over rice. Delicious. And an insane amount of food.
1 – Chefs de France, EPCOT (Lunch)
People may think it weird I would designate Chefs de France as a lunch spot, given that meals here seem to take hours. But that’s precisely why I am suggesting it for lunch. I have been here for both lunch and dinner and I have really enjoyed the lunches more. We once had a lunch here with like 11 other people and the whole affair took probably close to three hours.
And it was one of the best lunches I have ever had at Disney. Yeah, the food was good (which I will get to in a second), but the measured pace, the wine, the ambiance…it all led to so much great conversation and so many laughs. I don’t know, there is just something special about this place for us. And while I wouldn’t recommend a 3-hour lunch every day at Walt Disney World, maybe setting aside one day to just sit, relax, and enjoy those you’re vacationing with is worth considering.
And I really do love the food here. Portions aren’t huge (another reason why it’s good for a lunch) but everything I have had I have enjoyed. My favorite starter is for sure the escargot. Actually, the escargot may be my favorite thing on the menu.
That being said, the French Onion Soup is also nothing to sneeze at. Well, unless you’re allergic to onions.
The entrée menu does rotate so not everything is available all the time but I have really enjoyed the short ribs when they’ve been on the menu.
But they aren’t always there. In the absence of short ribs, I have gone with the Steak Aux Echalottes (grilled flat iron steak and pommes frites.)
But I have had other good meals there. The Boeuf Bourguignon is stellar as well.
Point being, go there. à présent
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