On our recent trip to Walt Disney World, we knew we wouldn’t have enough time to do everything we wanted (we could only go for 7 nights) but nothing prepared us for just how much we knew we were missing!
Since the days of Downtown Disney, this destination has transformed in to something incredible and almost serves as a theme park in it’s self! Restaurants, bars, cafes, so many shops, food trucks, music, virtual reality experiences, a bowling alley, a cinema… most city centres would be jealous of what’s on offer at Disney Springs! We spent 2 of our 7 evenings absorbing what we could, but I urge anyone who visits Disney World to plan at least 1 full day at Disney Springs.
The Food
The number 1 draw for us was the food. We’ve eaten at some of the restaurants before but after hearing nothing but high praise for The Boathouse (mainly from Lou Mongello & friends at WDW Radio, #lousentme) we knew we had to make reservations for this one. We visited on a weekend, so reservations were crucial. We booked ours as soon as we could, at 180 days in advance, and boy was it worth it!
The Boathouse is a stunning harbour side restaurant renowned for it’s seafood with fresh-off-the-boat daily specials.
Positioned somewhere between a classy gastro pub and fine dining, this restaurant is perfect for a date night or special occasion without the fanciful fuss and pricing of Victoria & Albert’s.
The menu comprises of mainly seafood dishes (their speciality is oysters), though there is something to suit everyone, including the vegetarians and meat lovers among us. There is also a comprehensive wine list and your server will often recommend a fine wine to accompany your food selection, however we opted for the far less sophisticated cocktail menu! We were almost overwhelmed by the selection of dishes on offer so decided to ask for the waiter’s opinion. He recommended two of the daily specials and after an eloquent description of each dish that was enough to make us salivate, we just said “sounds good to me” and the rest is history! My only regret is that we didn’t take a photo of the menu! Both meals were truly divine – light, but filling – and you could taste absolutely every ingredient in a perfectly balanced way. The chefs here really do know what they’re doing.
We attempted to tackle the blueberry cheesecake but our eyes were bigger than our bellies. Luckily our server obliged our request to place it in a takeaway box so we could enjoy every morsel when we got back to our room.
In Summary
This is by far my #1 top rated restaurant on Disney property, and it doesn’t have a single reference to Disney in it, not even a hidden Mickey (to my knowledge)! The food is second-to-none, the atmosphere is sophisticated but not stuffy, and the service is world class. I cannot recommend this restaurant highly enough, though I do this reluctantly as I don’t want it to become too difficult to get a table!
Have you eaten at The Boathouse? What was your favourite dish? Share your thoughts in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you!
Our Whimsical World 