In all my years of visiting Port Orleans Riverside, I’d never had dinner at Boatwright’s Dining Hall. It had been a very long time since Matt last visited himself, so we decided we were more than due for a visit. The restaurant is themed after a shipyard with rustic decor. The menu features Southern favorites as well as more familiar items with a Southern twist.
Our meal started with some fresh Cornbread with Whipped Butter. Our waitress told us she really loves the cornbread at Boatwright’s because sweet but light.
She was right – the cornbread wasn’t too dense and had just enough sweetness that was balanced by the butter.
Matt ordered the Grilled Beef Tenderloin Medallions, which are served with mac and cheese, a crawfish beignet and red wine demi-glace ($27.49).
The crawfish beignet wasn’t like the light dessert beignets I’ve had over at Port Orleans French Quarter’s Sassagoula Floatworks & Food Factory. This “beignet” was like a hush puppy or fritter. It was decent, with a very slight crawfish flavor, but had a nice crust to it.
The mac and cheese had a good flavor, but it seemed as if the cheese sauce had broken. The pasta was cooked well, though. There were also some fantastic asparagus tucked underneath the beef. They had a bright flavor and a nice snap.
The best parts of the dish were the beef medallions and the demi-glace. Matt had requested the beef cooked rare, and it arrived perfectly. The beef was warmed through and melt-in-your-mouth tender. The demi-glace complimented the steak without overpowering it.
I ordered the French Onion Soup au Gratin, topped with provolone, Swiss cheese, and a roasted crouton ($6.49). There was a good onion/broth/bread ratio. The broth wasn’t overly salted, either.
There was a fair amount of cheese on top, but it was relatively congealed when I received it and didn’t have the stretch that I look for. I had to cut it with my spoon to consume it. Otherwise, it was a tasty bowl of soup.
In addition to the soup, I ordered a side of Sautéed Mushrooms ($3.99). They were simple, but had a great meaty flavor. The portion was a good size, too. There were enough to share, but Matt won’t touch them so they were a great additional accompaniment to my soup.
For dessert, we split the Butterscotch Creme Brulee with seasonal berries ($5.99). The dish was just enough to share considering how full we were from our meal.
The butterscotch flavor was very subtle, and unless you were looking for it, you could easily miss it. The caramelization of the sugar easily overpowered the light butterscotch flavor. Apart from that, it was a delicious dessert.
We had a very enjoyable dinner, and I was impressed by my first visit. It’s definitely a restaurant I’d be happy to revisit, although there are still several more I have on my list!
Here are the menus from our visit:
Have you visited Boatwright’s Dining Hall at Port Orleans Riverside? How was your dinner?
We ate at Boatwright’s after being stranded in Orlando during that freak winter storm in October that slammed into the Northeast. Since we had a couple more days in Disney to burn as a result and were staying at Riverside, it seemed like a natural choice. We hadn’t been there since they still served breakfast, so a return was long overdue, anyway.
I don’t want to get all review-y on your review, but I will say that Melissa really liked the filet that Matt ordered, and I thought that the pork chop entree was kind of fantastic. On our entire trip of eight days, Boatwright’s was the only meal where we actually ordered three courses all to ourselves. We thought it was that good. It’s definitely one of the last “hidden” gems in the World, especially when you consider the quality for the value.
Great review – we always get a great meal here!
I agree – I look forward to trying some more dishes there. I was nervous about the steak maybe being sub-par, but it was very well executed! Definitely a hidden gem. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Pug already told you most of what I was going to say. We were delighted by our dinner at Boatwright’s last fall, and look forward to returning. It’s like they managed to take some of my favorite retired dishes from other restaurants and present them in one meal. Anybody missing the Jiko filet with mac and cheese need look no further than Boatwright’s. The steak was better than I could have hoped for, and $15 less than Jiko was charging for essentially the same dish (although the Jiko version didn’t even have the benefit of the asparagus, which I love, or the crawfish fritter, which I thought was pretty good too). Plus, there’s the butterscotch crème brûlée, something that has been missing from the Coral Reef for over a year now.
Next time we go, I’ll try some dishes that aren’t rehashings of my old favorites. There’s quite a lot on that menu that I want to try.
Thanks for the input regarding how the dish compares to Jiko’s! I know many have been mourning its loss for some time. I’ve only been to Coral Reef once and I don’t believe I ordered dessert. I believe their Creme Brulee is vanilla now.
This all looks delicious!! We ALWAYS stay at Port Orleans French Quarter and next time will make the trek over to Riverside to check this place out and I’ll get what Matt had!! Yum….man I want a Disney vaca!!
I’m looking forward to trying some of their other items on my next visit, especially an entree for myself. But I was SO FULL after a piece of cornbread, soup and mushrooms! Definitely worth checking out, especially if you plan on taking a resort day or afternoon/evening. It’s a great, relatively inexpensive table service at the resort!