Location: Just off of the main lobby of Port Orleans: Riverside
Parking/Transportation Situation: General Resort Parking. No valet available. Bus service from all parks. Boat service from Downtown Disney. (If using Disney Transportation, allow 1-1.5 hours transportation time.)
Meals Served: D
Characters/Entertainment: No characters, no entertainment
Type of Cuisine: New Orlean's Style Cuisine
Type of Menu: A la carte
Atmosphere: Mississippi River Boat Club
Dress Code: Theme park casual
Guests Who Would Enjoy This The Most: Couples, Families with a taste for Southern Cuisine
Level of Difficulty of Getting a Reservation: Easy
Fun Stuff for Kids: Though the restaurant itself does not offer much in the way of engaging things for kids to do, they do occasionally hand out balloons, and before or after dinner, for a fee, you can grab a horse-drawn carriage ride around Riverside.
Rating of Appeal to Kid-Diners: Are we done yet???
Rating of Appeal to Kid-Diners: Are we done yet???
Stand out dishes: Sweet Tea Brined Pork Chop, Chicken and Waffles, Etouffee, Jambalya, Red Velvet Cheesecake, Mocha Mug Cake (Brew du Krewe)
Best Use of Dining Plan Point: The Big Easy NY Strip, or Prime Rib, plus Bananas Foster
Best Use of Dining Plan Point: The Big Easy NY Strip, or Prime Rib, plus Bananas Foster
Experience: Get ready to be "goin' down the bayou, goin' down the bayou...", a la Tiana and her froggy prince. Don't get me wrong. The theming and atmosphere here don't have any "Princess and the Frog" nods, but the menu looks very much like what I imagine is served at the fictitious "Tiana's Palace" restaurant in the movie, minus the piles of minced veggies. (In fact, it really is a shame that they didn't re-theme it when the film came out and give Tiana the credit she deserves.) Why doesn't Disney just drop everything and follow through on all of my ideas? Ugh. Moving on...
The hubby and I have been to Boatwright's before, pre-kid, and enjoyed it, though it didn't quite make it onto our normal rotation of Disney favorites. For this meal, K got some two-on-one attention, since D was not able to join us. By the time we walked into the lobby of Port Orleans Riverside for our 5:30pm reservation, (which I had made pretty much on the drive from our house), Mamma and Dadda's arms were exhausted from swinging the little dude between us, while he giggled like a lunatic.
Huge shout out to Boatwright's for an amazing pre-arrival experience! Before I booked the reservation, I called over to their podium, because the last time the hubs and I ate there, they had many balloons in the dining room. Since my husband has a crazy latex allergy, and balloons would make him be dead, we needed to see if that was always the case, or just that one time. The seater I spoke to was SO fantastic! She not only said she would clear the room of balloons before we got there, she put notes on all of their helium tanks, asking fellow seaters and servers to refrain from blowing up balloons until we were gone. Now THAT, my friends, is old-school Disney guest service! Bravo!
When we arrived early, at 5:00pm, as promised, there was not a balloon in sight. Despite being early, we were seated within ten minutes. The dining room here really looks like a cross between a boat-making warehouse, and a yacht club. The high ceilings hold the hanging hull of an old river ship, and the walls are covered in antique tools and boating items. K looked up at the riverboat hull and asked, "Anna-Elsa?" Apparently K felt that it looked more like a Viking ship than a riverboat and of course, when you think Vikings, you now think of Anna and Elsa... clearly.
Our server was a fabulous woman from Moldova, who could not have been more friendly, professional or accommodating. While we looked over the menu, and she got us an allergy menu for K, she brought out a basket of warm, sweet cornbread. The menu was full of fantastic Southern fare, but since I am not a spice person, my eyes immediately went to the steak option. The hubs loves a good jambalaya, so that's what he was eyeing. Boatwright's is one of the locations on property that has already switched over to having an allergy menu, instead of needing to call the chef for every allergen concern. The allergen menus are versions of the regular menu, with each item listed as being 'ok for those with an egg allergy, milk allergy, etc.' The positive side is that it speeds up the ordering process for those with allergies, and puts everything in front of you, in black and white. The negative is that I found the menu confusing and the hubs and I even
questioned whether or not we were reading it correctly.
Personally, rather than seeing: 'Macaroni and Cheese' - For egg allergies', I would rather see it listed as, 'Macaroni and Cheese - Contains wheat and dairy'. This makes more sense to me, since it is how I am used to reading labels on most packages. Now, I can't say that this is how ALL allergen menus are written at Disney, because this is the first full service allergen menu that I have seen, but I will definitely let you know when we get to see another one!
We settled on The Big Easy for me, (12 oz. NY Strip w/ Peppercorn Cream, served w/ Crawfish Mac and Cheese), Voodoo Chicken for my husband, (boneless fried chicken and waffles, served w/ maple-bacon gravy), and a kid's Jambalaya for K. The coloring pages K was given were not holding his interest, so while we waited for our food, K resorted to his favorite pastime - watching videos of himself on my phone. The hubby and I enjoyed the cornbread while we tried to keep K's uproars of laughter at how funny he finds himself to a minimum. (He is clearly my kid.)
In about 15 minutes, the entrees arrived at the table. I was instantly disappointed that I hadn't read the menu more carefully. "Voodoo Chicken" was not in any way spicy, as I assumed it was. It was fried chicken deliciousness, on top of fluffy waffles! That's not to say that my steak didn't look good. It just wasn't as inviting as the chicken and waffles that were staring me down from my husband's plate. Now, he did let me taste the dish, of course, and it was , in fact, delicious. The chicken was tender, with a crispy golden crust and the waffles were a fantastic accompaniment. I wasn't a fan of the smoky bacon flavor in the maple glaze that came with it, though. I would have preferred straight up maple syrup, but the hubs thought the bacon flavor added a lot to the dish. My Big Easy steak was unfortunately over-cooked to a medium well, (I had ordered medium rare), so the server took my steak back to the kitchen and had me keep my mac and cheese, so that I could have that while I waited. I was not impressed with the Crawfish Mac 'N' Cheese, mainly because it had almost NO seafood in it, (I literally found two tiny bits of crawfish), but it also was quite bland for Disney mac 'n' cheese. Typically I find that even the kid's m&c sides at Disney are pretty good, but this one was disappointingly lacking in flavor. When my steak came back, it was cooked perfectly, and the peppercorn sauce was on the side, as per my request. (Told ya, I'm a plain Jane.) Again, the meat was good, but nothing to write Mickey about. On a side note, regarding sides, I was surprised that the entrees did not also come with a veggie side. Seasonal veggies could be added to any plate, for about $5 more, but for the $35 price tag, I would have enjoyed some greens or carrots on the plate.
K decided that there was no need to bother eating his jambalaya when Mamma's steak was available, so the hubs dug into K's rice, sausage and shrimp entree. For a kid's meal, the portion was decent and my "big kid" really liked the flavor. It had a light kick to it, but nothing too off-putting for a little one.
Well, now it was time for my favorite thing about eating in ANY restaurant... DESSERT. I don't know about you, but this gal frequently makes restaurant selections based on the dessert menu alone. Your entrees may be boring as all hell, but you temp me with a flashy dessert and I'm all yours! Boatwrights has the Southern standards you'd expect, like red velvet cheesecake, pecan pie and bananas foster, but the Brew Du Krewe is what caught my attention. Described as a chocolate espresso cake, with mocha ganache and fresh whipped cream, I was all in! And man, did I not regret that decision! It came to the table looking like a decadent coffee drink, served in a cappuccino mug, overflowing with whipped cream and cocoa dust.
The cake inside was warm and started melting the whipped cream into it. The ganache had a nice coffee flavor to it, without tasting like Folgers crystals were ground into it, as many coffee desserts often do. I truly enjoyed the dessert and the hubs was lucky that I let him grab a spoonful or two. And luckily for me, K was totally captivated by his ice cream sundae dessert, served as a bowl of ice cream, with small cups of chocolate sauce, mini chocolate chips, and Mickey sprinkles on the side. Seeing as he's 2, K promptly ate the sprinkles as an appetizer, before moving on to the rest of the dessert. Overall, I'd say he was a happy man by the time the check came.
So, did I love Boatwrights? No, not really. But I can tell you this... if you like Southern cuisine, and fantastic Southern-style hospitality, you'll be way more into this place than we were. And the good news is, it's relatively easy to get a reservation at last minute, so for sure, keep it on your radar!
Tink's Tots Try It Out: According to K (2 yo boy) K? Hey, K? Was Boatwrights good? "K ride boat?" No, Boatwrights. The restaurant we ate at. Did you like it? "Boat? Now?" You know the place we ate at? With the boat on the ceiling? "Yes, boat. Please. Boat."
I give up. It's my own fault. Never mention a boat, car, train or plane to a 2 year old and expect them to hear anything else you say after that.
The hubby and I have been to Boatwright's before, pre-kid, and enjoyed it, though it didn't quite make it onto our normal rotation of Disney favorites. For this meal, K got some two-on-one attention, since D was not able to join us. By the time we walked into the lobby of Port Orleans Riverside for our 5:30pm reservation, (which I had made pretty much on the drive from our house), Mamma and Dadda's arms were exhausted from swinging the little dude between us, while he giggled like a lunatic.
Huge shout out to Boatwright's for an amazing pre-arrival experience! Before I booked the reservation, I called over to their podium, because the last time the hubs and I ate there, they had many balloons in the dining room. Since my husband has a crazy latex allergy, and balloons would make him be dead, we needed to see if that was always the case, or just that one time. The seater I spoke to was SO fantastic! She not only said she would clear the room of balloons before we got there, she put notes on all of their helium tanks, asking fellow seaters and servers to refrain from blowing up balloons until we were gone. Now THAT, my friends, is old-school Disney guest service! Bravo!
When we arrived early, at 5:00pm, as promised, there was not a balloon in sight. Despite being early, we were seated within ten minutes. The dining room here really looks like a cross between a boat-making warehouse, and a yacht club. The high ceilings hold the hanging hull of an old river ship, and the walls are covered in antique tools and boating items. K looked up at the riverboat hull and asked, "Anna-Elsa?" Apparently K felt that it looked more like a Viking ship than a riverboat and of course, when you think Vikings, you now think of Anna and Elsa... clearly.
 |
| "Um, duh, Mamma, that's Anna and Elsa's ship, obvs." |
We settled on The Big Easy for me, (12 oz. NY Strip w/ Peppercorn Cream, served w/ Crawfish Mac and Cheese), Voodoo Chicken for my husband, (boneless fried chicken and waffles, served w/ maple-bacon gravy), and a kid's Jambalaya for K. The coloring pages K was given were not holding his interest, so while we waited for our food, K resorted to his favorite pastime - watching videos of himself on my phone. The hubby and I enjoyed the cornbread while we tried to keep K's uproars of laughter at how funny he finds himself to a minimum. (He is clearly my kid.)
In about 15 minutes, the entrees arrived at the table. I was instantly disappointed that I hadn't read the menu more carefully. "Voodoo Chicken" was not in any way spicy, as I assumed it was. It was fried chicken deliciousness, on top of fluffy waffles! That's not to say that my steak didn't look good. It just wasn't as inviting as the chicken and waffles that were staring me down from my husband's plate. Now, he did let me taste the dish, of course, and it was , in fact, delicious. The chicken was tender, with a crispy golden crust and the waffles were a fantastic accompaniment. I wasn't a fan of the smoky bacon flavor in the maple glaze that came with it, though. I would have preferred straight up maple syrup, but the hubs thought the bacon flavor added a lot to the dish. My Big Easy steak was unfortunately over-cooked to a medium well, (I had ordered medium rare), so the server took my steak back to the kitchen and had me keep my mac and cheese, so that I could have that while I waited. I was not impressed with the Crawfish Mac 'N' Cheese, mainly because it had almost NO seafood in it, (I literally found two tiny bits of crawfish), but it also was quite bland for Disney mac 'n' cheese. Typically I find that even the kid's m&c sides at Disney are pretty good, but this one was disappointingly lacking in flavor. When my steak came back, it was cooked perfectly, and the peppercorn sauce was on the side, as per my request. (Told ya, I'm a plain Jane.) Again, the meat was good, but nothing to write Mickey about. On a side note, regarding sides, I was surprised that the entrees did not also come with a veggie side. Seasonal veggies could be added to any plate, for about $5 more, but for the $35 price tag, I would have enjoyed some greens or carrots on the plate.
K decided that there was no need to bother eating his jambalaya when Mamma's steak was available, so the hubs dug into K's rice, sausage and shrimp entree. For a kid's meal, the portion was decent and my "big kid" really liked the flavor. It had a light kick to it, but nothing too off-putting for a little one.
Well, now it was time for my favorite thing about eating in ANY restaurant... DESSERT. I don't know about you, but this gal frequently makes restaurant selections based on the dessert menu alone. Your entrees may be boring as all hell, but you temp me with a flashy dessert and I'm all yours! Boatwrights has the Southern standards you'd expect, like red velvet cheesecake, pecan pie and bananas foster, but the Brew Du Krewe is what caught my attention. Described as a chocolate espresso cake, with mocha ganache and fresh whipped cream, I was all in! And man, did I not regret that decision! It came to the table looking like a decadent coffee drink, served in a cappuccino mug, overflowing with whipped cream and cocoa dust.
So, did I love Boatwrights? No, not really. But I can tell you this... if you like Southern cuisine, and fantastic Southern-style hospitality, you'll be way more into this place than we were. And the good news is, it's relatively easy to get a reservation at last minute, so for sure, keep it on your radar!
Tink's Tots Try It Out: According to K (2 yo boy) K? Hey, K? Was Boatwrights good? "K ride boat?" No, Boatwrights. The restaurant we ate at. Did you like it? "Boat? Now?" You know the place we ate at? With the boat on the ceiling? "Yes, boat. Please. Boat."
I give up. It's my own fault. Never mention a boat, car, train or plane to a 2 year old and expect them to hear anything else you say after that.
Will we be back: Not unless we get a craving for Jambalaya. Too many other good restaurants where we enjoy the atmosphere and cuisine more.
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