Parking/Transportation Situation: General Resort Parking. Bus service from all parks. Boat service from Downtown Disney and Port Orleans. (If using Disney Transportation, allow 1-1.5 hours transportation time.)
Meals Served: B, L, D
Characters/Entertainment: None
Type of Cuisine: American fare, with heavy Island influence
Type of Menu: A la carte
Dress Code: Theme park casual
Guests Who Would Enjoy This The Most: Anyone looking for a relatively quiet meal
Level of Difficulty of Getting a Reservation: Easy
Fun Stuff for Kids: Really not much here for kids, other than coloring
Rating of Appeal to Kid-Diners: Are we done yet?????
Rating of Appeal to Kid-Diners: Are we done yet?????
Stand out dishes: Conch Fritters, Caribbean Shrimp and Rice, Duvall Street Burger, Key Lime Tart
Best Use of Dining Plan Point: Seven Mile Sea Scallops and Flourless Chocolate Cake
Best Use of Dining Plan Point: Seven Mile Sea Scallops and Flourless Chocolate Cake
Experience: For today's lunch, we swapped out D, who was at camp, for our friend, KC. Remember, I told you last time... we are trying to broaden her Disney dining horizons. I had been to Olivia's several times in the past, mostly for lunch and I believe once or twice for dinner. We booked our 3:30pm reservation that afternoon. You can almost always get a reservation at Olivia's, as it is out of the way for most guests, unless they're staying at Old Key West. The atmosphere is really relaxing, laid back and homey. Themed to Key West, of course, the whole resort has a breezy, no-shoes-no-shirt-no-problem kind of feel to it and that atmosphere carries over to the restaurant. (Like all Disney restaurants though, shoes and shirts ARE required here, so don't go strolling in topless. Ladies, I'm looking at you.) A very fun touch, are the framed family photos all around the lobby and the restaurant itself. Since OKW is the original Disney Vacation Club Resort, the photos pay homage to actual DVC families. It's fun to poke through the old photos and see if there's anyone you recognize, or just look at how the decades have changed our park-attire. ("Check out those 80's bangs and the popped collars!")
We arrived a couple of minutes before our reservation time and were sat right away. Not surprising, since there was only one other table occupied in the restaurant at that time. We were quickly greeted by a server, ordered our beverages and were told a chef would be out to discuss K's egg allergy. While we waited for the chef, we ordered some appetizers. I had just come from work and was starving! The hubs wanted onion rings and I wanted something more authentic to the restaurant's style, so I ordered the crab cakes. The chef arrived at the table right as we were ordering and walked us through K's options. Since we had already decided that he would be sharing off of our plates, the chef informed us of which items were safe and which were not. Since K couldn't eat either of the appetizers, the kitchen sent out a small plate of fries, on the house, for my little dude, so that he wouldn't scream at us for not sharing.
The onion rings were not my cup of tea, since they had a heavy beer batter on them, but the hubs loved them. He opted to use regular ketchup, but they are served with rather unique dipping sauces of mango ketchup and key lime mustard. My crab cakes were very tasty, however I was very surprised at how small the portion was. In fact, I guess I should say "crab cake", without the "s". KC and I were sharing and for the $12.50 price tag I was not expecting to see a single crab cake on the plate, (which was not much bigger than the size of a Chips Ahoy cookie), and two slices of fried green tomatoes, on greens, all drizzled with Remoulade sauce. I enjoyed the flavors of the crab cake and the sauce, and the light, cornmeal crust on the tomatoes, I just wish there was another crab cake in the order, or that it was a little bigger. As for K, he was already elbow deep in ketchup and digging into his fries with abandon.
When the entrees rolled out, everything was plated nicely and looked fresh and delicious. KC had ordered the Barbecue Chicken Sandwich, which was in a spicy chipotle-bbq sauce, and topped with grilled pineapple salsa, and served on a pineapple coconut bun. KC quickly declared that the bun was "everything" and she was obviously very happy with her selection. The hubs had gone with the Southernmost Buttermilk Chicken, which was boneless fried chicken, with a crisp coating and very nice flavor to it. Between the mashed potatoes, the asparagus, and the chicken, my hubby was a happy man. For my entrée, I went pretty basic. I got the Olivia's Classic Burger, which was pretty much a bacon cheeseburger. To give it a little flare, I did ask to switch the bun to the pineapple coconut one that the chicken sandwich was on, and the kitchen happily did it for me. The bacon had a super smoky flavor and the bun was, as KC had said, everything. The burger, however, was cooked to a medium well, though I had ordered a medium rare. When I pointed out the error to the server, she immediately returned my burger to the kitchen and got a new one started. In the meantime, I had a bite of my husband's chicken and some fries, and fed K some of both as well. K was in a very playful toddler mood and decided that banging on the table and making faces at passersby was way more fun than eating. I did convince him to have a couple of bites of burger when my second one came out, this time cooked much closer to my desired temperature, and quite tasty.
As we finished up entrees, and were about to clear plates, K then decided that he was hungry and demanded some of KC's left over bbq chicken. Since it had a kick to it, we didn't think he'd eat it, but he gobbled it up, exclaiming, "More, more...pees, more!" Sorry, KC. No leftovers for you to bring home. K took care of that.
"Can anyone manage dessert?," asked the server. Can I manage? Ha! I can always
manage dessert! Challenge accepted! I went for the Flourless Chocolate Cake and the hubs and KC each ordered the Key Lime Tart. The hubs is a big Key Lime Pie fan, and he figured that a restaurant themed to Key West has gotta have a pretty good one, right? Well they delivered. The Key Lime Tart was tangy, sweet, and smooth. Really delicious. My hubby was full though, and decided to take most of it home. (Don't worry, it was gobbled up the next day, with glee.) The Flourless Chocolate Cake was served warm and had a sweet flavor and soft texture, but it was not a very chocolatey dessert, and seemed like it was lacking something. (Perhaps flour. Mystery solved!) I wouldn't order it again, though I, of course, had no trouble eating it. Mr. K got to enjoy some vanilla ice cream, so needless to say, he was much quieter for the remainder of the meal.
Overall, it was a nice, relaxing meal, with good food and pleasant service. Was I blown away? No. But let's face it, eating on Disney property all the time gives you some pretty high bars to surpass, right?
We arrived a couple of minutes before our reservation time and were sat right away. Not surprising, since there was only one other table occupied in the restaurant at that time. We were quickly greeted by a server, ordered our beverages and were told a chef would be out to discuss K's egg allergy. While we waited for the chef, we ordered some appetizers. I had just come from work and was starving! The hubs wanted onion rings and I wanted something more authentic to the restaurant's style, so I ordered the crab cakes. The chef arrived at the table right as we were ordering and walked us through K's options. Since we had already decided that he would be sharing off of our plates, the chef informed us of which items were safe and which were not. Since K couldn't eat either of the appetizers, the kitchen sent out a small plate of fries, on the house, for my little dude, so that he wouldn't scream at us for not sharing.
The onion rings were not my cup of tea, since they had a heavy beer batter on them, but the hubs loved them. He opted to use regular ketchup, but they are served with rather unique dipping sauces of mango ketchup and key lime mustard. My crab cakes were very tasty, however I was very surprised at how small the portion was. In fact, I guess I should say "crab cake", without the "s". KC and I were sharing and for the $12.50 price tag I was not expecting to see a single crab cake on the plate, (which was not much bigger than the size of a Chips Ahoy cookie), and two slices of fried green tomatoes, on greens, all drizzled with Remoulade sauce. I enjoyed the flavors of the crab cake and the sauce, and the light, cornmeal crust on the tomatoes, I just wish there was another crab cake in the order, or that it was a little bigger. As for K, he was already elbow deep in ketchup and digging into his fries with abandon.
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| Crab cake appetizer |
When the entrees rolled out, everything was plated nicely and looked fresh and delicious. KC had ordered the Barbecue Chicken Sandwich, which was in a spicy chipotle-bbq sauce, and topped with grilled pineapple salsa, and served on a pineapple coconut bun. KC quickly declared that the bun was "everything" and she was obviously very happy with her selection. The hubs had gone with the Southernmost Buttermilk Chicken, which was boneless fried chicken, with a crisp coating and very nice flavor to it. Between the mashed potatoes, the asparagus, and the chicken, my hubby was a happy man. For my entrée, I went pretty basic. I got the Olivia's Classic Burger, which was pretty much a bacon cheeseburger. To give it a little flare, I did ask to switch the bun to the pineapple coconut one that the chicken sandwich was on, and the kitchen happily did it for me. The bacon had a super smoky flavor and the bun was, as KC had said, everything. The burger, however, was cooked to a medium well, though I had ordered a medium rare. When I pointed out the error to the server, she immediately returned my burger to the kitchen and got a new one started. In the meantime, I had a bite of my husband's chicken and some fries, and fed K some of both as well. K was in a very playful toddler mood and decided that banging on the table and making faces at passersby was way more fun than eating. I did convince him to have a couple of bites of burger when my second one came out, this time cooked much closer to my desired temperature, and quite tasty.
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| Olivia's Classic Burger |
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| Southernmost Fried Chicken |
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| Barbecue Chicken Sandwich |
As we finished up entrees, and were about to clear plates, K then decided that he was hungry and demanded some of KC's left over bbq chicken. Since it had a kick to it, we didn't think he'd eat it, but he gobbled it up, exclaiming, "More, more...pees, more!" Sorry, KC. No leftovers for you to bring home. K took care of that.
"Can anyone manage dessert?," asked the server. Can I manage? Ha! I can always
Tink's Tots Try It Out: According to K (2 yo boy) Hi, K! Hey, did you like lunch at Olivia's? "No." You didn't? "No." Why not? "No." Are you just going to say "no" to everything I ask you? (Pause) "Yeah." (Huge smile) Well, ok then.
Will we be back: I wouldn't make a special trip here for lunch or dinner, but I'd like to try breakfast.
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