Here’s a pretty big thing for us to say: Liberty Tree Tavern has historically been one of our favorite restaurants in all of Disney World.

This understated American restaurant located in Magic Kingdom’s Liberty Square and is teeming with well-thought-out atmosphere. Tasty table-service is hard to find in Magic Kingdom, and the food here is downright delicious. But…we hadn’t visited since before the parks reopened. So, let’s check-in on Liberty Tree Tavern to see if it’s as much of a delight as we remember.

Atmosphere

Like most dining locations around Disney World, the atmosphere has changes some to reflect the recent additions of physical distancing guidelines. This was super apparent in the waiting room where benches have been spaced and stickers have been placed to mark waiting zones.

The check-in counter has been outfitted with a plexiglass barrier between guests and Cast Members. You can also scan a QR code to view a virtual menu, and snag some hand sanitizer on the way in.

As usual, the theming in this space is totally awesome. It might not be as in-your-face as other heavily-themed restaurants, but the detail is amazing. Check out the baubles around the fireplace while you wait, glance around at the period art on the wall, and don’t forget to look up at those gorgeous chandeliers. This place feels like you’re eating on the stage of Hamilton no matter where you’re sitting (you know, but with way less singing and King George is totes not going to show up here!).

The differences in the seating area since reopening is pretty much limited to the spacing of the tables. As we’ve seen in other spots around Disney World, you’ll notice there are fewer seating options to make sure that guests have plenty of space between their tables.

The dining rooms of Liberty Tree Tavern are each decorated after a late 18th century home and inspired by a famous historical figure. When in doubt, take a look at the walls to find out who! For example, you’ve got the Jefferson room. “Mr. Jefferson, welcome hooooome!” Sorry guys, you might be in for a couple Hamilton lyrics. We can’t help ourselves. It’s still a bop.

You’ll spot rooms themed after Benjamin Franklin, Betsy Ross, George Washington, John Paul Jones, and Thomas Jefferson. We wonder whose room this could be? (Hint: “It must be nice, it must be nice. To have Washington on your side!”)

You got it! It’s George Washington’s room! See what we mean with the detail? There’s even a pair of his boots by the fire!

The attention to detail is true of all of the rooms! The lighting in this restaurant is muted to reflect an old-timey feel. 18th-century lighting is good for eating a meal — not so good for taking pictures!

Most of the rooms have decorative fireplaces as well.

The Benjamin Franklin room is probably our favorite with its stone wall and rustic lighting fixtures. Hey, the discoverer of electricity BETTER have nice lighting fixtures!

You could spend a LOT of time noting all the detail around this restaurant (and we have!) but enough about the atmosphere, let’s talk about the eats!

Menu

One thing that we see a lot in a reopened Disney World is the absence of physical menus. Instead, you’ll likely find a little card on your table with a QR code that will take you to the virtual menu by pointing your phone’s camera at it.

Here’s a look at the alcoholic drink options at Liberty Tree Tavern! Non-alcoholic beverages, including the Patriot’s Slush, are also available.

On past visits, the restaurant has offered both an All-You-Care-to-Enjoy Bill of Fare as well a small but mighty standard menu to order from at lunch and the Bill of Fare for dinner. The à la carte items are some of our favorites from past visits, including goodies like Clam Chowder, Lobster Fritters, and even a REALLY good burger, but right now, just the All-You-Care-to-Enjoy feast is available! It’s served family-style for $39 for adults and $21 for kids and includes a non-alcoholic drink. For the same price, you can also snag a plant-based version of the meal.

So, how did we feel about our lunch?

Eats and Drinks

We started off our dining experience with a glass of water and a sweet tea, two standard options at most Disney World restaurants.

For our alcoholic beverage, we went with the Sangria. And NO, this wasn’t on the menu! Our sweet server recommended it to us! You’ll spot a White Sangria and a Red or White Spritzer on the menu, but this was a Housemade Red Sangria for $11.

The drink was garnished with berries and orange. We thought it was super tasty! There was a lot of flavor and you could definitely tell that it wasn’t from a box. Disney Sangria is often hit or miss and thankfully, this was a hit for us.

Then our meal could begin! The Bill of Fare starts with the Declaration Salad, a combination of tossed mixed greens, housemade dressing, cucumber, carrot, radish, and tomato. The dressing was a honey-based vinaigrette which we loved. It was very light and crisp which is always nice before a huge meal. Note that we were a party ‘o one, so our serving was scaled down to fit. If you dine with a larger party, expect a larger serving of everything! And just remember those magic words — “all-you-care-to-eat.” Anything you want more of, don’t hesitate to ask!

Did we mention they also bring you hot rolls and butter? We would never say no to some extra carbs (they balance out the salad, right?). These were pretty generic dinner rolls with plain old butter, nothing exciting. BUT, they do help with a DFB FOOD HACK! Save them and you can make little sliders with your meats later!

Here’s a glimpse of the whole Bill of Fare for one all laid out. Yeah, get ready to chow down. Oh, what’s that? You spotted that BEAST of a gravy boat? Yeah, we’ll get to that in a minute.

This, friends, is the Patriot’s Platter. You’re looking at roasted turkey breast, pot roast, and oven-roasted pork with mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables, herb stuffing, cranberry sauce, and housemade macaroni and cheese. This is Thanksgiving and THEN some on a plate and it’s glorious.

The turkey was very moist and fresh. We thought it was extra tasty with the gravy on it! If you’re a turkey fan, this might be a highlight and even if you’re not a turkey fan it’s a pretty tasty cut of white meat.

Speaking of gravy, here’s a close-up of that beautiful, flavorful gravy. Yep, even with our meager party of one, we were served enough gravy to feed a small army. We couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought of consuming THAT much gravy during our meal. Liberty Tree has always been quite generous with the gravy. It was more like a bowl of soup in size! Pour it on just one thing, or just pour it over everything!

Back to those meats, we thought the Pot Roast was an awesome part of the dish. It was very flavorful and moist. While it wasn’t the best roast we’ve ever had in Disney World, but it was still really yummy! Seriously, the meat choices here are enough to make just about any carnivore happy.

The Pork was our favorite of the meats! We LOVED the mushroom gravy on top and the cut was cooked just right! No dry hunks of meat here! It was super juicy and tender.

Ok, let’s get out of meat-land and talk about the sides. The Mashed Potatoes were SO creamy and buttery. They were delish with or without the gravy. We can tell you one thing, Disney knows what’s up with mashed potatoes.

For something green, you’ll be snacking on the Green Beans. These were super buttery and tasty with just a little bit of a snap. We loved them!

The Herb Stuffing was good as well, but it wasn’t anything exciting. Stuffing seems to be one of those polarizing foods. You love it or you hate it and — if your mom or grandma makes it — nothing will probably come close, right? This was fine. It tasted a lot like the stuffing at Garden Grill. We thought it tasted best with a little bit of the cranberry sauce. The cranberries aren’t listed on the menu, but they’re a nice sweet-tart pop on the plate.

And the creme de la creme of the meal (or should we say the cheese de la cheese?), the Mac and Cheese! This was our favorite part of the main course! It wasn’t overwhelmingly creamy and had a super cheesy flavor. Plus, we love those big swirly noodles! If you wondered what’s typically our first food we ask for seconds of, it would clearly be this!

Don’t forget that hack we mentioned above! Grab you a roll, slice it open, pop in the meat of your choice and maybe slather on a bit of mashed potatoes if you wanna get crazy with it, and you’ve got yourself a respectable slider (or two, or twelve!).

For dessert, the Bill of Fare offers up the Oooey Gooey Toffee Cake made with vanilla toffee cake, chocolate sauce, and vanilla ice cream. Not to be dramatic, but this is really the whole reason to go to Liberty Tree Tavern on its own.

If you’re not familiar with this stunner of a Disney dessert, you might be thinking this doesn’t look like all that much. What’s the big deal? Guys, it’s so…so…good. The cake is a similar to a blondie in texture but warm with pockets of gooey chocolate and toffee.  The chocolate chunks in this dessert are HUGE and the cake almost tastes like a cookie that wasn’t quite cooked long enough. Combine that with a big, cold scoop of ice cream and you get that perfect hot/cold mixture in each scoop. We love that!

Obvi this is the best part of the meal, hands down, no contest. Look at it!!!

Yes we devoted almost half this review to the dessert and YES it was worth it. We try a LOT of Disney World desserts and for us to continually sing this little cake’s praises is saying something BIG. Come for the meat and mac, but STAY for the “OMG that was so good I need a nap” dessert.

Nosh or Not

Grab a table at Liberty Tree Tavern if…

• You’re looking for a sit-down meal in Magic Kingdom and aren’t scared of a (very) full stomach after.
• You love Thanksgiving food!
• You’ve got any history or Hamilton buffs in your dining party that will never be “Satisfied” with the theming of Liberty Square. (Sorry guys, we were not throwing away our shot at that joke!)

Dine elsewhere if…

• You’re looking for a REALLY special meal. Thanksgiving is fun, but the food is still pretty standard home-cooked favorites.
• You don’t want to lug a full stomach all the way around Magic Kingdom. Trust us, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train gets a little less fun after an all-you-care-to-enjoy meal.
• You’re looking for a more “fun” themed experience. The theming is spectacular but it isn’t for everyone. It’s going to more educational than silly like it would be at Skipper Canteen or elsewhere.

Overall

We admit we love the likes of an all-you-care-to-enjoy meat feast like you’d find at Garden Grill or Liberty Tree Tavern. While the food isn’t winning any awards for originality, it’s fresh, well-prepared, and reliably good. You’d be hard-pressed to find a table-service restaurant in Magic Kingdom that’s as satisfying as this one. Are there more romantic restaurants in Disney World? Yep. Are there more exciting foods to be found elsewhere? Yep too. But that’s not why you come here. You come here for comfort foods in a warm, cozy environment. This place — the theming and the food — FEELS like a hug. If you want a nice sit-down meal and love you some Thanksgiving food, this could be a GREAT pick for lunch or dinner. Plus, that dessert is SO good. In the words of Hamilton, “Oooey Gooey Toffee Cake…it gets the job done.” (That’s how that song goes, right? No?! Ugh, maybe we’re just still dreaming of that cake!)

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Will you be dining at Liberty Tree Tavern sometime soon? Tell us in the comments! 

The post REVIEW! We KEEP. COMING. BACK. To Liberty Tree Tavern in Disney World For Good Reason! first appeared on the disney food blog.