While there is plenty of delicious food INSIDE the Disney World theme parks, the restaurants at Disney World’s hotels are NOT to be overlooked!

Today, we’re taking you on a virtual trip to Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort and a restaurant you may have never even stopped at before — Three Bridges Bar & Grill. This beautiful, outdoor, covered dining spot is right in the center of the water and has some absolutely gorgeous views. We have long RAVED about their Warm Manchego and Oaxaca Cheese Dip (SO MUCH YUM) but today we’re trying a whole bunch of other items and bringing you our thoughts!

Atmosphere

As we mentioned, Three Bridges Bar & Grill is located at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort at Villa del Lago, right in the center of the lake at the hotel. It is accessible via 3 (actual) bridges (hence the name) from various spots in the resort.

Three Bridges serves up Spanish-American food in a beautiful, relaxed setting.

There are all kinds of cool details around including these posters and maps…

…and there’s even a bit of DuckTales mixed into the space! (whoo-ho!)

You’ll also find some beautiful lanterns over by a fireplace area.

It is an open-air spot, but it is covered, so you can soak in all the views and breezes while still staying in the shade and having some covering in case it rains (as it typically does in Florida).

There’s a whole bunch of different seating options to choose from. You can take a seat at the bar (although bar seating is fairly limited)…

…grab a more standard table with chairs…

…or opt for some of the cozier seating areas with comfy chairs and lower tables. These are definitely made for lounging and relaxing!

There’s even an elevated area with a fire pit!

The seats along the water are absolutely fantastic as well. Really, there’s not a bad seat in the entire place!

One big selling point for this restaurant is its views of the water, and the hotel buildings nearby, particularly Disney’s Gran Destino Tower. Look at that view!!

Whether you go while the sun is still shining…

…or stop by at night, there are some spectacular views to be had here.

Right now, the restaurant is only open in the afternoons for dinner, generally from 4:30PM to midnight. The spot is also not presently accepting reservations. Instead, you have to join the walk-up waitlist on the My Disney Experience app if there’s availability. 

When we visited, we were told it would be about a 45 minute wait, but we only ended up waiting about 20 minutes. Of course, that could vary depending on when your trip is, what time you go to the restaurant, and other factors.

If you’re looking for a late night bite or some drinks later in the evening after a long park day, it is nice that this spot is open during those later hours, giving you another option to explore.

Once seated, you’ll find a paper with a QR code for you to scan to view the menu online. This is similar to what we’ve seen at various other spots in Disney World.

If you’re wondering about the utensils situation here, you’ll be provided cloth napkins and actual utensils at this sit-down restaurant. No paper or plastic here!

Alright, alright, enough about the atmosphere — let’s get eating!!

Eats

When it comes to drinks, there are quite a few options at Three Bridges. You can grab a specialty character drink, non-alcoholic beverages…

…featured cocktails…

…a variety of beers, hard ciders, and sparkling water…

…as well as different types of Sangria and wine.

At Three Bridges you can get a number of appetizers (again, you know our love for that Warm Manchego Cheese and Oaxaca Cheese Dip)…

…salads…

…entrees (you can check out our review of the Harissa Lamp Chops here)…

…and desserts (see our thoughts on the Warm Churros here).

There are also kids’ menu items available.

As we’ve mentioned above, we’ve had some of the items here before, but for this trip we were on a mission to try some of the newer items we hadn’t tried!

For our drink, we went with the La Fresa Limonada, priced at $14.  This is one of the restaurant’s featured cocktails and is made with Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Puerto de Indias Strawberry Gin, and Lemonade. From our understanding, it also has some strawberry puree in it. It came garnished with a lemon slice and half of a strawberry.

For starters, this drink is definitely VERY pretty. So if you’re looking for something colorful to put on Instagram, this is a great choice!

The drink was sweet and tart, pulling from both the strawberry and the lemonade. It wasn’t very strong in terms of the flavor of the alcohol. We tasted the vodka more than the gin. Honestly, we really didn’t taste the gin at all, but that could have been due to the strawberry flavoring of the liquor.

Overall, it was very refreshing and one that we’d order again (especially on a hot day!). It is a pretty sweet drink though, so it might not be one that you could drink multiple of in one sitting.

If you like strawberry lemonade, then this might be a good choice for you. Also, if you like fruity drinks that aren’t very strong, this could be great. If you’re looking for a strong gin taste though, you’ll probably want to opt for something else.

For our appetizers we got the House-Made Guacamole and Pan con Tomate.

First, let’s tackle the House-Made Guacamole! This house-made guac is served with Tortilla Chips and Tajín and is priced at $12.00.

OK, this is seriously some of the BEST guacamole we have EVER had! That’s some high praise!! (We did eat basically all the guac in EPCOT in one sitting soooo…we know our guac! )

The guacamole was very fresh, and had good chunks of avocado, lots of garlic, fresh lime juice, and fresh cilantro (heads up, if you’re in the anti-cilantro crew!).

It was also salted perfectly and the sprinkling of tajin on top was a wonderful addition.

It was incredibly flavorful and good in terms of portion size (if you’re willing to share it that is)!

The only thing we think could have really improved this dish is some unique, house-made chips. If you love guacamole, we have a feeling you’ll really enjoy this BUT you will need to be a cilantro fan as there is a good bit of cilantro in this.

Now, let’s move onto the Pan con Tomate (which literally translates from Spanish to English as “bread with tomato”). This dish is made with toasted bread, crushed tomato, garlic, and olive oil. It is priced at $10.00.

Just like the guacamole, this appetizer was fabulous!

It was very nice to look at with the bright color of the tomatoes, and it was very fresh! You can even see that olive oil soaking into the bread — yuuuummm!

The bread was still crunchy on the outside while being super soft and chewy in the center. The fresh, crushed tomatoes and garlic were delicious and didn’t make the bread as soggy as we thought they might, so that was great.

The seasoning was simple (mainly salt and pepper), but was pretty generous and it really helped the tomatoes shine.

This really was delicious as-is, but a sprinkling of cheese on top (maybe some Queso Fresco) would have made it even better! If you like bruschetta, then you’ll probably really enjoy this as it is similar. But, if you hate tomatoes (especially raw!), this is probably a skip! We LOVED it. So simple but so good!

Alright so we had 2 total winners when it came to appetizers, if you’re counting at home.

Next, it’s time for entrees. In the entrees category, we got the Steak Frites, Poke Bowl, and Coconut Curry Chicken.

We begin our journey with the Steak Frites. This is made with Char-grilled Sirloin, Smoked Paprika Fries and Chimichurri and is priced at $22.50.

The fries look like sweet potato fries but they are actually fries seasoned with paprika and we loved them! They were super flavorful. It is Steak Frites, so the meat got placed on top of the fries. That made the fries a little bit soggy (but soggy with meat juice!).

Some of the fries on the edges were still crispy and crunchy, but we wish that would have been the case for all of them since they tasted SO good. We would totally order these fries on their own as a side on a future visit though!

The steak had great char and delicious flavor, but it was unfortunately over cooked for our reporter’s liking. We ordered it medium, and it came out medium well to well done on the ends. The steak seemed to have lost some of its juiciness, possibly due to the overcook. We found the end pieces to be a bit dry, but the center was better.

It’s entirely likely we just (un)lucked out and got an overprepared steak and others won’t have the same experience, but worth noting.

The chimichurri sauce was delicious though and it helped to bring an added flavor to the steak.

Even though the steak was overcooked for our liking and the majority of the fries were soggy, the dish was still super flavorful! The chimichurri added a lot of flavor and really “saved” the meat, but if you’re not a chimichurri fan, then that might not be a great option for you.

Next, we move to the Poke Bowl! This dish is made with Basmati Rice, Coconut Milk-Lime Sauce, Vegetable Melee, Sriracha “Aïoli”, and Grilled Pineapple with your choice of House-cured Salmon or Ginger-shrimp. Even though the menu says it comes with salmon or shrimp, we were offered chicken or shrimp, and decided to go with chicken. It was priced at $15.00.

If you hopped on the poke bowl trend that blew up a few years back, you’re likely looking at that picture going “uhh…that’s not a poke bowl.” And you’d be correct. A true poke bowl is usually cubed raw fish, usually tuna, with lots of other goodies in a bowl. This is…not that, but was still a beautiful dish filled with lots of color. The flavors were delicious when mixed together. We especially loved the Sriracha sauce. We wish there was more of it though!

The sweetness of the pineapple was great, as it added another element of flavor. The pickled onions, edamame, and shredded carrots in the dish all really helped balance the flavors out.

We couldn’t really taste the coconut milk lime sauce, but we didn’t really miss it since the other flavors were so great. Just be aware that if that sauce is what drew you into this dish, you might not taste it that much.

The chicken was wonderfully juicy and all the rice soaked up the flavor from the chicken. Mixed in with the spiciness of the Sriracha sauce, it was great.

We’d definitely order this again — this dish was our favorite of the entrees! It was a shockingly fresh and healthy option that didn’t disappoint. If you don’t like spicy foods, then you will want to ask for the sriracha on the side though (and f you do like spice, order extra!).

And finally, we get to the Coconut Curry Chicken. This dish is served with Basmati Rice, Marinated Chickpeas and Cashews and is priced at $18.50.

The curry was strong and very aromatic! Overall, this dish had a great flavor and you could almost taste it before you even put it in your mouth from that killer smell!!

The chicken was very juicy — actually, this chicken was the juiciest of all the dishes. We felt like it was cooked really well. The chickpeas and cashews gave it a nice crunch and richness. The coconut flavor wasn’t a strong as we were hoping for, but it did give the sauce a slight sweetness.

The curry was the star of the dish though and honestly the only thing you really taste. It was definitely strong, and potentially too strong for some, so just keep that in mind. You REALLY need to love curry to enjoy this dish. Had the coconut flavor been stronger, it might have added more balance there.

Another thing to note — this was a huge portion! It’s easily sharable, especially if you get some apps to snack on first.

And with that, we arrive at the end of our meal!

Nosh or Not

So, should you eat at Three Bridges Bar & Grill? Here’s what we think.

You SHOULD eat at Three Bridges Bar & Grill if…

• You’re looking for some great outdoor dining.
• You want a relaxing atmosphere with gorgeous views and food that has some fresh flavors.
• You love tapas-style eating and Spanish-American flavors.

You should SKIP Three Bridges Bar & Grill if…

• You’re looking for a fancy dining location for a special occasion. This is nice, but definitely a more laid-back casual spot.
• You’ll be dining with a lot of kiddos or picky eaters. The menu is fairly limited.
• You’re wanting to plan ahead and have reservations set for a certain time — this spot is first-come, first-serve so when you walk up there’s a good chance you’ll have to wait at least a little bit.

Overall

Overall, the stars of the show here are the appetizers. The location and the atmosphere really lend themselves to that tapas-style dining. You can grab some chairs in those lounge-style seating areas, relax, order a few appetizers to share with your group, grab a drink, enjoy the view, and have a great time. The appetizers were all pretty good portions as well and absolutely delicious!

In terms of service, our server was very sweet and checked on us pretty often in the beginning, but didn’t stop by as much as the meal went on. We didn’t truly need anything, but it’s just something to keep in mind.

Overall, the views at this spot are fantastic and some of the food is great too. But, it can be hard to get to if you’re not staying at Coronado Springs. Right now, for hotel hopping, you must have a dining reservation in order to enter a Disney World hotel (if you don’t have a hotel reservation there). Since this spot doesn’t offer advanced dining reservations at the moment, you likely will not be able to enter the hotel by driving to it, as they will likely not let you through the hotel gates without a set reservation. Also this hotel is kind of out on its own, making it tough to get to compared to some other Disney resort that are within walking distance. So, that’s something to keep in mind.

But, overall, if you’re looking for a relaxing, outdoor place to grab some dishes and drinks, share them with friends, and unwind, this can be a wonderful spot!