We talk about Disney World food A LOT here at DFB.
PDQ!
It’s kind of our whole thing. We’ve covered every restaurant in the parks and beyond from fancy sit-down meals to quick-service spots. But recently, we wandered a bit outside the normal Disney World bubble to check out a newly opened restaurant that might give our favorite Disney Springs chicken spot a run for its money — so come with us to check out the new PDQ Winter Garden!
We were recently invited by PDQ to attend a media event at their newly opened Flamingo Crossings Winter Garden location, and are bringing you along with us for the whole experience! So, let’s check out all that the new PDQ has to offer — from sandwiches to salads, tenders, and more!
Atmosphere
The Winter Garden PDQ is located less than 15 minutes from Magic Kingdom in the Flamingo Crossings area, and you’ll find plenty of parking around. As you approach the building, you’ll notice that there’s also a drive-thru so you don’t even have to get out of your car to get your chicken fix.
Entrance
This is a counter-service restaurant, so as you enter you’ll be guided over to the menu before placing an order at the counter. There is plenty of seating in a large, open area.
Counter for ordering and large open seating area
But, what’s on the menu?!
Menu
PDQ is a chicken-based restaurant, so you won’t find any burgers on the menu. Instead, you’ll find various types of chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders, salads, sides, and even desserts like milkshakes and cookies.
Regular PDQ menu
There was a special menu selected for the media event we attended, so we got to try a little bit of everything!
Menu for the event
Now, let’s check out all the eats and drinks and see if they passed the test!
Eats & Drinks
To start, we tried Petey’s Punch — described as a “sparkling fruit punch” with a burst of citrus. Think of it like a fizzy fruit punch lemonade situation.
Petey’s Punch
It was VERY sweet and extremely fruity with a slight fizz. The main flavor we tasted was citrus, primarily orange. We did enjoy it and thought it was refreshing despite being so sweet. If you’re not a fan of fruity beverages or sweet drinks, this probably won’t be for you.
Petey’s Punch
We finally got to work trying all of the foods we were served, starting with the Honey Butter Chicken Sandwich. This is a crispy chicken sandwich dipped in homemade honey butter and layered with bread and butter pickles. This was the perfect combination of salty and sweet, and almost reminded us of chicken and waffles!
Honey Butter Chicken Sandwich
Next, we tried the Crispy Chicken Sandwich served with Duke’s mayo, lettuce, tomato, and dill pickles. This is your run-of-the-mill fried chicken sandwich — but that doesn’t mean it’s not bursting with flavor. The chicken was juicy and crispy, and the fresh veggies helped add a nice crunch.
Crispy Chicken Sandwich
We moved on to the Grilled Chicken Tenders which were served with the Parmesan Broccoli side. The tenders were clearly freshly grilled — no fake grill marks in sight. Plus, they had a nice herb situation going on for flavor. They weren’t greasy at all which we loved, but we did find them to be a little on the dry side — so you might want to ask for extra dipping sauce.
The Parmesan Broccoli was shockingly good — steamed broccoli with butter, garlic, and parmesan cheese. The broccoli was cooked well and still firm, and it had great flavor! Definitely something we’d consider for a healthier side.
Grilled Tenders and Parmesan Broccoli
Next up were the Crispy Tenders and Waffle Fries! We love a good chicken tendie, and these were certainly no exception. They were hot and juicy, and had plenty of seasonings in the breading so that you really didn’t even need any dipping sauces. They weren’t overly seasoned, either!
What can we say about these Waffle Fries? They were crispy on the outside but fluffy on the inside, and truly everything one could ever want in a waffle fry.
Crispy Chicken Tenders
We also sampled one of the lighter options on the menu, the Mediterranean Salad served with Grilled Chicken. It includes hummus, feta, cucumbers, olives, tomatoes, and a greek dressing. This got the job done and was alright, but wasn’t really a standout. The veggies were fresh tasting and overall the salad had a good, herby flavor. If you are looking for a healthier option this salad might do the trick, but there are much better options on the menu.
Mediterranean Chicken Salad
Spicy Chicken Sandwiches are all the rage these days, and we think the one from PDQ is a worthy contender for that battle. It’s a spicy crispy chicken breast with PDQ signature sauce, lettuce, and dill pickles. It was perfectly spicy and the signature sauce reminded us of a garlic aïoli — we could probably drink gallons of this stuff. If you’re looking for a little bit of heat that doesn’t make you regret being born, this is a great option.
Spicy Chicken Sandwich
Of course, we tried a few of those delicious homemade sauces as well. The Ranch was tangy and rich, and truly tasted like a homemade buttermilk dressing. The Honey Mustard is really well-balanced with a slight sweetness from the honey but that vinegary snap from the mustard as well. The Sweet Sriracha was exactly what it sounds like, it was a mix of a Thai chili sauce and Sriracha hot pepper sauce.
Chicken Tenders and Sauces
The Honey Barbecue Sauce was a pretty basic barbecue — it wasn’t anything special, and the Buffy Bleu sauce just tasted like a regular buffalo sauce to us (still delicious, but nothing we haven’t had before!). The PDQ Signature Sauce reminded us of a garlic aïoli and was very herbaceous, but we couldn’t quite place them all. And finally, the Creamy Garlic was probably our favorite. Heavy on the garlic but equally as creamy which balanced it out!
Nosh or Not
You SHOULD dine at PDQ if…
- You LOVE chicken sandwiches and chicken tenders.
- You’re looking for a quick meal off Disney World property.
- You want to try to save a bit of money by dining outside the Disney parks and hotels.
You should SKIP PDQ if…
- You don’t have a car while in Disney World and don’t want to use a rideshare service.
- You want to stay on Disney World property during your trip.
- You don’t love chicken sandwiches or chicken tenders.
Overall
We enjoyed everything we tried at PDQ, though our favorites were the Crispy Chicken Sandwich, Parmesan Broccoli, and the Creamy Garlic sauce! We’re always on the hunt for the best foods in and out of Disney World, so stay tuned to DFB for the latest!
Full PDQ spread
To see more food reviews, check out lunch at the new BoardWalk Deli in Disney World here, and you can also see our thoughts on the new menu items from Tony’s Town Square Restaurant in Magic Kingdom here.
With DOZENS of places to eat at Disney World, we know it can be tough to plan your meals. That’s why we wrote the DFB Guide to Dining at Walt Disney World. We have reviews, pictures, and details about every restaurant all in one digital download – along with ALL of our best tips and strategies from decades of Disney World trips. We’ve got a special discount code for DFB readers, too! Use WDW2022 at checkout for 25% off!
Need Disney Restaurant Advice? We’ve Got EVERYTHING You Need to Know
Disclosure: In nearly all circumstances, Disney Food Blog writers and photographers pay full price for their own travel, hotel, food, beverage, and event tickets. We do this because it’s important to us as journalists to ensure not only that we give you unbiased opinions, but also that you can trust us to do so since we’re paying our own way. On rare occasions, when we are invited by a company to attend a preview as media, and when we choose to accept that invitation, we will always make you, our readers, aware of that situation. Today, we were invited by PDQ to review their new Flamingo Crossing location. Note that when we attend events as media we are 1) Not required to review that event/food on any of our channels, and 2) Not required to review that event/food favorably. You can always count on DFB to give you a 100% unbiased and honest review of any event that we attend, food that we eat, or beverage that we drink. You can see more in our Disclosure Policy. Thank you for reading. — AJ
What’s your favorite restaurant to eat at near Disney World? Let us know in the comments!
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