The summer heat at the Disney parks has been brutal, which makes us really start searching for the best places to sit for a while.

Sometimes you just need to sit down and kick your feet up for a bit, especially when your cooling fan just isn’t cutting it for you. Maybe you’re just looking for a lively place to grab a quick bite. Either way, we think we’ve found your perfect spot.

On a hot summer day at the Disney parks it’s a rarity to find a place of solace. Luckily for us, we knew just where to head for that, Baseline Tap House in Hollywood Studios.

It’s nestled right on the corner of Grand Ave before you get to MuppetVision3D and the entrance to Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge. You also have the neighboring Sci-Fi Dine In Restaurant to its right and it’s truly a hole-in-the-wall joint.

Atmosphere

The vibe here is relaxed and easy-going. The walls are brick and covered in callbacks to Disney history and an homage to what was previously in this spot. This wall has letters placed around it that spell out “Writer’s Stop” — our beloved spot for coffee and pastries, which was the original home of the Carrot Cake Cookie. 

If you’re a Disneyland fan you’ll really enjoy just walking in here to check out the artwork around the walls like this one…

… and this one, too!

Inside is a bar area where you order your food and drinks with a cast member. When we visited, the cast members were super friendly, fast, and ready to help if you asked their opinion on a few flavors or menu options.

Because this place doesn’t take itself so seriously, you can find creative one-liners written on each of the windows.

There are a few places to sit inside, but most of your seating will be found outdoors. A few of the tables are built like long picnic tables and patio-style umbrellas to offer coverage, and there are some high top tables, as well. There’s also a cutlery station to grab plastic utensils and napkins.

The soundtrack here is smooth jazz and covers of popular songs from the past several decades — while we were there we heard covers of everything from The Beatles to Taylor Swift.

The outdoor seating area also has a few strings of lights that are turned on at night as the sun goes down. They add a bit of glow to the overall vibe.

Menu

The menu here is fairly straightforward. There are a lot of options for alcoholic beverages, mostly beer because this is a tap house, after all.

The beers here are all from California.

There is a small selection of wine and pre-mixed cocktails…

… as well as a full bar set-up.

We also spotted one soda option in the Barrilitos Strawberry Hibiscus Soda, and an additional non-alcoholic beverage — Wild Strawberry Lemonade.

If you’re not a drinker, you’re not going to find much too, well, drink here. Food choices here are limited to some snacks and small bites.

Overall, the menu is pretty similar to what you would find in a lot of craft beer bars.

Eats

Since it was one of just two options for soft drinks, we decided to grab the Barrilitos Strawberry Hibiscus Soda on Tap. This soda costs $4.59 and is refillable. All you need to do is bring your cup up to the bar and the cast members will refill your soda for you. In our case, they offered us a fresh cup and recycled the previously used one.

It’s a light but sweet soda and has a very light taste of Hibiscus against the strawberry. Even though that might sound a bit combative, we didn’t find it to be extremely carbonated or an overly heavy flavor. If you’re normally a soda drinker, or like a strawberry taste, we think you should give this one a try.

We also picked up the California Cheese & Charcuterie Plate for $12.50.

It’s a basic charcuterie plate made of Toma Farmstead Cheese, Point Reyes Original Blue Cheese, Laura Chenel’s Sonoma Goat Cheese, Chorizo and Calabrese Salami, Cornichons, Grapes, and toasted baguettes. Both the calabrese salami and chorizo had a great chew to them and the flavor was beautiful. They also had just the right amount of spice that gave a little kick to the flavors.

The block of blue cheese had the sharp taste we were expecting…

…while the Toma Farmstead cheese slices were buttery and smooth.

The goat cheese really had a nice creamy taste. The cornichons and extra garnishes added extra textures to the bites we created. The baguette slices were everything you want in a baguette –a buttery and texture that was crispy on the edges and soft on the inside as you g0t further into the bite.

Next, we tried the Coffee Rubbed Rib-Eye Beef Puff for $11.

The bread puff lived up to its name by being light and fluffy. The beef filling reminded me of a Philly cheese steak with the thinly sliced meat and the cheese sauce over top — it had a great fondue-like cheese pull.

This is one that we really enjoyed, and we had quite a few folks stop by and ask about it before heading in to order one for themselves. It also came with a side cup of olives to add flavor.

Then it was time for the Create Your Own Beer Flight.

We created ours with individual cups of Golden Road Mango Cart, Golden Road HeffWeizen, North Coast Scrimshaw Pilsner, and Ace Space Bloody Orange Hard Cider for $12.50. Here’s what we thought about each one individually, starting with the Golden Road Mango Cart.

This one was fairly basic, light, and good for fans of simple, non-complex flavors. The Golden Road HeffWeizen was a bit heavier than the Mango Cart…

… but still overall a lighter option. Then we tried the North Coast Scrimshaw Pilsner.

We found this one to be a bit hoppy yet clean with mild bitterness and finally completed our flight with…

the Ace Space Bloody Orange Hard Cider. We found this one to be especially delicious, with more of the orange citrus flavor coming through the more you drink it.

Overall

Overall this was a great restaurant if you’re looking for some small bites and not a multi-course meal.

It’s worth mentioning that this is typically a busy area even with the “easy-going” vibe, so sometimes the outdoor seating may be sparse.

Nosh or Not?

Stop by Baseline Tap House if…

• You’re looking for a cold beer. If you’re looking for a tall drink, this is certainly a place to plan to stop on your next park day.
• You’re looking to stop for a minimal food break. If you’re looking to maximize your time in the park and keep going about your day, the food options here are light enough to not weigh you down, and they’re super quick to come out to you after you’ve ordered.

Find another spot to sit if…

• You’re looking for more food options. The menu here is mainly drinks. While the food we tried here was great, there are just a handful of options to choose from.
• You’re not looking for an alcoholic drink. If you’re not a drinker, there’s just not going to be a lot for you here. It’s a nice place to chill and relax, but other than water, lemonade, and one soda-on-tap option, everything to drink here is alcohol.
• You’re with the kids. This is a lounge, and you’re not going to find a kids meal on the menu.

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What’s your favorite thing to order at Baseline Tap House? Tell us in the comments!

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