A few weeks back, Disney’s Port Orleans Resorts reopened (Riverside on October 14th and French Quarter shortly after on October 28th). However, Riverside’s beloved table service restaurant, Boatwright’s Dining Hall, stayed closed during the initial opening phase.

But now, Boatwright’s has opened to the public once again after being closed for nearly two years, and we’re here, ready to chow down and tell you our thoughts! Let’s dig in.

Atmosphere

Starting out with the atmosphere, Boatwright’s is one of those places that, if you weren’t looking for it, you might not even notice that it’s there! It’s only open for dinner and it’s hidden away in an unsuspecting building at Port Orleans Riverside. If Port Orleans – French Quarter is all about the revelry of Mardi Gras and New Orleans’ vibrant French Quarter district, Port Orleans – Riverside is all about the southern sprawling plantations, giant live oaks, and the simpler life down on the bayou. Boatwright’s reflects that asthetic.

It specializes in down-home, southern-style cuisine, including some delicious Louisiana favorites. The inside looks like an old boat construction warehouse, and you’ll notice that especially in the details, with boat hulls and tools are strewn throughout the decor.

Once we checked in at the front podium, we were led to our table.

There is a main dining room under the skeleton of the boat being built and there are also tables on a raised surface to the side. The tables are a little close together here, which gave the dining room a slight cafeteria feel. It’s not exactly what you’re expecting at a restaurant where entrees are between $21 and $35.

We were seated at a standard wooden table with some mismatching chairs, which added a bit more character to the set up. The place settings were simple blue cloth napkins with silverware and a small side plate.

Now it’s time to see what’s on the menu!

Menu

Starting out with the appetizers, the menu already has our mouths watering with picks like French Onion Soup Au Gratin and Mardi Gras Fritters!

For entrees, they’ve got all the classics. You can go coastal with some Deep South Shrimp and Grits or hit up Tennessee for the Nashville Hot Chicken. If you want a little bit of everything, we recommend the All-You-Care-To-Enjoy Chef’s Platter.

Sides include seasonal vegetables, southern greens, and fried okra. The dessert menu just screams the word “decadent” with options like Mississippi Mud Crème Brûlée, Banana Cream Pie Bread Pudding, and Pecan Pie Cheesecake. Are you hungry yet?!

And, they didn’t forget about the kiddos! Just like the grown-ups, kids can start with an app, choose an entree…

…and then choose their add-ons of sides or desserts! They’ve even got their own special drink option that comes in a souvenir character cup.

And, speaking of drinks, Boatwright’s has fountain beverages plus Pomegranate Lemonade, a Grapefruit Spritzer, and the popular (and Instagrammable) EARidescent Sip-a-bration on the menu. You can even drink your coffee like real Louisianans do — with chickory! Chickory coffee has more of a punch and a stronger flavor than your average Folgers.

Beyond that, they have hot beverages, specialty cocktails, dessert cocktails, and more than two dozen different kinds of beer. You certainly won’t go thirsty! The even have Abita beer, which is brewed in New Orleans (well, technically Abita Springs, LA, hence the name!) and not typically seen on restaurant menus ’round Disney World.

We were given a paper menu for the alcoholic drinks…

…and a QR code to scan for the food menu.

Now, let’s get to the best part — the FOOD!

Food

We started out with the Southern Hurricane cocktail for $13.09. When in Rome, err, NOLA. This had tropical juices with Plantation dark rum and Bayou silver rum. It also had a floater on top of Southern Comfort and was garnished with a lime, lemon, orange, and cherry skewers.

With two kinds of rum and a floater of liqueur on top, this drink was pretty boozy! The fruit flavors were strong as well, but the drink wasn’t too sweet like tropical juice drinks can be sometimes. Like any good Hurricane, it does its job hiding all that booze behind sweet and fruity flavors so watch out because they can sneak up on you! If you don’t like rum or the taste of alcohol in your drinks, this one is not for you. But, if you’re a rum fan, you’ll be happy with the Southern Hurricane!

Next, we were brought some classic cornbread with honey butter. Unlike some honey butters where the two are mixed together, this butter had the honey right in the middle! It’s literally honey…and butter. Honey butter.

The bread is served slightly warm (as all good cornbread should be!) and you get a decent sized loaf. It’s a great way to kick off a southern meal!

For appetizers, we ordered the Boudin Balls for $13 and the Mardi Gras Fritters for $12. We’re eating all of our apps in fried ball form today, thank ya very much.

The Boudin Balls are a mix of andouille sausage, smoked sausage, and dirty rice that’s then breaded and fried. They were served with a remoulade, creole mustard, and pickled vegetables.

These were delicious! Other Boudin (pronounced boo-DAN) Balls we’ve tried have had lot of meat in them, but these were mostly rice — they didn’t have too much ground sausage inside. We’re sure those familiar with “real” boudin balls are shaking their heads at these right now, but don’t! True boudin sausage is just seasoned ground pork and rice. Fry it up in ball-form, you’ve got boudin balls. This is two other kinds of ground sausage and rice. So, not authentic for the die-hard ride or die boudin fans, but still really flavorful. And that’s what counts! These definitely aren’t a light appetizer, as they’re pretty dense. And, watch out, because these were pretty spicy!

They had two sauces with them — the one on top is the spicy pepper remoulade (pronounced row-mah-lawd. [See, now you can talk like a Cajun too!]) and the one on the bottom was the creole mustard, which was pretty tangy. The Boudin Balls were also topped with sliced of Fresno chiles, which took it a little over the top with the spice!

You need to be able to handle spicy food to eat these, but they’re really yummy and satisfying to snack on.

Next, we tried the Mardi Gras Fritters. Get your hand fans out now y’all, cause this is a faint-worthy description: Panko-covered, deep-fried pimiento cheese (some spell it pimento, some, like Boatwright’s, pimiento) topped with pepper jelly. We’ll give you a moment to collect yourself and wipe the drool off your keyboard. Better? OK, let’s move on. They were also resting on a small bed of arugula. These were SO GOOD!! And, how could they not be? Deep fried cheese is usually a win for us!

The cheese had a mild spice to it and was super ooey gooey. The jelly on top was the star, though — the sweet-heat contrast made an appetizer that would normally be heavy feel much lighter and deepened the flavor profile.

The only thing we didn’t like about these that they were a bit oily, so be warned that they can be a little messy. They are totally worth the mess! (What do you expect with a deep-fried blob of gooey cheese!) This was crispy, salty, creamy, sweet, and spicy ALL in ONE BITE and it was basically perfect and anyone who likes cheese (so…basically everyone) should try. Thank you for coming to our TED Talk. Mardi Gras fritters for life.

Now, time for the main event! For our entree, we opted for the All-You-Care-to-Enjoy Chefs Platter for $35. This includes ribs, Nashville hot chicken, smoked sausage, barbecued beef brisket, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, street corn, and green beans. Sure, the neverending barbeque might seem odd for a coastal Louisiana-themed joint, but we’re here for whatever they’re serving, so we dug in.

The ribs were incredibly tender — the meat was falling off the bone! Actually, the bone even broke in half while were were eating it, so watch out for that, but they were cooked very well. They were on the sweeter side and not spicy at all. These are great for someone looking for something milder on the menu compared to all of the other foods filled with spice. The grilled sausage was smoky and spicy. You could definitely taste the flavor of the grill and it was honestly spicier than the hot chicken! The skin had a nice snap to it as well.

The hot chicken was also very tender, and despite its name, the spice level wasn’t too bad! We would say it’s a mild spice. Unlike regular Nashville hot chicken which is usually on the bone, this was more of a chicken tender dipped in hot sauce. It wasn’t our favorite, but it was a lighter choice compared to the other meats on the plate.

Now, let’s move on to the brisket, which was so tender you could cut it with a fork! The sauce it was covered in was smoky and then sweet, with the spice coming through after. If you’re a brisket person, you should enjoy this rendition.

As for the sides, the green beans were sweet and spicy, mostly because they were underneath the ribs and the chicken. They had a good crunch to them, but not a lot of flavor. We think we caught a little bit of garlic, but they were not heavily seasoned, they just had a lot of butter on them.

The macaroni and cheese is homemade and has thick noodles, but the sauce was lacking for us. It’s missing that overall cheesy flavor and those awesome cheese pulls a lot of mac and cheeses have. But, it was a good break from the other foods on the plate because it’s a way milder flavor.

The street corn is grilled with sour cream and green onions on top. The corn itself is sweet and there was no additional seasoning, but the onion contrasted with the flavor of the corn really well! The grill marks also gave a nice charred contrast of texture and flavor.

Finally, we tried the mashed potatoes, which were the best thing on the whole plate! These were classic mashed potatoes done really well. They were buttery and creamy, and the skins were left on, which added some more texture. It was only seasoned with salt and pepper, but it was perfect that way!

Overall, if you’re a meat eater and you’re also VERY hungry, this is a great option! It’s all-you-care-to-enjoy, so you can get refills on any of the food if you want more. But, if you want a light meal or don’t eat some of the foods on the plate, you should probably try a different entree, because all-you-care-to-enjoy is for sure not light!

Lastly, we had dessert, of course! We got the Banana Cream Pie Bread Pudding for $7, which is house-made bread pudding with fresh bananas, vanilla creme anglaise, caramel sauce, bourbon-soaked golden raisins, and vanilla ice cream. This dessert does contain alcohol, so be aware of that before you order it!

This was absolutely delicious. The bananas were spread throughout the bread pudding and the top had crunchy sugar crystals from being in the oven. The ice cream made it even more decadent! This honestly reminded us a lot of the stellar bread puddings you can often grab at Pacific Wharf Cafe way over in Disneyland’s California Adventure.

The bread pudding is definitely great for sharing, as it’s pretty heavy! You could probably split it with 2 or even 3 people, unless you want it all for yourself (which we COMPLETELY understand!).

If you’re a big fan of bananas, this one is for you. But, if you want something on the lighter side, this wouldn’t be our pick — the sorbet option would be a better choice!

Nosh or Not

Head on down to the Bayou for some country cookin’ if…

• You’re REALLY hungry and would like an all-you-care-to-enjoy meal that has a variety of options, that way you get to try a lot of different food! (There’s loads of other foods you might enjoy but the unlimited option is appealing!)
• You’re looking for pure southern comfort food that’s also a bang for your buck.
• You want the upscale experience of delicious food, but also don’t want to get really dressed up and eat at a stuffy restaurant.

Hop along to the next watering hole if…

• You’re looking for a quiet place to eat — it can definitely get noisy in here with how close the tables are to each other.
• You want a more intimate or romantic experience. The ambiance does not have the most “fancy date night” vibe, it’s more geared toward families.
• You don’t enjoy bold flavors or spicy food. Boatwright’s is inspired by New Orleans, so that means a lot of flavor and spice!

Overall

Overall, the food was pretty well done! We think the value of Boatwright’s is great considering the prices and portion sizes. Plus, having a sit-down option at Port Orleans is welcome for guests staying there. The service was also amazing — everything was timed just right and our server made great informed suggestions. She told us that all of the staff have been studying the menu for weeks because they’re so excited to finally be back!

We honestly think Boatwright’s is a hidden gem, which might make it easier for you to score a reservation, maybe even last minute! Just keep in mind that they are only open for dinner right now, so double check the hours they’re open. If you’re looking for some New Orleans flavors that will fill you up, this is the place to be!

Click Here to Check Out the Newly Reopened Port Orleans — Riverside!

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Have you ever been to this restaurant? Tell us about your experience in the comments!

The post REVIEW: Thanks, Disney World. Jelly-Topped Fried Pimento Cheese is Our Love Language Now. first appeared on the disney food blog.