NEW. NEW. NEW. If you haven’t been to Disney World in the last few months (even the last few weeks!), there are a lot of NEW things for you to check out. We’ve seen new merchandise, new snacks, work on new attractions, and more all happenings throughout the parks. And now a truly iconic spot in the parks has some new things too!

There are some Disney World restaurants that many people consider to be classics or must-dos on their trips. ‘Ohana, Le Cellier, and even Via Napoli are some of the ones you may have on your own list. Another spot that often falls into that category is The Hollywood Brown Derby in Disney’s Hollywood Studios! This restaurant serves up some famous items like their Cobb Salad and grapefruit cake. Maybe you’ve been here before and are thinking “I’ve already seen what this spot has to offer.” If that’s the case…you’d be WRONG. NEW eats have hit the menu at this spot and they’re some you won’t want to miss!

Atmosphere

The Hollywood Brown Derby is an authentic replica of the famous Brown Derby in Hollywood, California.

The walls are covered in caricatures of a ton of celebrities and the interior is an ode to the Golden Age of Hollywood. You’ll find some deeper, maroon colors on the cushions, fancy white table cloths, and little details everywhere to really make you feel like you’ve stepped back in time.

There is even a celebrity guest book here that real celebs sign when they come to visit! Be sure to check it out during your next visit to see who has signed!

The inside has a lot of dark wood, with traditional tables, chairs, and booths.

There is also a QR menu available for you to scan and take a look at what you want to eat.

Alright, alright — enough about the atmosphere. Let’s get to the food!

Menu

Starting with Appetizers, you can find things like Sea Scallops, Shrimp Cocktail, and even a Charcuterie Board. The newer options here include the Escargot Casino and the Roasted Tomato Cream Soup.

For Entrees, there is a special Filet Mignon on the menu right now for the 50th anniversary, and also the Famous Cobb Salad! Some of the new dishes include the Tomato Risotto and Braised Short Rib. What was previously the Trout Amandine has also been replaced with a “Seasonal Fish,” though they contain the same description about the blue crab meat and other accompaniments.

You can also get enhancements added onto your meal here, like the new Shrimp Macaroni & Cheese or Spoon Bread. For dessert, there’s a 50th Celebration Baked Alaska and the iconic Grapefruit Cake, among other picks.

For the kiddos, they can start with an appetizer of Chicken Noodle Soup or Chopped Salad, and then create their own entree! There are things like Grilled Chicken Breast and a Hot Dog.

Kids can then add 2 sides to their meal, with options such as Mashed Potatoes or Sliced Apples. There are also some non-alcoholic drinks on the menu, like the EARidescent Sip-a-bration.

As for drinks with alcohol, there is an extensive drink list that you can find at the restaurant!

Now, it’s time to eat!

Eats

We kicked things off with the Derby Cocktail for $15. Note that this is NOT a new addition to the menu.

It has Gentleman Jack, Florida honey syrup, and pink grapefruit juice, and comes with a souvenir glow cube. The drink used to come with a little bowler hat glow cube floating in it (SO FUN), but it sadly does not anymore and we got a regular glow cube instead.

You can definitely taste the grapefruit and the Jack in this drink! The alcohol flavor is strOOOOOng. It’s not sweet at all, but instead has more of a tart flavor.

We like this drink because it’s more unique than something like an Old Fashioned, but you truly gotta like boozy drinks to enjoy this one — there’s no covering up of that flavor!

Moving onto the food, our meal began with bread rolls, which are classic dinner rolls, so how could that be bad?! While the rolls are simple, what really puts them over-the-top is that salted butter they come with. SO GOOD. But, remember not to fill up too much — you’ve got more food to enjoy!

Now, time for some new eats! First up, we got the NEW Roasted Tomato Cream Soup, which has Lump Crab, Caper, and Fried Garlic for $15. This soup was actually poured table-side, which was a fun and fancy touch!

The crab in this had a nice saltiness that balanced out the sweetness of the creamy tomato soup.

And the little pops from the fried garlic pieces added an interesting and tasty element!

Overall, it was a very delicious and creamy tomato soup. Not a bad choice if that’s something you’re craving!

Next, we went with the NEW Escargot Casino, which has Roasted Garlic Béchamel, Crispy Prosciutto, and Piquillo Pepper Crumb for $19. Yes, that’s right folks, it’s time to eat some SNAILS. Maybe just don’t think about the fact that they are snails?

Now, we know snails aren’t everyone’s jam, but this was actually phenomenal! We even liked it better than the soup (no offense, soup). This is probably because the most prominent flavor was that creamy garlic sauce and the fried prosciutto — it almost completely covers up any escargot flavor.

The texture might throw you off, but the flavor was all prosciutto & garlic goodness, so we would most definitely order this again!

Moving on to the entrees, we started with the NEW Free-Range Chicken Coq au Vin which comes with Pan-fried Potatoes, Thigh Confit and Red Wine Sauce for $35.

Unfortunately, our chicken was a bit too dry for our taste. It wasn’t terrible, but it just wasn’t good enough for us to want to spend $35 on it again.

The potatoes did have a fatty bacon mixed in, which brought a nice smokiness to them, and we did enjoy the red wine sauce. But, overall, this wasn’t one of our favorite dishes of the night and isn’t one we’d rush to eat again.

Next, we tried a newer dish, the Sustainable Salmon Coulibiac, which has Pickled Mushrooms, Wilted Spinach, Puff Pastry and Mustard-Dill Butter Sauce for $38. Previously, the menu featured an Ora King Salmon option which was served with Grilled Local Corn, Fresno Peppers, and Sweet Corn Veloute, but as you can see, things have changed when it comes to salmon at this spot.

This salmon dish was excellent! It was cooked well, as was the rice, but the main star of everything was that Mustard-Dill Butter Sauce. It was AMAZING and had a really strong dill flavor. We wanted to pour it on everything! We repeat, EVERYTHING.

Moving on to the Tomato Risotto (another NEW dish), this comes with Eggplant Fritters and Pepper Relish for $29. This is a vegetarian option, and while our server said it is plant-based, it is not specifically marked that way on Disney’s online menu, so be sure to double check before you order it!

This was also delicious! (We’ve got some serious winners with these new menu items!) The risotto was nice and creamy and had a lot of sweetness from the tomato. But, when we got a bite with the pickled veggies too, it was phenomenal! A total *chef’s kiss!*

The eggplant fritters were good as well, but were a little mushy. We had wanted them to be a bit firmer in terms of texture. You also really have to like eggplant to enjoy these because that’s the main flavor!

Overall though, this seemed like a very thoughtful vegetarian dish, as opposed to something that may have just been thrown together. Plus, look at just how colorful it is!

Finally, we got the Braised Short Rib, another NEW dish. This comes with Parsnip Purée, Spring Vegetable Succotash and Truffle Aïoli for $39. This was our FAVORITE of all of the new entrees! 

The meat was fall-off-the-bone tender and delicious, and the truffle aioli made it even better (if you like truffle, that is!).

The parsnip puree was like a sweeter version of mashed potatoes and was verrrrry buttery. Plus the succotash brought a lovely brightness and freshness to the dish! YUM. YUM. YUM!

Note that we didn’t try one of the newer entrees, which is the Seasonal Fish. It comes with Blue Crab Meat, Roasted Turnips, and Almond and Spiced Brown Butter Sauce for $38. Again, this previously was called Trout Amandine and contained the same description about the blue crab meat and other accompaniments.

But the eating isn’t over yet! We also got some enhancements with our meal. First up was the NEW Spoon Bread for $8. This comes with a Lavender-Honey Butter, which you can definitely taste! It was distinctly sweet with that honey and you could even taste the floral lavender. 

This was similar to a corn bread or even a corn pudding and was (as we mentioned) quite sweet but also verrrrry delicious. Two thumbs up from us (and from Pooh Bear too in all likelihood).

Next, we tried the NEW Shrimp Macaroni & Cheese for $16. This has Chili-Garlic Gremolata, Orecchiette Pasta, and Cheddar Sauce and was absolutely scrumptious!

It had big, juicy shrimp mixed in and our server even said they start off the dish with lobster broth, which could explain why it’s SO flavorful. It was delightfully creamy and cheesy, and the chili mixed with the breadcrumbs added another layer of smoky flavor. 

We honestly wish we could’ve had full sizes of these two enhancements!

Finally, we finished out our meal with the iconic Grapefruit Cake for $13. This is A Brown Derby Original with Vanilla Sponge Cake, Grapefruit Syrup, and Cream Cheese Icing.

Note that this is NOT a new item. But, the way that our grapefruit cake looked was just a little bit different than what we’ve had before. During a visit in 2020, it seemed to have a much heavier amount of that syrup on top.

This time, the syrup was much less present on top. But, that doesn’t mean we didn’t enjoy it! There is a reason this is the signature dessert here. It’s consistently amazing and our recent trip was no exception! The tartness of the grapefruit perfectly cuts through the sweetness from the frosting and cake. The spongecake is also light and airy, which is amazing.

It’s also a really unique dessert that you don’t find in many other places, so (at least in our opinion) it’s totally worth a try! So, should you stop by The Hollywood Brown Derby for these new eats or some classic ones? Here are our thoughts.

Nosh or Not

Sit down for a nice meal at The Hollywood Brown Derby if:

• You want a long, relaxing break during your Hollywood Studios day
• You want to feel the glitz and glam of Old Hollywood
• You want to try out some classic dishes, or some delicious new ones, and treat yourself to a nice meal

Skip on over to another dining spot if:

• You’re on a budget, this place is pricey compared to other things in the park
• You don’t want a bigger meal or want something more traditional to a theme park
• You’re trying to get as much done during your park day as possible and don’t want a long break

Overall

Overall, The Hollywood Brown Derby remains a classic. We truly enjoyed most of the dishes we had here, with the exception of the Chicken Coq au Vin, which wasn’t terrible but was too dry for our tastes. In terms of the other new items, they were delicious and (in our opinion) a great addition to the menu!

The Tomato Cream Soup was wonderful (and served in a fun way), the escargot was really tasty and something we’d get again, the salmon had that mustard-dill sauce that we’d like to pour on everything(!), the tomato risotto was flavorful and colorful, the braised short rib was a FAVORITE of ours and so tender, the spoon bread was sweet and delicious, and the shrimp mac & cheese had loads of flavor — WHEW! That’s a lot of new items!

Will these new items tempt you away from the classic Cobb Salad or other items here? That’s up to you and your tastes, but some of them might definitely be worth a try during a future visit!

If you want a relaxing meal while you’re in Hollywood Studios, this is a great spot, just be aware that it is one of the nicer restaurants in the park, so that comes with a higher price tag. Stay tuned to DFB for more Disney World food news and reviews!

Click here to see our ranking of ALL the 50th anniversary treats in Hollywood Studios!

Check out our video ranking all of the restaurants in Hollywood Studios below!

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Which new item from The Hollywood Brown Derby do you want to try out for yourself? Let us know in the comments!

The post REVIEW: If You Think You’ve Seen All This Disney World Restaurant Has to Offer, Think Again first appeared on the disney food blog.